Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
Official Website
Funko.com (accessed: October 29, 2021)
Genre
Collectables*
Figurines*
Target Audience
Crossover (ages 3 and up)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@biu.ac.il
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, Lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Elizabeth Hale, University of New England, ehale@une.edu.au
Logo retrieved from Wikipedia, public domain (accessed: February 2, 2022).
Funko LLC. (Company)
Funko is an American company located in Everett, WA. The company designs, sources and distributes collectable products, including vinyl figures, actions toys, plush, apparel, housewares and accessories.
Source:
funko.com (accessed: January 13, 2021).
Prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Summary
"Funko Pop!" Hades is a "Funko Pop!" vinyl collectable figurine. It is part of the "Disney Hercules" collection, which includes Hercules (no. 378), Meg (no. 379), Phil (no. 380), Baby Hercules (no. 382) and Baby Pegasus (no. 383). These figures are licensed from the Disney movie Hercules (1997). Like all "Funko Pop!" Figures, Hades has a large head on a small body. He is smiling, and his smile reveals rows of pointed, jagged teeth. Hades is blue with blue hair. He has a pronounced jutting chin and blue-lidded yellow eyes. He wears a black chiton with fringed, tentacle-like hem over a navy blue sleeved garment. Hades stands with his hands steepled before him and fingertips touching.
Analysis
This figure represents the character from the Disney movie and not the mythological deity per se. Hence it appears as he does in the movie (but unlike the voice actor James Woods whose animated character was reminiscent of his own appearance), with the familiar "Pop!" attributes (round head and less pointy features than in the animation). The figure represents Hades as smiling viciously, perhaps in the middle of preparing his evil plans against Zeus or Hercules. He does not appear angry or frustrated as he does in many parts in the movie, but has an evil grin, while the position of his hands might allude to contemplation of a wicked plan. His lack of muscles (in contrast to Hercules) is another indication of this character’s scheming intellect.
The emphasis of his white pointy teeth visually indicates that this character is evil (in comparison, the "Pop!" figure of Zeus has a delicate smile without no teeth showing). Usually "Pop!" figures have black eyes, but here the eyes are yellow, again, a known feature of the animated character which further enhances its wickedness. The use of strong colours makes this figure stand out and the addition of sharp chin and teeth emphasizes its evil nature. Thus this figure well captures Hades’ menacing presence from the movie: it shows a scheming villain whose main trade mark from the movie was his facial expression.
Further Reading
Reyan, Ali, "Pop" Culture: The Incredible Rise of Funko Pop! available at Rolling Stone website (accessed: October 29, 2021).
