Brachiosaurus (Jurassic World Legacy Collection by Mattel)

“It’s, it’s a dinosaur”, these were the first words uttered in Jurassic Park upon seeing the first full sized dinosaur in the film, a Brachiosaurus. We see our protagonist’s reactions first and their acting sets the tone. The music swells, building to the moment we’ve been waiting for. The animal cries its haunting call, and then the camera pans from our perspective along the animal’s body and skywards along its impossibly long neck, showing us the scale of this animal like never before. It’s not obscured in foliage or darkness, the entire creature is there for us to soak in. Chills run down our spine, our hearts skip a beat; we laugh and cry with joy and wonder. And in an example of excellent script writing we were all thinking what Dr. Grant had said, “it’s a dinosaur”, he was speaking for us in that moment; we were all seeing an actual dinosaur, or that’s how the masterfully executed illusion made us feel at least.

This legendary piece of cinema would go on to move and inspire a generation of future movie directors, paleontologists, special effects technicians, artists, and writers. And although most of us had “seen” dinosaurs on film, nothing before or even since has compared to this single, iconic scene. Many Jurassic Park films and dinosaur movies in general have tried to capture the awe we all felt in that moment, with varying success, but none have quite hit the mark. It’s a moment that can never be replicated again. Or at least, not in quite the same way, but just recently for the first time in 26 years I once again looked upon a behemoth Brachiosaurus with chills running down my spine and a child-like wonder. However this time, it was a toy.

The Mattel Brachiosaurus, part of their Legacy Collection, achieved a legendary status among dinosaur toy collectors before it was even released. It’s the toy we’ve been dreaming about for the last 26 years. The original Jurassic Park toy line didn’t include an adult Brachiosaurus and although we got one for Jurassic Park 3 it was small and uninspired.

The lack of truly large sauropod toys makes sense; a toy of this scale is a risky undertaking. Toys this massive take a lot of money to produce, require a lot of shelf space in the store, and will inevitably be expensive which might mean a poor profit return. Playskool produced a large Apatosaurus and Ultrasaurus for their Definitely Dinosaurs, and Tyco released an impressive Apatosaurus for their Dino-Riders line. That Tyco Apatosaurus was so impressive that I chose it as the subject of my 100^th DTB review, this Brachiosaurus dwarfs it!

The Mattel Brachiosaurus comes packaged in a beautifully illustrated box that depicts the moment we first see the Brachiosaurus in Jurassic Park. I don’t normally keep toy packaging but the art on this one is almost as impressive as the toy itself, so worth putting on display if you have the space, and you’ll certainly need some space for this toy. The Mattel Brachiosaurus stands approximately 28” tall and measures 34” long. Like other large Mattel toys, the Super Colossal T. rex and Mosasaurus, some assembly is required here. The Brachiosaurus comes in three pieces that easily snap together, the head and neck, tail, and body.

Despite its size this Brachiosaurus is quite light, my 4 y/o daughter has no problem dragging it across the room by its neck or just lifting it right up and carrying it, albeit at a limited distance. Most of the toy is made of hollow but durable hard plastic. The tip of the tail, head, and about half of the neck are made of a more flexible rubber material.

There is some articulation but it’s pretty basic stuff. The head and neck swivel up and down, although the toy has an awkward looking hump when the neck is lowered. The neck can also rotate around at its attachment site. The legs can be rotated too but the body prevents them from going around completely, they do however snap in place at various points. The mouth can also open and close. Naturally one of the first things I did with this toy was try to recreate the scene in the film where the dinosaur rears up on two legs but the tail prevents you from replicating the scene. In fact, the tail doesn’t move at all in any direction.

While many of Mattel’s dinosaurs have had wonky proportions; short tails, large feet, etc. you can tell that they took special care with this important piece. It’s as film accurate to the Jurassic Park Brachiosaurus as you could expect, more so even than the Brachiosaurus in Jurassic Park 3 or Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom!

You might also be inclined to think that because this toy is so large that some detail work may have been sacrificed as a result, not so. The hide is wrinkled like that of the film’s dinosaur and is adorned with a few small bumps and skin folds where appropriate, like on the knees and elbows. The head by itself is a phenomenal work of art, looking identical to the Brachiosaurus head we see in Mark “Crash” McCreery’s concept art. The pink tongue and black eyes are painted with a shiny coating that gives them a wet, lifelike appearance. The teeth are peg shaped and individually sculpted.

Because the toy is film accurate it does possess characteristics that are scientifically inaccurate, notably the elephantine limbs and nostrils placed on the crest instead of the nose. In this rare instance we WANT these inaccuracies to carry over; otherwise it wouldn’t be the Jurassic Park Brachiosaurus. The toy is painted gray, fading to a paler tone on the underside. The nails are left unpainted but it really doesn’t affect the aesthetics of the toy much in this case.

The Mattel Brachiosaurus is a monumental achievement, a love letter from Mattel to Jurassic Park fans of all ages. It blows comparable toy sauropods away in its lifelike detail and sheer scale. Even among other Jurassic World toys by Mattel it stands alone as one of the most well executed and film accurate toys to date. It seems dramatic to say this is a masterpiece, but in our hobby it truly is, not just a child’s toy but the centerpiece to any respectable toy dinosaur or Jurassic Park collection. This is the one to have, above all other Jurassic World toys to date this is one that will be coveted and talked about by collectors for decades to come.

The Mattel Brachiosaurus has only just released and in the U.S. is available at Target. I was able to acquire mine easily enough, just walking by and taking it off the shelf, but scalpers are quickly buying them up and selling them for over twice their retail price of $50. Now is the time to get yours, do so while you can.