Do Funko Pops have brains? What's inside a Pop!
Short answer: no. A Funko Pop! figure has an oversized head, but there is nothing in it except vinyl and air. The longer answer covers what the figures are made of, how a character goes from license to shelf, and why some Pops bobble while most don't. All of that helps when deciding how to display and store them.
What a Pop! is made of
Funko's Pop! line uses vinyl figures. Wikipedia's article on Funko states that the figures are vinyl and are manufactured in China and Vietnam. Vinyl is the everyday name for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic that Wikipedia notes is used in products from toys to flooring. The Pop! look is a chibi-inspired style: a large, squarish head, a small body and large round black eyes. Standard figures are about 4 inches tall, according to Mental Floss. Funko also makes larger 6-inch, 10-inch and 18-inch sizes.
So what's inside the head?
Funko doesn't publish a detailed factory process, so it's best to be careful here. What is documented is how vinyl toy parts are generally made. Rotational molding uses heat and rotation to "produce hollow, one-piece parts." Wikipedia notes that one of its first applications was making doll heads and that it uses PVC plastisol among other materials. A big vinyl head, in other words, is usually a hollow shell rather than a solid block. The answer to "do Funko Pops have brains" is closer to "they have an empty room where a brain would go."
How a Pop! gets made
Mental Floss, drawing on a video from Forbes, describes the process in stages:
- License. Funko first secures the rights to a character from the rights holder, which can take time. The article notes that Jerry Seinfeld had not agreed to become a Funko doll.
- Design. Funko's creative team adapts the character to the house style, keeping the beady eyes and blocky head while getting the outfit, pose and details right.
- Digital model. A 3D model is built on a computer. Wikipedia adds that Funko artists sculpt in ZBrush and make prototypes, which manufacturers and licensors approve before production.
- Production and packaging. Mental Floss puts the full process at about four to six months. Wikipedia cites a figure of as little as 70 days from concept to shelf, so timing evidently varies by product.
Why some Pops bobble
A bobblehead's oversized head sits on a spring or hook instead of a solid joint, so a light tap sets it wobbling. Funko's history is tied to that idea. Its first product line, Wacky Wobblers, was bobbleheads of characters like Betty Boop and Cap'n Crunch. According to Wikipedia, most Pop! figures are not bobbleheads, but most Marvel figures and all Star Wars figures are. Packaging for those lines uses the word "bobble-head," which Wikipedia attributes to avoiding licensing conflicts with Hasbro and Good Smile.
Bobbleheads themselves are much older than Funko. Wikipedia traces them to Asian "temple nodders" of the 17th century. Major League Baseball issued papier-mâché bobbleheads in 1960, and the San Francisco Giants held the first MLB bobblehead giveaway, of Willie Mays, in 1999. Manufacturers moved to plastic in the late 1990s because it was cheaper.
What this means for display and care
- Light and heat. A Pop! is a painted plastic object. Common-sense care, such as keeping it out of direct sun and away from heat sources, protects paint and thin parts.
- Bobble parts. On bobblehead figures, the spring connection is the moving part. Handle by the body, not the head.
- Boxes. Many collectors keep figures in the box. The window box shows the figure's name and number, which matters for identifying it later (see how superhero Pops are numbered).
Curious where Funko fits in the wider market? See what collectibles are in demand.