Every parent hopes to see their child's face light up when they first play with a new toy. That's what happened when our six-month-old daughter first saw her bouncing Tigger and Roo. She laughed, she crowed, she waved her hands and kicked her feet -- it was wonderful to see her excitement. And for months it remained one of her favorite toys.

Pushing down on Tigger’s head causes the toy to bounce while Tigger and Roo sing the Tigger song (“The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things…”). The Tigger and Roo voices are the same as the ones used in the animated cartoons (which should be a no-brainer, but it’s not – sometimes the toy’s voice sounds nothing like the voice in the accompanying show or movie). The bouncing is quite noisy, but does not drown out the song. For some reason they only sing half of the song; then they encourage you to push again so they can finish it. If you push Tigger’s head within a few moments, he bounces again and they continue the song. But our daughter was the one who found out that if you squeeze Tigger's hand instead of pushing down on his head, they sing the entire song without bouncing. This is a nice option since the noisy bouncing could frighten some children.

The bouncing Tigger and Roo is battery-operated, of course. Our batteries lasted several months before they needed to be replaced. This is a good thing, since replacing them is not easy. Access is provided through a velcro-fastened opening in Tigger’s back. A small Philips screwdriver is needed to open the battery case. The toy is very sturdy, and we had no problems with the way it functioned or the quality of the construction or materials. Other reviews have commented on the toy's tendency to fall over, but we haven't had that problem.

We loved the bouncing Tigger and Roo because of its ability to instantaneously distract our daughter out of almost any little fussy mood. Crying because we had to wipe her nose, or because Daddy left the room? Angry because Momma wants her to stop pulling the cat’s tail? Just whack Tigger on the head and she’s all smiles.

As with many toys, the charm eventually wore off after several months. But until it did, Tigger and Roo were the best friends we ever had, and we considered it money well-spent.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 28
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months