MovieChat Forums > The Rocketeer (1991) Discussion > Perhaps the lamest lunchbox of all-time

Perhaps the lamest lunchbox of all-time

posted 12 years ago by Fluke_Skywalker
13 replies | jump to latest

Quick! It's 1991 and you're a Disney exec trying to sell your new movie THE ROCKETEER. As part of your merchandising push you decide to release a lunchbox. What kind of exciting image would you put on the front? Cliff blasting off into the wild blue yonder. Maybe a shot of him poised on the dome of the Griffith park observatory with 'ol glory fluttering majestically behind him. Or maybe this...

http://s.ecrater.com/stores/139000/4b1b02bc5ac54_139000n.jpg

...Nothing captures the excitement of Joe Johnston's film better than a poorly drawn picture of our hero hanging on to the bottom of an airplane while small puffs of smoke wheeze from his jetpack. I also think the barren farmlands make for a nice backdrop.

Seriously, is that not the lamest lunchbox you've ever seen?

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[–] bpmct 12 years ago

The art is about the same as the merchandise for Dick Tracy. Though, I will say it looked better there because it fit the extreme color style of that film. The merchandise for The Rocketeer was all very lacking. I have a big collection of it now, but the only thing I remember having back then was a "Bend-em" figure, and the 3d comic that came with an audio adventure (which actually still holds up).

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[–] Mr-Fusion 12 years ago

That's the one I had. Mom got it from K-Mart. What's really weird is that I distinctly remember it being red instead of blue, with the image flipped (Cliff facing right).

Yeah, it's a lame image. Then again, the only action figure we ever got was a bend ems.

Thank you, Disney execs.

EDIT: I missed bpmct's mention of the bend em.

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Also, Dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.

[–] Fluke_Skywalker 12 years ago

bpmct, I've been doing a little research on merchandise released to promote the film and lacking is a good word to describe it, both in terms of quality and quantity. There's the requisite Topps trading card set (One of the last of the classic non-sport, movie tie-in wax pack sets with the basic cardstock), the NES game(s) and the aforementioned Bend 'em figure. I'm assuming the fact that the DICK TRACY action figure line clogged pegs during the Summer of '90 before becoming red tag specials (Though in later years it has developed a collector following) is the main reason there wasn't a proper action figure line for THE ROCKETEER, which is beyond a shame. I'd love to have a 3 3/4" line of figures along with a Gee Bee, Zepplin and a Bulldog cafe playset.

*****

Mr-Fusion, it's entirely possible that you did have a red lunchbox. All of my searching only turned up blue examples, but when the switch from metal to plastic lunchboxes was made in the mid 80s a lot of the plastic lunchboxes were released in various colors (though typically red and blue) with the same graphic on them.

Ex. SILVERHAWKS

http://www.collectorsonlinemall.com/image.php?id=48179471

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqF,!iME3TIktyGhBOK8E1br+Q~~_35.JPG

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[–] Mr-Fusion 12 years ago

Yeah, I guess it would make sense for companies like THERMOS to use the same image and just slap it on different color molds.

Thanks for the heads-up.

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Also, Dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.

[–] bpmct 12 years ago

The card sets were very nice actually. My mom got them for me a couple Christmas' ago off ebay. They have some alt. scenes/ shots shown on some of the cards, which is always nice. Yes, Dick Tracy kind of flooded the market. I had (and still have) alot of Dick Tracy stuff, including a bath towel. It's safe to say, you could have nearly everything you needed to live with a picture of Dick Tracy slapped on it back in '90. With The Rocketeer I would would have loved to see action figures, at least. I doubt they would have had many characters, perhaps just Neville, Cliff, and Peevey. They often left out female characters back then. I had the line of Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves figures, and there was no Maid Marian, LOL. One thing I do know is that if Rocketeer had been a success there was going to be an attraction at Disney World. I can picture something like Superman The Ride at 6 flags...

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[–] Fluke_Skywalker 12 years ago

- I love the various Topps/Fleer/Donruss movie tie-in cards from the 70s and 80s, and you can still pick up complete sets (sans stickers) from most films for $8.00-$12.00. I like what I've seen of the ROCKETEER set and I plan on picking it up my self.

- Yeah it's funny, they often snubbed the female character at the toy level, and when they did make one the run was so low that she ended up being the chase figure amongst collectors!

- Here's a fun fact you guys probably already know about the RH: POT toy line. It was produced by Kenner toys, the company responsible for the original STAR WARS toy line, and almost the entire RH: POT toy line is recycled from that series; from the figures (Friar Tuck uses the body of a Gamorrean Guard) to the Sherwood forest playset and Battle Wagon which were a redressed Ewok Village and Battle Wagon respectively.

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/BLOGrobinHo od-playsets.jpg

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[–] bpmct 12 years ago

LOL, I know! I had 'em all. Actually, they weren't all Star Wars. Will Scarlett was Robin, for instance. I remember even at the time being pretty pissed off about that. I never bought the Sherwood Forrest set because I already owned the Ewok village. All they did was add leaves, LOL...

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[–] Fluke_Skywalker 12 years ago

That's right! I forgot they also used some molds from their DC Superpowers line. It's hard to fault Kenner too much. Creating new molds is costly and the gap between the ROTJ/DCS lines and RH:POT was about 8 years, meaning the kids who were buying the latter likely weren't old enough to have owned the former.

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[–] TheSolarSailor 12 years ago

Most everything associated with this film was lame, with exception to some cool wrist watches by Fossil or the really awesome Topps trading card sets. I still have my trading card box set, unopened, as well as a complete set in card sleeves. I hated all of the bad cartoonish looking art work for The Rocketeer that was slapped all over everything one can think of, from towels to cheap school notebooks. His yellow helmet and bright red jacket as he flies over barns and other unexciting backdrops. Even the cheap little PVC figurines looked like the cartoon crap rather than the film. It was all marketed to kindergarteners and people who like to collect cheap coffee mugs. A bend-em figure? Really? The only good thing about that was a decent rocket pack that one could use on a custom made action figure of their own. Only in years since have fans been rewarded anything decent that was related to the film, with items such as the cool 12" action figure from Japan. Too bad that Disney mounted one of the worst merchandising campaigns I have ever seen for The Rocketeer, as it robbed us fans of getting anything that was truly great. Someone mentioned Dick Tracy, but I only recall that films getting lousy cheap merchandise as well. Yes, it had an action figure line, but those weren't exactly what I would call good figures.

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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] jdsven 11 years ago

I don't know about it ALL being lame .I was at a local comic book convention and found a 1991 Rocketeer tin sign with art by Dave Stevens for 10 bucks ( lowest price on Amazon and ebay was $60.) Ok, one other thing. ( and yes as soon as I saw the tin sign I did buy it. It's now on my wall.)

[–] TheSolarSailor 11 years ago

Well, that was more in relation to the comic book. We are talking about the cheap merchandise made specifically for the film, not the good stuff showcasing Dave Stephens great artwork.

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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] jdsven 11 years ago

True. Even the film poster would have been awesome on a lunchbox or a school folder.

[–] Vega_Lyra 11 years ago

I had that movie poster. Don't remember exactly how I got it, but it looked pretty good hanging above my bed back in the day.

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