If you're interested in Disney products, you may have seen these before, but if not, here is the latest craze! These are little stuffed toys called "Tsum Tsum" (pronounced "soom soom," the "t" is silent) that were originally sold at the Disney Stores in Japan. I actually remember going onto the Japanese Disney Store website to look longingly at the cool stuff they got and lamenting that we couldn't get them. But they're here! "Tsum Tsum,' by the way, translates as "stack stack," which I'll explain after the jump.
These little darlings are offered in various sizes. The small size fits easily in the palm of one's hand, and is about 3 and a half inches long. They are also offered in a medium (11 inches long) and a large (17 inches long). I had the opportunity to see these in person at my local Disney Store, and I can tell you that the medium is about the size of an average teddy bear. It's hard to explain the scale here without pictures, but our DS isn't too keen on pictures being taken in-store (plus, my phone has a crappy camera, so I can't take stealthy pics), so you may need to head to Google if you want a visual representation of the size scale. (The large plushies are enormous, though!)
The whole idea behind these are that they are stackable. They have flat bottoms and evenly distributed weight, so it's very easy to arrange them into formations. Say, a large with a medium and a small, or a medium and a small, or a pyramid of smalls...anything you can imagine. The Disney Store's Tsum Tsum website has some adorable promo pics with suggestions.
Anyway, after several false starts (only certain stores carry these, so you'll need to call your nearest store for stock confirmation), I traipsed over to the Disney Store to pick some up. (I was so tired of seeing posts of these all over Facebook without having some of my own!)
There is a growing variety of Tsum Tsums to pick from. You can choose the core Disney characters (Mickey and Minnie and pals), but also from characters from Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, as well as The Aristocats' Marie, Dumbo, and Stitch. I decided to start small, and picked out the first Disney characters that I fell in love with: Chip and Dale. I watched all the same feature-length Disney movies that everyone else did when I was a little one, but I loved the variety shorts starring these little mischief-makers. I also adored the TV show Rescue Rangers.
Here we have Chip and Dale, who are currently available in the small and medium size. Personally, I think the small is more fitting, given that they are chipmunks. I am debating whether or not I want to remove the tags and labels, so I left them on for the time being.
Let's look at Dale, first. I should point out that I do have small hands, but you can see that they are sized to fit in the palm of one's hands. Unless you're a wee one, in which case they might be hand-sized. Dale has tawny butterscotch-colored fur, and a bright cherry-red nose. His eyes also have a line slanting through them that I believe is supposed to represent Dale's droopy eyelids. His cheeks have a soft little blushing glow, which is a bit odd but cute. You can't see it well in the photo, but he has teeny little felt buck teeth.
Here is his underside. You can see that it's flat to help with stackability. You can also use these soft furred bottoms as cell phone cleaners. My friend tested it on her iPhone and reported that it cleaned as well as her usual microfiber cloth. Look at his tiny wee limbs!
Chip is a bit darker in color, more of a very light mocha. His little nose is solid black, and his cheek blushing is much less noticeable than Dale's. For some reason, he has one buck tooth, which I don't remember being a feature in his design at all. He has the same facial structure and back stripe as Dale.
The small Tsum Tsums are very lightweight, and very soft. They feel like they've been carefully weighted at the bottoms for better stacking. I tried it out, and am happy to report that they stack well. Here you can see Chip's ears, which for some reason won't pop up for better viewing.
These would make an awesome toy for children of all ages and sizes (from 1 to 92, as the saying goes). No small parts to tear off and swallow, no lead paint, no asbestos...the only danger I see is to one's pocketbook. Each small size Tsum Tsum is $4.95. Medium size is $12.95, and the large is $24.95. So depending on how involved you get in this, you might end up shelling out quite a bit of cash to collect your favorite characters. (I personally want a Mickey in every size, plus a small sized Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Pluto. I think I have a problem.) Disney is trying to market their Tsum Tsums similarly to Beanie Babies, so we can probably expect to see lots more Disney characters show up, especially considering how well they've been selling.
You can find these at the Disney Store's website, and in certain retail locations, Again, you'll need to contact the store to make sure they are in stock. Don't be like me and blithely drive to a few locations assuming they will have them!
Miss Scarlett suggests: If you like collectible stuffed animals, pick up a Tsum Tsum or two and get stacking!
And as a note before I sign off, the Disney Store website has completely restocked their selection of Frozen merchandise. We're talking dolls, plush toys, a huge selection of clothes, dishes, books, and yes, the coveted Elsa dress. If you're looking to fill a Frozen void in your life, you'd better get to it and order your merch sooner rather than later, especially if you want things for Christmas.
