Welcome to the inaugural post of Nice Try, the series of reviews in which I’ll try out stuff beyond movies, TV, and the like. I’m going to keep it a bean: I get pitched a lot of stuff. Most of it is movies and books and such. But sometimes it’s actual physical products. Not everything is right for me, but sometimes…I’m a curious cat. I would like to see it, as the Mo’Nique meme says. And the first thing I wanted to see was Tonies, the product that insists on itself (being plural).
If you’re not a child or child-adjacent, then you might not have heard of Tonies. They are toys that promote that rarity these days: a screen-free experience for children. They are engaging and can be interactive, but it’s not a sensory nightmare of strobing lights and loud sounds. It’s more of a throwback to the classic toys of yore (the 1900s). And since they’re on sale for Prime Day RIGHT NOW, let’s get into it, right quick!
Unboxing Day: What All’s Involved With The Tonies
Hilariously, the package showed up at my office, so I got to unbox this beauty while having a serious conversation about…not toys. The basic unit you’ll need to begin is a Toniebox. There’s a Toniebox Lite that’s a little more portable, but I checked out the regulation-size Toniebox 2. It’s a cube that they wrap, as they say, “in a soft and super durable fabric made from a mix of PVC and cotton.” It offers a pleasant tactile sensation, especially under gentle pressure. Or to put it another way, I really like squeezin’ this thing–can y’all make a fidget toy version?
Moving on, the cube itself is actually a speaker. Or rather, an audio player. There’s an indented circle up top upon which you can place the Tonies figures. That’s where the magic happens. While the player is the Toniebox, the actual Tonies themselves are the little dolls that interact with the box. You place a Tonie on that indented circle and they get the party started. Well, they get it started after you connect to the wifi and they download the set for each Tonie. Most people, presumably, will be setting these up in their home for the first time so they won’t have to jump through the hotspot hoops I did. But even with that, it was a pretty quick set up.
Some Pig (And A Horse And A Little Cow): The Play Is The Thing
After that mildly bumpy but relatively brief onboarding, the Toniebox was ready to go. I tested out the My First Farm Set, which the folks at Tonies “built tough for toddler hands.” Like mine! This set comes with the aforementioned pig, horse, and cow figures. Other sets include other cutiepie animals, as well as characters from familiar IPs from Disney, Pokemon, and Marvel. You can also choose one of the “Creative Tonies,” little people characters that are more customizable than the animal or character ones.
I placed the pig first, since it was the only Tonie in the package they didn’t wrap in tissue paper. A narrator introduced the pig and then we sang a song about it. As I sat at my office desk, my Toniebox chirped in the background about playing “in the mud, in the mud.” After two stories about life as a pig, the collection closed out with just under 6 minutes of porcine ambience. It delighted me the entire time and if you don’t understand why, then you should try working in an office with a (realistic) soundtrack of fervent grunts and oinks in the background.
They designed this set for toddlers, so admittedly, this (and the songs) were much more entertaining to me than the stories they included. The songs were charming, even if they kind of reminded me of Stu’s song from The Hangover (“What do tigers dream of…”). There are much more compelling activities for older kids, including the Tonieplay option. Purchase one of the Tonieplay Controllers, seen below with the Winnie the Pooh bundle, and you can slide it on top of a Toniebox to play character-related games, as well as classic board games like Life and Monopoly.
And For A Limited Time, Get These Sets On Sale
Running October 6 through the 7th, Amazon’s Prime Day, Part 2: The Primening will have deals on so many things. All the things. But more importantly, for the purposes of our discussion, several Tonies sets will be on sale for $89 off the usual price. That $119.99 price will apply to bundles that include Disney Princess, Pixar, Winnie the Pooh, and Lalalinos, a Tonies original musical trio. Please note that both the Winnie the Pooh and Lalalinos bundles include Tonieplay controllers.
The My First Farm bundle that I tried out was also expected to be on sale at that price, but at press time, hasn’t dropped yet. However, there are supposed to be staggered deals throughout the Big Deal Days, so it may still change. The Tonies figures themselves are also on sale–buy four and get one free. But wait, there’s more! You can get discounts on accessories and lots of other products, which you can see at the official store on Amazon. These would make great gifts for the under 12 set and it is not too early to do a little Christmas shopping–if you’re me, then you started last December 26th. But you’ve still got time, if you act now.
[Psst, Amazon isn’t the only one with Tonies right now. Target Circle members can score deep discounts through October 7th, while Walmart’s own Deal Days run through the 11th. They have similar items for sale as the other retailers, but this Toniebox Lite with its own Creative Tonie is pretty sweet.]
featured image via Tonies GmbH
