I also recently discovered the toy company Battat. And their product lines quickly made them a favorite brand. Their toys are made using pthalate free plastic and the packaging is recyclable. They also make their products surprisingly affordable! Including a couple of toy lines that are obviously lower priced alternatives to much more expensive companies.
I just love to peruse the "My Generation" doll section at Target and wish that this line had existed when I was a little girl. 18 inch dolls were another expensive item I could never afford back then! I love the individuality possible with these dolls more than the expensive brand - definitely!
But the real highlight from this company, for me, is the "Li'l Woodzeez " line of flocked animal families and accessories . I feel like they are marketed especially for me!
"Welcome to Honeysuckle Hollow, where all the woodland creatures work together to take care of each other and their environment. Every animal family has a special job and every day is an adventure."
There are sets of animal families, individual carded figures and some really impressive play sets.
In reality, CC/SF are much easier to find in stores. So while i really wanted to compare one of each brand, it ended up taking me forever to track down Li'l Woodzeez toys in person. (I have read reviews warning about damaged flocking after being shipped. So sad!) I finally got a chance to stop at a Target store while on a business trip. Too bad the Lil woodzeez section was almost empty! I snapped up the last two animal families that were still available : the Swiftysweeper Hedgehog family, and the very last Tippytails Fox family! They weren't my first choices, but oh well.( I still cannot find an owl family for the life of me!)
*Packaging
So i guess start off by saying that I read a lot of warnings from reviewers about the Li'lWoodzeez packaging being difficult to remove the animals from. So i was sort of prepared for a potential hassle. It took me a good 20 minutes to carefully free each family. I was worried about damaging their flocking the whole time. But they came out just fine. Since then, ive become an expert on taking apart this brands packages.(Next time i can review a li'l woodzeez family, i will post step by step instructions on how to remove the plastic packaging, with pics.) Lastly there are a rubber hat accessory and a small book about the fox family. I honestly didn't really like the hat. I was worried it might damage the flocking on the father fox, so i will probably never use it except for display.
*The Tippytails Fox family
Animal Profiles:
The package describes this family as teachers at the Cares-a-Lot Kindergarten.
Confusingly, the package has the family named "TippyTails" most of the time, but the description, and the book title say " Tippytail" .
Father: Tommy
Mother: Suzy
Little Boy: Howie (I named him Sly)
Baby Girl: Cookie ( I changed her name to Poppy)
As I examined my new fox family, the first really obvious trait is the fatter , more rounded shape of the animals bodies. Lil Woodzeez are almost the same hight as CC/SF , but their heads and bodies are wider, and their legs are shorter.
The Tippytails fox family have great orange coloring! I really love the contrast between the bright orange fur with the dad and little boy's blue outfits. They have brown tipped ears and hands. The muzzles, bellies, and the tips of their fox tails are white.
I felt like Battat chose mostly animal species that are actually kind of round in nature. But the fox family is the most unrealistic of the Lil Woodzeez line. All of the foxes have open hands to allow them to hold accessories , except for the little baby.
The package shows lighter eyebrow markings on the faces of every family member, but only the parents actually had them. The little boy fox and the baby fox just have lighter muzzles.
I love that every family member has cute plastic whiskers. Even the tiny baby! The older animals have plastic tails that can be posed, but the baby just has a round bottom so she can wear her diaper.
The noses are kind of weird. It looks like the flocking was applied everywhere except on the nose, leaving a large cartoony black nose sticking out. None of the other Lil Woodzeez animals have noses quite like the foxes. I think they are cute though! They definitely have a unique look to them.
Their faces a cute and endearing ! They have nice little teddy bear smiles. I love how the bright orange foxes (and the green turtles) stand out among my other more naturally hued animals!
And I must mention that i like the mix of shapes among my collection of flocked animals. My Lil Woodzeez animals look just fine among my Calico Critters / Sylvania Families animals.
A note for collectors: in the sets that include the whole family, only the Father has a sticker on the bottom of his foot identifying them as Lil Woodzeez. The mother or child will have a sticker on the bottom of their foot when they were packaged separately on a card.
*Clothing
The Lil Woodzeez Tippytails outfits were cute; but obviously lower quality fabric than Calico Critters. The pants and shirts are sewn together as one piece and have a velcro closure in the back. Overall like their clothes just fine. The baby's removable fabric diaper was my favorite. I understand the company's need to keep the clothes simple to keep prices low, so i appreciate how much you get for your money with these sets. A rubber hat is included for tha dad to wear, but i prefer him without it.
*Book
Title: " The Tippytail Fox Family in Cares-a-Lot Kindergarten "
Author: Susan Cappadonia Love
Illustrated By: Carrie Anne Bradshaw
26 pgs.
I found the inclusion of a miniature book with each of the families very charming, and was part of the appeal for me. They are small paperback books with lovely color illustrations. The inside cover has a color map of the town of Honeysuckle Hollow. In the back there are pictures of other animal families available. It also says in the back of the book that the Tippytails Fox family has hidden a "W" in each illustration, and asks if you can find all of them.
*Overall Opinion
Well, i should note that i was probably biased toward liking these guys! I wanted a Li'l Woodzeez set for so long, and it took a lot of searching to get them!
