NECA's Sesame Street collection keeps expanding, and its latest addition leans into a genuinely clever piece of engineering: Ultimate Oscar the Grouch, a 7-inch scale action figure built around the beloved curmudgeon's trash can home. Pre-orders are open now at $37.99, with an expected shipping window of Q4 2026.
What makes this release stand out from a typical NECA Ultimate figure is the trash can itself. Rather than treating it as a static accessory, NECA built the can with a ratcheted mechanism that lets collectors adjust Oscar's height, letting him peek out just slightly or stand fully upright and proud. It is the kind of feature-driven design that makes a licensed character figure feel purpose-built rather than a generic articulated body with a paint job.
Sesame Street is a newer addition to NECA's roster of licenses, sitting alongside horror, video game, and film properties the company is better known for, so this release is worth a closer look both for what it includes and for what it signals about where NECA's Ultimate line is expanding next.
The headline mechanical feature here is Oscar's trash can, which ratchets to let collectors adjust his height within the display. That means the figure supports multiple genuine poses without needing separate parts, since the same trash can can be racked up or down depending on how a collector wants to display him on a shelf.
Beyond the trash can mechanism, the figure includes ample articulation for the format, including a hinged jaw and an adjustable eyebrow, both of which let collectors capture Oscar's signature grouchy expressions rather than a single fixed face sculpt.
NECA packed a genuinely fun accessory lineup into this release:
Packaging is also worth calling out here: the figure ships in collector-friendly window box packaging with an opening front flap and classic storybook-style box art, which is a nicer presentation than a simple blister card for a shelf-display piece like this one.
One detail collectors outside the US and Canada should note before ordering: this figure has more restricted international shipping than many NECA releases. Confirmed eligible regions include the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands in North America, along with a select list of European, Middle Eastern, and Oceania countries. Collectors outside those regions should confirm shipping eligibility before placing a pre-order, since orders to ineligible destinations may be canceled.
Oscar the Grouch joins a Sesame Street license that NECA has been building out gradually rather than launching all at once, which is consistent with how the company has approached other newer licenses in its Ultimate line. A character-driven property like Sesame Street benefits from that slower rollout, since it gives NECA room to design genuinely distinct mechanical features for each character, like Oscar's ratcheted trash can, rather than reusing a single generic body across the whole cast. Collectors building toward a full Sesame Street shelf should expect future waves to keep pairing strong articulation with character-specific gimmicks rather than settling into a repetitive formula.
A windowed display case built for NECA's Ultimate line keeps Oscar's storybook-style box art protected while still letting the figure stay visible on a shelf, which matters more than usual here given the character-specific packaging design. For collectors displaying the figure loose alongside Slimey and the rest of the accessory set, a tiered acrylic riser keeps the smaller pieces from getting lost among larger figures nearby.
NECA lists an expected shipping window of Q4 2026. Shipping dates on pre-order items are estimates and subject to change.
Yes. The trash can is ratcheted, allowing collectors to adjust Oscar's height within the can for different display poses.
The figure comes with interchangeable hands and arms, Slimey, Rubber Yucchy, the classic SCRAM sign, and the letter T.
Shipping is more limited than NECA's typical release. Confirmed regions include the US, Canada, select Caribbean territories, and a specific list of European, Middle Eastern, and Oceania countries, so international collectors should confirm eligibility before ordering.
Ultimate Oscar the Grouch is a well-designed addition to NECA's growing Sesame Street line, with a genuinely useful height-adjustable trash can and a strong accessory set for the price. The narrower international shipping list is the one thing to double-check before ordering, especially for collectors outside North America.
!