By Rob Bricken in
Daily Lists, Merchandise
Wednesday, Feb. 18 2009 @ 5:01AM
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Beloved by cavity-riddled children and obsessive collectors worldwide, PEZ is the success story of an Austrian candy company that blended candy bricks with wobble-headed toys. The result has been a personal sugar delivery system that's fun for all ages. Topped with the heads of original and licensed characters alike, the spring-loaded dispensers have sported hundreds of looks since their 1950's debut. Topless Robot takes a look at eleven of PEZ's munchie machinations deserving of much nerd love.
11) Shenlong
When it comes time to "rock the dragon," nobody does it like Dragonball's resident wish-granter. He may not have the pizazz of some other giant lizards (like the fat one from Namek or the Black Star dragon from DBGT), but his popularity with yellow-haired dudes who yell a lot is through the roof. Just be careful with this PEZ dispenser -- waiting too long to eat its seven pieces of PEZ will result in them turning to stone and scattering across the Earth.
10) Frankenstein
Truly Frankenstein is a pitiable creature. As the only PEZ dispenser to sport a hemorrhaging head wound, he is no doubt hated and feared by his far more adorable brethren. The good news is that it's easy for people to mistake the likeness for a poorly sculpted version of Halloween's Michael Myers. People love that guy.
9) Yoshi
The entire Nintendo PEZ line is something to behold, but only one stays true to character in dispenser form. Yoshi, just like his 16-bit counterpart, projectile vomits and "hatches" from an egg-like container. Also, as in established Mario-lore, dinophiles have more than one Yoshi option to choose from. There's a standard-sized Yoshi stateside, as well as a gashapon mini Yoshi (pictured above) found in Japan. It's all the Yoshi a mustachioed Italian plumber could hope for.
8) Gargamel
For Smurfs fans, there's nothing better than merchandise showcasing the select few unique characters in the blue society. The most unique character among the Smurfs line is no doubt their feared conqueror Gargamel. With his clearly insane visage, the evil wizard stands out even among his fellow insane evil PEZ dispensers.
7) Thor
Unlike his super peers Spider-man, Captain America and Wolverine, Thor is one of a few Marvel Comics heroes lacking a modern PEZ redo. The Thunder God's curse is a collector's gift though; a Thor dispenser in decent condition can fetch several hundred dollars from those with the urge to own a mini master of mjolnir. Another fun fact -- unlike Spider-man and Cap, Thor was the only PEZ dispenser not based on the 8-inch Mego head sculpts of the day, instead he's a redeco of an existing PEZ head, topped with a Mego Thor helmet...or something.
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18 comments
Comments
Kevin said:
I recently tasted a PEZ (cherry) for the first time in years and was surprised by how good it was. Has the formula been improved?
8den said:
Why oh why has there never been a Bez Pez?
"He is chiefly remembered for his bizarre style of dancing, and use of the maracas - the Mondays' second single was called "Freaky Dancin'" in tribute. He is reputed to have a high tolerance for hallucinogenic drugs. When asked by a music journalist why he took so many drugs he replied simply, "because it's my job"."
A sweet dispenser, based upon a mangled drug addled pill popping lunatic? It would be 18 kinds of awesome.
Alan Moore said:
Go on.... Show me the Watchmen Pez Dispensers. I know they are coming. After the condom merchandising nothing could shock me now.... except possibly a Silk Spectre sex doll.... they wouldn't... they couldn't.... on second thought. *Picking up the Pez gun and putting it to my head* Goodbye cruel world!
THE PR0F3550R said:
What about the recent Star Trek PEZ set. If that doesn't say nerd I don't know what does.
http://www.dreamlife90pez.com/sttrpezgiset1.html
My buddy got me that for my birthday and I proudly display it on my desk. It is awesome! It includes all the original crew plus one for the NCC-1701 Enterprise.
Guffin Mopes said:
I desperately want a frankenstein pez.
Desperately.
turnidoff said:
chad said:
cool list. the Thor one can see why its so pricey the head is ugly can not believe marvel gave the okay to it. as for number 2 wonder how much it sold due to no candy. as for the pez gun. wonder if the person who gave the okay spiked his pez with something to come up with the idea. as for Watchman pez the is still time for them to happend.
poptart13 said:
wow. this is a nice checklist of pez dispensers that i'd like to own (esp the mp3 player). i have asterix already, purchased on a trip to montreal many moons ago (back in high school, when i took french, of course). great list.
Wade said:
Er, Frankenstein's monster. Tho a Dr. Frankenstein Pez would be cool, too.
ThatCostumeGirl said:
Pez rocks. We have the Dragonball mini set. And the Star Trek one the PR0F3550R mentioned. We have a lot of Pez. We don't just collect them, we use them.
In the U.S. the candy is: lemon, grape, orange, cherry, cola, raspberry, chocolate, sour green apple, sour blue-raspberry, sour pineapple, and sour watermelon.
I need to find the Frankenstein Pez dispenser.
turnidoff said:
Tom said:
Frankenstein's Monster, The Monster, just not Frankenstein! Pretty nerdy gripe but this is the 11 most awesomely Nerdy pez dispensers so I think I'm okay with this. Anyways, its Frankenstein's Monster. I wouldn't normally be so picky about it but you're helping a common misconception continue to be a common misconception. Lets break the habbit and give the monster its due!
mikes said:
Heed Tom! And for those of you who want one, plan on shelling out 300 simollions, according to the Warnan's Pez field guide. I'd love to have Tintin, but even better would be hhis friend Captain Haddock. He's a hilarious raginng drunk. This list needs a sequel or two- I would have love to see more of the anime dispensers. You TR guys have the most predictable in taste those franchises but the way. DBZ, Gundam, One Piece? Bleah. And by the way, where's Palpatine?
kokubetsu said:
But yet as near as I can tell there has never been a Godzilla Pez dispenser. Two of mankinds greatest creations have never been combined. Seems ridiculous when you think about it.
If I'm wrong someone please correct me.
elDuendeVerde said:
Now that stupid song is stuck in my head for the rest of the night. Thanks...
Teagan Blackthorne said:
I can't wait to share this list with my 5 year old. He started collecting PEZ dispensers after we rented some really odd PEZ cartoon from the library. His collection isn't that big yet but at 99 cents each it is growing pretty quickly. My 3 year old has now started a collection as well. She loves all the Hello Kitty ones.
As far as geeky goes, there are special collector edition Elivs Presley ones. My son does have Boba Fett and the Deathstar.
Ramone said:
That damn PEZ ray gun goes for a bajillion dollars on ebay. I know, I've lost it in about a bajillion ebay auctions.
lkmjr said:
Awesome list!! I love, love, love PEZ. I've been collecting them for years. It was fun picking out the ones I own from the video. I even have the Marvin the Martian battery-powered dispenser and the Elvis and Hello Kitty limited edition collector's tin box sets, both unopened.
