Disney Pin Review: Vanellope Racing - All Star Trading Cards #5 - 2020 Release

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Tries to capture older video game graphics

Cons: Becomes too indistinct as a result

The Bottom Line:

Vanellope races

But this pin blends in too much

No rush to get it

Racing Toward Mixed Results

Last month, we discussed how there are some sports I don’t really think of as sports.  Another one of those is race car driving.  It seems like the car does a lot of the work.  I do understand the reflexes and stamina involved to drive long distances, however, so I am more willing to accept it as a sport over Billiards.  Anyway, this is all just a long discussion to introduce this month’s All Stars pin – Vanellope driving her race car.

As always, the pin is rectangular to imitate a sports trading card.  Vanellope is front and center driving her race car in a pin-on-pin technique.  Behind her, we see some of the sweet lands she races through.  Up in the corner, she’s signed the card for us, and down on the bottom, Racing is writing in the middle of a sparkly blue stripe.

I get what they were going for, and I admire that they gave it this much thought.  It almost looks like the graphics from an older racing game.  You know, when everything wasn’t quite sharp enough to be distinct.  Not that I’m knocking old video games – I love some of those systems.

However, it doesn’t quite work.  Vanellope’s car all but fades into the background, and Vanellope herself takes some work to make out.  Instead of capturing the look they were going for, we have an indistinct looking pin.  It could have been easily fixed by just changing the background, too.  I think I could have liked it much better with different colors.

If you love the character or want all the pins in this series, you’ll be glad you tracked this pin down.  Otherwise, you can let Vanellope’s racing pin pass you right by.