Mr. Potato Head Silly Suitcase; Her FAVORITE Christmas Gift!
Written: Jan 05 '06
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Pros: Kids LOVE it (fun for adults too); variety of pieces; encourages creativity and hand/eye coordination.
Cons: More little pieces to pick up.
The Bottom Line: Every child needs a Mr. Potato Head, and his Silly Suitcase is a great way to store all the little pieces that accompany him.
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| krissingene's Full Review: Playskool Silly Suitcase Mr. Potato Head |
I had never given much thought to Mr. Potato Head until just a few months ago. I never had one as a child (it's a wonder I'm a functioning member of society after such trauma), but always thought he was pretty cool - or at least as much so as a plastic potato can be. Anyway, I found myself at the mall several weeks before Christmas with my daughter's godparents - and when the guys headed into the arcade, us girls ducked into the toy store just across the hall. There, my friend spotted the Mr. Potato Head Silly Suitcase on the shelf and asked if I thought Rachael might like it for Christmas. Sure - she wasn't familiar with the spud, but it had lots of tiny little pieces, which would make it popular nonetheless.
As luck would have it, she became somewhat obsessed by the movie Toy Story before Christmas - which means that she was indeed familiar with Mr. Potato Head by the time her godparents arrived bearing a gift bag stuffed with the funky-shaped plastic case. I just knew she would call him by name when she pulled him out of the bag and she did - only she spontaneously renamed him, and the name she gave him has stuck: "TATER FACE".
~* A Brief History of Tater Face *~
According to Wikipedia, Mr. Potato Head was "born" in the late 1940s when a breakfast cereal manufacturer began including separate pieces as a "prize inside." But wait, you ask - what if the kid eating the cereal didn't have the plastic body already? Well, you see, there was no plastic body back then. Oh no - these pieces were meant to be stuck into real potatoes instead. This idea didn't last long, and Hasbro snapped up the idea. They began selling complete sets of the real-spud accessories in 1952, the first toy to be nationally advertised on television. It wasn't until 1964 that the plastic body was finally added to the kit, saving mothers everywhere from cleaning up drippy, gross potatoes riddled with holes.
In 1987, Mr. Potato Head gave up the pipe he had enjoyed from the beginning, and became the "spokespud" for the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. He has rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange, been issued an AARP card on his 50th birthday, and even received votes in a Boise, Idaho mayoral election. Yes, he is one well-rounded spud - and now he can be all yours.
~* Tater Face's Silly Suitcase *~
The Mr. Potato Head Silly Suitcase, which is made by Playskool (a Hasbro subsidiary), is indeed a clear plastic suitcase of sorts - only potato-shaped with a pair of feet molded into the bottom. The case latches at the top, just beneath the carrying handle. Tater Face and accessories are clearly visible inside, except for the small pieces that come pre-stored inside - easily accessible via the same rear flap you'll remember from your own childhood. The label on front of the suitcase calls him "Classic Mr. Potato Head" and boasts 40 unique pieces, appropriate for ages two and up.
What parts does he come with, you ask? Well, you would. And I've picked every one of them up enough times that I could probably list them for you by memory, but in the sake of accuracy, I'll just regurgitate the list from the back of the packaging.
1 potato body, complete with holes for all the little pieces and a funky molded smile that some parts won't quite cover up.
4 ears - one set each pink and orange.
5 pairs of eyes - standard, droopy, girly, crossed and googly.
2 sets of teeth - smiling and smiling with one tooth knocked out (in case Tater Face gets cheeky?)
4 mouths - blue goofy, orange toothy, red lips and pink lips
2 tongues - red and pink
4 noses - red and pink bulbs, huge orange nose and ridiculously huge yellow nose
3 mustaches - black, white and long handlebar green
1 pair of glasses (good luck keeping them on)
2 earrings (they're green - take em or leave em)
1 flower (that attaches to what, exactly?)
