The story of Oz has been re-imagined here, and now Dorothy is your modern teenage girl, pissed because her parents don't have cable and hiding some inner sexual fantasies. Think Fritz the Cat meets Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty. There are six figures in the line -- Dorothy, the Wizard, Toto (reviewed here), the Lion (reviewed at MROTW last week), the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow. All are twisted versions of the originals, with Dorothy playing out some sort of S&M fantasy with some perverted munchkins, the Lion eviscerated not just in theory but literally, the Scarecrow looking more Tortured Souls than straw, and the Tin Man turning out more cyborg than oil can. The Wizard is the least twisted, although in the included short story -- they have a nice back story so you aren't completely confused -- he's more dirty old man than Fatty Arbuckle. There's also a set of flying monkeys that was only available as a Spawn Collectors Club exclusive last week.

Toto is the weirdest of the bunch, and I'll get more into him in a second. The figures aren't selling at too many “mainstream” retailers, since these are more art than toy, and as always with art, it has to speak to you for you to truly appreciate it. All I can say is if these speak to you, I bet you throw one hell of a party. I picked these up at Gamestop for $13, a far more indecent price than Dorothy's outfit.

Let me be perfectly clear -- I don't like the end result of this concept. I ragged on it pretty heavily in my intro to the Lion review, so I won't beat a dead horse too much further. And since this dead horse is about McToys, it would have its guts hanging out, flies swarming on it's eyeballs, with various metal contraptions adding to it's obvious pain.

I don't think this line is disgusting, perverted or even all that shocking. Taking a fairy tale to an adult extreme is certainly nothing new, and every underground comic artist and wannabe porn director has done it to death. There are some very creative things they could have done with this line, but for the most part, they settled for been-there, done-that. That's too bad, and hurts what could have ended up a pretty unique series.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Twisted Land of Oz Toto"

As I mentioned, Toto is clearly the most bizarre of the bunch. That cute little pooch has turned into a blob worse than Mr. Creosote, and his skin is translucent, showing us all those nasty insides. Some sort of funky munchkin wearing a nose hat is riding him, and his poor face has been twisted into a nasty snarl through some more of those delightful metal torture devices McFarlane has become so fascinated with. All in all, it's quite the transformation, and while it's likely to be the least appreciated of the series, it shows perhaps the most creativity.

Packaging - ***1/2

The clamshells continue to rule. Sturdy, easy to store, relatively small, and they allow for some great artwork on the inserts - what more could you ask? Exactly what they gave us this time...a back story printed on the inside of the insert. There are six parts, one part in each figure. While I applaud them for finally giving us some text, I wish the story had been better. I've only read two of the six parts, so I may be judging prematurely, but it reads like a freshman creative writing paper written by a kid who watches too much Man Show. So close...

Sculpting - ***1/2

Once again, this is the area in which McToys succeeds. While the overall design might put some folks off, you can't fault them for detail and attention. Even with a translucent body, you can see tons of detail in the entire sculpt. The rider and his hat are particularly well done, and there's even an added bonus for extra gross-out points -- you can open the bottom of the figure to reveal his yellow intestines. It doesn't pop off easily, but it does open (and it's not glued shut). It also makes sense that it opens, since you can't really appreciate their yellowy goodness unless you open it. While inspecting it, I couldn't help but think what a great place it would make to put your stash. Not that I have any idea what that means. Uh, my son said that.

Paint - ***
The paint ops here are fairly minimal, since much of the big dog is clear. They yellow guts are a little too neon yellow for my tastes, as it really reduces some of the realism, but the paint application on the rider and helmet is excellent. The face work on Toto himself is also fairly good, but there's not a ton of details here. The yellow of the eyes is too thin, showing some of the color below it through the application, and in general the paint ops don't live up to the high standards McToys usually sets.

The other interior work is better than the intestines, though, and overall the paint ops make for an interesting if not perfect look. This isn't a pooch I'd want, but he'd certainly cause a stir at the West Minster Kennel Club.

Articulation - **
Due to the enormous size of this figure, and the sausage like style of his body and legs, there's not much articulation. He has neck, and the rider has neck and waist. Since the figure is hollow, and full size removable munchkin with some more articulation would have added a lot to this figure. As it is, Toto is pretty much a paper weight, and not a very heavy one at that.

Accessories - Bupkis
I'm sure it's because he's such a massive figure, but Toto comes with jack. And that's not the rider's first name. Sure, the stomach-opening feature is cute, but it doesn't make up for a complete lack of accessories. If this was a solid plastic figure, I could buy into the higher cost for the size, but being hollow means being cheaper to produce. How about a little basket for him to chew on?

Value - **
At $13, these are easily too damn expensive by three bucks. If you can find them for the usual $10, you'll have a decent deal, but since only the higher priced specialty stores will have these, you might have to hunt on-line.

Overall - **1/2

I'm betting Toto is going to be one of two major peg-warmers in this line, along with the goofy Scarecrow. While Dorothy will sell simply for the titillation, and the Lion and Tin Man have good monster appearances, Toto is the odd man, or dog, out. He's more creative than some of the other designs, but that might be too much for most folks to take; I would have preferred better articulation, better coloration on the internal organs, and at least some sort of accessories for this price point.

Where to Buy -
Specialty stores like Media Play and Gamestop along with most comic shops are you're best bets. On-line options include:

- Killer Toys has the set available for $59, or the figures individually for $9.95, a very good price. Dorothy is more expensive though if you buy her individually.

- Aisle Sniper has a case for pre-order still at $110. That's 12 figures in total, but you'll have extras of Dorothy for sure.

- Beans Toys had them up for pre-order as a set for only $55, but they sold out. However, they may end up with some extra sets in stock once they get their shipment, so you might want to check them out.