There Must Be An Angel In That Box

Every time a certain very famous fast food chain has a collectible doll promotion, there are long queues as many of us love to collect limited edition products. I am not immune to it either as I collected all the Hello Kitty dolls from their last promotion.

Now for an entirely different doll which may be taking the world by storm much as how the Cabbage Patch Kids did decades ago, long before some of you were born! What doll am I referring to which may have some battering down the company’s doors to get to specific dolls?

In 2004, Dreams Inc. Japan, created Sonny Angel, with the intention of it being a companion to the Office Ladies (OL). Originally standing at 8”, the Sonny Angel figurine was meant to be placed at home, accompany the OLs upon their return from work. Gradually, it has evolved to the current popular 2” collectible figurine that can be carried anywhere, and enjoyed from wherever the collector may venture.

The original Sonny Angel has movable arms and legs (pose-able) with soft baby-smelling skin and comes in his birthday suit! His birthday is on 15^th May.  It is now a Collector’s item worldwide.

Sonny Angels are found in many countries worldwide, including USA, UK, France, Poland, Taiwan, South Korea, China ( Hong Kong ), Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, and Luxembourg. Malaysia is launching Sonny Angel on 15^th May 2014.

Sonny Angels are sold in a blind box with no indication of which angel is within the box. Whilst the collector may choose any of the 8 Standard or Limited Edition version/series, there is no way of knowing if the targeted angel is within the box unless the whole 12 angel set is purchased.

The blind box concept is wrapped with the element of “surprise”, so the mystery of which angel the collectors will receive is revealed only upon opening the box and sealed foil wrapper.

As there may be “Secret Angels” and “Robby” hidden in random boxes, it is mandatory that the retailers sell the product in this blind box concept. There will be a coveted “Secret Angel” and “Robby” in every version/series. They are, however, very rare and command a high premium; and each version/series has a different “Secret Angel” and “Robby” of its own.

When you observe carefully the individual Sonny Angel, you realize that they are “lively’ in their expressions, and every expression is slightly different! Each Sonny Angel’s facial feature and headgear is artistically hand-painted thus the lively expression. Every eye line, lash, eye sparkle, smile and blush is not identical.  And each hairline and headgear perimeter may be slightly irregular, much like human make-up. Those factors make each Sonny Angel unique.

Similarly, when you observe their posture, whilst they appear uniformly carbon-copied at first, upon closer inspection, you may notice a slight tilt or “swagger’ in some of them.  This unique feature is keenly observed by very sharp-eye collectors who are even able to tell 2 Sonny Angels with the same headgear apart and value each for their ‘finger-print” difference.

Charity Outreach in Malaysia : Sonny Angel Care And Share Program

Presently, only in Malaysia, for every Sonny Angel purchased, RM1 is set aside for charity. This philosophy is in line with Sonny Angel’s and Sonny Angel Malaysia’s vision of caring and sharing with society, with the hope of bringing some cheer and happiness to our world.

On 8^th February 2014, Sonny Angel Malaysia conducted the first charity outreach to SHELTER 1 and SHELTER 2- homes for troubled children from ages 4 to 13, and from ages 14 to 18, respectively. Each resident in these 2 homes were given gifts of foodstuff,  ang-pows,  a Sonny Angel each and cash donations given personally by Sonny Angel volunteers ( who are Sonny Angel collectors sharing the same vision ).

Alongside the gifts, some happy sharing about positive outlook of life and fun activities with Sonny Angels were enjoyed by the residents.

Standard versions

There are 12 designs to collect in each Standard series; Standard designs are available all year round (subject to availability).

Available Standard Series are:

1)      Animal Series 1

2)      Animal Series 2

3)      Animal Series 3

4)      Animal Series 4

5)      Fruit Series

6)      Vegetable Series

7)      Marine Series

8)      Flower Series ……… making a total of 8×12 =96 angel designs

Special Series

From time to time, there will be seasonal/festive designs, and these are only available for a limited time; there are also one-time launch and will not be in production thereafter.

Special Series (2013)  were:

1)      Valentine’s Day Series  (SOLD OUT)

2)      Bobbing Heads (93mm height) (SOLD OUT)

3)      Big Butterfly Series (195mm height) (SOLD OUT)

4)      Halloween Series (SOLD OUT)

5)      Christmas 2013 (Set of 4)  (SOLD OUT)

Special Limited Edition Series (2014) were and are :

1. Artist Collection Kissmark Leopard Collection (SOLD OUT)
2. Artist Collection Valentine’s Heart Chocolate (SOLD OUT)
3. Easter Series Limited Edition  (SELLING FAST)
4. Special Color Series 2 Limited Edition (SELLING FAST)

Sonny Angels are available through promo-retail points at Paradigm Mall and 1Utama, and from specialty toy retail stores in major cities upon launch. Each Sonny Angel retails at RM25 or RM300 per box of 12.

Standard Series – Annex I

Sonny Angel Malaysia plans to conduct such charity outreaches twice a year.  The next round is targeted at September / October period. Customers may share with us their charities of choice and we will endeavor to liaise with them.

Sonny Angel collectors pray hard for a “Secret Angel” or “Robby” before opening a box.