Playmobil myLife 50th Anniversary Large Zoo

When the representative for Playmobil reached out a couple months ago and asked whether we would be interested in reviewing the Large Zoo, a brand new set to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Playmobil, I was instantly intrigued. If you read my article on why I think Wiltopia is the best Playmobil lineup  you know that we felt the sets that included animals – excluding cats, dogs, horses – were the best Playmobil had to offer. The animals are super detailed and satisfyingly chunky for little kids hands. Well, the Large Zoo set just adds to the animal fun, in the best ways possible.

Ultimately, creating a Zoo from Playmobil can get a bit difficult I think, but I do hope they plan to expand with new exhibits moving forward. See, I was concerned that this set would be very disconnected. A few pieces of Playmobil here, a few other disconnected pieces over there, perhaps a turnstile to enter the zoo, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to see one large complete structure with a walking path, flanked by two “enclosures” featuring two giraffes and a whole wackload of penguins.

And yes, if you have a bunch of the Wiltopia sets, you can easily integrate these animals, and even some of the sets, into your zoo. I think the Elephant at the Watering Hole and the Anteater Care set would make good additions to this myLife zoo! Just like the Wiltopia animals, the ones included in this set – the aforementioned giraffes and penguins, but also a pelican – are fantastic and great to play with. The penguins have limited articulation, but the giraffe heads and legs all move, which is great. Add in a ton of figures and you’ve got a set that 3 – 4 tiny sets of hands could have a blast with together, without causing fights and arguments.

The set is loaded with things to play with, and while it lacks any unique play features – think about the water and ecological slides from the Elephant at the Watering Hole set – that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had. The set includes maps and pamphlets about animals, a bike and wagon for feeding and caring for animals, really cool balloons that kids can hold, and a lot more. If your kids are looking for something they can get really imaginative with, this is going to be a great pickup this summer!

I will say that putting this together requires an adult’s attention. Although I always feel like adults should be applying stickers, my 10 year old son Lochlan is pretty good at it at this point. However, he struggled often to get certain parts of this set together, and ultimately gave way to me to finish. Getting the two bridge pieces connected can be pretty tough, and without a good light source it can be difficult to figure out which green coloured leave accent pieces go where. I wouldn’t say this is the hardest Playmobil set I’ve put together, but it’s still far from the easiest.

Overall, I am really impressed with the myLife Large Zoo set from Playmobil. Since my youngest son Lincoln (5 years old) has been really invested in Wiltopia over the past few months, this is a great addition to our Playmobil collection. We highly recommend this set, and although the price is going to be pretty steep in Canada, there is a ton of value in the box, definitely surpassing most sets we have reviewed this year.