Saturday, September 26, 2009

Review: Mulan & Father (Fa Zhou) & Grandma Fa


Things have gotten so hectic as summer came to a close with Amanda returning to school and a lot of demands at work, taking the opportunity to review some blog entries I was working on at summer's end plus what updates to the Secondary Guide of the website I've still yet to do.

One of the entries was my review on two (2) releases from Disney's Mulan that I added to my collection. It's rather funny, I wouldn't rank Mulan as a film favorite but love the sculpts the WDCC has chosen to do from this film. Up until now, the only release film I had was Matchmaker Mulan ("Perfectly Poised") and the Opening Title.

I first added Mulan and her Father, Fa Zhou ("When it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all."), a Numbered Limited (NLE) of 500 sculpted by Kent Melton, released in December, 2008. As a father, this sculpture struck a chord with me (as did Ariel & Triton), mirroring much the relationship between my daughter, Amanda and myself.

Photos don't do this one justice. Kent did an amazing job capturing that moment between Mulan and her Father. The cherry blossoms are beautifully done and what you don't see in the photos is how they almost create an umbrella over Mulan and her Father.

The second sculpture purchased was Grandma Fa and Cri-Kee ("I've Got All the Luck We Need!"), a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 500 sculpted by Patrick Romandy-Simmons, released in May, 2009.

This sculpt just makes me smile. There are things about the sculpture (and character) that remind me a lot of my late Grandmother. This sculpture makes a great companion piece to Matchmaker Mulan (pictured with Grandma Fa).

Matchmake Mulan, an Open Edition release was sculpted by Margi Wray. The sentimental factor and how I could relate from a personal level are reasons I wanted to have both these sculptures as part of my collection.

3 comments:

Yoda said...

Don--Totally agree! Mulan and Father has great sculpting, great scale, and nuances only an amazingly talented sculptor could achieve. Bravo to Kent and WDCC for producing a key moment that really works.

Gregory said...

Don't own any Mulan pieces but enjoy the movie. This piece has always been on my long term wish list. It really is a beautiful piece. I love the Cherry Blossom tree. If only I had unlimited funds! :-)

Koen said...

I've got all the Mulan Pieces accept the bronze one. I love them all, but the piece with the father and the piece of the grandmother are still my favourites.