Reviews (1)

BOOM-bada-BOOM-bada-BOOM
I dunno exactly why I found this tubby rendition of Rikochet from the ultra doofy Mucha Lucha cartoon show so interesting. Maybe it was due to my fandom of pro wrestling, what with his Rey Mysterio mask and 'sparkly' spandex doublet thing goin' on. But more 'n likely it was due to the fact that I could relate to the little big guy, bein' a tubby person myself. His sleepy expression of elated satisfaction is the same one I'd see in the mirror after polishin' off a case of Twinkies I had just picked up from the local Hostess bakery thrift shop. 'Course, this elated satisfaction would only last 'til the sugar rush wore off, but that's a whole 'nother matter entirely. LL Rikochet's wiggly-jiggliness is also quite familiar, as is the sloshy gutful of donuts and mystery liquid. He's even got a moving van swirlin' around amongst the holey pastries and fluid, which goes to show just how large this guy is livin'. Finally, there's the most obvious and scariest parallel between us: man-boobs! Eee-yuck...

Anyhoo, here're my ratings breakdowns:

FUN FACTOR: Three stars. To be honest, chubbed-up Rikochet ain't good for much 'cept to squeeze, stretch, and vigorously shake to get his stomach contents roilin' 'round. Oh yeah, and stretchin', as well as literally caving his head into his chest cavity, then watchin' it pop back out and reinflate to a somewhat normal state. Another neat trick I like to do is turn him upside-down to get one of his internal donuts into his head cavity, then turn him right-side-up and watch the donut fall outta his head and into his gut, making it look like he just swallowed the thing! Heh, now THAT'S entertainment-- er, what's that you say? Somethin' about me "getting a life"? Sorry, don't know what'cher talkin' about...

One big thing that doesn't help the fun factor is the somewhat sticky surface. Not only does it give off a bit of a bitter, petroleum-distillate kinda odor, it also collects dust and dirt like you wouldn't believe! While the toy does include instructions on how to remove the surface crud as well as restore the stickiness, I strongly recommend you hold onto the three-piece plastic blister bubble packaging, and keep ol' Tubbalo stored in the blister when not in use.

EDUCATIONAL FACTOR: Two stars. Aside from discovering that at least one person in the world actually shelled out eight smackers for this thing-- a price I consider a might steep, by the way-- I doubt it'll help your little ankle-biter get a better score on his SATs...

DURABILITY: Three stars. Aside from the occasional need to wash him down to remove dust and stuff, Livin' Large Rikochet should hold up reasonably well so long as ya don't expose him to temperature extremes, or squeeze him beyond the breaking point. You might also wanna keep him away from sharp-edged things, 'less you want him to make like Mr. Creosote after downing an 'wafer-thin' after-dinner mint...

'Late ... Read more