Ah.. Elmo! That furry little red guy has invaded our house.. yet again! My son received his very first Elmo at his first birthday party in December 2001 which was the Tickle Me Elmo Surprise - 5th Anniversary Edition and since then, we've been hooked. When he turned two, during the holiday 2002 season he received the Chicken Dance Elmo and I figured we'd be adding more in 2003. Well, its Christmas in July here as we've added the 2 latest and greatest Elmo toys to our repertoire - Hokey Pokey Elmo and Limbo Elmo. As Elmo would say.. Oh Boy!.

Do the Hokey Pokey and Shake it all about with Elmo!

On the store shelf, Elmo just does a mini version of the song. But rest assured once you get him home and free him of the wire tie and tape bondage that imprisons Elmo, you will fall in love. Fisher-Price has been so kind to include a set of AA batteries in the toy so that its ready for play. Should the batteries be weak from all the in-store demoing, you can give Elmo a change with the help of a Phillips head screwdriver and replacing the batteries in the compartment located in the bottom of Elmo's red furry foot.

Before playing with Elmo make sure the On/Off located on the bottom of his left foot is in the On position. Then simply press the button located in his outstretched hand and get ready to Hokey Pokey.

Do the Hokey Pokey and Shake it all about with Elmo!

Elmo puts his hand in, Elmo puts his hand out
Elmo puts his hand in, and he shakes it all about
Elmo does the Hokey Pokey and he turns himself around.. That's what it's all about.

Elmo puts his foot in,Elmo puts his foot out
Elmo puts his foot in, and he shakes it all about
Elmo does the Hokey Pokey and he turns himself around..That's what it's all about.

Pressing the button on his little hand again, Elmo sings a second verse..this time to a faster tempo.


Elmo knows what's it's all about.. the Hokey Pokey!
Elmo puts his arm in, Elmo puts his arm out
Elmo puts his arm in, and he shakes it all about
Elmo does the Hokey Pokey and he turns himself around
That's what its all about.

Faster, everybody Faster!

Elmo puts his leg in, Elmo puts his leg out
Elmo puts his leg in, and he shakes it all about
Elmo does the Hokey Pokey and he turns himself around
That's what its all about!

Whew.. that was fun! Elmo's pooped.

Bye Bye!

Hokey Pokey Elmo is complete with music, song and dance. Yes, Elmo is actually doing the hokey pokey and alternates putting his left arm/hand in and his right foot/leg in. When its time to "shake it all about", Elmo does his signature shake and vibrate that he's known best for ever since the original Tickle Me Elmo was released. But I think best of all, is that when it come to turn himself around, he really does. Elmo's feet have rollers on the bottom of them which enable him to turn in a complete 360 degree circle (twice actually) - even on carpet.

Should your Hokey Pokey Elmo get knocked over (which happens frequently with a two-year old), Elmo will stop singing and dancing. Whoopsie! Can you help Elmo? The first time this happened, my husband and I just about had a heart failure. When Elmo is righted again to a vertical position, he politely says Thank You!. You'll need to press his hand again to resume the dancing, or actually to start it all over again. (You know you will!)

Our thoughts on the Hokey Pokey Elmo

We love him! Yes, We. My son and I have both fallen in love with this Elmo. Alex, who is just 2 and 1/2 years old fell in love with Tickle Me Elmo Surprise and finds his Chicken Dance Elmo to be very silly (meanwhile I wished for earplugs). But, Hokey Pokey Elmo is a completely different story. This Elmo has won my son's heart over, plain and simple.

One thing that Chicken Dance Elmo lacked was huggability. In order to do his silly song and dance the doll had to be rather stiff making him much less huggable than the Tickle Me versions of Elmo. The body construction of Hokey Pokey Elmo is similar, under that red furry suit is quite a bit of heavy plastic and maybe some metal too. But, for some reason he is still quite huggable. I accredit this to his super deluxe shiny red shag suit which feels somewhat like a chenille sweater. My son and I much prefer this new shiny look and feel over previous plush or felt like versions of Elmo that are out there. Its also nice that Fisher-Price opted to give this Elmo a soft stuffed head instead of animating his mouth (which would have required a stiffer face).

Hokey Pokey Elmo has got to be seen to believed. The demo in the store just doesn't do him justice. I love to watch him actually do the dance and move his arm and leg in and out and kids will find it equally as motivating. Don't be surprised to find your little one learning how to do the Hokey Pokey and dancing along side with Elmo in no time at all.

As a parent, I can appreciate that Fisher-Price added the on/off switch to Hokey Pokey Elmo. Though I love him dearly, when played over and over (and over.. again) - he can become tiresome like any other noisy toy. I would love our Chicken Dance Elmo a lot more if they'd added the on/off to that one too, but they didn't. Still, there is no volume level control on the doll which would have been nice. Hokey Pokey Elmo is by no means quiet and for small child who plays on the floor real close to the toy, some parents may find him to be too loud.

Last but not least, I do have one minor and somewhat funny 'nit' about Hokey Pokey Elmo. Its not big enough for me to lower my ratings on the toy, but I'm sure other potty training parents might get a chuckle out of this. I have to question the choice of phrases that the manufacturers picked for this toy. After Elmo does his sped up version of the Hokey Pokey he proclaimed tiredly, Elmo's pooped!. One of the first times that Alex heard Elmo say this he responded by saying "Yucky" and then running to our bathroom and flushing the toilet. Well, Elmo's pooped, right? Maybe Fisher-Price might consider making a potty training Elmo down the road.

Overall
Out of the two newest Elmo's added to my family, I'll admit to playing favorites. My choice is Hokey Pokey Elmo over Limbo Elmo hands down. I'm thinking that we'll see pretty big things for this furry little red guy who learned the Hokey Pokey. Released just a few weeks ago, July 16th 2003, the Hokey Pokey Elmo is likely to become one of the hottest toys for the preschool set come the Holiday 2003 season. Elmo can easily be found on the shelves now in the $20-30 dollar range. If there is an Elmo lover in your family, Hokey Pokey Elmo will no doubt be a winner.


More of my Elmo Reviews

Tickle Me Elmo Surprise - 5th Anniversary Edition
Chicken Dance Elmo
Limbo Elmo

www.fisher-price.com



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 20
Type of Toy: Stuffed Toy
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months