Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2011 18:45:28 GMT -7
I went on vacation to France last week, and whilst on a shopping trip there, I came across this little fellow in a toy store;
His name is Le Lynx, and as far as I can tell, he's an animatronic version of the mascot from a series of educational games for kids made exclusively for the French market (I don't know if they are available in other French-speaking regions, or just France itself, though). He's the first original animated talking character (as in, not licensed from elsewhere, like recent animatronic toys of Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and suchlike) that I've seen in many, many years, so I just had to buy him. He was 39.90 Euros, which I didn't think was too bad!
I had to leave his box behind, as it was too big to bring back (it was enormous), but I did get some photographs of it before I unboxed Le Lynx;
Back of the box.
Base of the box (the white label covering Le Lynx's ear is there because I had to visit some other stores, and one of them had to put labels on merchandise bought elsewhere, to show that it wasn't stolen from their own shop).
Side of the box. Both sides were like this.
Top of the box.
With those out of the way, what Le Lynx does is either describe the animals pictured in his book, or play a quiz game about them - all in French, of course. The book is electronic (and wireless!), and whether Le Lynx describes or quizzes depends on whether you press the blue or yellow paw-print buttons at the bottom of the left-hand page. The two pages are touch-sensitive, and it's really pretty neat to be able to point at an animal and then hear it described (I haven't tried the quiz yet). The touch-sensitive spots corresponding with the animal pictures are nice and responsive, and whilst the buttons on the book are a bit spongy when pressed, they're just as responsive, too.
Le Lynx's voice is pretty nice. I expected him to sound like an adult rather than a youngster (I'm not sure why - perhaps because he's meant to be a knowledgeable educational character, I suppose
), and my guess wasn't wrong - he sounds a bit older than Teddy Ruxpin in any of the languages I've heard him in so far (those being English, Italian, and Japanese, at this point). He's nice and clear, his motors aren't too loud (no more so than any Teddy Ruxpin model, including the BackPack Toys edition) and I suspect that he'll be helpful in trying to improve my listening comprehension for the French language (I do better with written French, currently). There is no volume control - just an on/off switch next to his battery compartment, and a button hidden inside one paw, which you must press to activate him once he's been powered on. As with the buttons and touch areas on the book, this button is perfectly responsive, too - and it doesn't make his paw any less soft, as it feels like it's made of rubber.
He is more simple than Teddy Ruxpin is - Le Lynx doesn't really have proper lip-sync, but he does bob his chest, neck, and shoulders from side to side while he talks, which is pretty cool (this also has the effect of making his slightly floppy arms move a bit, which gives him a bit more of an animated appearance).
All in all, it's great to see an original talker again. I guess other people must be feeling the same, because I didn't buy one on the day I saw them first, and when I went back the next day, there were only a few left! I hope that this is a sign of trends to come in the toy industry, and that it somehow could bode well for Teddy Ruxpin somewhere along the line.
(I should point out that Le Lynx was selling quickly, even though he cost a bit more than other animatronic toys that were available just a few feet away. The difference, as far as I can see, is that he offers more than just novelty movement and making squeaking or barking sounds. Evidently, people are willing to pay a bit more for that!)
His name is Le Lynx, and as far as I can tell, he's an animatronic version of the mascot from a series of educational games for kids made exclusively for the French market (I don't know if they are available in other French-speaking regions, or just France itself, though). He's the first original animated talking character (as in, not licensed from elsewhere, like recent animatronic toys of Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and suchlike) that I've seen in many, many years, so I just had to buy him. He was 39.90 Euros, which I didn't think was too bad!
I had to leave his box behind, as it was too big to bring back (it was enormous), but I did get some photographs of it before I unboxed Le Lynx;
Back of the box.
Base of the box (the white label covering Le Lynx's ear is there because I had to visit some other stores, and one of them had to put labels on merchandise bought elsewhere, to show that it wasn't stolen from their own shop).
Side of the box. Both sides were like this.
Top of the box.
With those out of the way, what Le Lynx does is either describe the animals pictured in his book, or play a quiz game about them - all in French, of course. The book is electronic (and wireless!), and whether Le Lynx describes or quizzes depends on whether you press the blue or yellow paw-print buttons at the bottom of the left-hand page. The two pages are touch-sensitive, and it's really pretty neat to be able to point at an animal and then hear it described (I haven't tried the quiz yet). The touch-sensitive spots corresponding with the animal pictures are nice and responsive, and whilst the buttons on the book are a bit spongy when pressed, they're just as responsive, too.
Le Lynx's voice is pretty nice. I expected him to sound like an adult rather than a youngster (I'm not sure why - perhaps because he's meant to be a knowledgeable educational character, I suppose
), and my guess wasn't wrong - he sounds a bit older than Teddy Ruxpin in any of the languages I've heard him in so far (those being English, Italian, and Japanese, at this point). He's nice and clear, his motors aren't too loud (no more so than any Teddy Ruxpin model, including the BackPack Toys edition) and I suspect that he'll be helpful in trying to improve my listening comprehension for the French language (I do better with written French, currently). There is no volume control - just an on/off switch next to his battery compartment, and a button hidden inside one paw, which you must press to activate him once he's been powered on. As with the buttons and touch areas on the book, this button is perfectly responsive, too - and it doesn't make his paw any less soft, as it feels like it's made of rubber.He is more simple than Teddy Ruxpin is - Le Lynx doesn't really have proper lip-sync, but he does bob his chest, neck, and shoulders from side to side while he talks, which is pretty cool (this also has the effect of making his slightly floppy arms move a bit, which gives him a bit more of an animated appearance).
All in all, it's great to see an original talker again. I guess other people must be feeling the same, because I didn't buy one on the day I saw them first, and when I went back the next day, there were only a few left! I hope that this is a sign of trends to come in the toy industry, and that it somehow could bode well for Teddy Ruxpin somewhere along the line.
(I should point out that Le Lynx was selling quickly, even though he cost a bit more than other animatronic toys that were available just a few feet away. The difference, as far as I can see, is that he offers more than just novelty movement and making squeaking or barking sounds. Evidently, people are willing to pay a bit more for that!)
