Review: Banjo-Kazooie Plush from Fangamer

Everyone’s favorite Bear and Breegull pairing are back — in plush form!

Admittedly, this isn’t the first time this bear has been stuffed with fluff, but it has been a while — since 1998, in fact, when the original game came out and companies like BD&A in North America and Takara in Japan. Okay, there is also the rare (no pun intended) Nuts & Bolts promotional plush, released to tie in with the 2008 game, though as one would expect, it doesn’t feature the original design. In any of these cases, though, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for the pleasure.

But now, thanks to Fangamer, you can get two complete plush toys of the duo for much less!

How much less? That depends on where you go. You can purchase the set from Fangamer themselves for just $36 USD. On the other hand, if you go to Best Buy’s website in the States (it’s not available on their Canadian website), you can nab it for $34.99 USD. It seems that many US stores also have a limited stock of them on hand as well, or you can order for pick-up.

The Guh-Huh Party Pack (via Best Buy’s website).

In addition to the lower price from Best Buy, it’s also worth noting that if you want the boxed version (seen above), you’ll have to go through Best Buy — something I discovered when mine arrived in a clear plastic bag with branding info printed all over it.

An interesting point of note is that the website says that Banjo and Kazooie stand at nine and six inches tall, respectively. However, when I measured mine, I was surprised to see that they seemed to come closer to 11 and 7.5 inches tall, respectively (not counting their hair)! (Kazooie’s feet kind of hang down, so I measured from the base of her heel to the top of her head.)

Quarter shown for scale. Thanks for the idea, Brand Eating! And don’t fret, Americans; Canadian quarters are the same size.

I should probably use the term “stand” loosely, however. While Banjo is certainly capable of standing on his own, he can only do so very delicately under his own power; a puff of air will literally knock him down, as I learned over the course of my photo session. This wouldn’t be a big deal, except he’s not particularly adept at sitting, either. While you can bend his legs at the hips so he takes more of a sitting position, it’s not one that the toy is readily able to assume, as it tries to return to a normal standing position. If display is what you’re looking to do, you’ll want to lean him against something, or perhaps even invest in a stand to keep him upright.

Designed by Versiris, Banjo is made up of a variety of materials. His body is a fuzzy, felt or felt-like material, with some longer “hair” atop his head. His shorts are made of a parachute-like nylon, and the backpack is made of a tougher, almost denim-like cloth. His removable shark tooth necklace features a felt tooth hung by a nylon cord. It’s at this point I should probably mention that I’m no expert in cloth/crafting materials, so I’m just taking my best guess here. Also worth noting is that mine did have a stray thread or two sticking out, but nothing too serious, as far as I can tell.

Speaking of the backpack, it’s non-removable, but bears (again, no pun intended) the Rare logo on the back, and can open up and close with the aid of a velcro latch. Perfect for putting away items you and Banjo will need for your many adventures ahead, although there may be a more fitting occupant…

“I said I wanted to be on Xbox! This is just a box!!”

While Kazooie isn’t much better at standing on her own than her big bear friend, she does have a bit more articulation thanks to the wire armature inside of her. Curiously, while the Fangamer website only notes posability in wings, you can also get a little more out of her at the hips. Her legs aren’t fully articulated, but there’s enough there to get a sitting pose more readily than Banjo offers.

As for the wings, the right one poses fairly well, though it feels like something might have gone wrong in the left, as it doesn’t feel like the wire has been extended quite as much, and feels like it might be a little bunched up in there (the right goes down to the long wingtip where the red fades to yellow, whereas the left one stops a bit before that, level with where the stitching for the feather stops). Still, as you’re not getting a full dynamic range of motion out of this regardless, the intended functionality doesn’t seem to be too hindered by this.

Kazooie is mostly felt, with a softer, fuzzier material used for her legs, and a different, less-fuzzy material for the rest of her body. Of the two, Banjo is definitely the squishier, whereas Kazooie is a bit more firm. Which is funny to consider, when you think about where she’s meant to end up:

“♫ Happy birthday, Mr. — wait, you’re not the President! And this isn’t a cake! Where am I?!”

Just like in the games, Kazooie can fit right inside Banjo’s backpack. It’s actually kind of impressive how much of her you can get in there, all things considering, and it’s enough to make you wonder if some of Gruntilda’s black magic is involved. Pull her back out, and her legs are just fine.

I’m not sure whether you can actually fit her all the way in and close the flap without the whole thing exploding, and to be honest, I’m not exactly inclined to try, and say to do so at your own peril.

Official Fangamer promotional image.

All things considered, this is a great way to get a little more Banjo and Kazooie into your home. They aren’t quite perfect, but shy of an amazing find of an older one at a swap meet or something, you’re not going to do better for the price. (The Takara and Nuts & Bolts versions go for hundreds now.)

If you’re a fan of Banjo-Kazooie, then this comes highly recommended.

Thanks for reading!

All photography featured herein is my own, except where noted otherwise.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.