{Not Quite} Susie Homemaker

Las Vegas Mommy Blogger, Foodie, Brand Ambassador & Product Reviewer

Review: Bring Your Animals to Life with the Little People Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo!

By 25 Comments

Since Shane’s 1st Birthday, Fisher-Price Little People have been a part of our everyday life. From the barn to the airport to the car wash, we have a whole city in our playroom. They’ve helped Shane learn about people and places, and now they’re helping Shane learn about animals!

The Fisher-Price Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo is the newest playset from the world of Little People- and we’re obsessed.

The zoo has a lot of great features, including the ability to play on both the front and back sides {which is awesome, since Shane makes me play, too}. But the main feature? The platform that brings your animals to life! Place any of the animals that come with the zoo {or the ones sold separately- more on that in a minute} and the zoo will say their name– AND what sound they make! It’s really fun and educational– Shane now knows the difference between a “monkey” sound and a gorilla sound.

There are lots of fun things for your animals to do at the zoo- they can go down the slide or ride in the tree swing, or you can push the lilly pad to make the pond come to life with the sounds of a hippo and a babbling brook!

Now about the animals- they are addicting. The zoo itself comes with a gorilla, a polar bear, and a lion. But there’s also a whole slew of them that are sold separately- many of them are sold by themselves & are about $3, but three of them are sold with a book and are $6 each for a book and animal set. Then there’s the giraffe and lion cub, which you can only get with the Safari Truck. We have them all except one animal, because the store is always sold out of it {the alligator}.


The animals are so cute & it’s fun to hear their sounds, so we wanted all of them. &If more are released, you bet we’ll get them, too!

In fact, the ONLY flaw I see with this whole set is that there is no chimpanzee available. Why would that matter? Well, first, on the product image on the box, it shows a chimp instead of a gorilla being included. This led to my Mother-in-law buying a gorilla at the same time as her zoo set, since she didn’t know there was already one included- so now she has two. Not a big deal, but that’s $3 that didn’t need to be spent. Secondly, the zoo comes with a super cute DVD, which Shane calls “Movie Zoo” {&makes me watch multiple times a day} that has a cute story about the chimp at the zoo. &Third, like a true collector, I feel incomplete without that chimp. I have no idea why there’s no chimp, but I hope they decide to make it!

We are so in love with this zoo! You’ll love it because it’s educational, fun and encourages imaginative play.

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Fisher-Price is launching a contest of animal proportions with help from celebrity zoologist and children’s television show host, Jarod Miller- The Little People™ Animal Sounds Contest!

All you have to do is get a video of your child aged 1-5 making their best animal sound, submit it via the iPhone App, Android App, or on the contest’s website, and share the link with friends & family so they can vote! The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize and a trip to Fisher-Price headquarters in East Aurora, N.Y. for a special photo shoot and an opportunity to have their child featured on a Little People® toy package or website! Let me know if you enter so I can vote for you!

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The Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo retails for around $40 and can be found at mass retailers or from the Fisher-Price store. Also check out the Zoo Talkers website for fun & games including coloring pages and puzzles!

What’s your child’s favorite animal?

Susie’s Note: I received a Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. &I bought all the extra animals & the truck on my own because I am addicted. It’s a problem.

Comments

  12. I’m so glad to know I’m not the only parent that’s obsessed with these things. I just bought the zoo for my 2 y/o for Christmas and now I’m hunting for the extra animals. I was feeling silly about how into it I was until I read your post and realized I’m not alone. 🙂

    I spent the better part of today looking at various Toys R Us, Target & Wal Mart locations. I came up with all 3 book/animal combos and 4 stand-alone animals. We live in a pretty rural area so our store selection is limited, but I am a mom on a mission! Yes. I do realize she won’t realize how many she *didn’t* get, but that’s beside the point.

    For anyone who’s considering buying the zoo, there’s a $5.00 off coupon on the Fisher-Price website that’s good for use anywhere it’s sold in-store.

    Reply

    • Thanks for the coupon head’s up! &No you’re TOTALLY not alone in your obsession! I wrote this over a month ago & the obsession is still running strong- for both my son and I! 🙂

      Reply

  13. I am also obsessed with obtaining all of the animals 🙂 My husband just called the company to complain about getting a gorilla in the set instead of the chimpanzee shown on the box. Alas, they had a manufacturing problem with the chimp and have no intention of ever producing one. Too bad. We will just have to collect all of the other animals.

    Thanks for the great review!!!

