Mosasaurus has finally made it to the big screen in Jurassic World and while it might not be scientific accurate, if you look at it in terms of the cool factor, one could argue that it was the star of the film. Literally and figuratively it is involved in the biggest splashes of action during its screen time.
As with many predators, it is all about the bite, and Mosasurus did not disappoint in the film or in real life. During its heyday in the late Cretaceous 70-66 million years ago, the Mosasaurus dined on your typical aquatic fare, fish, plesiosaurs, ammonites, and other Mosasaurs. The jaws of this fearsome predator housed large conical teeth and a secondary row of pterygoid teeth. This allowed it to grip and swallow its prey. Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water again(or to your local toy store), Hasbro has unleashed the Mosasaurus chomper, a tiny terror toy with a big bite.
So how does this pint sized chomper live up to the expectations of kids, collectors, and casual fans? Surprisingly, I think this toy is better than you would expect. The first thing of note is this figure is more of a caricature of a genetically engineered movie creature , than a true to life sculpt. So, no anatomical nit picking for me. It is a small toy at 5in (.127cm) long and 2in (.050cm) high. It has a graceful head, with a terrifying look in its eyes. Its maw is huge, with big teeth. In fact, I would argue that its teeth are bigger than the J.W. Ceratosaurus toy. The surface of this toy is very smooth other than the row of bumps going down its back. The tail fluke is very short, the front flippers are really big, and the rear flippers are small. The figure balances very well on all four limbs, so it is a very stable toy.
The chomping action is very easy to use. When you squeeze the rear flippers, it causes the mouth to close and the tail to move, as if it was accelerating to capture its prey in the warm picturesque Cretaceous sea. The bite action is fun, but not very strong, so no fingers will get hurt if they are placed inside its mouth. The colorization is basically grey with dark bluish grey on the top of its head, back, and front flipper. Inside its mouth it has a huge pink tongue. I should mention that there are screw holes, on the bottom were they belong.
Overall, I find this a really fun Jurassic World toy. Sure, it is a simple toy that is not a accurate model of the animal in the film or in real life. It is a nice caricature of it though. In fact, if Jurassic World was real, it could have been used as a free promotional gift to the first 1000 visitors to watch the Mosasurus feeding show. Perhaps during a coupon day at the park. It is a inexpensive toy for your pocket book but as always, its worth is in the eye of the beholder. If you are a fan of the Jurassic World film, it might be worth taking a chance on.
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[…] anticipated Mosasaurus toy. They made a couple of Mosasaurs toys for the film, a really small chomper toy, an even smaller blind bag mini figure, and this medium sized one. A big Mosasaurus toy would […]
These really are some of the better JW toys due to how stylized they are. This is clearly not a model for display, or an action figure. It’s a toy. We can’t really bring up anatomical issues with a product like this.
Y’know, the quality of this one seems much better than the rest of the JW line, haha! I think this stylized look works better for Hasbro, since their aim is to create toys of dinosaurs that aren’t accurate to begin with.
I think people are also forgetting that extant animals receive the inaccurate cartoon-like look all the time, but you don’t see people yelling that teddy bears don’t look like real bears. Ah well. The mini photos showing the chomping action are nicely placed and break up the usual format, I like it. 🙂
That does not look like a mosasaur at all!
I understand your thought on its look, but remember it is a caricature of a genetically engineered Mosasaurus. In fact, the skull is tapered into a conical tip and it is has conical teeth as well. The front limbs are bigger than the rear limbs, and has a tail fluke. These are all elements that are true on a Mosasaur, but there is no reason worry about any of that as it is not intended to be accurate. I understand the trepidation that comes with a toy such as this. Maybe I am trying to hard to be positive on a bad toy line, but this is exactly what it is supposed to be, a fun little toy.