Hasbro Ghostbusters Mini-Puft Surprise (Series 3) Review

Last year, I reviewed Hasbro's Mini-Puft Surprise "Series 1" canisters. I've now managed to get my hands on the Mini-Puft Surprise "Series 3" canisters, which also consists of six "randomly" inserted miniature figures depicting one of the mischievous Mini-Pufts from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Read on to find out more...

Before I get into this, I would like to send a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the Spook Central VIPs for providing the funds that allowed me to buy this item and review it for all of you. This item was NOT provided by the manufacturer.

If you've read my review of Series 1, you know what to expect. If you didn't, take a few minutes to read it, then come back to this review. Series 3 comes in the same size canisters with all of the same markings. The only difference being the inclusion of a "Series 3" marking and the photo of the new six figures. (Click to enlarge nearly all images from here on.)


This collection of nine canisters was purchased on February 8, 2022 in Walmart for $5.24 each (about $0.50 cheaper than Target), along with the display box which the Valley Stream, New York store employees ripped the top off of. I have no idea why they did such a stupid thing. I found it sitting on the top lower shelf in the boys toy aisle, where there was plenty of "headroom" for the top part. Although it was not a complete case of twelve, I was lucky that the box contained all six unique figures. As with Series 1, you can actually tell which figure is inside if you grab your magnifying glass, or your reading glasses, and look for the nearly-hidden manufacturing code imprinted on the side of the white plastic canister just below the red lid.


The last three characters on the right are the important part. The number after the "N" tells you which figure is inside. Thanks to Youtube user "Gnarly Wolfman 88", whose review provided the cheat sheet below.
If you can look at that number in the store, you will be able to only buy the six canisters you need for a complete set (assuming all six are in stock), which is great considering these things have a MSRP of $5.99 each! Yes, a set will cost you about $36.00 at regular retail pricing. Expect to pay a lot more than that on eBay.

The major complaint that everyone had about Series 1 was the faux marshmallow goop inside each canister. The bagged Mini-Puft is placed inside this mess, and it was a complete disaster having to fish it out of the six Series 1 canisters. I expected to have to deal with that crap again, but to my surprise, things were different this time around. Yes, the goop was still in there, but the consistency was 100% different.


I don't know if it had anything to do with the length of time the Series 1 and Series 3 canisters were each sitting on warehouse shelves due to the pandemic, but the goop inside these Series 3 canisters congealed into a solid jellied compound. The entire goop and bag cleanly came out of each canister, and I could wipe the goop off each bag with my fingers as if it were rubber cement. There was no need to open these over the kitchen sink, and I didn't have to use any water at all to clean them up.


That's not to say that I like the figures being placed in this crap. I would much prefer the blind bags without the compound that foreign markets get. At least this time everything was all nice and clean. I may not be that lucky next time.


This is the complete set of six little vinyl/plastic figures, each of which is roughly 1.5" to 2" tall.


Now let's look at them individually.


N21: Mini-Puft with Umbrella - This little guy is just chillin' out in the sun with a smile on his face.


N22: Mini-Puft Holding Breath - He's either trying to see how long he can hold his breath or he's trying to blow himself up. Either way, it probably won't turn out well for him.


N23: Mini-Puft Wrapped in Christmas Lights - With that angry look on his face, this little guy is certainly not in the Christmas spirit.


N24: Mini-Puft Skewered With Stick - Looks like the Boy Scouts done him dirty.


N25: S'mores Mini-Puft - The Girl Scouts weren't too kind to this guy, either. Let this be a lesson to other Mini-Pufts to stay away from campfires.


N26: Mini-Puft Bitten Into - Awww... someone got a little hungry. Was it a cannibalistic Mini-Puft?


I now have all six figures of Series 1 and all six figures of Series 3. But what about Series 2? Honestly, I don't know.


The image above comes from the Amazon listing, so we know that Hasbro designed a "Series 2" with those six figures it in. With this set being labeled as "Series 3", and the first set being unlabeled (which makes it "Series 1"), that's further proof of the existence of a "Series 2". The big question is: Was Series 2 ever released? I asked around in the Ghostbusters community, and none of the other fans know, either. I heard a rumor that Series 2 was released outside of the United States, but I couldn't find any proof to substantiate that. There are no Series 2 figures or canisters on eBay, which leads credence to my belief that it went unreleased. My e-mail to Ghost Corps went unanswered, and I don't have a direct contact at Hasbro to ask. If you have any information about Series 2, post a comment below.

It's possible that, like the Remote Trap Vehicle RC toy, Hasbro decided to recall Series 2 before very many (if any) could be released because they feared that there would be complaints. While I don't see anything wrong with them, maybe they thought that some over-sensitive snowflakes would complain about the Mini Puft wearing make-up as being trans-phobic or the burnt Mini-Puft being misconstrued as blackface. Maybe they thought that a collective of conjoined twins would complain about the conjoined Mini-Pufts. I can only take guesses because no one knows for sure.

The Ghostbusters Mini-Puft Surprise canisters carry a MSRP of $5.99 each and are available from a wide variety of retailers. The links provided here are for Amazon, from which Spook Central will earn a tiny commission, but it is a total crapshoot which series you will get a random figure from. The listing says "Series 3", but they have been known to ship out Series 1 canisters for orders placed with that listing. I have a few sealed Series 1 and Series 3 canisters for sale, and I know what figure is inside each of them, if you already started a collection and need to complete it.

Images photographed by me or provided by Hasbro. All canisters and the retail display box were purchased from Walmart with my own money.