We have not been able to visit our local Toys"R"Us without making a stop in the Fisher-Price Imaginext section to visit the lovable BIGFOOT the Monster. That is why when he showed up at our house, my children thought for sure that Christmas had come early, especially our 3 year old son who had been fascinated by this remote control toy for many months now.I have to admit, when I first saw BIGFOOT the Monster at BlogHer '10, I thought to myself that our 3 year old daughter would likely be afraid of him. We have an Imaginext remote control dinosaur and she never wants any part of it. However, it turned out that BIGFOOT managed to win the hearts of every member of our family. I think what makes him so endearing is his face, which is designed so that his eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and even his nose move. This combined with his voice and many programmed phrases really gives BIGFOOT the personality of a gentle giant.
A Note to Parents . . .
If you are planning to surprise your little one on Christmas morning with this toy, here are some things you should know. If you choose to leave BIGFOOT in the very cool box, be prepared when you open it to see that one of his arms is detached so he could fit in the box better. He is extremely easy to remove from the packaging. There are just some twist ties plus a few twist and release locks, like the one pictured above. The remote control requires 2 AA batteries that are not included. Most importantly, BIGFOOT comes with a rechargeable battery. So you may want to open him and charge the battery while your family eats breakfast and then play with him after.
BIGFOOT the Monster is recommended for children ages 3 to 8. I am always skeptical when there is such a wide age range, but in this case it is fitting. Although this toy does such a long list of things, it is very simple to use. The remote is extremely kid-friendly and has symbols on the buttons rather than words. There is no wrong button to press. Also BIGFOOT has a rough and tumble construction and is made to stand up to bumping into things. The same is true for the remote control.
Please take a few minutes to watch BIGFOOT the Monster in action . . .
We have played with this toy quite extensively and once in awhile, BIGFOOT still does something we had never seen before. This is truly impressive compared to remote control toys that only have a small number of functions, which leads to boredom quite quickly.
One thing we have not been able to figure out is how to get BIGFOOT to do a forward roll. We have only been able to make him roll backwards. Another things is that we cannot get the included red ball to click into place in BIGFOOT's right hand while he is on. When he is switched off, we have no problems. So for now, we just put the ball in his hand before we turn him on. Then when he does turn on, he will eject the ball from his hand to mimic a small toss.
Of all the things BIGFOOT the Monster can do, I never get tired of watching and listening to him sleep, as well as seeing him perform a backwards roll. Our nearly 7 year old son loves to feed BIGFOOT with the included leave because that is the one thing that allows him to interact with the toy directly. Our nearly 4 year old twins just love to watch BIGFOOT go, whether they are the ones controlling him with the remote or not.
The Imaginext BIGFOOT the Monster retails for approximately $99.99 depending on where you shop. You should be able to find him on Fisher-PriceStore.com, Toys"R"Us, Amazon.com, Walmart, and other retailers of Fisher-Price Imaginext toys.
Thank you to Freeman PR for providing a complimentary sample toy on behalf of Fisher-Price for us to base this review upon.
