(ABC News)--A collection of dolls based on the characters in Quentin Tarantino's slave revenge epic "Django Unchained" has the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network calling for a national boycott of the dolls.
"Selling this doll is highly offensive to our ancestors and the
African-American community," the Rev. K.W. Tulloss, president of the
Network's Los Angeles chapter, told the New York Daily News.
"The movie is for adults, but these are action figures that appeal to
children. We don't want other individuals to utilize them for their
entertainment, to make a mockery of slavery."
The 10-doll collection, sold through Amazon, includes figures for
Jamie Foxx's Django, a freed-slave-turned-bounty-hunter, and his
on-screen wife Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington. There are also
figures for the Mississippi plantation owner, played by Leonardo
DiCaprio, and the characters played by Christoph Waltz and Samuel L.
Jackson.
Prices range from $29.99 to $34.99 for one doll, or $299 for all 10.
Amazon's recommended age for the dolls is 18.
The manufacturer, National Entertainment Collectibles Association, offered this description on Amazon:
"From the highly anticipated new film from prolific director Quentin
Tarantino — comes this collection of poseable 8-inch figures with
tailored fabric clothing — similar to the retro toy lines that helped
define the licensed action figure market in the 1970s."
According to the description, each figure comes with "tailored western clothing," "authentic weapons" and "accessories."
It's not known whether the Weinstein Company, the movie studio behind
"Django," granted a license for the dolls to the manufacturer. Neither
responded immediately to ABCNews.com's request for comment.
This isn't the first controversy surrounding Tarantino's new film.
Director Spike Lee called the film disrespectful to his ancestors.
"American Slavery Was Not a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A
Holocaust. My Ancestors Are Slaves. Stolen From Africa. I Will Honor
Them," he wrote on Twitter before the film's Christmas release.
Tarantino defended his work at the film's German premiere Tuesday.
"The truth, or the reality, was a thousand times worse than what I
showed," he said.
Copyright 2013 by ABC News
