When we received Animagic Benji, the cute interactive puppy, to review, Kizzy and Freddy were very excited. He looked lovely with his fluffy white fur, big puppy dog eyes and shiny black nose. Benji is meant to behave like a real pup. He sits up, barks, waggles his ears, wags his tail, plays tug of war, growls and snores when he falls asleep. All the fun of having a puppy without the house training!!
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| Meeting his new toy! |
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| Benji |
Benji has a sensor that is meant to detect you as you approach so he will excitedly bark to let you know he is pleased to see you. Unfortunately, however hard we tried, our Benji would not respond until we manhandled him quite vigorously, which was a bit of a disappointment. Once he got going he did reward us with wiggling ears, waggy tails and cute puppy noises which delighted the children. He sat up and lay down, but getting him to do so was a bit hit and miss.
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| Cuddling Benji |
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| Tug of War! |
The other disappointing thing about Benji was the noise of the mechanical movements which sometimes made a loud clunking noise. This was a bit worrying and sounded like his legs were breaking.
However the general consensus was that he was very sweet and really quite adorable, but just didn't do as much as you'd expect a premium priced toy, with an RRP of £59.99, to do. It is a shame because he is such a cute little puppy that you really want to pet and play with. You'd be just as well buying a cuddly toy to hug instead, for a fraction of the cost. The kids do all love him and play with him...but of course they did not have to pay for him. I would expect more from an Animagic toy, it's a pity the beautiful Benji didn't deliver.