Leading up to this summer's theatrical release of The Green Lantern Mattel toy company has released a series of toys to coincide with the movie. After receiving the toys in the mail I began to give them that "parent look-over." You know, you look at the toy and automatically you know if it's right for your child to play with. The first toy was an action figure prototype of Stel (a character from the movie) which came with a Green Lantern Power Ring and an arm enhancer attachment.



















I deemed it a toy that I'd allow my child to play with and he thoroughly enjoys playing with it, quickly adding it to the "ranks" of his other action figure toys.
So here are my pros and cons concerning this toy.


Pros:
-Simple and easy to introduce to a child: you just give it to them and off they go.

-It doesn't come with sounds: You know how some toys that your kids have, they push the talk buttons so much that after a while when you hear them playing with that particular toy your eye starts to twitch?



Cons:
-The ring: Although my son who enjoyed the toy is of age to do so. We also have a smaller child in our home who could easily confuse that ring for a piece of candy. It is currently sitting on the top of our entertainment center of out reach from both children.

-Poor design: the design could be a little bit more robust and with a little more detail. I did a google search of Stel and the searched Stel looks nothing like the Stel that came in the mail. But seeing my version is a prototype maybe that will be addressed in the final creation.

-No sound: I know that was also a pro but that was from a parent's standpoint but kids love when toys come with sound. As a matter of fact my son thought the toy was broken because he couldn't "hear anything."


Overall the packaging and the toy itself served it's purpose as providing entertainment and fun for my son. I think once the overall design is finalized and maybe a few more meetings about adding sounds to the toy and it will be a great toy for kids and collectors as well.


The other toy I received was the Green Lantern Colossal Cannon



No "pros" needed here I would never buy a "colossal cannon" for my son. Before I even touched the toy and begin to inspect it I knew it was something that was definitely not age appropriate(the box says age 5+ but I wouldn't hand this to a teen-ager). The toy acts as a futuristic automatic weapon that a child would place their arm in to and fire off rounds of green discs (you'll poke your eye out kid). There's even a revolver that spins and "realistic" automatic weapon sounds. Right on the box it says "Pull the Trigger" that in itself already stopped me in my tracks. The toy is still sitting on my coffee table in the box and I'm unsure what to do about it. Don't even want to give the thing away. I can just imagine kids around the country pointing these cannons and "shooting each other." In a simpler time and place this toy would get a pass, but in 2011...NO.

Here's a video I found doing a google search demonstrating the Colossal Cannon

Green Lantern Colossal Cannon from Mattel by timetoplaymag


For more information on these products please visit Mattel.com


“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Dad Central Consulting on behalf of Mattel and received Green Lantern toys to facilitate my review and a gift code to thank me for taking the time to participate.”