    Reply

    • Well it’s nice to finally have an answer about the chimp! That makes me sad, though- especially since he’s the STAR of the movie! Oh well! Hey, did you see the NEW animals that are out? Flamingo, hippo & orangutan!

      Reply

  14. I read the thread about the chimp – very sad. I think maybe I take the zoo talkers obsession to another level because I sat there today with my fingers twisted and bent pressing down different combos of the buttons to make the animal sounds I didn’t have. Among others, I heard “arctic wolf, whale, toucan, and camel!” Where are THOSE guys??

    Reply

  15. I played with the different sound combinations, and found in addition to “Arctic Wolf, Toucan and Camel”, I found a total of 11 animals that were programmed into the base. If they are all planning to be released remains to be seen. All the animal are:

    1) Arctic Wolf
    2) Toucan
    3) Camel
    4) Kangaroo
    5) Peacock
    6) Bison
    7) Panda Bear
    8) Monkey
    9) Chimpanzee
    10) Sea Turtle
    11) Koala Bear

    Koala bear was actually just released as a figure with the new Zoo Talkers Train. Along with a White Tiger, which I am assuming will just say “Tiger” when you place him on the base, the same as the non-white tiger that was already released.

    So 10 more animals to go. Hope they release them all.

    Reply

    • There are 31 total combinations of animal names given the button configuration:

      Giraffe
      Elephant
      Penguin
      Tiger
      Alligator
      Leopard
      Whale
      Toucan
      Camel
      Hippo
      Panda Bear
      Flamingo
      Monkey
      Peacock
      Orangutan
      Bison
      Polar Bear
      Ostrich
      Bear
      Seal
      Kangaroo
      Chimpanzee
      Arctic Wolf
      Koala
      Lion Cub
      Dolphin
      Gorilla
      Sea Turtle
      Lion
      Zebra
      Rhinoceros

      However, there is no “White Tiger” name, so I assume the White Tiger from the Train set simply says “Tiger” (I haven’t purchased the white tiger yet). That would put the count of unique animals at 32 (though there are technically more as three animals come as “family” sets of 3 each). As of now (Jan 2013), the only animals not currently out on the market are:

      Peacock
      Arctic Wolf
      Toucan
      Bison
      Monkey

      Reply

      • Thank you, I’ve been seeking a complete list. I’ve discovered all those sounds except the Monkey. It’s key combination eludes me.

        Reply

  16. I would love to see them continue the animals being released. My son loves his set. Perhaps they can add additional sound bases, such as a Zoo Talkers Aquarium. It could be a “glass” (really clear plastic) enclosure like you see at the zoo with one of those platforms for a zoo employee to stand on and hold fish out for the dolphins. The base could include a section to the side, similar to where the Orca whales will slide out of the water during show performances. Besides the whale and the dolphin and even the Seal, Polar Bear and Penguin, and an already programmed in Sea Turtle (not yet released), this set can be programmed to include more water animals, such as maybe a Shark, an Octopus, a Sting Ray, a Tropical Fish, a Pelican, a Platypus, a Sea Lion, a Walrus and a Crab.

    Then they could do a Bird Theater. Similar to what they have at the zoo, with a little stage, with a new programmed sound base. It could come with a zoo employee who is demonstrating the birds. There could be a showtime sign, and maybe a couple rows of seating to watch the show. This set could be programmed for new animals such as Eagle, Hawk, Emu, Parrot, Raven, Vulture and so on. And also include the already programmed Toucan and Peacock (not yet released.)

    Then finally there could be a Zoo Vet playset. Which includes a Veterinarian, as well as a vehicle to transport sick animals, a little plastic cage/kennel to carry them in, and a small vet lab set with a examination table that acts as a sound base. Maybe instead of just names and sounds, this base could also be programmed to include more information on the animals such as “Koala Bears are usually found in Australia.” “The Koala Bear’s diet includes primarily eucalyptus leaves.”

    And then you could just go on and on about other animals that could be included if they can figure out how to get them to work with the Zoo Talkers set, or part of a different set: Snake or Boa Constrictor, Otter, Porcupine, Moose, Reindeer, Panther, Antelope, Baboon and Water Buffalo.

    This is a line that I would like to see Fisher Price keep expanding on. It is a big hit with my son, and anticipate it being the same for his little brother.

    Reply

  17. Did you see that a chimpanzee family, kangaroo family & panda family was recently added to the FP website. So exciting! The quest continues . . .

    Reply

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