Desperately trying to remember what this toy was called.  :-[

It was the size of your average chicken egg, and looked like an egg. They were various colours. Half of it would flip open and inside (under a clear plastic dome) were various animal type scenes. Every time you opened it you would trigger the motor or battery and the animals would move a bit. They were keychain toys, released in the early or mid 90s.

Any help much appreciated. Searches of this site, ebay and google have yielded nothing.  :(

Tamagachi!

i think he does me a tamagotchi....

http://www.tnk.utu.fi/graf/Tamagotchi-Connexions.jpg

i remember being SO excited when i got my first one in around 1999...

Thanks guys but it's not Tamagotchi. It came out years before Tamagotchi was invented. It's not digital in any way. It doesn't have an LCD screen.

It's just what looks like a small "dinosaur egg". Half the shell flips up, inside a plastic dome is a non-digital, plastic scene that animates because I guess it's on springs or theres a tiny watch-size battery somewhere inside it. Nothing very impressive but the animal might vibrate or move back and forth a bit.  I believe there was a "pre-historic" scene in one, with a dinosaur or sabretooth tiger.

Oohhhhhhhhhhhh, now I know what you mean. I don't know what they're called though..... :(

LOL  ;D No one does! Everyone remembers them and a lot of people even had them but I guess they just didn't have a memorable name at all hahahha. It's crazy. They were so popular for a while but I can't even find a single one on ebay.

I remember those

We have one.  The Penguin World one.  The company listed on the back is Takara Co. Ltd. (Made in Chine)

We have one.  The Penguin World one.  The company listed on the back is Takara Co. Ltd. (Made in China)  I don't know how to insert a picture, but it is torquise colored and has a little penguin that swims when you open it up. 

I think what you're looking for are Pocket Critters.


MTA: Sorry it took us so long to come up with an answer.

It's a Takara keychain egg.  At least 36 different ones exist.  They have model numbers which are an "H", dash, then four digits.

These are the ones I know exist.  Note that a couple of the eggs below are the same egg mechanism but with different colored shells.


NAMECOLORINSIDEMODEL#UPCTAGNAME
BabarWhiteBabar in carH-319426483 03194Babar
Coca ColaRedpolar bear, coke bottleH-323326483 03233Coca Cola Polar Bear Critters
Coral LifePurpBlu2 fishH-322726483 03227Tropical Fish
DalmatiansRed3 dogsH-328726483 03287Dalmations
Dolphin WorldBlue1 dolphin---
DolphinsBlue2 dolphinsH-4002A26483 04002New Dolphin
GatorPurple2 alligatorsH-315226483 03152Alligator
GorillaBlue3 gorillas---
Hello KittyOrange2 Hello Kittys, gardenH-411226483 04112Pocket Critters : Garden
Hello KittyPurple2 Hello Kittys, pianoH-411126483 04111Pocket Critters : Piano
Honey BearsGreen2 bearsH-322626483 03226Teddybear
Kitty KittyPink2 kittensH-323126483 03231Kitty Kitty
LionOrange2 lions---
Merry ChristmasRedSanta insleigh, reindeerH-214426483 02144Christmas
MoooWhite2 cows---
Munch'n BunniesPink2 bunnies, 1 birdH-322226483 03222Bunny
My Pet DinoGreendinosaur (triceratop)---
Peck'n ChicksYellow3 chicksH-322326483 03223Chick
Peck'n ChicksLBlue3 chicksH-322326483 03223Chick
Penguin WorldBluepenguinH-400126483 04001Penguin
Pollen WorldPurple2 butterflies,mirroredH-329226483 03292Butterflies
Puppy PalsYellowtwo puppiesH-214626483 02146Puppy
River DamYellow3 beaversH-329726483 03297Beavers
RoostersYellow2 roostersH-345126483-03451Roosters
SquirrelsPurple2 squirrelsH-329626483 03296Squirrels
Super SealBlue2 sealsH-322126483 03221Super Seal
The Green FamilyGreen3 frogsH-329126483 03291Frogs
`Tis The SeasonDrkGrnSanta at piano, reindeerH-319126483 03191Party Time
Tropical DancePinkhula dancer, birdH-319326483 03193Tropical Dance
Tropical ParadiseGreen2 guacamayasH-319226483 03192Tropical Bird
Turtle WorldBlueturtleH-2142A26483 02142Turtle
Tyrannosaurus AttackOrange3 dinosaursH-328126483 03281New Dinos
Velociraptor AttackGreen3 dinosaursH-328226483 03282New Dinos
Whale FamilyDrkBlue2 whales---
Wild HorseRedhorse, eagleH-330726483 03307Horse
Winter WonderlandRedsnowman, 2 bearsH-400326483 04003Skier


Stan
sieler at allegro.com

I think what you're looking for are Pocket Critters.



It's a Takara keychain egg.  At least 36 different ones exist.  They have model numbers which are an "H", dash, then four digits.


http://i.imgur.com/W88rkjg.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/Io38qMQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iqbIOvr.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/GDVp8Fq.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/iVHsCSR.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/UIR2R1V.jpg

On behalf of the original poster, thanks!  Here are a few photos for reference.  They confirm that Pocket Critters were an egg toy from Takara/Tomy in 1993.

They're not familiar to me at all.  :-[

I have two of them-- one with cows and one with ladybugs. On the bottom, it says "Licensed by Tomy Made in China, Z Windy" (as in wind-up toy). It is an egg-shaped key chain with a clear yellow upper half that flips open when you press the latch. The tiny 3-D cows move and munch. The other one has ladybugs on flowers and the flowers and ladybugs move. The Year on the bottom is 2009. I bought mine at a Bob Evans Restaurant gift shop, but the company doesn't have the gift shops anymore.
I've looked for them myself but have been unable to locate any more of them.