Marx Disneykins from Mexico & Coca-Cola Premiums

Louis Marx was the company behind the popular 1960s Disneykins plastic figures (learn all about them in an earlier Archive entry). Those released in the US were hand-painted. However, the same molds were used for unpainted figures issued in Mexico.

A collection of 18 different Disneykins could be had by redeeming specially marked Coca-Cola bottle caps at Sears stores or through Walt Disney comic books. The premium also included little paperboard pictures of the Disney characters. Kids could use these as color guides to assist in the painting of their Disneykin figures.

Blanca Nieves

Dopey

A couple of others in the series.

An advertisement for the Coca-Cola premiums.

Marx Rolykins Figures

In the 1960s, Marx & Company produced a multitude of plastic figures called Disneykins (see earlier post). Always looking for ways of reinventing their toys, they also came up with a series of rolling figures called Rolykins. Only a handful of Disney characters were made, Dopey being one of them.

Each plastic figure measures around 1.25" tall and contains a metal ball bearing on the bottom which enables them to roll. They are hand-painted, although not always with much artistic flare.

Original boxes.

A "Stunt Speedway" track was sold separately in which the figures could do "loop the loop" action. 

More Marx packaging.

1970s Snow White 6" Figures by Marx

Following the Disneykins and Disneykings run of the 1960s, Louis Marx & Company created a series of larger unpainted figures. Made of a molded plastic, they were produced in many different bright colors, depending on the character. Snow White and Dopey were blue. The collection also included Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan, Mickey and several others. Most stood around 6" high; Dopey is almost 5".

This Snow and Dopey date from 1971...

Imprints on the bottom read "©Walt Disney Prod" and "Louis Marx & Co LLC © MCMLXXI Made in USA".

This Dopey appears to be marked "MCMLXXII" (1972).

Fun Pals by Marx

The evolution of Disney figures by Marx is an interesting story. From the unpainted Walt Disney's Television Playhouse characters of the 1950s to the Disneykins and Disneykings of the 1960s, the toy manufacturer continued to come up with new ways to sell basically the same molds for decades. In the early 1970s, they produced Disney Fun Pals.

Fun Pals were similar to the larger Disneykings, but were made of soft plastic. Hand-painted. Hakes has sold several 5-piece blister packs in recent years. Here's three. Snow White is found in the first set, Dopey in the next. Packages measure 5.5" x 9" x 1.5". The figures stand between 1.5" and 2.5".

Images via Hakes.

Disneykin Comic Book Ads

By the early 1970s, the demand for Disneykin figures by Marx was on the wane. The company ceased production of the line in 1973. Yet, that doesn't mean there weren't warehouses of these guys still waiting to be sold.

"Disneykin play characters are here!" This advertisement ran in comic books in 1972. Two separate 16-piece sets were being offered for $2.98 each. Or if you bought all 32 for $5.98, they'd throw in two free bonus figures. Snow White and all of the dwarfs are pictured in Set B. Postage and handling was just 25¢/order. There's no mention of Marx. Instead, these sets were being offered by Gandalf Products Co. of NYC, a novelty warehouse retailer.

An ad from a 1974 comic book. Note the figures are now pictured in illustrations rather than actual photos. Plus the shipping charge rose to 50¢.

Another from 1974, found in Tarzan #229, DC Comics. The warehouse seller is now listed as Saddle Valley Sales, Inc of NJ.

Disneykin Mock Snow White Figures by Marx

Not all of the Disneykin figures originally envisioned by toy manufacturer Louis Marx & Company came to fruition. They were planning a full Snow White series in the early 1960s, similar to the 1962 Pinocchio series. In addition to Snow and the dwarfs (which were part of the original Disneykin release), other characters from the film would have been added.

Some prototype boxed figures were created, mostly for toy fairs to weigh dealer interest. Yet, the new figure sets were never produced. The mock-ups are usually hand-painted, utilizing stock boxes (like the Play Sets and TV Scenes).

One prototype features a hand-painted cardboard “flat” of the Witch. She is accompanied by the dwarfs and some props.

Another with a paperboard Prince has been seen in a TV Scenes box along with a Disneykin Sleepy. Some of these prototype sets emerged from West Germany in the 1990s and still appear on eBay occasionally.

Special thanks to Abby Weissman of the Flubber Gallery for providing the Play Set image and information. Learn lots more at his disneykins site.

Disneykin Snow White Game from Royal Gelatin

In the previous post, we saw the 1967 Royal Gelatin Disneykins offer with the purchase of their product. As part of this promotion, they created a Snow White "board" game that was quite large and colorful, measuring  14.125" x 26". Printed on heavy uncoated paper. Reverse side is blank. The game was a free give-away premium with the purchase of a six-pack of Royal Gelatin.

Players roll a die and move their Disneykin character along the board. The bottom panel included perforated Snow White paper cutouts in case you didn't own any Disneykins.

Paper cutouts.

Rules.

Closeups of the game board.

Special thanks to Rick Payne of dadric's attic for the image scans and info.

The game along with a Royal Gelatin display appeared on page 2 of the Snow White Merchandising Supplement to the 1967 US Pressbook.

Disneykins Royal Gelatin Promotion

A Royal Gelatin advertisement from 1967. It would have run in the Sunday comics section of the newspaper, coast-to-coast in the US. For only 25¢ plus one Royal package back, you'd receive three Disneykin figures. A different group of three were offered with every flavor, 26 Disneykins in all. Snow White and the dwarfs are not pictured in this ad, but they were still part of the promotional campaign.

You could get a set of eight Snow White figures with this chocolate flavor pudding box. Only 50¢ plus two Royal instant pudding package backs.

Snow and the Dwarfs are illustrated here in the poses of their Disneykin figures.

And here's a Vanilla Flavor box from Hakes.

As part of this promotion, Royal Gelatin issued a give-away Snow White Disneykins game. See it in the next Archive entry.

Special thanks to Dan Goodsell for supplying the newspaper ad and chocolate box images, plus additional info for this post. Visit his Tick Tock Toys Archive and see vintage ads on his flickr photostream.