Holiday Special > Merchandise > Prototype Toys

Kenner Prototype Toys

Around the time preceding the broadcast of the Holiday Special, Kenner had in mind a line of toy tie-ins based on characters from the show. It was probably assumed that the Special would be much more successful than it was, and that kids would be clamoring for new toys from the TV show. In the end, Kenner wound up scrapping the whole thing, either because the show was a disappointment, or (according to a Tomart's Action Figure Digest article) because the selling window was too small. However, at least a couple of items did make it to the drawing board or prototype stage.

The Boba Fett Sea Serpent made it at least to the drawing board, as conceptualized and drawn by Kenner employee Tom Troy in September 1978. Based on the creature Boba Fett rides in the animated segment of the Holiday Special, the toy would likely have been similar to the Patrol Dewback that Kenner was selling, and it would probably have been made to fit the Boba Fett figure that Kenner eventually made available as a mail-away. In the drawings, the creature was shown to be controlled via "mind harness", although this was not evident in the cartoon. Whether or not any actual prototypes were created of this toy is not known.

The other item that did make it to the prototype stage was a complete set of the Chewbacca family action figures. Chewbacca was the standard Kenner figure, and the prototypes for Itchy and Malla were created by altering two more standard Chewbacca figures. The smaller figure of Lumpy was actually built around a Fisher Price family action figure, whose distinctive bent elbow pose can be seen in the photos.

In the end, Kenner technically produced no specifically Holiday Special-related products, although the Boba Fett mail-away figure and red Snaggletooth figure could almost count (see these sections for more details).