I like the body on the new one. I do. They didn't cheap out. Awesome. Not exactly on-model with the old guy, but close enough that it doesn't feel drastically different. These are positive things. It isn't trying to be the original figure, which I kinda dig. If it had been completely on-model, didn't have an animated projection face and only his cane hand wobbled, would it have been as well received? Surely, by me it would have, but I'm not sure about everyone else. This one is extra gimmicky: he interacts with the guests; his eyes follow you, he moves and he even laughs.
It wasn't that D23 monstrosity which a lot of people also seemed to dig on, curiously. Thank Christ for that.
I don't like the laugh, but it's not the most offensive thing they could have done. Who knows, it might end up growing on me. Even the Rene Zellweger bride with her endless silly puns is a guilty pleasure for me at this point and I'd like to see her butt replaced with a silent corpse-faced broad with a candle.
I like how he's revealed. Basically, I was seated in the center of my Doom Buggy (I usually slide around depending on the scene) and as you approach Rene Zellweger, the Doom Buggy in front of you blocks your view of Hatbox 2.0. As it swings around, there is a really neat reveal. They placed him well and reprogrammed the orientation of the Doom Buggies perfectly. Excellent.
His animated face...when you get down to it, is this really what ruins it for me? I guess it looks kinda good at points, but the googly eyes just throw it off and it is decidedly different than the rest of Haunted's residents, just like the Rene Zellweger bride. The original was different too because he was far creepier, but in this case, the technology creates a disconnect from the rest of the experience. The brides and this new Hatbox 2.0 are the only characters to be added to the classic Mansion since its early days, and you can tell. They are clearly a departure from the rest of the 1960s greatness abound in these hallowed halls. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I am saying I'm not sold on the animated face.
