The Fifth Element in figure form! Part I

Contrary to popular belief, there is a set of officially licensed 5th Element figures, and they were released in 1999.  These were not action figures, however.  What they are called is feves, and they are a particular kind of tiny porcelain figure released for insertion into cakes during the Epiphany celebration every year in France on January 6th.  I own a set, pictured here:

As you can probably tell, they are very tiny in size, usually smaller than an inch in height, and Korben Dallas and Zorg are missing - not because I don't own them, but because Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman did not agree to disclose their images for use in figure form.  Why it would matter for something so tiny, I don't know.  The full set comes with Leeloo, Cornelius (or priest), the Diva, a stewardess, two police officers, a Mondoshawan Kommander, a Managalore, the Fhloston Paradise cruise ship, a taxi, and a police car, plus the title image.  They are stamped with a copyright by Gaumont and a date of 1997.  You can probably spot the minature Elemental stones behind them, and especially observant viewers will also see the Cannes' 5th Element Swatch watch.  The stones I made a long time ago out of sculpy, so they are not official.  The watch, however, is a product you can generally score on eBay, by either itself or in a special attendance set with the soundtrack and Cannes premiere ticket.

This particular feves set was a hot item back in 1999 when it was released.  I remember chasing it on eBay quite a few times when 5th Element merchandise was at its height of popularity and I could never get my hands on it because it was so expensive, up until a couple of years ago, that is.  I got the full set for a great price, but the problem is it's a very rare set to find.  My mother also wanted them (I get the sci-fi nerd genes from her), and it took me a good deal of searching but I finally found her one for sale only last month.  You can find individual pieces here and there, but a full set is almost impossible to find, and in most cases, will lead you to French collector sites and the like.

In 2002, N2 Toys (now dissolved?  I am looking for information I once had about what happened to them), had a lineup of  beautiful 5th Element action figures ready for release (a note - I am not the owner of these prototypes  - I wish I were!  These photos are also just a few that have made their way across the internet and are not copyrighted to me...if they are yours let me know so I can credit you or remove them):

Obviously, some of the prototypes don't match the others, but this can be forgiven.  According to Milla Jovovich's official site, these figures never saw release due to licensing problems, presumably, again, due to Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman's resistance to allowing their images to be used, as well as internal problems with N2 Toys.  However, with a Sirius Black action figure out, and the bust from Sideshow Toys, I think it's past time Bruce Willis got on board for licensing his image...I wanted these figures so badly I almost cried when I found out they weren't going to be released!  I collect action figures in general, so for me these were almost the Holy Grail of action figure collecting!  Speaking of Sideshow Toys, you can get 5th Element bobbleheads from them - a Mangalore, a police officer, and a Mondoshawan to be exact:  Fifth Element Bobbleheads.  The Mondoshawan is more like a statue than a bobblehead, however, and I just prefer to think of mine in that manner:  

As an aside, since my Mondoshawan is hanging out with my small collection of Terry Pratchett books, there is a Pratchett book titled The Fifth Elephant, in a title spoof of the film.  The book does not follow or spoof the film in any way, however, and is actually one of Pratchett's more serious novels.

Back to figures.  There is also this wretched beast to consider -  a knock-off Leeloo figure called "The Five Element", which is not an officially licensed figure either, and she can be quite costly:  Wild Work's The Five Element - Leeloo.  While I am wholly enthusiastic about this product because 1.  It's Leeloo in a figure form I don't have to make myself and 2.  A 5th Element Leeloo!  Finally!, on the whole it's a letdown when you think about it.  I actually think the face sculpt is fine - but I'd be painting it.  The suspenders are AWFUL, and they'd need a makeover.  I'd have to paint the pants - she didn't wear khakis and the black stripes aren't bold enough.  The hair needs to be dreadlocked.  The boots are cool looking, but they look nothing like the boots she wears in the film.  The articulation is pretty dreadful in and of itself - she is not looking so sexy.  The more I write about it the less enthusiastic I feel about this product as a whole...After dropping $100 on it to begin with, you'd probably drop another $100 on it to improve it...

At this point in time I am going to leave this post to its readers and allow them to soak up all of this stunning yet upsetting history of The Fifth Element in figure form.  It's my hope that someday the movie's cult status will somehow force someone's hand into making 5th action figures a reality.  I mean, I don't need Korben Dallas in an action figure, right?  Right?!  Eventually a Jareth Goblin King figure was produced (David Bowie's character from the 80's Jim Henson/George Lucas film Labyrinth for those uninitiated into the greatness of the Bowie - the other Supreme Being).  It just took about 20 years or so before it happened.  So, with The Fifth Element nearing 15 years old, I can hold out some hope.

