Monster5 Interview

Bugs Bunny is the newest toy to come out from the good doctor Dr.Romanelli aka DRx sculpted by Monster5 and manufactured by Span of Sunset, Inc. for  the “What’s up DRx?” project. “What’s up DRx?” is a collaboration of  DRx and WB where the renown reconstructionist  Dr.Romanelli takes on Looney Tunes  and flips them to his fitting and in a greater sense of the word “frankensteins” the brand. Yevgeniy Shukhman of Span of Sunset sat down with Monster5 to find out more about his love of Looney Tunes, Chuck Jones and the  Bugs Bunny Figure.

1>Introduce yourself?

I was born and grew up in "Shimokitazawa" which is a bad neighborhood in downtown Tokyo, Japan. I studied SFX makeup for a few years in the United States.

2>How did you become a toy sculptor?

I started toy sculpting  when I was a student in  the US.  I was making Halloween themed toys for some company and made toys like "Eye pie" —  Dead cat with eye popping" etc… After that I worked as a  sculptor and product manager for  another toy company. I’ve been sculpting ever since, about 17 years.

3> We heard you are a big fan of Looney Tunes.  Share some of your thoughts
on “What’s Up DRx”? 

In Japan when I was a little kid I could only watch the "Loony Toons"  cartoons at 6 am in the morning. I’d watch them every morning! I was shocked how amazing it was and how it all works! Great characters such as Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Peppy Le Pew..etc. I liked the sound effects "Boing Boing", "Tan Tan" , ""Boooom"  — great timing!  Also, lots of guns, explosions, hitting heads with hammers..

Who can imagine a mad bloody eye hunter with a rifle getting his ass kicked by a no hustle bunny just  by kissing?! When first I saw the  "What’s up DRx" project picture everything came back.

4>What was it like to work with DRx?

Actually I have not met him yet in person. I see his works in Japanese fashion magazines very often and also every time DR visits Japan he  contacts me… But I’m not an outgoing guy so I always stay home. I can not go to a  Louis Vuitton party in Tokyo.

5> You’ve sculpted Afroman for SO SO DEF, Fafi’s Irina, El Panda, Tequila, Red Demon and Melt-fu. What was your approach to making the Bugs Bunny figure?

I think Bugs Bunny merchandise has a very long history and the latest toy has very
good details so I’m very proud to sculpt some of my heroes. So I did my best on this latest toy.

6>What was the creative exchange like on project?

It took us some time to figure it out.  When a  character is 2 dimensional one can not see certain parts, but you can see them in 3 dimensions.

Thank you to Monster5 for taking some time out of his busy schedule to answer
Our questions. Be on the lookout for more great sculpts from Monster5 in 07! The Mad Doktor Bugs Bunny figure sculpted by Monster5 is now available online at spanofsunset.com and other fine boutiques around the world. Be sure to check out Vapors for Vinyl Pulse toy reviews including Mad Doktor (issue 39).