Toy Review: Ewoks Paploo and Nho'Apakk (Star Wars)

Yub nub! Ee chop, yub nub! Admit it, you love that song. And in a cinematic travesty, Yub Nub was replaced in the Special Editions with a more tribal-sounding instrumental diddy. It probably makes more sense that Ewoks would play those instruments rather than somehow contort their normally chirpy voices into an operatic-sounding song, but hey... I'm nostalgic about Yub Nub, and nobody ever said that nostalgia makes sense.

I also love the Ewoks (again, nostalgia doesn't need to make sense). As for these particular Ewoks? Of course I dig Paploo. He was one of the few "hero" Ewoks that actually performed actions important to the plot. Remember, Paploo's the dude who stole the speeder bike. But the other guy, Nho'Apakk? I swear I've seen him before but in a cursory scan of ROTJ, I didn't see any evidence of him. So do these figures make me want to say Ee chee wa maa?

By the way, the two Ewoks in the illustration on the card are in no way either Nho'Apakk or Paploo. The art is actually reused from the Romba and Graak card. It's somewhat ironic, considering Kenner also screwed up Paploo's photo back in the day.

Stats
Company: Hasbro
Size: roughly 3"
Price: $7.50 at Walmart
Packaging: Carded

Looks: Nho'Apakk Paploo
I really like Nho'Apakk's sculpt. The face conveys an interesting personality; I can imagine him being a grizzled Ewok war veteran. He has a bit of a light blue/gray wash to highlight the fur, and the folds of his hood create an interesting texture. Paploo also has good fur detailing and paint wash, but his head sculpt seems a bit off. His face looks too long, probably due to the cut of the hood. And the paint apps on his hood seem less precise, especially on the red feather. Despite this, he's definitely the best Paploo so far.

The size of both figures is proportional to other Star Wars figures, but a bit on the small side for me. I prefer my Ewoks with more plastic in them.

It's also important to note that the body sculpt for both Nho'Apakk and Paploo have been used before on other Ewoks. I don't have any of those Ewoks, so the sculpts are new to me. But you might balk if you have the other versions and hate reuse as much as I do.

Articulation:
Ewoks traditionally aren't the most "articulate" of figures, but these two have 10 points of articulation each: ball-socket neck, ball-hinge shoulders, swivel wrists, swivel waist, swivel hips, and ball-hinge ankles. The cut of the fur restricts the ankle movement, so I wonder why the ankles are articulated at all. And the neck movement is limited by the hood (which can be removed). But everything else works well and gives both figures a good range of movement.

Accessories: Both
Both Ewoks come with a spear and a hood. I love Nho'Apakk's three-pronged spear in particular. And Paploo's spear has an interesting bonus: a band on the tip for what appears to be a slingshot. I question the accuracy of the slingshot as Paploo's spear doesn't seem to have this feature in the movie, but since it's a cool detail, I'll let it slide. They also come with an arm that you can use to build YVH-1, an Expanded Universe droid that looks way too much like Terminator. Build-A-Droid parts are totally useless to me considering I never buy the whole wave, but it's cool if you're into that sort of thing.

Value: Both
This set cost $7.50 at Wal-Mart, which is pretty standard for Star Wars figures. Maybe Hasbro has finally broken me down over the years, but that price tag doesn't hit me quite as hard as it used to. The figures are small, but they pack in a lot of sculpting details. Still, some larger accessories would make the price more palatable.

Coolness: Both
I always thought Ewoks were cool. I still remember trying to see through the black dots that covered Chief Chirpa and Logray on the backs of the first few ROTJ Kenner figures to try to get a glimpse of the figures. And this set is especially cool because we get not only Paploo (who has desperately needed a decent figure for years) but also an Ewok who we've never seen in plastic before.

Overall: Nho'Apakk Paploo
For years, the Ewoks have gotten the shaft because of vocal fan backlash, but it seems like Hasbro finally realized that there are many of us who love the little furballs. Paploo's head sculpt is a bit off, and those who already have a lot of Ewoks might tire of the reuse of parts, but Nho'Apakk and Paploo are nifty little figures that will make Ewok fans happy.

Cutesy sidekicks, unite!