6 arms - one pair each standard white, blue muscular and yellow zig-zaggy
1 baseball hat (again, hope you like green)
1 construction hat (standard-issue yellow)
1 visor (yellow again, and very girly)
1 pair of feet (orange feet?!)
2 pairs of shoes (blue or red, depending on Tater Face's current gender)
All of the pieces fit well inside the plastic suitcase in which they're originally packaged - although sometimes it's a bit difficult to close the thing when playtime is over. Those feet and hats are bulky little things, and Mr. Potato Head is no skinny little spud himself. For storage purposes, I keep the smaller pieces (eyes, ears, etc.) inside the potato body and arrange the larger pieces around the body before closing up. It takes a little foresight on the parent's part, but it's totally do-able - and it didn't take long for my little girl to catch on to putting all the Mr. Potato Head pieces in the same place so she can find them later.
~* Playtime with Tater Face *~
The general premise of Mr. Potato Head, in case you've been living under a rock for the past 60+ years, is to insert pieces - each of which has a long peg on the back - into holes in the plastic potato body, thus creating silly faces and/or horribly mutated concoctions. When first pulled from the box, he was already decked out in 'standard' paraphernalia - basic eyes, red nose, toothy grin, basic white arms, etc. It took all of ten seconds for my little girl (who is just shy of the two year mark) to completely disassemble this, scattering pieces strategically around the room.
Once they were rounded back up, she set about the task of learning to push the pieces into the little holes that dot the plastic body. It took no time at all for her to grasp the concept, but a fair amount of trying over the course of a couple of days to master the angling of the pieces just so every time. However, just two weeks after Christmas, she's an old pro at this whole Tater Face thing.
Surprisingly, she's not big on Picasso-like creations just yet, preferring to put each piece of his anatomy where she knows they *should* go, and getting very perturbed when Mommy or Daddy outfits him with shoes on top of his head and an upside-down face. (Mommy note: The earrings lend themselves well to facial piercings. I have successfully attached them to his eyebrow - which is an inverted mustache - nose and tongue. See for yourself!)
My personal hypothesis is that older children will be more experimental with Mr. Potato Head, who was designed to allow the creative juices to flow (no pun intended.) Younger children, who are more literal by nature, will prefer to put their knowledge of 'where things go' to use by ensuring that each piece is placed correctly. AT ALL TIMES. And woe be unto you if you attempt anything differently.
If anything at all is unsettling about this toy, it is the ease with which Mr. Potato Head transforms into Mrs. Potato Head. Just attach girly eyes, pouty lips, red shoes and green earrings and voila! Instant female. Of course, little kids won't find the humor in this for many moons, and having female pieces available certainly extends the possibilities for play. Mustache and lipstick, anyone?
Also, fear not if your child is a bit below the two year age recommendation and still tends to gnaw on his or her toys occasionally. Although my daughter is past this stage, her smaller playgroup buddies have already chewed on an arm here and an ear there. The plastic pieces are easily rinsed/washed when need be, and even the toothy toddlers haven't managed to leave teeth prints in the sturdy rubbery parts. This is one tough tuber.
~* We Heart Spuds *~
I had NO idea - even after she saw Toy Story and enjoyed it - how enamored my daughter would become of Tater Face. She loved him from the moment she opened the plastic case and has barely stopped playing with him since. Even on Christmas morning, after the huge pile of Santa gifts were opened, she wanted to play with Tater Face before any of her newer gifts. Everyone who visits our house must play with Tater Face. Tater Face must be easily accessible at all times. NOTHING tops Tater Face.
Knock me over with a feather. Or at least a little plastic arm.
~* Contact Info *~
Visit Playskool online at www.playskool.com, or call 1-800-752-9755, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 15 (gift)
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
krissingene
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Member: Kristin
Location: Southern VA
Reviews written: 267
Trusted by: 119 members
About Me:
The strength of Motherhood is greater than Natural Laws. -Barbara Kingsolver
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