What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you say “wax figures”? Madame Tussauds, most likely, and then? Probably that old series of slasher horror films, which, nevertheless, are still perceived by many people as an absolute guilty pleasure to watch. But sometimes wax figures become a really funny thing…

For example, just take a look at this series of videos from influencer Becka Blackburn, who, after visiting the wax museum in the city of Krakow in Poland, was left with absolutely mixed feelings, but has amassed over 15M views on TikTok in return.

The influencer once visited a wax figure museum in Poland and left it with rather mixed feelings

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Most of the figures in the museum do not seem to look much like their real-life prototypes

So, the wax museum in Krakow is called Polonia and, according to their official website, has been successfully operating for more than a decade, and every month about ten thousand visitors come there to take pictures with wax copies of famous people and characters from popular culture.

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

However, how accurate are these copies? Just look, for example, at the figures of Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton. The heir to the British throne looks like he’s just read his brother Harry’s controversial memoir. But the late grandfather of the Prince of Wales, Prince Phillip of Edinburgh, on the contrary, looks much more beautiful than he was in life. Although, with regard to wax figures, here authenticity should prevail over beauty.

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

“Of course, there was a tradition back in the day when formal portraits of powerful people had to embellish their appearance,” says Alexey Shkurat, an artist and founder of Peach art studio, who was contacted by Bored Panda for a comment. “For example, if you look at the famous ceremonial portrait of the English king Henry VIII by Hans Holbein – yes, the very one who had six wives throughout his life, then he looks completely different there than he actually was. On the other hand, this tradition once backfired at him during matchmaking – after all, when one of the princesses arrived at the wedding, it turned out that she did not at all look like the ceremonial portrait that was sent to the groom, and with which he almost fell in love.”

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

“But portraits are exhibits for art museums, and people go to a waxwork museum primarily to take a selfie with a realistic copy of a celebrity. And if I take a picture, for example, with the figure of Donald Trump presented here, then later I will probably show this photo to friends, perhaps just in order to laugh heartily together. Although, there are quite a few pretty successful works here – for example, Mike Tyson looks quite realistic,” Alexey reasonably notes.

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

The museum’s official website, however, claims that “all wax figures are carefully made to give the smallest details”

The museum’s official website reads: “Famous politicians, clergy, athletes, actors, fictional characters. All wax figures are carefully made to give the smallest details and so that you can feel that they are really standing next to you. Don’t wait and check it out today.” We don’t know about famous people, but Harry Potter, seeing his wax figure, would definitely violate the ban on using the Cruciatus spell once again… At least it seems so to us.

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Interestingly, on Google, the reviews for this wax museum are quite high – from 3.5 to 5 stars. However, Rebecca Blackburn was hardly among those visitors who left a high mark. “Come with me to the worst wax museum in Poland,” the woman wrote in the description of the first of her TikTok videos. “I couldn’t tell if this was a real wax museum,” Blackburn captioned the post. “Wait until the end.”

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

Image credits: beckablackburn4

@beckablackburn4 I couldnt tell if this was a real wax museum 💀 wait until the end #krakow #krakow23 #poland #fail #funny #viral #waxmuseum ♬ Funny Song – Cavendish Music

People in the comments are cracking up at these wax figures as well, but are completely stunned by what they’ve done to the Avatar heroes

On the other hand, the commenters seem to have really enjoyed watching the videos – in the end, healthy laughter is always great. “They look like they were made from memory with no reference pictures,” one of the commenters noted. And, of course, almost everyone is completely outraged by what the unnamed Polish sculptor has done to the poor Na’Vi. “Nooooo, what did they do to Avatar!” folks in the comments unanimously moan. And what do you, dear readers, think about the exhibits of this museum?

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