Mattel has closed the official forums on ubfunkeys.com. I don't frequent there, so I'm not sure how recently this was done, but it couldn't have been that long ago.

I fear that whatever the people on the support lines are being told to say, the writing is on the wall at this point.

I haven't been able to get any feedback from our friend Funk-E at Mattel in quite a long time either. I think Mattel is handling this all pretty poorly really after all the time and money the fans have put in to Funkeys.

The fact that Paradox Green was so poorly launched with the color/rarity variations not being available and the Game Creator function never really working to it's full potential that was promised on the packaging, I really thought Mattel would stand behind their product and make an effort to right what they did wrong. Release at least one correct and functional series and see if they could regain the sales and user level they had achieved.

I'm sad about this. For one, I welcome anyone to the forums here that has come from the official site. I hope you find that it is warm and inviting.

I have no plans to stop running this site as long as there are Funkeys Fans wanting to use it. Long live Funkeys!

Labels: Future Release, Official UBFunkeys Site Update

The lack of releases or news of any sort from Mattel on our beloved Funkeys has made it tough to motivate myself to work on updating the site for a while now. I applaud all of you who have stayed with it and continue to frequent the forum. Hopefully, we'll be getting some sort of news soon so we can either rejoice or mourn properly... :)

I did give the Mattel service number a call yesterday and talked to nice woman who assured me that the U.B.Funkeys toy line was still a strong seller for Mattel and their "system" did not have them marked as "discontinued".

My take is that they've all but canceled the line but just haven't taken the steps to properly do so, OR with all that happened with the Paradox Green mix-up and knowing that they couldn't get anything *new* released before the holiday shopping season, they've just placed the line in suspension to re-evaluate next year.

Of course I'm hoping for the latter... :)

With many having vacation time coming up, I hope you all have fun and enjoy spending time with your families!

Labels: Funkeys News, Future Release

There's very little evidence to point to a future for U.B.Funkeys right now, but I still hold a cautiously optimistic view that it will survive.

The official website hasn't been updated in quite a while and neither has the game itself. Pretty much every Walmart I've been to recently has stopped carrying them, and that's a blow for any toy line. The momentum of continued releases and updates is what spurs interest in a product/game/collectible like Funkeys and that has really dried up lately.

I also have not been able to get any news from Mattel. Trust me, I don't know anything more than the rest of you.

What we do know is that Mattel has in the past 6 months closed a large location in Texas and relocated some of those employees to California. At that point the news was that Funkeys *would* survive. But then there was the awful mix-up in the release of Paradox Green (which had looked to be a savior for the toy line) when ALL of the singles release were of the VR assortment. This obviously led to the decision not to release the other variations. I doubt they were ever manufactured in the mix-up or they would have been released by now.

It would be a huge blow for Funkeys to end this way. The response to the Wendy's kid's meal toys was great. People have been waiting anxiously for the Common and Rare versions of the Paradox Green figures. There have been some mis-steps in the marketing (can you say Dream State VR box sets?) but I do believe that the toy line could survive all of this if Mattel gave it another chance.

The DC series could be that savior. We all know that Entertainment Earth has been doing pre-sales for the DC series recently. I asked them about it and all they could say is that they still have pre-order release info from Mattel on the series and that they haven't seen anything to make them believe they won't be released. If they were far enough in production, I could see Mattel giving it "one last chance". While I wish it was a non-licensed series to turn things around, I'd be happy if it worked.

Labels: Funkeys News, Future Release, Paradox Green

Sorry that it's been so long since the first of the three new propaganda posters was released in hi-res format here. Funk-E gave us all three to release and with the collapse of the old Babble Forum, we've been a bit distracted. But in talking with Funk-E today, I can tell you two things...

1) The fourth installment of ask Funk-E should be in our hands by the end of next week or sooner...

2) The "official" name for Series Five will indeed be what has been assumed by many. Others have wondered if it would maybe be "Game Factory" or something else entirely, but Funk-E has confirmed it. Paradox Green it is... :)

So with no further ado, we bring you posters #2 and #3...

Click on the image for a larger version...


For a SUPER huge version, click here... (2.4MB)


Click on the image for a larger version...


For a SUPER huge version, click here... (2.91MB)

Labels: Funk-E, Future Release, Images, Paradox Green, Series 5

There's a video on YouTube that was just posted today that shows some computer generated graphics from the upcoming 2009 U.B.Funkeys series Hidden Realm as well as the DC Heroes series.


I have NO IDEA where this came from, but it's VERY cool! :)

Labels: DC Comics, Future Release, Hidden Realm, Super Heroes, Video