Majestic, intelligent, enigmatic, beautiful, elegant. These are all apt adjectives that describe the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), one of the most popular, wide ranging, and recognizable cetaceans in the world. Toy Animal Wiki catalogs 71 different figures of the species but there are easily many more than that. So, why did I pick this monstrosity for my collection?
Sinister, nightmarish, unsettling. These are adjectives that describe this 23” bottlenose dolphin by AAA. This creepy fellow recently popped up on eBay and was shared on the Animal Toy Forum where I promptly snatched it up. AAA produced a few 23” marine animals and when I was a kid, I had their great white shark in this size range. I got rid of it many years ago and it has now become a holy grail figure for me. It’s a hideous abomination like this dolphin but I love it for that reason. Alas, the few times I have stumbled upon that shark on eBay it has commanded a higher price than I was willing to pay.
This dreadful dolphin on the other hand was going for the same price that it was originally sold for, $18.99 (shipping included), as indicated by the Sea World price tag still stuck to its underside. It amuses me to think of this cursed toy being sold at Sea World. I’m sure that this is EXACTLY what kids wanted to take home after watching the dolphin show.
That eBay listing was the first time I had seen this dolphin and I must admit that I like it more than the shark I’ve been seeking, simply because it twists this beloved species into some kind of Lovecraftian horror show.
At 23” (58.42 cm) in length this bastardization of Flipper comes in at 1/6 in scale when scaled down from the 13’ (3.8 meters) maximum length of the common bottlenose dolphin. It’s hollow and completely made of rubber. Mine has a somewhat sticky feeling to it which seems somehow appropriate. It is presented in a static pose and leans to the left, looking very much like a corpse that washed up on the beach…in your nightmares.
The head sculpt is actually really good. And I think that’s part of what makes it appear so unsettling as it gives off an uncanny valley sort of vibe. It’s almost too good. Never has the smile of a dolphin looked so foreboding. The open, grinning mouth displays small individually sculpted teeth on the lower jaw that are a close match to the real deal and ready to sink into your warm flesh. The upper jaw has teeth too, but these are reduced to small painted nubs. No matter, they’re hard to see anyway. There’s even a tongue in there. A solid piece of plastic divides the head from the main body which helps support the figure and also makes it so that small toys or the souls of sailors it might eat don’t fall all the way back into the tail.
The head is grossly oversized which adds to the disturbing appearance of the toy. The body is also too thin and shallow in the chest, and the fluke is too large. The flippers, dorsal fin, and fluke all have frayed and jagged edges the likes of which I’ve never seen on a dolphin from this dimension.
Easily the most alarming attribute of this sea-beast is the fractal patterned cracked skin painted across the entire body. Bottlenose dolphins have a clean, sleek, and smooth appearance and it makes me wonder what poor specimen AAA had used as a reference point to come up with this. Thin jagged black lines haphazardly crisscross the entire surface of the toy with smaller cracks between those and even smaller cracks between those.
The toy is also painted a sickly greenish grey color. The patterning on the pale underside looks like varicose veins. The wicked beady eyes are brown with black pupils and a small dot of white eyeshine. Because of course you want that lifelike eyeshine following you around the room. The blowhole and inside of the mouth are pink and the teeth are white with decent paint application.
I don’t know if the AAA bottlenose dolphin deserves our fear or our pity. It might be an eldritch demon guarding the lair of Cthulhu but it might also be the victim of a science experiment gone wrong, or a genetic anomaly tragically born in the wastewaters of a nuclear power plant. Fear or pity aside, I choose to love the AAA dolphin and welcome it into my home of macabre curiosities. But just to be safe, I’ll never turn my back on it. The AAA 23” dolphin does not appear to be in production and as far as I can tell, rare. Mine is the only one I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s better that way.
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I wasn’t sure how to score this LOL. I rarely give ‘original’ AAA models five stars, as I just don’t like their style (and by ‘original’ I mean sculpted toys, not the realistic ones cast from actual specimens). I find original AAA figures overly textured, underpainted, and mammals often have bloodshot eyes. That being said, they are from a different era, and I usually take that into consideration.
Given the vintage nature and the sentimental value it gives many who grew up with AAA at the time, I gave it three stars.
Most of the toy animals I had growing up were AAA toys. Despite that, I also don’t really like their style, don’t collect them, and don’t really have any nostalgia for them. The exceptions are those cast from actual specimens and oddities like this dolphin.
The oddness of it makes it a perfect Blog review candidate! We need to remind our audience not everything is a nice, museum-quality replica! Great addition!!!!
I found your blog as I was attempting to determine a value for a toy dolphin I picked up at a thrift store yesterday. I believe it is the same dolphin you describe, except the skin is a relatively smooth (no cracks) and a sickly gray-green. It’s hard to pinpoint what it is about this dolphin that gives it such a sinister vibe, but your description came very close. I was mesmerized at first glance and had to have it. With that said, I’d sell it! 😂
Sorry for the late response, I didn’t see this comment until today. Wish I knew more about the value myself but like I said in the review, this is the only one I’ve seen. The far more common great white shark of the same size and brand goes for about $50, give or take, on eBay. I’m curious to see what your dolphin looks like. If you see this comment maybe consider posting a picture of it on our sister-site, the Animal Toy Forum.