MIO Padded Snow White Figures from Italy

In a recent post, we saw the Plasteco padded figures from 1965-66. These vinyl collectibles caught the attention of Italian formaggino (cheese) producer Locatelli, who wanted to release their own versions to be used in give-away promotions. So in 1971, Plasteco was commissioned to create a Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck series. Then in 1972, the first of two Snow White series was issued (the second in 1980), both of which would coincide with the theatrical re-releases of the motion picture in Italy.

This first Snow White group included 16 characters, each sold separately inside Locatelli's "Formaggino MIO" cream cheese boxes. The cool thing about these boxes was that they were wrapped in clear cellophane, so you could see exactly which character you were getting. The figures range in size from about 5 to 9 cm. On the back is the character name and number, the MIO imprint, and the Walt Disney Productions copyright.

No. 1 Biancaneve.

In the 2014 illustrated guide book, I pupazzetti del formaggino MIO (ISBN: 978-8890792595), authors Marco M. Valtolina and Fabio Pozzolo cover the different MIO figures that were produced from 1971 until at least 1983.

The complete 1972 Biancaneve series is pictured on two pages.

No. 2 Biancaneve Addormentata.

No. 3 Principe + No. 4 La Regina Grimilde.

No. 5 La Regina Grimilde.

No. 6 Lo Scudiero + No. 7 La Strega.

No. 8 La Strega E La Mela Avvelenata (The Witch and the Poisoned Apple).

No. 9 I Nani Inseguono La Strega (The Dwarfs chase the Witch).

No. 10 Gongolo.

No. 11 Cucciolo + No. 12 Brontolo.

No. 13 Pisolo + No. 14 Eolo.

No. 15 Mammolo + No. 16 Dotto.

Additional images via olotrabb.

The figures could be taped or glued to a large forest background poster. This was initially given away free with comic books, then later inserted inside multiple packages of the MIO cream cheese.  

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In 1980, Locatelli released their second Snow White series, a 12-piece collection. These too were issued inside packages of Formaggino MIO. Also four separate mini-poster backgrounds were produced for this set.

No.1 Biancaneve.

No.2 Principe + No.3 Brontolo.

Special thanks to the Nunziante Valoroso Collection for providing the information and additional images for this post.