Django Collectibles/Enterbay

## Django Unchained

The prototypes for Django Freeman (left) and Calvin Candie (right)

In 2012, Enterbay, the leading manufacture of 1/6 scale figures since 2005, revealed plans to do collectible figures based off the film's most memorable characters. Though when the debate of violence and racism popped up, they were forced to make other plans.

## **Summary**

*Django Unchained* is a 2012 American revisionist Western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson which serves as a highly stylized tribute to Spaghetti Westerns while taking place in the Old West and Antebellum South. It was highly successful with a $425 million worldwide grossing, mass critical acclaim and several award nominations; though it also became the subject of controversy due to its portrayal of African Americans, historical inaccuracies, how it handled slavery, and its excessive violence which caused the film to be postponed in wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

On October 21st 2012, Enterbay teased an image of head sculpts for two 1/6 scale figures based on the film's protagonist Django Freeman, who is loosely based on Dangerfield Newby; and DiCaprio's character, "Monsieur" Calvin J. Candie. Articles that reported on the announcement also stated that a figure of Dr. King Schultz, Christoph Waltz's character, might be on the table if he approved of the likeness.  The figures would be seen in their entirety in a now broken Facebook post made by a user named Mark Osr that showed them in a glass-case shelf. Its unknown where or when exactly this photo was taken and due to hysteria over the way the movie addressed racism and slavery, Enterbay quietly cancelled their planned DJ 1/6 scale figures.

## **Final Verdict**

Eventually, Present Toys would release some collectible figures based on *Django Unchained* in 2020 and Redman would release a nondescript version of Waltz's character.   NECA produced much smaller figures of *Django Unchained* at the 8" format and included some more characters like James Remar as Butch Pooch, Kerry Washington as Broomhilda von Shaft, and Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen Warren. Though those figures, despite clearly being marketed towards adults, were also hit very badly with the whole racism issue as they were noteworthy enough to gain the attention of Al Sharpton's National Action Network, who called for a national boycott on behalf of the African American community; and the Project Islamic Hope, which had one activist equate it to a dangerous type of commercialization as when *Inglorious Basterds*, another Tarantino film, came out; there were no dolls of Hitler or Holocaust survivors.  NECA released at least 1,000 figures before the controversies even began, though on January 18th 2013, they were told by The Weinstein Company to stop further distribution on the *Django Unchained* figures.  The figures were already pricey enough as they sold for $299 on Amazon, though thanks to outrage culture, they go for even higher prices in the aftermarket thanks to their limited production number and ludicrous costs.

Back to the Enterbay figures, none of their Django and Candie prototypes have been seen since cancellation, and their Schultz figure may have never even entered sculpting due to the failed pending approval of Waltz. To sum it up, these figures shall and will remain: **LOST**.

## **External Link**

* Crawford, M. (2017, February 22). Captain Toy Picks... The Top Ten Unproduced Action Figures. *Captain Toy*. Online post.

* Calvin Candie. (2012, October 22). enterbay - django unchained. *One Sixth Warriors*. Online thread.

## **References**

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django\_Unchained
2. ↑ https://www.onesixthwarriors.com/threads/enterbay-django-unchained.646131
3. ↑ https://www.toyorigin.com/collectibles/present-toys/django-freeman-django-unchained-1-6-scale-figure-pt-sp03/
4. ↑ https://www.neogeektoys.com/products/redman-toys-1-6-django-doctor
5. ↑ https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/376828/django-unchained-action-figures-protested-by-rev-al-sharpton-s-national-action-network
6. ↑ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/django-unchained-action-figures-discontinued-over-complaints-they-were-offensive/