Disney Tsum Tsum plush animals are cute, collectible and going fast

Is it too soon to think about Christmas shopping? Perhaps not if you want to get in on the Disney Tsum Tsum craze.

Tsum Tsum are collectible, log-shaped plush animals that look like Disney characters and come in three sizes. “Tsum Tsum” means “stack stack” in Japanese, which is the theory behind the shape. Creators want consumers to collect and stack the adorable faces. In addition, the colorful toys have the added functionality of a screen-cleaning material on their stomachs.

Tsum Tsum were introduced to consumers by Disney Japan last year as an offshoot to the mobile video game they star in. “Disney Tsum Tsum” has been described as a Tetris-style game in which players match and stack the figures. When the free app was released globally last month for iOS and Android devices, The Walt Disney Co. launched a collection of 30 different Tsum Tsum plush characters at select Disney Store locations nationwide, online at DisneyStore.com, in stores at Disney Parks, and at Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii.

“Disney Japan has created some of our most successful and popular digital products and Disney Interactive is proud to be working closely with the team to extend their success globally,” said Jimmy Pitaro, president of Disney Interactive, in a news release. “This is one of the first times that Disney has introduced a distinctly Japanese product to a global audience, and Disney Tsum Tsum offers our guests a unique combination of quality characters, compelling game play and an engaging social experience.”

According to “The New York Times,” the game has ranked as the No. 1 downloaded app for extended periods and more than 1.8 million of the stuffed animals have been sold in Japan. Now, Americans seem just as thrilled with the newest “it” toy.

Disney introduced the Alice in Wonderland, Pooh and Pals, and Mickey and Friends collections of mini Tsum Tsums in its first wave of releases. The 3.5-inch plush animals sell for $4.95 plus tax online and carry a slightly higher price tag at the theme parks. In addition, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse were made available in the medium and large sizes. Those are priced at $12.95 and $24.95, respectively, online and $16.95 and $29.95 at Disney Parks.

Already, many of the Tsum Tsum toys are sold out. At Walt Disney World, the only location where Tsum Tsum toys are sold is Once Upon A Toy store at Downtown Disney Marketplace. A Disney spokesperson told me that the store has sold every mini Tsum Tsum in the first shipment that arrived at the beginning of the month. They do have a limited amount of the other sizes available. Good news, however: Disney Tsum Tsums are not limited-release merchandise, meaning more shipments will be arriving to fill the shelves.

In the meantime, DisneyStore.com has a good variety of Tsum Tsum plush animals available. (There is a purchase limit of 4 per style per customer.) Customers also can check their local Disney Store locations. For those in Central Florida, that’s the store at Florida Mall. A cast member there told me that the mini Alice in Wonderland, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Tiger were in stock as of this writing. That location also had the large Mickey and Minnie and the medium Minnie.

So, if you want to jump into collecting Tsum Tsums, where should you start? As you would expect, Mickey and Minnie are popular choices at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. If you can find them, Stitch, Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo also seem to have widespread appeal.

Even if you’re undecided about whether your kids will enjoy this latest Disney collectible craze, take a tip from this mom. It’s better to start shopping now and have something for the holidays just in case, rather than finding out at the last minute that there’s been a Tsum Tsum addendum to the list for Santa.

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