A couple of weeks back, we were gifted with a golden cornucopia of official The Hunger Games merchandise, just in time for the movie release. Official merch can be purchased from Amazon, Hot Topic and (I’m sure) brick and mortar stores across the country.* There are dozens of clothing items, stationary, jewelry, and posters. But besides the typical movie tie-in fare, there are some even more unusual products to be found. So I have taken a look at what’s out there and put together a list of the good, the bad, and the WTF.
*For whatever reason, there’s actually an official Cafe Press store for fan designed The Hunger Games products. The only thing I can think of is that the studio took all the fan products (that have already been selling for years) on that site and put them into an “official” store so they could get in on the cut.
THE GOOD
Now, there are some fairly decent things to be found in the jewelry/accessory realm. Obviously you can’t go wrong with a replica of the story’s infamous mockingjay pin. Plus, the mockingjay has been incorporated into several more jewelry designs, like necklaces and even earrings. The District 12 key chain is particularly adorable with its little mining charms. Now, why on earth you would need mockingjay ear buds, I know not, but they’re damned cute.
I loves me some board games. And even if this new strategy game ends up being terrible, well, that’s why there’s booze. There are several of these bags with different district numbers on them and they’re just subtle enough to be awesome. (I’m assuming the tributes in the movie will have something similar?) And while part of me thinks The Hunger Games nail polish is a little silly (I mean…these aren’t any different than regular nail polish), I can’t help but pick a favorite. It’s like my nails are on fire!
THE BAD
There are some seriously awful t-shirts being sold to us. Nearly every one of these is just a promo image slapped onto a black (and they’re all black) t-shirt. No true design or once of thought put into them. And these are the officially licensed t-shirts here. In the case of shirts, you’re much better off going with something unlicensed. On a whole, they will be much cuter and much more creative and probably even come in several colors other than black!
THE WTF
Look, I might have mentioned once or twice my desire to spoon with Peeta. But. BUT! That does not mean I am going to sleep cuddled up to Josh Hutcherson’s face. Just because people will buy a Peeta pillowcase, doesn’t mean you should offer it. Or a polar fleece Peeta either. (Mysteriously absent – any Gale merchandise to cuddle with. Looks like the pillowcase makers of the world are Team Peeta.) And next, certainly not the strangest thing I’ve come across, but why would someone want the word KATNISS across their calves? And while these flip flops might be cute, they are certainly inappropriate footwear for the arena. And the WHO ON EARTH THOUGHT OF THIS Award is a tie between the mockingjay votive candle holder and the Hunger Games magnetic poetry.
Besides being ugly, these action figures are hideously expensive. 50 bucks for the trio? That earns a big WTF from me. That and Katniss looks terrible. Peeta…actually looks cuter than the real Peeta. And Gale. Well, Gale has some nostrils, apparently. And now it hardly seems sporting to rip on something from the cafe press store. But…a blanket wrap!? See…this is why I hate cafe press. Blanket wraps! Does anyone else think it looks like invisible Jesus? Just me?
My end conclusion is that there are a few gems in the midst of a lot of typical movie franchise crap. Of The Hunger Games merch out there, what products do YOU think are good, bad or WTF? And what will you be purchasing, if anything?
