Its a common occurrence for a Summer blockbuster to get a toy line and two tons of collectibles, like keyrings, towels and books, that fans will buy. With the first Pirates of the Caribbean I'm pretty sure Disney was holding back, unsure of whether the movie would be successful. When it was, they pretty much unleashed a flood of collectible crap. This time around, though, they're positioning themselves as one of the big blockbusters for the Summer season.

But, unlike most blockbusters that throw all their collectible figures behind one company, POTC is actually spreading themselves around. One might ask why they would have a toy line with both NECA's Reel Toys line and Zizzle. Maybe they realize that there are actually two markets for collectible figures: those who collect them for display and those who buy them as playable toys.

NECA's Reel Toys have quickly been making themselves a name in the market, showing off the same level of quality and detail that made McFarlane Toys so popular. The four figure set, including Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Davy Jones and Maccus all are excellently modeled and look fine as figure representations of the movie characters. While they really aren't mean to be played with, they do look really sharp.

The Zizzle series, on the other hand, is far more sturdy and intended to actually be played with. The set includes regular Jack Sparrow, Prison Escape Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Davy Jones, Pirate Disguised Elizabeth Swann, Palifico, Pintel and another character (which would prove to be a huge movie spoiler). These figures are far more cartoon-like in their modeling. They feature less detail (but not by much) but are of a far sturdier stock.

Should you get either line? If you or someone you know is a fan of the series, I would say yes. Each series is certainly aimed at an age group, so buy one or the other depending on what you want to do with them. But, I would certainly suggest maybe holding off until after you see the movie before hunting these down, lest you have one part of the story ruined for you.

- - Kinderfeld