- A Michigan mom got a big laugh when she realized her daughter, Salem, thought a Fisher-Price toy looked just like her grandpa
- Olivia Brado tells PEOPLE she took a video of the moment after realizing the uncanny resemblance
- Now, the video has gone viral with nearly 500,000 views on TikTok
When Olivia Brado’s 2-year-old daughter Salem first started saying “Papa, papa,” she assumed it was because the little girl wanted to go visit her grandpa. But after a closer look at the toy in her hand, she realized it was because Salem thought the toy was actually modeled after her grandpa.
Brado, who lives in Michigan, tells PEOPLE that Salem had recently inherited a bag of hand-me-down toys from her cousins. In the bag were a number of Fisher-Price’s popular “Little People” toys, a line of figures, vehicles and interactive playsets for toddlers.
“We were at my mom’s house and we dumped out the bag of toys and she started picking through them,” Brado says. “Then I kept hearing her say, ‘Papa, papa.’ ”
As Brado explains, she often takes Salem to visit her grandpa at his workplace after taking her to visit her grandma. “So when I heard, ‘Papa’ over and over, I thought she just wanted to see him.”
But then Brado and her mom noticed Salem was clutching one of the toys tightly in her fist.
“My mom looked at it, and said, ‘Does she think it’s your dad?’ ” Brado says. “And I took a closer look and sure enough, it looks just like him. My mom and I looked at each other and just started dying laughing.”
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Brado immediately got her phone out and took a video of the sweet moment, uploading it to TikTok with the caption: “My daughter looked at one of her toys and immediately thought it was my dad.”
She also sent the video to her dad, who replied, “LOL.”
“I replied and said, ‘But, it’s you.’ and he said, ‘I see that.’ ”
Brado also dropped the video in the family group chat — her dad, David, is one of nine — and “every aunt, uncle and cousin was like, ‘Oh that looks just like him.’ ”
“The hands, the build, the face shape … it all checks,” Brado adds with a laugh.
The video has already been viewed more than 420,000 times since it was uploaded on Feb. 11, 2025, and many commenters say it resonates.
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“I’ve had a lot of comments,” Brado says. “One girl said every time her kid sees Wreck-It Ralph, she says it’s her dad.”
Other commenters are urging Brado to get backups of the toy, just in case it ever gets lost.
“I don’t think it’s made anymore. I’ve seen a lot of them on eBay,” she adds. “And she does have a few favorite toys but that is certainly one of them.”
Still others say perhaps Brado should enlist the toy-maker in the conversation.
“A lot of people are like, ‘You better tag Fisher-Price. do they know they owe your dad royalties for using his likeness? ‘ ” Brado jokes.
Brado, a professional special effects makeup artist, certainly has ideas on how to keep the fun going, saying she hopes to convince her dad to dress up as the character — and bring him to life for her daughter — come Halloween.
“I am begging him, ‘Please, can we get you in pair of overalls?’ “
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