Yes, I admit it: I am a Disney-geek. And, yes, I love Disney's 1959 animation masterwork, Sleeping Beauty, now celebrating its 65th Anniversary – Blimey! Was I really 10-years-old when I first saw it? – but I am more than a tad appalled by this particular merchandising money-spinner...
The marketing pitch runs thus (my bold italics for emphasis):
"True love of pin-collecting conquers all with this series of mystery pins celebrating the 65th anniversary of Walt Disney's 'Seeping Beauty'. Each box contains two randomly selected pins from a possibility of ten different designs featuring the classic cast. Collect them all to assemble a Maleficent dragon silhouette."
Now, the price for two "mystery pins" is £14, or £7 each, meaning that the cost for a complete set of ten would be £70 – except that, since you have to buy the badges sight-unseen, there's a strong likelihood that you'll end up with at least a few (and possibly quite a lot) of duplicates before being able to assemble your 'Maleficent dragon silhouette.'
Maybe all pin-badgers are in swapping-circles or (perhaps more likely) will sell them on eBay for in excess of £7 apiece; but to my mind, "Once Upon a Dream" could very easily turn out to be an expensive nightmare!
So, yes, the set is a clever design and, indeed, looks pretty cool, but I really hope those crazy Disney pin-punters will, in this instance, consider choosing abstinence over collector's obsession!
But, hang on... I've just remembered: when Sleeping Beauty was first released, it proved an expensive box-office failure, so maybe Disney are still trying to recoup those 65-year-old losses!
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