My 2 sons, ages 5 and 2, have such different interests yet they love to play together. I'm on a never ending quest for toys that both boys can enjoy. My youngest is absolutely obsessed with anything on wheels while my eldest is more of an action-figure/Transformers kind of kid. My toddler was the first one drawn to Fisher Price's "Car-nivores" at the store, but when I saw how big of a kick my eldest got out of the toys I figured this was one of those rare finds that combined the kinds of toys that my 2 very different boys loved most.

Product Description

Fisher Price describes these toys as "car on the outside, but inside lives a beast." I like to think of them as vehicular jack-in-the-boxes. Essentially, when in an un-popped state the toy looks like a cute, chunky little vehicle. When you press a button on the back bumper the car springs to life like a jack-in-the-box, revealing a cute but semi-threatening looking animal inside. There are currently 4 cars in the Car-nivores line. A tiger, a T-Rex, a snake, and the one I'm reviewing here, the shark.

In car form the Shark Car-nivore has an old-fashioned, "classic" look complete with fins (and yes, it just occurred to me that the shark-car has fins -- I guess now I know why they chose this particular style car for the shark). It is a pleasant pale greenish-blue with white and silver detailing.

When you press a button on the rear bumper the car pops open to reveal the shark inside. The rear of the car's body pops up and tilts forward, with two mini-wheels on the front bumper providing additional support for the vehicle in its "beast" form. Most of the passenger compartment and part of the hood become the shark's head, with a fin popping up on the very top and the front-side windshields popping down to reveal the shark's eyes. The shark's mouth is quite large with an impressive row of teeth and a pink tongue, and his jaws can be opened and closed. Parts of the doors flip out to reveal the shark's fins.

To turn the shark back into a car, you simply press down on the back of the car until it catches. Alternately, my youngest son discovered that you can press down on the shark's side fins and he'll fold back down into a car as well, so that's the way he prefers to do it.

The toy measures 2½ inches high, 3½ inches wide and 6 inches long when in car form. The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 3 and up. No batteries are required.

Our Thoughts and Experiences

We love our Car-nivores (we have 3 of the 4 styles currently available). Both of my boys adore them. My youngest (who is currently 2) is obsessed with anything on wheels and loves being able to roll them in both the car & animal forms. He squeals with delight when the characters pop up, and has enjoyed taking them to "show and tell" at his preschool. My eldest (who is currently 5½) loses interest quicker than his little brother and has never been terribly into cars, yet he loves the pop-up action and likes exploring the little features that become available whenever the animal pops up (such as the mouth, eyes, and the pop-up fins). My eldest thinks that the cars are very "cool", and is happy to play cars with his little brother so long as he gets to use the Car-nivores.

The pop-up action is very easy to trigger, as is the act of turning the shark back into a car. When we purchased our Car-nivores my youngest wasn't even two years old yet and he could pop-up and close the cars without any trouble whatsoever.

It is very durable, having been dropped more times than I can count by my toddler, and has survived repeated trips to his preschool. I love the cute & chunky design of the car, as well as the fearsome-without-being-scary look of the shark.

I want to hug Fisher Price for finally figuring out a way to securely lock the toy into its packaging while still making sure parents can easily remove it after purchase! In its packaging the toy is secured to the box at its base (so you can see the pop-up action before you purchase it). There is a perforated section on the bottom of the box with a "pull here" opening, so the bottom of the box is easily removed to reveal little lock-latches inside. Just turn the latches and your Car-nivore is released! No twist-ties! My two boys, who were with me when I purchased their Car-nivores, certainly appreciated how quickly I was able to get their cars opened and they were able to start playing.

Quickie Summary
Pros:
+) Cute car toy that pops-up into a character toy
+) Shark's mouth can open and close (which also moves his eyes and the fin on his head)
+) Easy enough for little ones to operate
+) Very clever design
+) Durable
+) Easy to remove from the packaging!!
+) No batteries required
Cons:
-) Uhhhh... I can't think of any!

Final Thoughts

Everyone in our family loves these little cars with a surprise inside. It is easy enough for my little guy to work, and interesting enough to keep both my little and big guys entertained for a while. I'm very pleased!




Related Reviews:
Tiger Car-nivore

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 8.00