2-year-old Pierre and 7-year-old Juliette got very excited last week when we received a selection of Jungle Junction toys to review. In case you don't know it, Jungle Junction is Disney Junior’s BAFTA-nominated pre-school series aimed at children aged 2-4 years. The programme features a group of fun-loving animals on wheels who are part animal and part vehicle. The main characters are Zooter, an energetic pink piglet scooter, Ellyvan, a blue elephant delivery van and Bungo, a rabbit (I think but he has a long tail so maybe he's a kangaroo ?!) who loves roadsigns and jumping.
The Madhouse Mini-Testers jumped straight in, excitedly discovering the contents of the box. We were sent a Bath Time character, a Plush character, a Pull-Back character and a Wheel Around Fun Set. Pierre was instantly attracted to the soft toy and Juliette to the play set.
The Wheel Around Fun Set contains a small plastic Ellyvan, Bungo and Zooter as well as two roadsigns. You can make Bungo hold the roadsigns in his hands, which both of the Mini-testers thought was great fun !
We didn't actually notice at first but there is also a playmat in the box which is great fun because you can push your Jungle Junction characters around the roads and use your imagination to create stories. Pierre was happy enough just rolling the characters along the roads but Juliette soon upped the ante, creating roadblocks and diversions with the signs !
Pierre was more intrigued by the soft toy Bungo on wheels. At 20cm, it was the perfect size for him to play with and he loved pushing him across the floor on the working wheels. It rolls really well on the parquet floor in our bedroom !
Pierre liked touching the different parts, comparing the hard wheels with the soft cuddly body and the smooth, slightly sticky ears ! He used the signs from the Fun Set and made Bungo speak as he pushed him around, which was great to watch as I could see his imagination and creativity working overtime !
The unanimous favourite toy was the Pull-Back Ellyvan, with both Juliette and Pierre frequently coming back to this one. As its name suggests, if you pull it back, it scoots across the floor which had Pierre in fits of giggles. You can also twist the trunk round which makes a satisfyingly fun sound and - my favourite feature ! - the back doors open up so you can use him for storing all the small roadsigns so that they don't get lost ! I'm sure I'm showing my age but Ellyvan's face reminds me slightly of the Blue Meanies on the Beatles' Yellow Submarine !
Pierre also played with the Bath Toy on the floor but I don't think he's realised that it's a bath toy that you can use to squirt water so he'll definitely have a lot of fun with that the next time he has a bath ! Any little Jungle Junction fan will be pleased to know that there are five to collect -Hippobus, Ellyvan, Zooter, Taxicrab and Toadhog - guaranteed to make bathtime lots of fun !
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : Wheel Around Fun Set £9.99, Plush £9.99, Pull-back Ellyvan £7.99, Bath toy £4.99
for more information : http://www.flairplc.co.uk/brands/Jungle_Junction/Jungle_Junction_Toys/
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what bright colours, a child would love this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review! My little one loves Jungle Junction and has been asking and asking for toys from the series. I have often been reluctant to purchase 'tie-ins' as with my other children the toys have often been a disappointment - not living up to expectations, over-priced for what you actually get etc. After this review, I think I may just be indulging her, as it's great to get reviews from a child's perspective as well as an adults!
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