DSlash_888 I completely disagree with you. All Engines Go was a fun series (otherwise full of quality thoughts and lessons about friendship, togetherness and many other things that are so needed today), and it’s a cartoon that looks like a cartoon. The merchandise was fully adapted to such an expression and the way in which this series is profiled, respecting its specificities. Therefore, I think that both the series and the merch were excellent, considering what they represented.
These new Mattels are labeled “Classic,” and they couldn’t be further from that. Some are quite obvious fails (eg Annie and Clarabel, see above), then there is Thomas’ too high cabin, bizarrely colored Duck, fat James and Gordon with an express coach that resembles a narrow-gauge railway carriage etc. etc.
When something is called “classic”, then it should have a classic look. A cartoon series, due to its nature, can deviate from the classic (and so can the merchandise based on it), but if something is called “classic”, then such numerous disproportionalities and deviations from the actual classic look are unacceptable. What Mattel has done now is not “classic” at all. That’s a nightmare.
