Fisher-Price Imaginext DC Super Friends Wayne Manor Batcave
(Fisher-Price $49.99)
We had some mixed feelings about this Batman mini setting for preschoolers, even if Batman is a good guy. We know there's a study that indicates that when kids have a boring task to do, playing superhero kept them more focused. The study indicates that role play helps them resist distractions and improves their perseverance. That said, there are other studies that indicate kids do not focus on the positive traits of superheroes as much as they do the KaBam-Pow-Pow solutions that color these stories and sometimes kids' behavior. Like them or not, the superheroes have drifted down to the preschool set and with them the toy merchandise that we generally do not test. When one of our testers asked if we had the new Imaginex Batcave, we decided to give it a try. We were surprised that this mini setting is a lot like other preschool activity settings with a limited number of things to do. It comes with just one figure—Batman, of course, and his Batcycle that he can ride into Gotham City to round up the bad guys. Preschoolers learn how to open a secret waterfall entrance to the Batcave, put Batman into a glider arm so he can fly round and round, press a button to release discs (projectiles) that don’t go far, put evil-doers into the jail in back of the Batcave, and best of all lift and turn the top power pad for the Bat-Signal to light up. Our tester uses that for a night light these days. Is this an important prop for play? Not really. But if you have a young preschool Batman fan, this will be big!
Ages: Preschoolers
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award 2018
