18 July 2008 14:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

As the latest Pixar movie hits the cinemas in the UK, so does a barrage of merchandise. So can the iDance wing its way into your heart as much as the movie is expected to? We got listening to find out.

iDance Wall-E, like other movie tie-ins before it, is a dancing Wall-e from the movie (is it me or does he look like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit) that will dance and make cute noises at your command.

Get it out of the packaging (a task itself) and the little robot will dance and wobble around your desk like only a wobbly dancing robot could.

We found this meant Wall-E rotating around and around in circles, but the whole experience is likely to keep any small child entertained for a good 20 minutes.

Beyond dancing to your voice commands, or a button press on the top of his body, Wall-E has a line-in socket so you can connect an MP3 player and there are three accompanying dance modes - fast rave style, a slower groovin' style or one where he just blinks his eyes.

The dance modes make plenty of noise and unfortunately due to the "not so loud" speaker you'll struggle to hear the music over the motor noises. We also found that due to the radical dancing style of Wall-E he made a bid for freedom off the desk on more than one occasion.

Additionally there is also a battery save mode that promises to help the battery last longer. The instructions are confusing and the button failed to do anything. "After new batteries are installed, for optimal battery use, switch the battery selector to the full-charge position. After playing for about 15 minutes, change to normal position to help extend battery life." What that means, we have no idea.

Verdict

At £20 this isn't going to blow you away on a sound front, nor is it going to have a shelf life beyond the summer, but as a cute toy to keep the kids quiet (if not the house), it, like the movie, will bring a smile to your face.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

Disney

Price as reviewed

£20

The good

Cute, brings the robot from the film to your desk

The bad

Speaker not that loud, noisy and doesn't stay put

Quick verdict

At £20 this isn't going to blow you away on a sound front, nor is it going to have a shelf life beyond the summer; it will make you smile though

Score

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