EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 90
stickers: 216 (1-192, F1-F12, L1-L12) + 55 cards (C1-C30, S1-S20, XXLle1-XXL le5)
starter pack: € 4.90 (album + 5 packets + 2 XXL cards)
collector’s tin box: € 9.90 (7 packets + 5 XXL cards)
mega tin box: € 29.90 (HARD COVER album + 7 packets + 3 XXL cards)
packets: € 1.00 (4 stickers + 1 card)
comment: the richest album ever! No, it is not the classic promo of the new Calciatori, but the pleasantly challenging album linked to the Christmas cartoon par excellence (the one yes): Frozen 2. The story is known so let’s go directly to the presentation of this new effort Panini.
The “blockbuster” albums are increasingly becoming an adventure in trying to complete them and above all to be informed about all the connected exits to have them really complete. The main new is also the realization of the hardcover version, presented inside a mega tin box and available ONLY by booking your copy on the circuit www.primaedicola.it, the newsstand distributor.
Don’t worry, for the mega tin box it is not necessary to free up space in the car, the album is small. A sore point for Frozen lovers who wanted to place all the various albums close together in the library (between Frozen and Frozen 2 they came out, we think, another 3 albums), since the first one is rectangular, this is small vertical, in the middle a giant type Calciatori recent years, other standard format etc. etc. Help!
The choice of the small format has its flaws but also the merit of making it similar to a fablebook, of course the advice is to start the collection AFTER having seen the movie, as the album traces the story, there are no pages of introduction with character gallery or other. The story is so beautiful that it has to be told in detail.
Add to this a central giant poster where to place the F1-F12 stickers, unlike other times it is impossible to attack them without moving it from the album, the advice is perhaps to buy 2 starter packs (looking for all the 5 different XXL cards, since it is not clear if the complete set is found in the Mega Tin Box) so as to keep it attached in the copy where the stickers are attached. Or at the newsstand you will also find the album priced at € 2.00.
The stickers are really beautiful, with a colored outline that increases their charm, in addition to the classic ones we find many shaped stickers (stick them with caution!), silver, glitter and transparent! In addition to the 204 stickers for the album (1-192, F1-F12 for the central poster), we find other 12 decorative mini (L1-L12) with small stickers that can be attached where you prefer but are born above all to personalize the back of the cards of the same album.
About cards, we have 55: 30 with all the characters in the cartoon (C1-C30), 20 specials dedicated to Elsa, Anna and Olaf (S1-S20), 5 XXL format. In addition to the Mega Tin Box, we find 3 different standard tin boxes, 2 with Elsa and Anna together (horizontal and vertical), one with the nice Olaf. Tin boxes are naturally also made to hold their own card collection.
After the first disappointment for the format of the album (but later convinced by the choice), it is impossible not to fall in love with both the cartoon and this product. There will certainly be criticisms for the high cost of this product, it is a very open debate, Panini is certainly heading towards the future, uniform stickers and cards in a single collection is the solution to entice new generations and, frankly, do not disappoint not even the most “dated” (for example the album Spider-Man Far From Home had a really splendid collection of cards).
Differentiating the offer (starter pack, box, hardcover, tin box, etc.) does not always mean to force the collector to buy everything. On the contrary, the hardcover only on order is an excellent solution to make products in a much smaller edition compared to what would be needed to cover the national distribution (as was already done with Calciatori). Not having yet “touched it”, we do not add other considerations.
Marvelous movie, beautiful album, Christmas is coming, what do you want more?
Final judgment: 9/10
(EN)