My little 15-month-old loves music and loves to dance. When my father saw the Chicken Dance Elmo at the store he figured it would be the perfect toy for my son -- a toy that could play music and dance along with him!

Product Description:

Chicken Dance Elmo is, you guessed it, Elmo! In a chicken suit. His yellow chicken suit is fuzzy and incredibly soft to the touch. His suit includes large orange chicken-feet, a red comb on top of his head, and a yellow and white tail in back. His chicken-suit cannot be removed -- only Elmo's red face and hands are visible outside the suit. Elmo stands approximately 10 inches tall.

Elmo's hands are attached to his chest, making his arms look a bit like wings (or like a kid trying to look like a chicken). As the music plays Elmo alternates between bouncing up and down while flapping his elbows, and standing still while rolling his head around.

A small indention on each foot can be pressed to activate Elmo. When the right foot is pressed Elmo makes a chicken-like "bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk" sound as his head rotates around (not like the Exorcist -- more like rolling it around to work the kinks out of his neck or something). The left foot activates the entire song, dancing, and the music.

The song Elmo sings, accompanied by the Chicken Dance music is as follows:

Come on everybody, let's do the chicken dance with Elmo!
Elmo wants to be a chicken, Elmo wants to be a duck
(chicken-clucking) bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk
Flap your arms like a chicken, flap your arms like a chicken
bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk
Make a sound like a chicken, make a sound like a chicken
bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk
Come on everybody, let's do the chicken dance with Elmo!
Elmo wants to be a chicken, Elmo wants to be a duck
bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk
That was fun!

The song is much longer when the little "remove this" tag is pulled out, so if you play with Elmo in the store be aware that his song goes on and on and on once you take him home. If the button on his foot is pressed again during the song it does what they call a "rappin' repeat" -- which is actually just backing up the song a bit (almost like hitting rewind for a split-second, then letting it continue forward).

Chicken Dance Elmo requires 4 "AA" batteries (included) -- two batteries go in each foot. The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 18 months and up.

How does my son like it?

My boy does like his Chicken Dance Elmo. He smiles and dances along with Elmo, although he doesn't really dance "like a chicken" just yet.

My son is going through a hugging phase, and he sometimes tries to hug Elmo mid-song. Dancing Elmo is not particularly huggable -- if my son has a good grip on him his head can't rotate around, and it makes a loud clicking noise that bothers my boy. This Elmo really isn't much for cuddling anyway -- his head is fairly soft and squishable but his body and legs are hard and solid.

My son has figured out exactly what spots on each foot to press to activate Elmo, however it took him a little while to get good at it. The spots are just barely visible and easily missed by a toddler. It might have been better if the spots were a different color or otherwise differentiated.

As I mentioned, my parents got this toy for my son. At one point during their visit I was sitting on the floor with my son while my father sat on the couch, playing with Elmo. With Elmo singing full-blast right at my ear-level he was entirely too loud -- he made my ears hurt! I hadn't noticed it as much when Elmo was on the floor, but right next to my head it was awful! He has no volume control, and there is no way to get to the speaker (buried somewhere underneath Elmo's chicken-suit) to cover it up with something to dampen the sound a bit. My boy gets right up close to Elmo to press the buttons on his feet, however we try to make sure he puts some distance between himself and Elmo before the song really gets going.

My son has been a bit rough with Elmo, dropping him and pushing him over. Elmo still works just fine (I don't know if that is good or bad). Fortunately we haven't gotten him messy yet. Elmo cannot be tossed in the washing machine, and his outer skin/suit is not removable, so I would imagine he would be rather hard to clean.

Quickie Summary:
Pros:
) It's Elmo! A cute (and recognizable) Muppet from the much-beloved Sesame Street.
) Sings and dances
) Very cute toy
) Elmo's fur and chicken suit are extremely soft -- very nice to run your fingers across
) Quite durable (so far)

Cons:
-) No volume control, and the volume is LOUD!
-) Not really "huggable"
-) Sometimes hard for little ones to find the right spot to push for activation
-) Elmo's high-pitched voice can get on one's nerves rather quickly
-) Can't get the song to stop once it starts
-) Not easy to clean

Final Thoughts:
I had a very hard time deciding whether to give Elmo the thumbs-up or thumbs-down. He is a VERY cute toy, and is sure to make anyone smile at least the first few times he sings and dances. However, he really doesn't do much, isn't good for snuggling, and is far too loud. Still, every time my boy activates it he gets a huge grin on his face and starts to dance, so I've got to give Elmo some credit here. Maybe he's not so bad after all.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): ?? Gift
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months