PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: StJohn on August 03, 2025, 01:05:28
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(https://media.playmobil.com/i/playmobil/71169_product_detail)
I purchased this little set (released in 2023) today in a sale, and quite like its implicit narrative. The box does not bear a title, just the set number and this image, but the set obviously illustrates “The Frog Prince” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frog_Prince) from Grimm's Fairy Tales.
First, we get the frog. It is actually a bear costume (first seen in the Ski Lesson 9282 and since repeated with EverDreamerz' Mr. Cookie Bear) but, with eyes printed on the ears, it might just pass off as a frog. He holds the golden ball, which has been accidentally dropped into a well by a princess. She is inconsolable by her loss, but a frog living in the well offers to retrieve it in exchange for her friendship. The rose bush included here suggests that the well (which is not included) was located in a garden. This is different from the Grimm Brothers, who set the scene it in a forest.
(https://i.imgur.com/kY9U9R9.jpg)
What follows next is well known. The princess does not want to honor her promise of friendship but the frog persists, with the support of the king, who sees a chance to remind his daughter to always keep her word. The tension between her revulsion for the frog and his desire for the princess leads to a climax, upon which the frog turns out to be a bewitched but handsome prince, whose curse could only be undone by a princess.
(https://i.imgur.com/WqEFsYt.jpg)
In Grimm's original version the climax is quite violent, but variant versions and later retellings feature the princess kissing the frog, and this variant has clearly been on the designer's mind, as indicated by the prominent red lips of the frog.
The story ends with the rehabilitated prince and the princess (now over the moon with her new friend) marrying and living happily ever after.
The sets permits children to play out the frog's transformation. The identical belt and key (?) on frog and prince confirm their identity. All that is missing is a princess, and perhaps a king, to recreate the story in full. Deficits easily repaired from the Playmobil back catalogue.
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I thought that this set was quite nice too! I wouldn't mind more figures based on classic tales like this. :)
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Thanks for that great review, StJohn.
Frog kissing has become a meme in modern days, as in 'You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.' From such humble beginnings!