Produced for McDonald's | Released August 2011
Here's one Smurf that only ever thinks about eating. Whatever he finds, he munches on: sarsapirilla, soup, cheese and fruit... But what he really wants is cakes, tarts and any goodies he can sneak away from Cook Smurf. His motto? You don't eat to live - you live to eat!
Packaging
The McDonald's Happy Meal Smurfs come in clear plastic bags, stamped with their names. It's really not particularly exciting but if you want to see the bags, check-out the Vanity Smurf Review.
Happy Meal Smurfs - Greedy Smurf
Like Vanity Smurf, there's a lot of good here, let down by a little bit of a slapdash approach.
The sculpt is great. Greey Smurf is caught here mid-theft as he steals a sack of fruit. Although as a dynamic pose it's not particularly lifelike (as he appears to be pushing the sack, rather than running and carrying it) it's a fun little pose that captures his character and motivations well.
Greedy Smurf features the same textured detail on his hat as seen with Vanity Smurf plus some extra very cool touches. The hessian sack of... blueberries? is embossed with a cloth-like texture (including the de rigueur stitched-on patch) and has a nice, bulging shape to it. I think perhaps my favourite detail though is the facial sculpt. Greedy Smurf is grinning happily but also has a sense of ''oops, caught again!'' about his expression. There's a wonderfully cheeky look to his face which I like a lot.
It's a real shame then that the paintwork doesn't match-up to the quality of the sculpt. Whilst the palette is good, the application is fairly messy, with the boundaries of each colour being fairly ill-defined. The cloth sack is particularly bad for this. There's also some poor definition around the cap and pants. Worst of all, the underside of his tail is unpainted. I know these toys are cheaply produced but it's just a shame the paintwork lets them down so much. It's also annoying to see his name is written on his up-turned foot.
On a positive note, his facial details - particularly his eyes - are very cleanly applied.
Extras
Each Happy Meal Smurf includes a collector sheet, showing the 16 figures in the line.
Final Thoughts
It may sound odd to be critiquing a Happy Meal toy but these Smurf figures are actually a lot of fun and I believe many collectors will enjoy them. And if you have a younger brother or a child you want to keep away from your collectible display case then the Happy Meal Smurfs are an ideal option for the budding collector.
As for Greedy Smurf, his paintwork is pretty poorly applied but if you can look past that - or you strike lucky and get one that's well-painted - then his sculpt shines through. Like Vanity Smurf, his pose and expression convey his character immediately and I love the cheeky ''oops, you got me!'' look on his face.
If you're a fan of the movie or the original Smurfs, then you're sure to enjoy these fun little collectibles. They may not be the most detailed, well-produced or complex of toys but they're a fun little diversion for sure.
| Sculpt | B+ |
| Paint | C+ |
| Articulation | N/A |
| Production Quality | B- |
| Final Score | B |
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