Review and images by Fembrogon; edited by bmathison1972
The trouble with collectibles is you often have to act quickly – or, at least, not slowly – to get what you want. The same is true if you wish to share your find with others. A while back I visited a local reptile expo and found myself coming home with several critters – not real ones, sadly, but ones of the plastic and plush varieties, charming enough in their own way to win over me and my wallet. The biggest and most endearing of these merch herps came courtesy of Alotl Bit Crazy, LLC, a shop dedicated exclusively to the trade of axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum). Their star product (apart from the real amphibians) was a sizable and adorable axolotl plush, which I simply couldn’t stay away from. Surely this would be a fun and unusual entry for the Animal Toy Blog as well, I realized!
I promptly sat on my stuffed salamander* for nearly a year before getting this review started – during which time Alotl Bit Crazy revised their online shop and the big plushes disappeared altogether. Oh, dear. I can be stubborn, though, and I told myself I would write this review; so I kept working on it, and thankfully the plushes have reappeared for sale as I finish writing the last touches for submission. Now here it is, and here we are. How does Alotl’s plush axolotl hold up after this time, just for the record?
*metaphorically speaking… mostly.
At roughly 71 cm (28 in) long when measured along the belly from nose to tail fin, “Mel” the axolotl is a colossus by real life standards, scaling in at about 3:1 to an average 9-inch mature male specimen. That is fine, of course, because toy isn’t meant as a strict life replica; it’s a big squeezable plush! Anatomical proportions and physique are recognizable, but obviously very stylized for mass appeal and economic design. The head is appropriately enormous, and adorned with six external gills (feathering has been reduced to basic fin silhouettes). The face includes the amphibian’s distinct beady black eyes, but adds a wide, grinning mouth with a puppy-like tongue sticking out. The body is stout, but broader in the back end; and the legs are short and tucked in by the body, with only three toes per foot instead of five. Most curiously, the dorsal tail fin is now a lateral fin, with the tail as a whole curled flat to the ground. I can’t say I’ve seen axolotls attempting a body position quite like this before, but maybe some amphibian experts would know better. Or maybe not; again, this axolotl is designed to be cute, not accurate.
The stitching and stuffing for the toy is very firm, holding its shape through repeated handling. There are a few major seam lines which are very noticeable, but they don’t detract from the design much. One can toss and tumble this giant stuffed amphibian to the heart’s content, but the toy is hardly floppy or flimsy. It’s sturdy enough one can even use it as a pillow substitute in a pinch (never try this with a real axolotl, of course!), and the curled body posture allows the plush to fit nicely in various places without taking up too much space.
Originally, Alotl Bit Crazy offered three color variants of the large axolotl plush – Leucy (pinkish white), Golden, and Light Mel. My choice was the Light Mel variant, which is a deep purple across the body. The nickname is a reference to melanistic color morphs seen in real life axolotls, which are a dark grey coloration rather than the more famous albino or leucostic morphs, which are mostly white. The deep purple is another point of artistic license, of course – purple is much more attractive than flat grey. The dark coloration also contrasts well with the light pink tongue and gills, although the black eyes and mouth are a little less distinct as a trade-off. The tail fin is a lighter, almost lavender tint of purple.
Axolotls are pretty cute; Mel the axolotl plush is very cute too. While Alotl Bit Crazy’s stuffed toy design is clearly taking plenty of creative license with the animal’s appearance, the result is quite effective in charm, and I would imagine plenty of amphibian enthusiasts will find this plus-size huggable mascot irresistible. As mentioned previously, Alotl Bit Crazy doesn’t always keep the plushes in stock; but as of this writing Mel and the others are available again on the company’s online shop, as well as for other axolotl-related merchandise. It never hurts to check eBay for second-hand stuffed animals, too, of course.
