Meet Beast Lab, The Newest Toy From The Makers Of Magic Mixies

Feast your eyes on Beast Lab, the latest toy from Moose Toys, the makers of the insanely popular reveal toy, Magic Mixies. In some ways, Beast Lab is the antithesis of Magic Mixies — where the creatures unearthed from the Magic Mixies cauldrons are fluffy, sweet, and make high-pitched sounds, Beast Lab creatures are hard, growling action figures that seem destined to a life of waking up on the wrong side of the bed every morning, and it’s on track to be a must-have toy this year.

The beasts themselves are more than just a cool-looking action figure. Intended for kids 5 and up, Their limbs are fully articulated for posing and playing, they growl and light up with a push of a button, and twisting their torso at the waist will cause them to quickly swing back in place (Moose Toys calls this their ‘attack mode’). But the toy itself is only part of it’s appeal. The real excitement comes from the actual process of unearthing said creature. In the case of Beast Lab, there are two sharks your kid might end up with: Mayhem Megashark and Havoc Hammerhead, and of course, they won’t know which one they’ll get to play with until they complete a series of steps masked as a science experiment.

Each Beast Lab experiment kit comes with a small measuring cup and set of “creation” ingredients like pop fizz, green slime, and more. The main component is a large, capped beaker-shaped vessel that appears to be filled with a green liquid that hides the surprise toy within, and the whole vibe screams top secret underground lab. One at a time, the ingredients get added to the beaker, and after each addition, one must turn the dial up a notch to “increase the pressure” and then push down on a finger-scan button to initiate each step and activate the ingredient. A little bit of mist will form (to give the impression that something is smoking), the beaker will flash angrily, and you’ll hear growling and a panic alarm going off. The sounds just intensify as you progress further into the experiment, making the whole experience pretty memorable. When you reach the end, the lever must be pulled to “drain” the beaker of the green liquid and reveal the toy within.

Luckily it sounds messier than it is — the entire beaker isn’t actually filled with green goo. Like those magic baby bottles that “empty” when tipped over, only the perimeter of the beaker houses the liquid and that gets drained into a hidden chamber until it’s played with again. And yes, kids can repeat the experiment again and again (they just won’t have all the original ingredients the package came with), but they can go through adding their own mixes and potions and re-drain the beaker countless times. If you want to ensure the beaker keeps misting for dramatic effect, a refill bottle can be purchased for $9.99.

The flashing and sound effects really add intensity and excitement — some might even feel a little panicked — but it’s also really fun to complete the steps and not hard at all to understand its appeal.

Not surprisingly, Beast Labs aren’t cheap at $69 but that’s not going to stop parents from buying them for their kids as soon as they can. And when exactly will that be? They hit physical stores nationwide starting October 1 and is available for preorder until then. Like Magic Mixies was in years past, Beast Lab just may end up being one the hottest holiday toys of the year.