Eventually I'll get to Part II of figures made for purchase, mainly statues and busts...Which are super green and have price ranges from the decent to pricey.

"The Fifth Element" in Print

There are three official books pertaining to The Fifth Element in print.  Two of these books are rare, and in this post I hope to address these books and give fans an idea of what they are all about, as well as post some images for you.  Please keep in mind my scanner is too small for the two rarer books, which are coffee table sized tomes, so, I have photographs instead.

The first book is the one most commonly found, and it is The Fifth Element, A Novel by Terry Bisson.  This is the novelization of the film, but depending on your tastes, it's either a good thing or it's terrible:

In the "it's good" case, the novel is written from the 1995 draft of the script, which showcases Ruby Rhod in his former ego, Loc Rhod.  There are also scenes which were not present in the film as well as some more clarification on the relationship between the Diva and Leeloo, though not what you might think.  Leeloo, apparently, also has more "power" which we are not shown in the film.  There are also snippets of the Divine Language, and that pesky "Lekarariba" spelling of Leeloo's 2nd name that makes me crazy.

In the "it's terrible" case, the writing is, at best, something you'd probably expect from a somewhat decent fan-fiction - written by a 4th grader.  Also, it's written from the 1995 draft of the script, which radically defers from the film in some points, as I mentioned above, especially somewhat near the end of the book.  It is easy reading, however - if it's the film you're after, you're not going to get it here except in spurts.  The 1995 screenplay is available to view online, but it's the only draft I have seen available whatsoever on the web.

Personally I enjoy it if only for some of the story changes.  I'm not saying I prefer those differences over the film - not at all - just that I think it's neat to read what could have been.

I won't, however, spoil the details of the novelization if you're interested in reading it.  You can find here:  The Fifth Element, a Novel.  Prices are pretty decent, but I kind of wrinkled my nose at one seller offering it for $91 in "collectible" condition.

The second book is The Adventure and Discovery of a Film:  The Story of The Fifth Element, by Luc Besson.  This book is difficult to come by, but it is still available here in used and new copies (expensive in either format):  The Story of The Fifth Element

This book is Luc Besson's production diary from the of the film.  It ranges from explanations of Besson's earliest incarnation of Leeloo (a 2,000 years-old "sand girl" from the beach of Fhloston!  Who lays eggs every 400 years or so and with whom our hero, Zaltman Bleros, falls crazy in love with!), to short interviews with the designers and artists of the film, among them, costume designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, production designer Dan Weil, and artists Mezieres and Moebius, who are well-established comics creators in and of themselves. Also included in this book are plenty of prop pictures, artworks, poster variations, and perhaps the most fascinating of all, "Leeloo's Glossary," the hundreds-words long dictionary to "the Divine Language."  Besson reports in his diary that Milla Jovovich learned her lines in English first, before transposing them to the Divine Language.

Besson reveals he began writing this story in 1975, but it's obvious from his words that it went through several incarnations before it began production in 1991 and was prepared before Warner Brothers, who were hesitant to take the film on because of its scope and proposed budget and lack of a big action hero name attached, despite early interest from Bruce Willis.  They then courted Mel Gibson, who finally declined the project.  Eventually the film was put aside, and Columbia Studios took on Besson's new film Leon:  The Professional.  With this success under their hat, they were happy to take on The Fifth Element in 1995 - and Bruce Willis was ready to take the film on as was Gary Oldman - script unseen at that.  However, Besson would see thousands of girls before choosing Milla Jovovich for the role of the Supreme Being.

Like Luc Besson's other film diaries, this book is also available in French and as an added aside, there is a "variant" cover edition which came with the special edition VHS cassette set.  The difference between my edition and the variant cover is that some of the images of the characters on the front cover are switched around.  To my knowledge, this is the only one of his film diaries to also be published in English, because of the film's nature of bridging the gap between French cinema and Hollywoood extravagances.

The third, and also rare book is Valerian: Les Extras De Mezieres tome 2:  Mon Cinquieme Element Decours Pour Le Film Du Luc Besson, by Jean-Claude Mezieres.  This titles translates to The Extras of Mezieres Volume 2:  My Fifth Element Sets for the film by Luc Besson. 

It is written entirely in French and while I have translated some of it, I haven't gotten around to all of it yet.  I can tell you that the unseen-in-the-film ship which transport's Leeloo's hand to the Nucleo-lab was designed and called "Eliot," and that Zaltman Belros was supposed to live with his father in Brooklyn, if my reading and translations are serving me correctly at this time.  The book contains production pieces of artwork for the ships and atmospheres of the film, and showcases some of Meziere's Valerian comic designs which were used in some of the scenes during the trip to Fhloston Paradise.

You can find this book for sale here:  Mon Cinquieme Element