Background
In Disney's The Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp gives a standout performance as the peculiar Native American, Tonto. Despite their initial differences, Tonto has partnered with his 'Kemo Sabe', the Lone Ranger, and together they ride on an adventure to bring justice to the Old West.
Released theatrically in the United States on July 3rd 2013, The Lone Ranger was the big budget film the character had been waiting for since its inception in 1933. Teamed up with a number of collectibles for young and old alike, Hot Toys took a stab at producing a high-end 1/6th scale figure based on The Lone Ranger’s somewhat trusted pal Tonto.
Sideshow Collectibles has provided us with the Tonto figure for review purposes.
The Facts
Tonto
Series: The Lone Ranger
Manufacturer: Hot Toys
Authorized Likeness: Johnny Depp
Material: Sixth scale articulated plastic figure with fabric hair
Dimensions: 12” tall
Points of Articulation: TrueType body with over 30 points of articulation
Outfit: Crow and bandana; Black and bronze-colored tribal necklace; Brown and white tribal armband; White and bronze-colored bracelet; Bronze-colored bracelet; Faux-leather black belt; Multi-colored belt; Orange-colored belt; Brown pants with pouch and tribal decorations; Pair of brown moccasins
Accessories: Pair of fists; Pair of relaxed hands; Pair of hands for holding weapons; Left open hand for holding watch; Dagger with sheath; Two axes; Pistol; Two pocket watches; Figure stand with Tonto nameplate and The Lone Ranger logo
Pricing: $204.99
Packaging
The Tonto box features on outer slip-on sleeve with a black and white image of Johnny Depp as Tonto. That’s on the front. On the back, there’s a black and white illustration of a crow and train – both important to the film – as well as your legal mumbo jumbo.
Inside that, it’s a very basic box with a plastic window front. The rear features all of the artists that helped put the figure together. And the very inside features interlocking plastic trays that keep everything in place.
Our Opinion
With summer blockbuster expectation, The Lone Ranger was unceremoniously panned by critics. I should qualify that by saying “American critics”. The film actually performed better overseas, receiving mixed to positive reviews. While in the US, it was mostly negative.
I saw the movie and disagree with the majority of critics. If you go in expecting The Godfather, you’ll be sorely disappointed. But, if you want some good action sequences (especially crazy exploding train stuff) with a solid, albeit unspectacular, plot…you could do a lot worse.
I think the one area the film failed was deciding whether the film was for kids or adults. There are several scenes that might be a little too disturbing for kids, so I’d say the PG-13 rating is warranted. Yet, with the Disney name and toy tie-ins, it seemed to be marketed to little kids.
Hot Toys’ 1/6th scale Tonto collectible figure obviously isn’t targeted towards the youngster crowd. It’s likely out of their price range, and they’d probably break something off within ten minutes of touching it. This is the only high-end 1/6th scale collectible Hot Toys has announced/released from the license. I’m assuming that means this is likely all fans of The Lone Ranger will get.
The company has produced other figures based on the likeness of Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow being stuck in my head). And it’s a good fit, as they’ve done another excellent job getting his look perfect. I wasn’t sure how the face paint would work, since it has a flaky, almost dried-mud look to it in the film. So I was happy they were able to replicate it so well.
As far as the outfit, everything looks screen accurate. There are a lot of tiny, intricate little pieces – beads, feathers, etc. – so be sure to take a little extra care. You’ll also notice paint work on most of the body, since Tonto had ashes or berries or something smeared all over his arms.
The only place the figure lacks might be the accessory department. For just over $200.00, you expect a figure with a bunch of accessories. So either more accessories or a price tag around $175.00 would suffice. I would probably go with the axes for displaying Tonto. It’s a strange choice to have a gun included, since he doesn’t have a holster and there’s no real “gun hand” for him to use.
Overall, I think fans of the film will be happy that they received at least one high-end piece based on the license. I’m sure many would have liked to pick up the title character, but I’m guessing Armie Hammer doesn’t have the same selling power as Johnny Depp.
You can purchase this figure at the following:
Sideshow Collectibles: $204.99
