Disney Interactive’s third wave of five Disney Infinity figures have picked up a couple of popular nicknames ahead of their arrival on store shelves. I have heard them referred to as the “Princess” wave as four of the five figures are female, a tip of the hat to the most requested Disney Infinity characters by fans: females; and more specifically, Disney Princesses. They have also been referred to as the “Holiday” wave as all are being released within a week of Black Friday and positioned for Santa Clause to stuff stockings with them.
Though this new wave of Disney Infinity figures hail from three different films, they share a common trait in that each is only playable in the Toy Box and the Adventures within it, including the exclusive Adventure assigned to each Disney Infinity character. There is no Play Set for any of these figures to journey into, as was the case for the recently released Jack Skellington figure. I hold out hope that there’s still room for expansion with the Wreck-It Ralph characters including some other notable names from the film and hopefully a Play Set in next year’s iteration of the game.
It’s important to note that Rapunzel, Vanellope and Wreck-It Ralph are all timed store exclusives. This means that starting later this week and into next, each will be exclusive to one retailer and remain that way until January 2014, when they will become readily available at all stores. I have noted the release date, store, and included a direct link to pre-order or purchase each figure in the short write-ups below in case you want to save some gas money and potential aggravation battling other shoppers in the electronics department.
Rapunzel (Rapunzel)
Release Date: Friday, November 22
Store Exclusive: Walmart
Rapunzel is the first princess released for the Disney Infinity figure line and she’s quite the striking toy with her unusually long golden locks. Her weapon of choice is a frying pan, and she can use it in either a melee fashion with an over-the-head smash, or simply throw it at her enemies from a distance to inflict damage without splitting a nail. I would have rather seen the frying pan toss execute like a boomerang and come back to her, but instead the frying pans keep materializing out of thin air for her to keep flinging away.
Here is what Rapunzel says when you load her into the game:
“It’s you! Oh, hello. Now I hope you’re ready for another adventure because I am.”
Rapunzel’s Adventure is called ‘Rapunzel’s Rail Ride’ and puts her on a purple rail to collect as many lanterns as possible before the time runs out. The world is appropriately Rapunzel-themed with her tower and lanterns floating in the night sky, though the generic music is a bit of a letdown. What makes this one fun are numerous elevation changes and multiple rails to jump between.
Pre-order or buy Rapunzel at Walmart.com.
Wreck-It Ralph (Wreck-It Ralph)
Release Date: Friday, November 22
Store Exclusive: Best Buy
Wreck-It Ralph is a hulking Disney Infinity figure about the same size as Sully and with packaging nearly an inch wider than his counterparts in this wave. He’s a brute lughead through-and-through, and that’s why he’s so damn loveable. I’m not completely convinced John C. Reilly provided the voice, but it sounds close enough to fit in with the other figures. If he did then my apologies to Mr. Reilly.
Here is what Wreck-It Ralph says when you load him into the game:
“Hey, there you are. Like they say, a new adventure awaits. Never actually heard anyone say that, but there’s still a lot of truth to it. You ready?”
Cherry bombs are Wreck-It Ralph’s weapon of choice and he tosses them to create an 8-bit explosion complete with the classic “blip” sound from the arcades of yesteryear. His secondary attack is the dual-fisted ground pound that has been featured in previously released Disney Infinity trailers. This powerful attack is more dynamic and indicative of Ralph’s personality to use than throwing puny cherry bombs.
Wreck-It Ralph’s exclusive Adventure is called ‘Ralph’s Wreck’n Wrangle’ and tosses the big lug into a multi-storied building full of obstacles. It’s a timed event where Ralph has to scoop up as many collectibles as possible before the timers runs out. There’s plenty to smash and avoid in the building, including many ways to fall, so it’s no walk in the park.
Pre-order or buy Wreck-It Ralph at BestBuy.com.
