For HSM 3 fans only! (Vivid Imaginations High School Musical Sing-along Microphone)

Member Name: mumto3

Product:	Vivid Imaginations High School Musical Sing-along Microphone
Date:	20/02/09 (207 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well made - HSM fans will love it

Disadvantages: Overpriced - Noise will drive you crazy

My daughter recently celebrated her 5th birthday and one of her school friends gave her one of these High School Musical 3 microphones as a gift.

On a visit to Asda yesterday I saw a whole stand of High School Musical 3 item prominently displayed by the door obviously to coincide with the recent release of the DVD. Out of curiosity and because I was looking for inspiration for a gift for my daughter's friend's birthday I decided to have a look at the items available.

I could not believe the prices they were charging for very basic items simply because they bore the HSM 3 logo! I eventually found the microphone that my daughter had received and it was priced at £12.69! I was stunned!

The microphone is made of hard white plastic and with a black and gold head. There is a circular part on the front of the handle that is the speaker. There are three buttons on the handle two are numbered 1 and 2 and the third is the on/off switch. The whole thing is decorated in stickers featuring the logo and the red, gold and white colouring of the HSM 3 movie.

The microphone plays two songs from the film which I am reliably informed are 'Can I Have This Dance" and "High School Musical" but the sound quality isn't great. The microphone can also be used just as a microphone although the sound isn't very good and it constantly buzzes and whistles.

My daughter has never seen any of the High School Musical films and neither have I. I feel that at 5 years old she is too young to watch that type of film but I know that a few of her friends have seen the films and even the stage show.

Because my daughter hasn't seen the film she doesn't know the song to sing along with it and so just goes 'der der der' along with the tune that is playing. She is aware of the film because she has heard her friends talk about it but the fact that the microphone was merchandise didn't impress her.

On the whole my daughter uses the microphone as a microphone and doesn't sing along. She prefers to pretend to be a teacher or tour guide and uses the microphone simply as a play thing. She likes to sing and can often be heard using the microphone to sing songs she has learnt at school like 'Sing Hosanna' or 'Big Red Combine Harvester'!

I certainly wouldn't have paid nearly £13 for this toy but I'm sure if your children are big fans of HSM 3 then you will be prepared to pay the price. It is well made but the sound quality isn't great. I would say that a price range of £5 to £7 would be more reasonable. I couldn't find an age range on it but assume it would be 3 and over. Bearing in mind the age range of the intended audience for the film I would say that any child under 6 would be uninterested. There are no obvious choking hazards or other issues with this toy.

The microphone is currently on sale at www.amazon.co.uk for £14.99 with postage costs of £2.45, I have seen it at Asda for £12.69 or on www.ebay .co.uk with prices ranging from about £7.50 upwards but there is obviously postage to add to this.

Summary: Overpriced tacky piece of tat!