Original review by Chris, 10/16/14

Elis Helrot was the youngest brother of Eugene and Ezekiel and the son of Ephraim Helrot who maintained the single letter sibset theme started by his father Edmar.  Why do we have a cantina alien named “Elis” (and no I don’t care if Ellis has two l’s)?  Was Elaine Benes in charge of picking the names?  Having the cantina patron with a skull for a head being named “Elis Helrot” seems as out of place as naming the antagonist in A Nightmare on Elm Street “Percy Kruger”.  To whom do I raise my naming concerns?  I hope it’s not the same guy who named Brock Starsher because I’m not sure he’d be sympathetic to my plight.

I was frustrated to get this figure in 2007.  If it were not for the Decipher CCG, the character would have been so far out of the community’s consciousness that Hasbro never would have attempted it.  Aside from production stills, the card game, and this Star Wars drunk driving PSA, Elis Helrot essentially does not exist.  Helrot may be out of focus in some background shots, but that hasn’t been confirmed.  Like the oft rumored Tzizvvt, I don’t really care for figures of aliens that the filmmakers didn’t think deserved to make the final edit of the movie.  If you want an accurate placement of this figure in your display, he is in the group with Feltipern Trevagg and M’iiyoom Onith.  From that standpoint, it seems that Hasbro was trying for a synergistic release. 

The figure itself is nice, but nothing spectacular aside from the sheer obscurity.  The partially rubbery legs have no ankle joints and an exaggerated wide stance that causes the figure to stand on the edges of its feet.  That wide stance does make sitting the figure fairly easy however.  The elbows are once again swivel joints.  What adds to this disappointment is that the angle of the cut on the left elbow is so minor that rotating the joint barely articulates the lower arm at all.  It practically just spins in place.  The angle of articulation is about as significant as a coach airline seat’s angle of recline.  These disappointments are somewhat mitigated by a nicely sculpted and detailed costume.  In a vacuum, I would probably land this figure at a 7.

Unlike the Black Series Yoda, Helrot did not ship in a largely empty bubble.  In fact almost every centimeter of space was put to use in a testament to the glorious pack-ins for some 30th Anniversary Collection figures.  Hasbro had previously released the straight pieces of the cantina bar, and this Elis Helrot and its companion release, M’iiyoom Onith, were released with the curved sections allowing us to complete the enclosure.  For this reason alone, the figure is a must own and causes me to giddily score it an 8 out of 10.

Updated review by Bret, 9/17/19

As Chris pointed out, this character can barely be considered part of the final cut.  It is possible that Elis Helrot is in the background somewhere.  Wookieepedia seems to go with Elris sitting at a table with M’iiyoom Onith and Feltipern Travagg, while they were later joined by Ohwun De Maal (AKA Ellorrs Madak).  There’s a shot over Greedo’s shoulder that might be Helrot speaking with De Maal, so I went with that shot.

I concur with everything Chris said, but we have to adjust the final score to a 7 to match that of M’iiyoom Onith.  Essentially, they’re the same type of figure.  An obscure cantina alien, with severe under articulation, and an awesomely oversized and highly desirable accessory.  As an action figure, it’s barely a 5, but as a set, and due to nostalgia, obscurity, and being sourced from the iconic cantina scene, it gets the 7.