Vanellope Von Schweetz (Wreck-It Ralph)
Release Date: Sunday, November 24
Store Exclusive: Target
Vanellope may be short compared to her muscle-bound bestie from across the arcade, but what this gifted racer lacks in stature is overshadowed by spunk. She has that perfect scratchy adolescent voice from the film either provided by a talented impersonator or the one and only Sarah Silverman.
Here is what Vanellope says when you load her into the game:
“Hey buddy, are you ready for some play time? This town would be perfect if it was made of gingerbread.”
Vanellope’s attack is also throwing cherry bombs at her foes, which feels a little cheap since Ralph has the exact same attack, but also more appropriate since she wouldn’t be melee fighting with anyone using her fists. Vanellope also has a “glitch” ability that makes her disappear and reappear about five yards ahead of where she was previously standing. It’s kind of like a teleporting ability, only you can see her move with the glitch just like she does in the film, complete with the signature sound effect.
Vanellope gets to do what she does best, race, in her exclusive Adventure ‘Vanellope’s Sweet Ride.’ The race takes place on a Sugar Rush-themed track with a candy road and chocolate hills, complete with music from the film playing in the background. The best part of the relatively straightforward race is that Vanellope gets to run it in her signature candy car.
Pre-order or buy Vanellope Von Schweetz at Target.com.
Anna (Frozen Toy Box Pack)
Release Date: Tuesday, November 26
Store Availability: Everywhere
Anna is the first half of the Frozen Toy Box Pack and is an innocently posed figure with a nicely sculpted rope hanging off her left shoulder and a white streak in her hair that I am guessing is relevant to the Frozen film, which by the way is getting stellar reviews thus far. Her flowing dress is also a nice design touch that gives her a little extra dimensionality.
Here is what Anna says when you load her into the game:
“Come on, I say we head out for another adventure.”
Anna’s main attack is throwing out her pickaxe, that is attached to a rope, and then letting it come back to her for another toss. This is how Rapunzel’s attack should have worked sans rope. Anna also has a three-part melee attack that includes a leaping karate kick, downward swing with a shovel, and a whirlwind spin move with the shovel. Consecutive button pushes will chain the three attacks together, though the slowish animations require some pauses between each button press.
Anna’s exclusive Adventure is called ‘Anna’s Chilling Challenge’ and has her also competing in a timed event to gather collectibles. The board here is a compressed 2-D space where the collectibles are falling from the sky. Anna can scale up a couple of wooden platforms to get orange or red balls, but the easiest are the yellow that hit the ground. This Adventure can be frustrating as it’s tough to judge the depth of the platforms and more often than not Anna ends up slamming her head into the bottom of one rather than grabbing the ledge to pull herself up.
Elsa (Frozen Toy Box Pack)
Release Date: Tuesday, November 26
Store Availability: Everywhere
Elsa is the second half of the Frozen Toy Box Pack and in my opinion the most striking Disney Infinity figure released to date. As the film’s villain she has a signature evil “attack” pose and a slit in her light blue dress that makes her look more dynamic and three-dimensional. Anna is decent, but Elsa is sure to incite brawls between siblings for her ownership.
Here is what Elsa says when you load her into the game:
“Want to join me for some more fun?”
As an ice princess, Elsa’s main attack is to throw a snowball at those that dare oppose or threaten her. Her secondary attack is more fun as it freezes her opponents for a short time.
‘Elsa’s Snowy Slingshot’ Adventure breaks away from the run around and collect things mold. Will you still have to collect things, but here collection is achieved by using slingshots controlled by the left (to fire) and right (to aim) analog sticks to pop yellow and red balls. Achieving gold in this exercise may sound like a cake walk, but there’s a timer counting down and the red balls, worth three times the point as the yellow ones, are harder to reach, don’t always sit still, and last only a few seconds each before disappearing.
The Frozen Toy Box Pack also comes with a pair of movie-themed Power Discs that are considered part of Power Discs Series 2, which not ironically arrives in stores the exact same day.
Pre-order or buy the Frozen Toy Box Pack with free shipping at Amazon.com.
Videos for each of these wave 3 Disney Infinity figures will be added if/when Disney Interactive creates and shares them.
