Jabba The Hutt And Han Solo - POTF2 [R/G] - Creatures

HEIGHT: 1.75 Meters
LENGTH: 3.9 Meters
HOMEWORLD: Nal Hutta
VEHICLE OF CHOICE: Ubrikkian Sail Barge
WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Assassins and Bounty Hunters

Our first modern Jabba The Hutt figure was probably something most of us WEREN’T expecting. As you know, the Star Wars Special Editions brought a wide variety of all-new an updated characters to the film. Not without controversy, some felt that the additions took away from the original spirits of the film. Others were excited to see scenes completed as well as additions made, but others just wanted the Original Trilogy to remain as pure as possible. Needless to say, collectors wanted an Episode VI specific Jabba The Hutt, complete with dais and Salacious Crumb. Although curious, we’re not too sure many of us wanted a Jabba The Hutt figure without these amenities who just slugged around the dry sandy floor of Docking Bay 94. But this was the way the cards were dealt and Kenner released the Jabba The Hutt And Han Solo set into the Creature Assortment and many of us decided to look the other way and give this release a chance. Based on his newly added CGI appearance, Jabba The Hutt looks very little like Jabba The Hutt and instead of an imposing and threatening character, we have second rate digital replacement. Oh, and Han Solo is really just more of the same, or actually less. We’ll explain.

Jabba The Hutt’s appearance in A New Hope Special Edition was very controversial. CGI technology really was new, but it wasn’t in its infancy either. When you look at the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and see how realistic they look, it is difficult to comprehend why Jabba The Hutt looks pretty terrible by comparison. If you think about it, dinosaurs and Jabba both seems to have reptilian skin. So why does the shape and features of Jabba The Hutt look so off in the film? Kenner seemed to pick up on this a bit, so the toy version of Jabba The Hutt seems to us like a hybrid of the film version and what Jabba The Hutt should actually look like. For us, the release is a little bit bittersweet. We’re thrilled to see him in the toy line, but he doesn’t really look like a nearly decade younger version of the character we saw in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. And likewise, the toy doesn’t really look that much like the CGI character either. (That’s actually a good thing.) Jabba The Hutt has a decent sculpt, but his paint job is a little bit too bright. The front of him is colored in a beige/peach color and it contrasts drastically against his dark green posterior. Kenner gave him cool glassy eyes. It’s hard to make out their detail, but they look cool, even if they’re not accurate to the character.

Jabba The Hutt also comes with an action feature. His tailed is articulated in two places, and when you move the tail his torso twists a little bit. It’s enough to give him a personality that appears discontented, but we’re not sure how necessary it was to add the inner workings to this figure. Hasbro could have saved some money by not adding this unneeded feature. Jabba The Hutt also comes with two swivel shoulders. You can place his arms up in the air just like how he looked when Han Solo stepped on his tail. Overall, for us Jabba The Hutt ranks as “OK”. We’re not super excited about him, but he isn’t terrible either. Kenner appropriately packed in an all-new Han Solo action figure with Jabba The Hutt, although, he looks very similar to 1995’s POTF2 [R/G] Han Solo figure. He’s been cast in plastics that just give him an overall different coloring. Some may find this problematic. He looks faded in some ways. Interestingly, he also comes with a BLUE blaster pistol. For us, this is totally reminiscent of the vintage Kenner era, so that is a cool thing. But his weapon is still ridiculously huge and doesn’t fit in with the scale of the figure. Jabba The Hutt And Han Solo serves a purpose in the modern era of collecting. We just don’t know if it will resonate with all.