How Wednesday’s Thing came to life as an remote control toy

Thing has always been a strange proposition for a toy designer: the character is essentially a hand, yet much of his personality comes from movement. Netflix’s Wednesday made that physical quality particularly important. Rather than relying primarily on computer animation, director Tim Burton wanted an actor on set, and Romanian magician Victor Dorobantu performed Thing while wearing a blue suit that could later be removed digitally. The result is a character that communicates through finger movements, gestures and the way he scampers around a room. That makes Thing unusually well suited to becoming a remote-control toy.

Thing predates Netflix’s series. Netflix notes that the original Addams Family television version was conceived as part of a creature whose full form remained unseen, while the 1990s films established the simpler image of a severed hand. Wednesday retains that design but gives Thing a prominent role as Wednesday Addams’ helper and confidant.

Jada Toys takes the character’s most obvious physical trait, crawling around independently, and turns it into the toy’s central feature. This is not an RC vehicle disguised with a loose Wednesday theme. Its entire reason for moving is that Thing moves.

That gives it two audiences. Children aged eight and over can use it as a straightforward novelty RC toy, while older Wednesday fans may see it primarily as an animated collectible. For UAE shoppers, that crossover also makes sense around Halloween, when something that can sit among decorations and then unexpectedly crawl away has more personality than a static figure.

Character-led RC toys work best when their movement suits the character. Speed and elaborate steering matter less here than whether Thing looks convincing while moving. The other consideration is display value. A recognisable shape, detailing and sensible scale matter when the toy will spend plenty of time switched off on a shelf or desk.

Thing uses a simple two-channel control system and is designed around character movement rather than racing, stunts or precise hobby-grade handling.

Jada’s officially licensed version measures 18cm and is made from soft plastic, with painted colouring and prominent stitched detailing intended to echo Thing’s screen appearance. The scale is important because it allows the model to read as a recognisable hand rather than a miniature figurine. Jada recommends it for ages eight and above.

Its controller continues the visual joke with a hand-shaped toggle. Jada describes the system as a 2.4GHz, two-channel remote that sends Thing crawling forward and allows it to turn. Independent toy publication The Toy Insider additionally describes forward, backward and side-to-side movement. The controls are deliberately uncomplicated, which fits a novelty toy intended to make the character move rather than simulate a conventional RC vehicle.

The hand itself charges through USB, while Jada says the controller uses two 1.5V R03 batteries, which are included. That rechargeable design is useful for something likely to alternate between play and display.

Its strongest feature, however, is the relationship between appearance and movement. The stitching and hand proportions give it enough visual detail to work as Wednesday merchandise when stationary. Switch it on and the crawling motion supplies the character reference that an ordinary replica cannot. The result sits somewhere between toy, Halloween prop and shelf collectible, rather than trying to excel as a high-performance RC machine.

The clever part of Jada’s RC Thing is that the remote-control mechanism serves the character instead of overwhelming it. Netflix’s version of Thing became memorable partly because Victor Dorobantu could communicate personality through small physical movements, so a crawling RC interpretation is a natural extension of the screen design.

For a Wednesday fan who also wants something interactive, the Jada Toys Wednesday RC Thing is the obvious focus here. Its 18cm soft-plastic construction, simple 2.4GHz controls and USB charging keep the specification modest, while the unusual form gives it more display appeal than a conventional entry-level RC toy.

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