This was the first full sized Brachiosaurus in the Jurassic Park line and was released for the Jurassic Park III movie. This marks the begging of Hasbro’s full control of the Jurassic Park toy line after closing Kenner in 2000. It strays away from the playful but not always successful Kenner style and into a less interesting, boring, mass produced, and shall I say lower quality toys.
During my time writing for the Dinosaur Toy Blog, I have reviewed many Jurassic Park / World toys. When I look back at those reviews I couldn’t help and notice the trend that I am usually very upbeat and positive on those toys. Amazing, when I consider just how bad Hasbro treated the Jurassic Park franchise when you compare it to the early Kenner toys and the current ones being produced by Mattel . Even after saying that, I am happy to report that all my kids Hasbro Jurassic World toys are still functioning and have yet to break. Even now I guess I just can’t help being positive.
With that being said, does this Brachiosaurus deserve our love and devotion or is it just a piece of movie memorabilia that only a few people find worthy for the shelf. Lets take a closer look.
About the toy: At approximately 8.75 in (22.23cm) long and 7.5 in (19.05 cm) high, this toy does not inspire the awe you would expect from a fully grown Brachiosaurus. The pose on this toy is fairly neutral. The neck is a little bendy but its a rather classic sauropod periscope. The tiny head has its mouth open and its facial expression shows it is one unhappy dino.
If you position the legs so the flat of its feet are on the ground, its right leg will be off the ground and bent. This acts like a trigger so you can activate the dino strike action by pulling the leg back. The left leg is straight and supports the weight of the toy. The back two legs are slightly bent. The back right is slightly more bent and forward when compared to the back left leg. The spine does have a curve to it, bending to the left when you look at it head on, which leads to the tail at which point it curves back to the right, then bends in as if it was a whip. When the right leg is pulled back it activates the dino strike action which causes the tail to swing and an low electronic roar to go off.
On the right flank is the gory dino damage wound. The skin is torn and ripped with the red muscle tissue clearly visible and yellowish white bone poking through. If you push the white bone, and high pitched roar is heard. That sound reinforces the pain an animal would feel from a wound of that magnitude.
The paint on the top, from the head to the tip of the tail, is dark blue paint that is layered on top over a light grey blue. While the undersides of its body, neck, legs, and tail are colored white. There is a greyish blue color on the tops of the legs and there is some very light grey mixed into the white parts of the toy. On the head, the eyes are tiny and yellow, and inside the mouth the teeth are white and the tongue is pink. Interestingly the nostrils are located on top of the head. The feet look more like an elephants and its toes are painted black. The black JP III logo can be found on its right thigh.
It is not a smooth plastic toy as there are skin texture lines all across the body, neck, tail, and limbs. It looks a little under fed as you can clearly see the ribs (on the non dino damage side) and the shoulders blades are really sticking out. There are some loose skin folds on the body and there is muscle tone in the legs.
Playability: Its ok. The dino strike works, but the tail isn’t long enough for it really to do much. Its really not strong enough to knock over other dinos or wood blocks. I guess it could be wagging its tail, waiting to play fetch with the Jurassic Park staff or begging for some tasty leaves. The legs move and the neck can bend and twist, which can lead to more animated play. It does makes sounds and that can add to the playtime experience. Due to its smaller size, it makes it vulnerable to predentary dinosaur toys during playtime but on the other hand, it is easy to pack and bring on long car rides. Due to it being an electronic figure, you might not want to bring it to the beach, pool, or have it on hand for playtime in the tub.
Overall: I know at the beginning I said I am usually very positive with my Jurassic Park reviews but, this figure is not one that I like. What can I say, to me its kind of a bland figure. The pose is average, the size is small, playability is ok, the colors are ok, and due to it being a Jurassic Park toy, I am not going to go into the multitude of anatomical issues with this figure, but their are many. Once upon a time, it did fill a toy void as it was the only full size (albeit small) Brachiosaur in the Jurassic Park line up. Thank goodness for the huge and beautiful Jurassic World Legacy Brachiosaur. It has made this older figure easy to forget. I would advise any body who is looking for a Jurassic Park sauropod and if you have the room, to get the JWL Brachiosaur.
Just because I am not a fan of the figure doesn’t mean you have to agree. If you like this toy and have it in your collection, display it proudly! If you are looking to get one to complete your Jurassic Park collection, or just to give to a young family member who is just learning the joy of prehistoric toys, your best bet is e-bay, thrift shops (that’s where I found mine), or garage sales.
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Comparing this to the Mattel Brachiosaurus is like comparing a single McNugget to a freshly roasted chicken.