Review of Ethan and Mackenzie Crawford

Introduction

These two delightful action figures were actually released early by the manufacturer about four weeks ago, but we just brought them home this week. They come as a two pack, each with a number of unique action features and accessories.

Mackenzie is a girl, about 4 lbs, 7 oz although due to the unique growth action feature, she's changing every day. Likewise, Ethan is at 4 lbs, 12 oz today, more tomorrow!

2016 Edit: Wow, it's been 15 years. Hard to believe how time flies, and what wonderful people these two bundles of joy have turned into. It's been my greatest joy to be their father! When this parody review was originally written, I didn't have all the same categories I have today, and I was tempted to add a couple that have great comedic potential, like Things to Watch Out For and Fun Factor. But as tempting as it was, I decided to leave this as a reminder of exactly what it felt like then, bringing these two home for the first time. I did make one addition though - I added a photo at the end of the two of them together, 15 years later.

Packaging - ****
The package these two came in is quite the treat. Beautiful, brilliant, and with an amazing pain threshold. She also puts up with a tremendous amount of my silliness, which is always a plus.  

Action figures like these must be removed from the package though - no other way to truly appreciate them - but keeping the package with you for the rest of your life is part of the beauty of the overall product.

Sculpting - ****
The sculptor did an absolutely fantastic job on these two.  Resemblance to the source material is excellent, although the sculptor was wise enough to take the best parts from each.  Details on the ears, toes and fingers is simply amazing!  If MAC and McFarlane could get this sculptor on their team, they'd be in heaven.  Literally.

Articulation - ****
Looking for fully articulated figures?  Then these are for you!  More points of articulation than you can count, these babies can do just about any position.  The joints are a little loose at this point, and holding a pose can be tough for them, but that growth action feature comes into play once again, and before you know it these two will be striking more poses than a Madonna wannabe on a Saturday night.

Accessories - ****
Technically speaking, these figures don't come with any accessories.  But fear not, for your friends and family will shower you with all kinds of unique and interesting accessories when they learn of your impending 'purchase'.  You'll get tons of cool outfits, baby toys, baby monitors, outfits, cribs, playpens, and quite a few more outfits.  Unfortunately, owning these figures requires purchasing plenty of additional accessories over the course of time, but it's well worth it.

Action Features - ****
These two come with a number of action features, some more attractive than others.  Easily number one on the list is their amazing growth action - they expand in size daily! This feature will continue to work for at least 16 years, quite a feat!

Less appealing but nonetheless important are those features revolving around the, uh, er, disposal of body waste.  Both of these little ones are clearly skilled in the arts of pooping and peeing - easily 8th degree black belts, Grand Poop Masters if you will.

Outfit - ****
These figures come to you in their birthday suits.  Okay, so technically there are some 'accessories' that come along with them, but they aren't anything you'll be taking home.  Ewww.  And while the outfits that your family and friends provide will be spiff, there's nothing that will quite compare to the skin on these little buggers.  Soft and smooth, with a wonderful scent that perfume manufacturers could never quite capture (most likely due to the odd mixture of, uh, aromas), the skin of these rugrats will last them a lifetime, and provide them with the best outfit they could ever have.

Overall - ****+
I'm so impressed by this two pack that I've given them my highest rating, ****, with an extra plus in there.  I can't recommend enough getting one, two or more of these for yourself (although if you plan on going for the multi-pack, be forewarned that the effort is, shall we say, increased).  I'm certainly glad we did!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ****
Action Features - ****
Outfit - ****
Overall - ****+