Let me preface this by giving you some context. Currently, I’m visiting my grandfather in literally nowhere texas; a small town called Electra. Visualize a dusty, dying hamlet with one retail store total… A dollar store. Within the toy aisle of that decrepit shop is a cluttered pile of odds and ends, featuring a number of second-rate block toys and plastic weaponry. Something catches your eye; a flashy cardboard box with a dinky, yet endearing knockoff lego dinosaur on it.
You pick up the box with mild curiosity. It has a certain look to the creature that reminds you a bit of the old X-Pods from the early 2000’s.
Then you notice the brand name. AniΣal Planet.
How curious; you haven’t watched that channel in a while. It’s a dollar, so you figure that you might as well buy it for the novelty.
That’s where I am with it.
So, apparently, by purchasing this item, I’m helping save the animals or something. As you can see, the proceeds go to an actual initiative called ROAR(link here). Unfortunately, I highly doubt that my whole dollar is being poured into the cause here, one has to factor in the retailer’s cut and production/distribution costs. I suspect I’ve only actually donated a quarter or so.
That begs the question; why did they think that they would be able to make up the cost of producing these guys if they’re only to be sold for a dollar? I mean, it might make sense to sell bigger sets or something like that, but I highly doubt that they’re going to actually be able to make an impact with these extremely cheap, yet poorly distributed sets. I also question why they didn’t just talk to lego about producing a retailer exclusive(or even line of sets) rather than printing their own? Animal Planet isn’t exactly a small name, and if the licensed brand is coming to lego with a proposition, rather than the other way around it would seem like a really easy deal to make. I imagine that the same could be said for higher end competitors(Mega Blox comes to mind). The proceeds are going to a just cause, after all.
As for the set itself, it’s actually not too bad for a knockoff.
Here’s what’s in the box:
These are the only parts that have notably different molds.
The plastic is alright, and aside from where the stud/peg parts clip on to the plate, he holds together pretty well.
But yeah, that’s all. Just a little oddity that I found in an obscure place and figured I’d share.
