Allosaurus (Dual Attack)(Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Mattel)

Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy

Back in May 2019, the Dual Attack Allosaurus and Nasutoceratops toys began showing up on shelves at Walmart, which caught people by surprise, as no images of these had been revealed online beforehand. The packaging for these two toys in particular was different from the rest of the Dino Rivals assortment, not only with the purple colors used on the packaging, but also the distinctive “Battle at Big Rock” logo on it, with a note saying “as seen in.” Months went by with speculation on what this “Battle at Big Rock” could be, and what role these two dinosaur species would serve in it, as well as for why the Allosaurus seemed to have such a drastic redesign. Until now . . .

Over the past few weeks, news came out finally confirming that this short film was not canceled after it was disappointingly a no-show with Hobbs and Shaw as had previously been rumored. At last it has been released. I’ve given the thing a watch, and it was certainly more intense then I was expecting, and the mystery revolving around the Allosaurus design change has finally had some light shed on it as well, though not specifically in the short film. Rather, in an interview article that surfaced prior to the release, it was confirmed that the Allosaurus design change was because the juvenile Allosaurus from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has grown up now, as the short takes place a year after the events of that film (which was quite the transformation given the spikes it now sports on its head). I recommend other fans of the JP franchise, or at least fans of Allosaurus, to give BaBR a watch, as it hasn’t been in the spotlight for quite some time now.

Now, with that out of the way, on to the subject of this review, the Dual Attack Allosaurus. The toy itself is a retool of the Roarivores Allosaurus, and has been given quite the overhaul, especially in regards to the head (which seems a tad dragon-like to me, especially from the front) and the new spikes it sports, similar in style to the Papo Allosaurus, or even the one from Jurassic World Evolution. Like the other Dino Rivals figures, it comes with a card, with artwork clearly based upon one of the promo images of the Mojo Fun Allosaurus. The toy no longer features the electronic roaring, but does retain the gimmick to close its mouth, while also featuring an additional new gimmick to move its claws up.

Being that this is a retool of the Roarivores Allosaurus, which did suffer from some accuracy and proportion issues (as well as a poor ability to stand), said issues have been carried over: the short legs, the lack of the enlarged claw on the first digit, a shrink-wrapped tail, etc). The head on this figure seems a tad bit oversized, and while it does sport the crests, they are placed directly over the eyes instead of in front of them. Additionally, the head might be a bit too wide from the front, and it seems to sport binocular vision that the previous toy did not have. Also worth mentioning is that, like the Roarivores version, this one thankfully does not have pronated wrists, as theropod wrists would have to be broken to be in such a position.

In regard to BaBR’s Allosaurus design, this toy is mostly accurate, aside from some proportion issues. Namely the small legs and a head that is too big. Otherwise, the head design, spikes, and color scheme of shades of blue and tan are spot on, even if a bit hard to take note of in BaBR, as it takes place during the night. The figure also has a blue tongue just like the Roarivores toy, and while it was hard for me to notice that detail in the short film, it’s likely accurate, as the animal in JW:FK did have a blue tongue.

For anyone collecting the JP and JW film species, or perhaps just figures of Allosaurus itself, this one is certainly worth adding to the collection, alongside its other short film counterpart, the Nasutoceratops. They are still being sold on Amazon in the US, and might still be found in US Walmarts too, though they were being put on clearance recently. They might be found at other retailers worldwide too.