My 21-month-old son is enamored with all things Toy Story so when shopping for him for Christmas, there was a common theme for his gifts. Knowing that he is very good about not putting small pieces in his mouth, I added the Hasbro Toy Story Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Spaceship to his wish list.

~&~ The Basics ~&~

The Hasbro Toy Story Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Spaceship comes with Buzz's ship, Buzz, a removable capture pack, one missile, and an LGM (Little Green Man, for those of you not in the Toy Story know).

The Buzz figure is actually fairly articulated for a figure that's about 2.5 inches tall. His arms move at the shoulders, and his legs twist at the waist, which also turns his head inside his helmet. The removable capture pack is a fold-out backpack that attaches to a hole in Buzz's back with a small post. The LGM is about 1.5 inches tall and looks exactly like the LGM in the Toy Story movies. The paint job on both figures is okay, with a few misses.

The ship itself is a thin plastic. The cockpit door opens forward, revealing two purple seats for Buzz and the LGM. Open the rear cargo doors to reveal control panels on the back wall, inner side of the doors, and a pop-up transmitter. There is a rear cargo hatch on the underside of the ship that can only be opened from the inside. A pen or something similar is needed to open it from the outside.

The ship is painted with green, blue, and neon red accents, and the thrusters are a neon red plastic. Place the red missile into the slot in the front of the ship and press the blue button on top of the ship at the junction of the cockpit and rear bay doors to fire the missile (it really does shoot out).

~&~ Parents Perspective ~&~

Never in my natural-born life have I EVER seen such a shoddy piece of merchandise. Hasbro should have been ashamed to put their name on it, and Disney should be ashamed to sell it in their stores. The NERVE!

When the package was first opened, my almost-four-year-old daughter was helping her brother with it. The rear bay doors immediately popped off. Fine, I thought. She has a fine motor issue and maybe she was a little bit rough with it. Then I tried. I'm 33, and am capable of sewing tiny doll clothes and I'm not able to open and close the doors without at least one of them falling off.

Buzz's capture pack? Also a joke. Open it up at the hinge and it breaks in two pieces. Try to put the LGM in (the same LGM that it's allegedly designed to hold, remember!) and you realize there is no WAY to get this little guy in there. I've tried him head-first, feet-first, and diagonally, and all I'm left with is the capture pack in two pieces and a bunch of new fines from my husband for cussing.

Shutting the rear bay doors is a lesson in precision, as the only way to latch them involves getting tiny tabs to pop into a tiny slot. Seating Buzz in the cockpit? Impossible. Not only can he not sit, but the position of his arms means he can't even stand in his seat properly, and you have to place him in sideways. Fat lot of good it's going to do him in flying his spaceship looking out the side window!

~&~ Play Value ~&~

My daughter hasn't touched the thing since the doors first fell off. My son on the other hand, hasn't the sense. This is Buzz and Buzz's ship and an LGM and he MUST play with them. This results in him opening doors, doors falling off, whining at Mommy, Mommy replacing doors, Mommy cussing, Daddy fining Mommy for cussing.

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For my other reviews on the Hasbro Toy Story Adventure Packs, please see:

Hasbro Toy Story Adventure Pack: Woody: Race to the Bed
Hasbro Toy Story Adventure Pack: Target Practice Emperor Zurg Vs. The Zurgbots

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years