The changing of the Pez - November 2016

October has come and gone...

So long to these characters!

It was time to take these down and choose the next batch for November...

(unceremoniously dumped on my kitchen table)

And yes those are pasta storage containers and old Belgian chocolate tins that I use for my Pez...

Before I get started though, here is the newest Pez Witch that Bert found at CVS. She did not make it into my post last month. Bert bought her a few days after I put up the post but she was still able to take a place of honor on the shelf.  As you can see, the witch is not as "scary" as the other dispensers. It seems that Pez is taking on a trend of "kinder and gentler" looking dispensers, such as the baby Vampire and the Happy Ghost. IN this case, the witch is smiling but not showing snaggled teefs. The nose is also not "hooked" . The hat and purple stem is the same as Witch F (2011) but the face is definitely less scary looking.

All right...where do I begin.

First of all, there are not any  "current" Thanksgiving themed Pez. No turkey, no Pilgrims or Indians (yes, the un-PC term). The company DID make those back in the 70's. There was a Betsy Ross Pez from the Bicentennial series.

(image from pinterest)

Plus the Indian and Pilgrim (also from the same series in 1976):

(image from the Pez Hunter blog)

There definitely isn't one that looks like a turkey either so boo to that.

Using the colors of Fall as a starting point, I gathered up my different Pez dispensers and sorted out the ones that had yellow, red, orange, dark green and even brown stems. All but four made the cut. Only 25 dispensers can fit on my shelf if they are side by side with no space in between.


From left to right: Series A Chewbacca (1997), an older Lucy from "Peanuts" (not sure what year), Dr. Doofenshmirtz from "Phineas and Ferb", Iron Man (non metallic version, 2009), Series B Ewok (1999), the new version of Wonder Woman (from "Batman vs. Superman", 2016), Master Tigress from "Kung Fu Panda" (eyes are the smaller dot version).

From left to right: Merida from "Brave"(2013), Series E Ahsoka Tano from "Star Wars - The Clone Wars", 2009), Bart Simpson, Terror Cat from "Toy Story of Terror", Sanrio's Badzt Maru,  Gollum (from "The Lord of the Rings" Collectors set, 2011), Spongebob Squarepants, Series D Chewbacca (2013):

Gene Simmons, bassist and co-lead singer from Kiss, Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" (there is a version with light brown eyes and dark brown eyes, but the photo on the collectors site looks the same to me),  Series B Luke Skywalker 1999), Frodo from "Lord of the Rings" (2011), Candace Flynn from "Phineas and Ferb", Peter Criss  drummer from Kiss (His character was the "Cat"), Sour Pineapple (came out in 2011, stems says Slovenia), Legolas from "Lord of the Rings", Master Shifu from "Kung Fu Panda" (smaller eyes version), and lastly good ole Charlie Brown (Series B, 2015).

I have a fond spot for the Luke Skywalker Pez. It was given to me by one my students who graduated in 1999, the same year that Lucasfilm released the first Prequel, "Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace".  My student won quite a few scholarships that year (more than $5,000), was named the Salutatorian, and ended up going to a prestigious university. He was so very nice and humble. I'm sure he is successful now or at least hope that he is.  His Pez gift was the one that got me started on collecting Pez on and off for the past decade or so.

I'll be on the lookout for these two NEW 2016 PEZ:
1) The Red Elf on a Shelf (same look as the green version)

and 2) the Green Penguin (same look as the blue)

I wants them...

Now THIS is a rad website. I used it to identify some of what I had:
www.momopez.com