Irresistible or evil? Meet the "Sing-A-Ma-Jigs"

(Mattel)

Four months after their introduction at the New York International Toy Fair, Fisher Price's new "Sing-A-Ma-Jigs" have hit the shelves in the US.

The "kooky" singing soft toys, with high-pitched tones that are likely to delight young children and infuriate nearby adults, went on sale at US Toys "R" Us stores June 3.

The Sing-A-Ma-Jigs are brightly colored characters that emit chatter or a song when their tummies are pressed, combined with an electronic lip-sync to create a look and sound that Mattel describes as "truly engaging".

Despite singing different songs, when put together, the toys sing in harmony - all twelve of them, when the collection is finally completed by the holiday season.

Toy analyst Chris Byrne (dubbed "the Toy Guy") described the toys as "irresistible; their squeaky voices and singing are ridiculously infectious."

However, not all reviewers felt that the "harmonic chorus" of the Sing-A-Ma-Jigs was as irresistible as quieter toy counterparts, such as last year's hit toy, the altogether more benign fake hamster "Zhu Zhu Pets".

John Biggs, a CrunchGear blogger who was present at their unveiling at the Toy Fair, described his first impression as "sirens of such evil that I could barely contain my bile... until I realized they were singing, not screaming."

Idle Hands blogger Paul Nomad simply said "prepare for the horror of the Singamajigs."

Mattel has already doubled its projections for the toys, which retail for $12.99 (€10.67).

They will go on sale in Canada and Australia by August 2010 and Japan in September/October, confirmed a Mattel spokeswoman.

http://www.toysrus.com
http://www.timetoplaymag.com
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/02/17/the-sing-a-ma-jigs-from-fisher-price-hold-your-ears/
http://idlehands1.blogspot.com/2010/02/toy-fair-2010-prepare-for-horror-of.html