Loot Crate July 2017: Animation (Review, Spoilers)

Loot Crate’s Animation crate has arrived with swag from the toons Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty, Futurama, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In addition to hitting the Animation theme hard, this month’s crate also has a few kitchen items, so that ‘kitchen’ seems a minor theme. Additionally, Bob’s Burgers fans got a happy meal of goodies, with the show represented by two items, the crate craft, and an interview in the Loot Crate flyer with Bob’s Burgers supervising director Bernard Derriman.

The Bob’s Burgers Burger Box contains 25 cards with recipes from The Bob’s Burgers Burger Box. Written by Loren Bouchard and the writers of Bob’s Burgers, and made by Penguin Random House, this recipe box is an attractive Bob’s Burgers tie-in, just as nice as any of the novelty items at big box bookstores and mall stores. As I’ve been vegetarian since 1995, and vegan since 2011, I wasn’t expecting anything for me, but there are two vegetarian recipes that I could adapt to vegan–the “Rest in Peas Burger” and “Mediterr-Ain’t Misbehavin’ Burger”–and other recipes give me ideas to spruce up bean burgers. Regardless of your diet, if you’re a Bob’s Burgers fan this is a cool and unique collectible.

Animation’s crate craft is not only Bob’s Burgers themed, it’s also an accessory for the recipe box: a recipe stand with slots to hold the cards. 2017 is turning out to be a great year for Loot Crate’s licensed crate crafts, with the Superman comic book holder in Origins, the Destiny craft, and last month’s Optimus Prime now joined by this attractive recipe stand.

The Animation Loot Pin depicts Gene in the burger mascot costume from Bob’s Burgers season 1, episode 13. It’s a well-made cloisonne pin with excellent linework and good colors.

Not only were there the Bob’s Burgers recipes and recipe stand, but cartoon nerds that are also kitchen nerds will be excited about this next item as well: a Futurama Slurm koozie 2-pack.

As I’m a huge fan of the series, my favorite item in any Loot Crate will usually be the Rick and Morty piece if one is included. I wasn’t disappointed by the Animation crate’s exclusive Rick and Morty “Peace Among Worlds” figure, which depicts Rick in his signature pose from “The Ricks Must Be Crazy” (Season 2, Episode 6). While the box art is sweet, you’ll want to break Rick out of his cardboard prison and put him on the shelf, as he’s so faithfully rendered that he even slants slightly left just as he does in the cel art of this scene. With much of the Rick and Morty merchandising effort depicting spittle-chinned Rick, it’s nice to get a gleefully profane Rick instead. Moreover, I like the way Rick breaks the tacit rule of shelf collectibles, which are supposed to sit pretty and call attention to your fandom, not insult your guests. As Rick breaks every rule and wall in his way, this is a quintessential Rick.

My second favorite item in Animation is the exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turtle van tee, a lincoln green cotton shirt that features a turtle shell pattern, and the Turtles loaded for mutant bear. While made with fans of the 80s animated series in mind, as you can see from the series logo, it’s bound to please any Turtles fan.

Because the Animation theme holds together, and the graphics are incredible, Animation is one of my favorite 2017 crates. Not only did I get a superb Rick, and a great Turtles tee for my other half, but also more koozies for my drawer and a pile of Bob’s Burgers that would make Wimpy happy.

If you like what you see, you can buy Animation through this link until Wednesday, July 19th, at 9 PM PST. After that, you’ll be in line for the August Loot Crate, which hasn’t yet been announced.

Welcome to the world of #ANIMATION! July’s #lootcrate features #RickandMorty, #BobsBurgers, #Futurama & #TMNT! https://t.co/SueayG98wR pic.twitter.com/kk4aFzdhD8

— Loot Crate (@lootcrate) June 20, 2017

Loot Crate sent the review copy.