Tipping and Tooting With Disney!
Written: Jan 23 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cute Tractor toy from Pixar's Cars movie. Now you too can go tractor-tipping.
Cons: Tipping action works best on a hard, flat surface.
The Bottom Line: A tipping and tooting tractor, just like in the movie! Very cute
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Disney Pixar Cars Tip and Toot Tractor |
My 2½ year old, who loves all vehicles, simply adores the Pixar movie Cars. One part of the movie that causes every boy I know to laugh out loud is the scene where Mater the tow-truck takes Lightening McQueen "tractor tipping". When my son received the small, die-cast version of the Cars tractor he carried it around everywhere with him for weeks, so when I heard that there was a larger version available, I simply had to get it for him.
Product Description:
The Disney Pixar Cars Tip and Toot Tractor is a cute, rolling "Chewall" tractor toy from Pixar's Cars movie. In the movie, the tractors are much like cows, and if you startle them while they are sleeping they "moo" and rear back, tipping over backward on their large rear wheels (the vehicle-equivalent of "cow tipping").
The toy is a good re-creation of the tractors from the movie. The toy measures roughly 5 inches tall, 6 inches long, and 4 inches wide. It is a slightly odd peach color (for whatever reason I expected the tractor to be more tan/brown than peach) with some muddy brown splotches. It has big blue eyes and plastic rear-view mirrors that serve as floppy "ears". There's even an "udder" underneath!
If you push down on the smokestack the tractor's eyes close (making him appear to be asleep). Push down a little harder and the tractor compresses down just a bit on the front wheels - priming the tractor for tipping. When the tractor is "asleep" and primed for tipping, you just press the button on his nose and his eyes pop open, he moos, and then promptly tips over backward -- just like in the movie! This tipping action is also accompanied by a "tooting" sound (there are 3 different varieties -- some sound more like air brakes releasing, others sound a bit, well, wetter...).
The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 36 months to 8 years. Three "AA" batteries are required (included). A master on-off switch is located on the bottom of the tractor.
Our Thoughts and Experiences:
When my son first received his Tip and Toot Tractor he would set off the sounds & tipping-action then would sit back and laugh and laugh and laugh at it. We knew we had a real hit on our hands.
The tipping action does work and works quite well -- however it does work best on a hard, flat surface. It simply will not tip backwards when placed on our carpet or on a bed -- the surface is just too soft to give it the launch it needs to thrust the toy up and back. I can see how this could be very frustrating for some little ones who expect it to work consistently regardless of the surface they are playing upon, however our son (who is usually quite particular about things) just takes it in stride. At first he really didn't care, but now that he's older he understands that if he wants it to tip it must be on our wood floor or a table, not in his lap or on the bed or on the couch.
As much as I go on and on about where the tractor will and won't tip, it should be noted that with the huge back wheels the tractor works great as a regular-old tractor toy on nearly any surface my 2 year old has thought to put it upon. So even if the batteries are dead and the tractor won't tip, my son can still play with it. Thus far (we've had it around 4 months now) it appears to be very sturdy too -- and my son loves it enough that it has been put through quite a bit of abuse.
Just like in the movie, the "toot" sounds are still tractor-ish sounds (air brake, hoses hissing, etc), so while in this context they can be considered "rude" they are also real tractor sounds so you can't feel too guilty about that, right?
The instructions that come with the tractor tell you to push down on the smokestack to prime him for tipping, but that isn't entirely true. They really mean push down on the smokestack hard enough that the front of the tractor compresses down on the front wheel. You can also perform these actions independently (push down on the smokestack alone -- which closes his eyes, and push down on the front of the tractor -- which primes him for tipping backward). Pushing down on the nose-button also plays the sound effects whether he's primed for tipping or not. I can understand that they wanted to make the instructions simple, but my 2 year old can easily push down on the smokestack without pushing hard enough to lock the tractor down into tipping mode -- he has a much easier time priming him for tipping if he pushes down on the nose, not the smokestack.
Note: There are two similarly named versions of this toy. One is offered exclusively through "The Disney Store" and is called something slightly different. We have not seen that toy in action but it has received some fairly bad reviews online. The one we have (the non-Disney Store version available at regular retail chains) is a bit larger and lighter colored (and apparently much sturdier too).
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Good likeness of the tractors from Pixar's Cars movie
+) Copies the "tractor-tipping" action from the movie
+) Tipping action works very well on hard surfaces
+) Larger than the die-cast Cars vehicles, but still small enough that it's easy to carry around
+) Includes "moos" and gaseous sound effects
+) Rolls extremely well on just about any surface
+) Master on/off switch located under the tractor (near the udder)
+) Sturdy, durable toy
Cons:
-) Will not tip properly on soft surfaces (carpets, beds, etc)
-) Setting up the tipping action may confuse the youngest users
-) Some adults may be put off by the fairly obnoxious "tooting" sound effects
Final Thoughts:
My son adores his Tip and Toot Tractor. It is the toy he takes to "show and tell" at his pre-school most often. Aside from the tipping and tooting, I think he likes it because it is larger than his die-cast Cars vehicle, yet still small enough to be easily carried around. I will warn that some kids may get frustrated the the "tipping" doesn't work on all surfaces, but my fairly finicky 2 year old didn't mind it, so we still highly recommend this toy.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
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About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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