Pete's Expert Summary
My human has presented me with a large, garish plastic contraption from a company called Mattel, which I understand is responsible for a great deal of the clutter in this house. It appears to be a wheeled box that explodes into a multi-level dwelling for tiny plastic effigies. While the overall structure is an assault on my refined minimalist sensibilities, and the noise of its "transformation" is a capital offense against naptime, I must confess a flicker of professional interest. The primary value lies not in the cumbersome castle itself, but in the small, bite-sized figures included: a crab, a chameleon, a bird, and a candelabra. These are, without a doubt, the true treasures, perfectly designed for being batted, captured, and hidden beneath furniture for later rediscovery. The castle may serve as a decent, if undignified, observation post, but its true purpose is to be a glorified container for superior, smaller toys.
Key Features
- With the Carriage to Castle Playset, kids can whisk away their Disney Princess small dolls to the next adventure and dance the night away at the castle—with one amazing playset
- Start out in carriage mode, with a regal carriage that really rolls and can fit Disney's Aurora doll and 3 more Disney Princess friends inside (One doll included. Others sold separately.)
- Carriage transforms into a castle with 6 play areas: bedroom with bed and blanket, bathroom with sink, kitchen with oven, a ballroom and 2 spinning dance floors. Pull-out stairs and slides add to the fun
- The 2-in-1 theme doubles the fun The kitchen turns into a crafting space, complete with art table, and the bathroom becomes a dressing room, complete with vanity
- Playset has signature Disney touches throughout and includes 4 character friends from popular Disney films: Sebastian, Pascal, Lumiere and one of Snow White's bluebirds
- Transformation between the two playsets is quick and easy, and kids will love re-creating movie moments and imagining new stories in both
- Fans can look for other Disney Princess dolls and playsets for the ultimate adventure Each sold separately, subject to availability
A Tale from Pete the Cat
The thing arrived in a box far too large to be tasteful. The small human, with her usual lack of decorum, tore it open and assembled a wheeled pink cage she called a "carriage." Through its cheap, clear plastic walls, I saw them: the prisoners. Four desperate souls trapped by the tyranny of Princess Aurora, a blonde doll with a vacant stare. There was a stoic crab, a nervous-looking lizard, a common bluebird, and a golden creature I could only assume was a very fancy insect. My duty was clear. These souls needed a liberator, and I, Pete, was born for the role. My chance came that evening. The human had activated the device's secondary form, a cacophony of clicks and snaps that resulted in an open-air fortress of balconies and slides. It was an amateurishly designed stronghold, full of obvious tactical weaknesses. I began my infiltration by neutralizing the guard—the princess doll—with a swift shove that sent her tumbling down a slide and under the ottoman. With the sentry dispatched, I scaled the structure via the pull-out stairs, my movements silent and deliberate. The floors were slick, the "bedroom" laughably small, but my eyes were on the prize. On the upper level, I found the crab, Sebastian, perched near a tiny plastic sink. A single, surgical paw-tap was all it took. He flew through the air, landing silently on the rug below. One free. Next, the chameleon, Pascal, was resting on the miniature bed. A direct approach was too risky; it might knock him into an inaccessible crevice. I observed the architecture, my brilliant mind processing the angles. The entire upper story seemed to pivot. With a carefully placed nudge of my head against a turret, I tilted the platform just enough for Pascal to slide gently down the bed's blanket and plop onto a lower balcony, from which I could easily scoop him up later. I left the bird and the golden insect for another night; a true artist never reveals all his secrets at once. As I sat back, grooming a stray bit of dust from my pristine tuxedo bib, I gave my verdict. The Mattel "Carriage to Castle" is an eyesore, a monument to poor taste and noisy mechanics. However, as an interactive puzzle box for staging daring rescues and testing my formidable intellect and physical prowess, it is surprisingly effective. It will be permitted to remain in my kingdom, but only as a training facility. The prisoners will be freed, one by one, until only the hollow plastic shell remains.
