I’m a fan of the artistry of puppets. Having figuratively grown up watching The Muppets and Sesame Street on TV, even in the UK, their humorous, informative and entertaining ways always brought a smile to my face, and even as an adult (of some variety) I enjoy the level of escapism and immersive nature of their artistry, just as much as my younger relations.

One thing that can keep anyone away from investing a lot of cash is that you’d usually need the big money to purchase one that truly feels like movie quality, but this Toothless Puppetronics by RealFX, from the wonderful How to Train Your Dragon is a huge step up in this range with a puppet that’s not only visually fun, but also noticeably high quality from the moment it arrives.

While it’s targeting our younger generation, although there’s no actual age guide, you’d need to be able to functionally control the puppet – as well as couple of buttons and movements inside the ‘head’ – so think of ages 6 and up into a ‘getting the most’ out of it type of way, I think anyone could use this from 7 to 70 years old though, and I’m bang in the middle of those ages – and I genuinely love it!

From little growling moments and louder roars, incorporated directly from the movie, Toothless doesn’t have the ability to hide his teeth but the charming face with those giant green eyes really works. Evidently, there’s a possible 50 sounds and actions to hear and see, when combined, and it won’t be long before you’re testing all the basic ones, and they come with a good level of clarity. All you need to do is find your style and sitting position for him, and you can create your own dragon – right there in your hands!

While his whole head moves in pretty much any direction, you’ve also got the option to slightly close his eyelids. I would have liked these to be more ‘closed’ – as it’s just a little movement on the lids – it still enables more switches in facial expressions, nonetheless. I did wonder if a more closed lid might be more difficult to integrate, without the plastic getting stuck (think defunct creepy dolls as an example!). Other than that, you can open and close the mouth at your disposal and get him talking to you – or others nearby – and make sure Toothless is getting the attention he deserves, and he’s very expressive and comes complete with those legendary black wings – NOTE: Read the instructions carefully before using though, they’re properly helpful and you’ll have a QR code you can scan.

Alongside all this, there’s a superb extra bonus because this Puppetronic by RealFX even has his own ‘plasma blast’ smoke effect, which is evident through smoke that comes out of his mouth (with a blue LED – which looks super cool) and out of his nose as well. I absolutely love this bonus, as it brings it to life. The ‘smoke’ is created by just putting a tiny pipette of water inside the head, and it’s simple to add, and you don’t even much water. When added, have a play with the buttons inside and genuinely see Toothless come alive with the smoke, sounds and unique expressions and movements.

It’s quite impossible not to be charmed by your very own Toothless, from Puppetronic by RealFX, because it’s a wonderful design, expertly crafted and really good value. This looks and feels real; it’s officially licensed and – the most important thing of all – this is so much fun to play with!

WOW! STUFF How To Train Your Dragon Toothless Puppetronic by RealFX is out now, order yours* here: https://amzn.to/42snVON

You can also order new How to Train Your Dragon, out now on Blu-ray and DVD right here

*Affliate link, review from own experience