Orko vintage figure review thread

[Spacedust]

Time for another of the weekly vintage review threads, and let's this time turn our thoughts to what some may consider to be a key character in MOTU lore, even though he wasn't around until Filmation created him. It is of course that magical court jester, ORKO.

The toy-line had been running already for several years, but (as mentioned above) it wasn't until the Filmation cartoon series came along in 1983 that the producers wanted a character to use as comic relief, and thus Orko the floating court jester was created.

Originally, the character was to have been called 'Gorpo' (as found in the first UK annual), but the character was renamed Orko, allowing for the symmetrical 'O' logo on his chest which could be used on flipped animation cells (often used to cut animation costs) without appearing back-to-front.

Orko was one of the central characters of the Filmation series, appearing in the vast majority of episodes, and indeed often used for comic relief. He was often paired with Cringer for this purpose, and often upset grouchy old Man-At-Arms with his failed magic tricks.
As a result of such messed up tricks, there were a few (some may say too many) episodes where Orko felt unloved and ran away, or wanted to return home to Trolla, his home planet.

He was also one of only three characters that new of He-Man's alterego. Although no origin was ever given in the Filmation version, one can only assume that Orko found out by accident, as he could be a bit of a blabber mouth at times!

Whether it was good or bad, many young collectors, bought the Orko figure simply because they loved the little Trollan in the cartoon series.
I was one such purchaser, and saved up my pocket money and waited until the next trip into town to buy everyone's favourite court magician.
I was also encouraged by my Mom, who saw MOTU as being a bit violent, but liked Orko in that he was harmless and so she encouraged me to get him.

The figure, when compared to the Filmation version, was quite badly out of scale, appearing way too big. Various collectors have commented over the years that they would have liked to have seen a dedicated Cringer toy (separate to Battle Cat) and an included Orko more to the right scale. (This would have been particularly apt as Cringer and Orko were often paired together in the cartoon).

The toy had an action feature of a cord that could be threaded through him, and when pulled would send him spinning across flat surfaces. Manys a time did I get told off as a kid for using him on the best wooden table (well it was the surface he worked best on!!)

The toy, to make up for being a bit smaller than average and for having no accessories, instead had a free magic trick, that involved a stack of plastic yellow coins, each with a picture of an MOTU character on.

In the cartoon series, Orko also had a sweetheart from his home world of Trolla, Dree-Elle. Although no Dree-Elle toy was ever made, it has been a common custom-created character by collectors for many years.

There was no Orko in the 1987 movie. At the time, CGI effects were not overly advanced, and very expensive, so the character of Gwildor was created instead. Even watching the movie as a kid, I knew Gwildor was a direct replacement for Orko.

Orko returned duly in the 200x revamped figure line and accompanying Mike Young Productions cartoon series.
The new figure was again way out of scale. The 'O' emblem on the chest was now part of a magical talisman, and the figure had a wand to carry around. Other than that, and being made a little longer in the body, it was reasonably faithful to the vintage version. (It did, however, have a base to it that, some may say, made it look as if Orko was peeing himself!)
There was also a later Smash & Grab variant, one of the few 200x figures that I don't currently own.

In the cartoon, Orko was again quite faithful to his old self, still with squeaky voice, although his role was reduced somewhat, as the MYP series did away with some of the more childish elements of the original.

These days, I have vintage Orko sat next to 200x Orko on top of one of my computer speakers.

All-in-all, Orko is a key MOTU character. But in terms of a figure, he is so-so. I'll give him 6 out of 10 (well hey, he was still better than Gwildor).

So there are my ramblings on Orko (phew, I didn't realise I'd witten so much!!). Now I'd like to hear your own thoughts, comments, memories, and anything else to do with the character.
And whether you post or not, don't forget to rate the vintage figure in the poll!

[pH6]

In all things MotU or PoP, there's one sound. One sound that's more annoying than a roomful of Loo-Kees. And that's the voice of Orko on the Finnish audio plays. You foreigners are very lucky not having to hear it (they're actually available on-line, but since they're Finnish and copyrighted material for a very long time still according to Finnish copyright laws so I won't put up a link).

The figure...well, it's a so-so. There's a feature. And it's done ok. But the scale. And one thing that's always been good with MotU -figures are their accessories. Orko practically hasn't got any. He has the coin trick, but you can't put any of those in his hands.

Cartoon Orko was one of the strongest forces in the universe. Creatures from the Tar Swamp is my favourite episode ever. And Roboto scanning what Orko's made of...classic.

New Orko...well, the figures aren't that great. But the trap-and-smasher accessory is pretty cool. Never would've thought they'd give Orko of all possible characters such a killer weapon. Huge spiked mechanical mace does not fit the character. In cartoon, Orko again some classic scenes. Defending Castle Grayskull against Skeletor in Lessons.

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

Orko gets 8 out of 10 from me - but, if I'm brutully honest, that's got more to do with the significance of the character (who, BTW, I really love in the Filmation cartoon and absolutely hate in the MYP cartoon! ) than a reflection on the figure itself!

Take care...

[Captain Atkin]

Ah Orko..... I don't know what mattel was thinking when they didn't give him tiny wheels under his body. Yeah, he would move around in circles thanks to that little metal pin, but man if that thing wouldn't scratch up surface. I'm sure that ticked off a lot of mothers!

Never the less, I love the Orko toy. It was a "must have" when I was a kid. Although he was bigger than in the cartoon, he looked right. Cute and goofy.

[braxsis364]

I hated orko never used him in play I hate anything goofy Ill give a 3.

[Dedd Vinyl]

Such a miss. Loved the toon version, figure was more or less a mcdonalds happy meal toy.....no way worth a fiver (that was like a months allowance for me)!

[motu77]

I gave him a 10. Orko was always one of my favorites characters and while the toy wasn't greta it was still Orko.

[danbrenus]

Orko is the lamest @§§ in the action-figures universe! No matter how the could improve him, he's a damn fliyn' bag of bugs, Care-Bears/Little Pony character put here to "allow kids to identifies them in the show"...AAAAARGHHH!

[Man-E-Toys]

10/10 for me. one of my favorite figures/characters when i was a kid and that remains the same today. i always thought it was a very eye catching figure.

[KidRandor]

I have always loved Orko in the toon and the figure. As a kid I never really understood the coin trick but the rip cord idea was awesome. One of my favorite figures today is my "France" Orko

[Evil_Horde]

It's one of my favourite characters, and i love the juggle for hand! I vote 9!

[kylun flac]

he was not one of the best toys. he is defiantly a must to own because he is a key character. if I never seen the cartoon Orko I might have passed him up. Orko is not exactly an action character other than being a magician. I have him a 5 out of 10 score.