'Seinfeld' goes Pop! First look at Funko's latest toy line — including virtual 3D Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine figures
It's a Funko Festivus... for the rest of us. The premiere company for pop culture collectibles is launching a new line of Seinfeld products based on Jerry Seinfeld's beloved TV comedy. Available on June 1, Funko's Seinfeld program encompasses its world-famous vinyl Pop! figures, as well as T-shirts, backpacks, wallets, glassware and the new Funko Games party-starter, The Party Game About Nothing. Yahoo Entertainment has your exclusive first look at the entire line — no yada yada yada-ing here — and we'll even let you take home virtual versions of Pops based on the show's core four characters: Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer. (Click on the image below on desktop or mobile and put the characters anywhere in your home using Yahoo's augmented reality.)
"At Funko, we know everyone is a fan of everything," Funko sculpting director Darcy Harlan tells Yahoo Entertainment. "We try to treat every series with the amount of care and love that it deserves for the fans, and it just happened to blend beautifully with our teams' love for Seinfeld as well." You can see that love with this figure of Jerry sporting his vintage puffy shirt, which is just one example of how carefully Funko is honoring one of television's most popular, and enduring, comedies.
Harlan made sure that her team took extra care with the Kramer figure, since Michael Richards's door-bursting neighbor is one of her all-time favorite TV characters. "Trying to get the right volume and height of his hair was very important," she notes. "Especially while translating it to the Funko Pop! style."
When in doubt, the sculpting team would go back to the source to make sure they had the details exactly right. "It was great fun to re-watch episodes for reference," she says, adding that even "little moments" proved to be a big help. "Seeing Elaine dancing in her red dress brought us joy."
As you play with these figures in your virtual space, be aware that making a real-world Pop! is an intensive nine-month process. And that process begins with the team digitally sculpting each figure in ZBrush, which provided the basis for our AR simulation. Harlan says that digital process takes three days, followed by the months-long physical build. Fortunately, that gave her plenty of time to make Seinfeld fans out of teammates who had never seen the series in its original run or on its various streaming homes. (Seinfeld is currently streaming on Hulu, but will move to Netflix later this year.) "Even those who were not familiar with the show had the opportunity to learn and see what made their teammates so excited to be working on this project."
These four figures are just the tip of the muffin top when it comes to Funko's full assortment of Pop! collectibles, which retail for $9.99 each. Harlan's team made multiple versions of Jerry and his pals, along with beloved supporting characters like Newman and, of course, soup shop owner, Yev Kassem.
If these 3.25-inch high figures are a little too large for your bookshelf, Funko has a series of Seinfeld Mini Moments ($7.99 each) that can be combined to form a panoramic diorama depicting Jerry's Upper West Side apartment.
And remember that this collection extends will beyond vinyl. Funko partnered with Loungefly on two sure-to-be-sought after exclusives: a Seinfeld wallet ($39.99) and a mini-faux backpack ($69.99).
Funko's other accessories include a gallery of T-shirts ($15.99 each), pins ($24.99 for a 4-pack), bags of various shapes, sizes and uses, from coin purses to backpacks ($7.99-$49.99).
And if your thirst for Seinfeld merch isn't quenched yet, Funko also has a set of collectible glasses ($12.99) adorned with the faces of Jerry and George. They'll be your drinking buddies when you sit down to play Funko Games's The Party Game About Nothing ($19.99), which combines Trivial Pursuit-style feats of (mental) strength with charades and a last-minute fishing competition for that elusive marble rye.
Leave it to Funko to turn a show about nothing into a whole lot of something.
Funko's Seinfeld line is available on June 1. See the complete line of Pop! figures below:
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