Product Description

This adorable baby elephant will have your children and their friends jumping with delight as they scramble to collect the most butterflies. With one deep breath, the elephant blows his huge trunk straight up, sending colorful butterflies into the air. Kids can practice their catching skills with the butterfly net or hurry to gather the butterflies off the floor. Includes Motorized Elefun body with a four-foot trunk, four butterfly nets, 30 butterflies and instructions. Requires 4 "C" alkaline batteries (not included).

For 2 to 4 players.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5348 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Hasbro
• Model: 40838
• Dimensions: 10.70" h x 8.00" w x 7.10" l, 2.07 pounds

Features

• Activity game
• Elephant blows 30 feathery, vinyl butterflies from its 4-foot trunk into the air
• Kids use mesh nets (four included) to capture the butterflies
• Different game variation for matching colors or for collecting the most
• For 2 to 4 players

Editorial Review
This enchanting activity game will keep younger kids happily distracted, whether it's played indoors or out. A cute, blue elephant blows 30 feathery, vinyl butterflies from its 4-foot trunk into the air. The trunk, made of flexible plastic, stands straight up when the small, quiet motor in the elephant's bottom is turned on. Kids use mesh nets (four included) to capture the most butterflies, same-color butterflies, or just catch 'em period. Requires four C batteries, not included. --Diane Beall

From the Manufacturer
Play the butterfly catching game with an elephant full of fun! The motorized elephant blows colorful butterflies into the air. Practice catching skills with the handy butterfly net, or quickly gather butterflies where they land. The adorable baby elephant is over 4 feet tall during play!

Customer Reviews

Lots of Fun
I look for toys that are fun and easy to play with. I also look for toys that are educational or inspire exploration of the world around them. I want toys that are not really loud as well.

This toy fits many of these requirements.

My four year old son got this for his birthday and has loved it ever since.

Like the other reviewers, the trunk does not go all the way up when you first turn the fan on. However, that doesn't take away from the fun of the game. In fact, we just cut the top few inches off of the trunk and that seems to have made the difference.

Catching butterflies is harder than it looks. That is part of what adds to the fun. They also come out in spurts. You might get four butterflies and then one and then ten. All of this just adds to the fun. Catching the butterflies encourages eye and hand coordination and quick thinking.

My only complaint is that more butterflies would be fun. There are plenty of butterflies but it doesn't take too long to play because they come out fairly quickly.

However, this is great for young children who have a short attention span. You can finish one or two games and call it quits before they get bored.

We haven't found this to be a battery eater.

in general this is just a fun game with one or two small flaws that are easily overlooked when playing a game with your kids.

Enjoy.

Fun for everyone (but watch those batteries!)
My three year old son saw this advertised and asked for it as a present - the only time he has ever done this for any game or toy.

The game comes with:
* Large blue elephant fan base and translucent plastic trunk
* Thirty rip-stop nylon butterflies
* Several butterfly markers for keeping score
* Four mesh nets for catching butterflies

The unit requires 4 "C" batteries (not included.)

When powered on, a quiet fan in the elephant base pushes air up the elephant's trunk forcing the butterflies out. Players try to catch the butterflies in their nets. Our family has played this game and enjoyed it. Catching the randomly fluttering butterflies is an excellent eye-hand coordination activity. And even though the game is geared for younger kids, there is enough of a challenge that all ages can play and enjoy it. (One of the nicest things about the game is that it really does not matter who wins, the game play is fun enough in itself. We don't even keep score and no one minds.)

Elefun is not without its issues, though:

1. Plays quickly, but then it takes considerably more time to get it ready for the next round of play than it takes to actually play.

2. The trunk has to be extended manually even with the fan on at the beginning of play. Once fully extended, it will stay up.

3. Eats batteries like mad. The fan works best with fresh batteries and the quality of play goes down quickly (not all the butterflies will come out) if the batteries are not 100%. A DC adapter option would have been nice.

4. While the entire set is durable, the trunk is a bit suspect. Made out of a plastic a bit thicker than a plastic garbage bag, it is subject to holes as it gets repeatedly crinkled during normal play. Our son inexplicably took a scissors to it, but fortunately it was repairable (though we lost a bit of length.)

All things considered, the game is fun and a good activity for young children. What kind of value it is for the money is debatable - a friend gave us this game, so it's a win-win for us. Batteries are an issue, however, and I would seriously recommend purchasing a big set of rechargeables anyway for any parent who buys battery-reliant toys. Considering how fast you'll use up batteries with Elefun, you'll save money in the long run if you do so.

Make Your Own Butterflies for Elephun and Up the Fun!!
I bought Elefun for my 2 1/2 year old daughter, who is totally delighted at catching the butterflies. She squeals with joy every time the butterflies erupt. I handmade her a massive crop of new butterflies in girly colors out of tissue paper, and we have an absolute explosion of butterflies when we turn the motor on. I took one of the regular tyvek butterflies supplied with Elefun apart and used it as a tracing pattern and folded my tissue paper repeatedly into a thick square and it made 40 butterflies in one shot with the scissors. I simply twisted and crimped the butterflies in the middle by hand, and WOW, was it easy and fun. They fly so high because they are lightweight! My daughter liked to help "make" butterflies (she mainly smashed them up, but its tissue paper, so who cares if she's having fun!) and I had a crop of over 100 in less than 15 minutes, in all of her favorite pinks, purples, yellows, etc. We love this toy, and are having a great time seeing our daughter so darn excited!!