Mosasaurus (Jurassic World Snap Squad by Mattel)

By and large the Snap Squad toys by Mattel have been frustratingly difficult to find. Nearly a year ago I managed to find a few at Wal-Mart, and foolishly didn’t buy them all. That was the first time I ever saw them “in the wild” and I wouldn’t see them again until April 2020, when for some reason they showed up at Aldi of all places. Aldi is a grocery store chain that occasionally carries seasonal items and had Snap Squad toys in their Easter section. This time I didn’t make the same mistake as before and made sure to buy one of each, so for the next few reviews those are what we’ll be looking at. As of this writing I’ve been seeing new Snap Squad figures at Target, promoting Netflix’s Camp Cretaceous, but with their metallic looking sheen they appear quite different from their standard Jurassic World brethren. Today we’re looking at the Mosasaurus, the only non-dinosaur to be included in this line so far.

Like I mentioned in my Snap Squad T. rex review the main appeal of these toys are their simplified, exaggerated and cute features, compact size, and of course the ability to clamp onto anything you attach them to. Backpacks, pull chains, shirt pockets, other toys, your fingers; they have a strong enough bite that they remain secure in place on most things. These are fun and unique little play things that have generated a strong following among those able to track them down. Distribution of them, for whatever reason, seems to remain poor.

The Mosasaurus is undeniably adorable and quite detailed for such a simple little toy. A ridge of osteoderms runs down the armored back and small scales run down the brow ridges and snout. Small bumps are present on the maxilla just above the teeth, and the teeth themselves are individually sculpted and painted.

Wrinkles are sculpted along the lower jaw, and additional small scales are present on the flippers. Inside the mouth there are pterygoid teeth on the upper jaw. Curiously though, there are no nostrils or ear openings. There is of course a ridge on the back of the head so that the mouth can be opened and closed. It looks odd on this particular toy, but whatcha gonna do?

The toy is predominantly blue in color, dark along the back and lighter along the sides and the lower jaw and belly are white. The big bright eyes are green with black pupils and the pink inside of the mouth has a glossy, wet looking finish. Like other Snap Squad toys the tail and limbs are loose and wiggle about when the toy is dangling by its mouth.

My only criticism for this toy is that due to the shape of the head the mouth doesn’t open as far as on some of the other Snap Squad toys. Aside from that there’s nothing to complain about. It’s likely that you already know if you’ll like these toys or not, even without the review. These toys have been in my house for some time and are still played with often; they’re easily my daughter’s favorite dinosaur toys. I don’t know how easy it is to track down this particular Mosasaurus but a new Snap Squad Mosasaurus is now available with a shinier paintjob and should be easier to find.