The Tippytails Fox family has grown on me, and they have become one of my favorite animal families of my Lil Woodzeez collection. I love the bright color scheme. The tiny baby wins as my favorite. She is just so cute with her little whiskers!
*Product Defects
I was worried after reading many negative comments online about how much easier it is to damage Lil Woodzeez flocking. People ordering them online received animals that already had damage to their fur from the packaging, and rough handling by curious little kids leads to damaged animals right off the shelves at the store.
I only had one Tippytails Fox family to choose from, but they were in perfect condition! Mommy fox had some crooked whiskers on one side, but it no big deal. One of daddy fox's eyes was a little crooked, but it gives him more expression.
Im not really sure if the lack of markings on the youngsters faces is a flaw. The pics on the back of the box may be prototypes. But i have yet to lay my eyes on another Tippytails Fox family at the store. (So im even happier I scored the only set that they had!)
*The Tippytails Fox family
Animal Profiles:
The package describes this family as teachers at the Cares-a-Lot Kindergarten.
Confusingly, the package has the family named "TippyTails" most of the time, but the description, and the book title say " Tippytail" .
Father: Tommy
Mother: Suzy
Little Boy: Howie (I named him Sly)
Baby Girl: Cookie ( I changed her name to Poppy)
As I examined my new fox family, the first really obvious trait is the fatter , more rounded shape of the animals bodies. Lil Woodzeez are almost the same hight as CC/SF , but their heads and bodies are wider, and their legs are shorter.
The Tippytails fox family have great orange coloring! I really love the contrast between the bright orange fur with the dad and little boy's blue outfits. They have brown tipped ears and hands. The muzzles, bellies, and the tips of their fox tails are white.
I felt like Battat chose mostly animal species that are actually kind of round in nature. But the fox family is the most unrealistic of the Lil Woodzeez line. All of the foxes have open hands to allow them to hold accessories , except for the little baby.
The package shows lighter eyebrow markings on the faces of every family member, but only the parents actually had them. The little boy fox and the baby fox just have lighter muzzles.
I love that every family member has cute plastic whiskers. Even the tiny baby! The older animals have plastic tails that can be posed, but the baby just has a round bottom so she can wear her diaper.
The noses are kind of weird. It looks like the flocking was applied everywhere except on the nose, leaving a large cartoony black nose sticking out. None of the other Lil Woodzeez animals have noses quite like the foxes. I think they are cute though! They definitely have a unique look to them.
Their faces a cute and endearing ! They have nice little teddy bear smiles. I love how the bright orange foxes (and the green turtles) stand out among my other more naturally hued animals!
And I must mention that i like the mix of shapes among my collection of flocked animals. My Lil Woodzeez animals look just fine among my Calico Critters / Sylvania Families animals.
A note for collectors: in the sets that include the whole family, only the Father has a sticker on the bottom of his foot identifying them as Lil Woodzeez. The mother or child will have a sticker on the bottom of their foot when they were packaged separately on a card.
*Clothing
The Lil Woodzeez Tippytails outfits were cute; but obviously lower quality fabric than Calico Critters. The pants and shirts are sewn together as one piece and have a velcro closure in the back. Overall like their clothes just fine. The baby's removable fabric diaper was my favorite. I understand the company's need to keep the clothes simple to keep prices low, so i appreciate how much you get for your money with these sets. A rubber hat is included for tha dad to wear, but i prefer him without it.
*Book
Title: " The Tippytail Fox Family in Cares-a-Lot Kindergarten "
Author: Susan Cappadonia Love
Illustrated By: Carrie Anne Bradshaw
26 pgs.
I found the inclusion of a miniature book with each of the families very charming, and was part of the appeal for me. They are small paperback books with lovely color illustrations. The inside cover has a color map of the town of Honeysuckle Hollow. In the back there are pictures of other animal families available. It also says in the back of the book that the Tippytails Fox family has hidden a "W" in each illustration, and asks if you can find all of them.
*Overall Opinion
Well, i should note that i was probably biased toward liking these guys! I wanted a Li'l Woodzeez set for so long, and it took a lot of searching to get them!
The Tippytails Fox family has grown on me, and they have become one of my favorite animal families of my Lil Woodzeez collection. I love the bright color scheme. The tiny baby wins as my favorite. She is just so cute with her little whiskers!
"At least this hat is good for something!"
*Product Defects
I was worried after reading many negative comments online about how much easier it is to damage Lil Woodzeez flocking. People ordering them online received animals that already had damage to their fur from the packaging, and rough handling by curious little kids leads to damaged animals right off the shelves at the store.
I only had one Tippytails Fox family to choose from, but they were in perfect condition! Mommy fox had some crooked whiskers on one side, but it no big deal. One of daddy fox's eyes was a little crooked, but it gives him more expression.
Im not really sure if the lack of markings on the youngsters faces is a flaw. The pics on the back of the box may be prototypes. But i have yet to lay my eyes on another Tippytails Fox family at the store. (So im even happier I scored the only set that they had!)
Very fun reading very informative. Thank you can I share on faceboo?
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