Phunnies are Wizkid’s range of collectable plush toys, produced alongside ‘art toy’ company Kidrobot. The range includes 8-inch tall adorable versions of Dungeons & Dragons monsters and heroes from Magic the Gathering. The latest range of fantasy characters to be turned into petite fluffy mascots are Critical Role’s Bell’s Hells; well, three of them at least.
The first three are the gutter-punk Ashton Greymoore, the fey and fickle Fearne Calloway and everyone’s favourite robot-like buddy, Fresh Cut Grass. This trio presents an interesting challenge; Bell’s Hells are an adventuring party, and as such, their ‘look’ is one that changes over time. Wizkids have based the toys on the earlier episodes, so the core design focuses on super cuteness over on-screen accuracy.
The most toyetic of the three is, of course, Fresh Cut Grass. On the show, this chirpy little chap has always given the most ‘highly marketable’ vibes. It’s a bright yellow toy, and his eyes are blue, with one slightly larger than the other, making him look a little bit crazy and capturing the style of the character perfectly. FCG’s wire-hair top knot is made of soft felt strands and is fun to play with. His backpack is just a bulge of printed fabric on the back, which is a good choice as it’s one less thing to tear. The friendly little fellow doesn’t stand on its own at all; the character is meant to move about on a single wheel, and in plush form, this basically means it balances on a (well-decorated and stylish) cylinder of felt.
Ashton’s plush is slightly taller than Fresh Cut Grass but just as cute. It’s also the early design of the character, but it’s still iconic. Ashton is meant to be a man with green stone skin and various cracks in their skin filled with gold. Kidrobot has captured the essence of the character, amping up the cuter aspects of the design. Ashton’s purple crystal hair is made of a stiff textile, capturing the idea of Ashton whilst still being something you can cuddle. The toy’s jacket has the words ‘Just Don’t’ on the back, and that is the only writing on the toy. (There’s no profanity on this softer, more cuddly Ashton.) They also have the craziest, cutest grin.
Finally, we have Fearne Calloway, a faun and druid who canonically has lots of long green hair and horns and wears long flowing dresses. They’ve gone for a hyper-cute, doll-like approach with this piece. This captures the essential elements of this charming and charismatic character by just being a very sweet-looking toy.
Over all, this is a fun set of merchandise that will make for adorable gifts for the Critical Role fan in your life.