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ZhuZhu Pets

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ZhuZhu Pets
Inventor(s)Russ Hornsby
CompanyCepia LLC
CountryUS
Availability2009–present
Official website

ZhuZhu Pets (Mandarin pronunciation: [tʂú tʂú], formerly known as Go Go Pets) is an American line of plush robotic hamster toys created by Cepia LLC in 2009.[1] Multiple spin-off toy lines, including ZhuZhu Puppies[2] and Kung Zhus,[3] have been released.

History

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Pipsqueak ZhuZhu Hamster

ZhuZhu Pets were created by Russ Hornsby for his St. Louis company, Cepia LLC.[4] The name comes from Mandarin zhūzhū (Chinese: 猪猪), meaning "little pig." In late 2009, Cepia employed only 16 people in the U.S. and 30 in China.[5] The original ZhuZhu Pets are nine different characters, with names including Chunk, PipSqueak, Mr. Squiggles, and Num Nums. There are various accessories for creating customized hamster habitats.[6] ZhuZhu Pets can be put in either of two play modes: "nurturing mode," in which they coo and purr, or "adventure mode," in which they explore their habitat and respond to various stimuli.[7]

The toy first launched under the name Go Go Pets in July 2009, but was rebranded as ZhuZhu Pets in October.[8] Cepia soon signed a distribution deal with Character Options to release the product (under the Go Go Pets name) in the United Kingdom for the 2009 Christmas season.[9] ZhuZhu Pets were a craze during the 2009 holidays. They originally retailed for US$9, but for a time they sold for over $100 because of shortages.[4][5]

In December 2009, testing done by the consumer organisation GoodGuide was initially thought to have found more than the allowed level of the toxic, silvery metalloid antimony in the Mr. Squiggles toy.[10] After a review, regulators from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the toy was within the "very protective" standard.[11] GoodGuide subsequently issued an apology saying that their testing methods (which checked for surface toxins) were different from the federal standards (which check for soluble toxins.)[11][12]

Cepia encourages collecting of ZhuZhu Pets.[13] Exclusive pets have been released in collaboration with Hallmark, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Toys "R" Us. In early 2010 a set of new characters was released, including the Rockstar pets (Roxie, Ryder, Pax, and Kingston), inspired by the children of celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Gwen Stefani.[13] The brand continued to expand international, with an Asian (including Japan) distribution deal with Sega Toys occurring in January, with Sega Toys planning on releasing manga and animated adaptions.[14] A European (non-UK) deal with Giochi Preziosi occurred the following year.[15]

The range expanded in 2010 with new sub-themes, starting with ZhuZhu Babies, which were not electronic or plush, but plastic toys articulated with a small ball under their belly. Summer 2010 saw the launch of Kung Zhu, aimed at a male audience age 8–12 and focused on battling hamsters. In December 2010, the ZhuZhu Princess series was released, as was a line of sixteen Burger King toys.

Two brown and black ZhuZhu Hamsters, 2011

The success of the product led to several tie-in products, one example being Hasbro's FurReal Friends Furry Frenzies, which featured other animals. This inspired Cepia to release additional products in the "Zhuniverse" in 2011, such as Zhu Zhu Puppies, which were robotic puppies that move around and bark, and a revived version of Zhu Zhu Babies, which now featured baby hamsters with motors. In 2012, this was expanded further to include Zhufari, which featured many different wild animals, Zhu Zhu Kittens, a spin-off of the Puppies line, and Zhu Zhu Ponies, which featured fillies. To promote Quest for Zhu, four Happy Meal toys were released at McDonald's restaurants outside the United States.

The franchise was quietly discontinued by the end of 2013, due to decreasing sales. A short-lived spin-off subseries titled The Amazing Zhus debuted in Mid-2014, but was discontinued shortly afterwards.

2017 Revival

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In 2015, Cepia LLC planned to reboot ZhuZhu Pets with a new look in partnership with Nelvana, who would produce a new television series titled Polly and the ZhuZhu Pets for a 2016 delivery. This revival would being the toys back to their roots with the original four hamsters.[16]

Polly and the ZhuZhu Pets debuted on September 12, 2016 on Disney Channel in the United States, before being expanded internationally and gaining a renaming to The ZhuZhus, with Polly being renamed Frankie. Cepia signed a toy master agreement with Spin Master, and in February 2017 they showcased the ZhuZhu Pets franchise at Toy Fair with designs,[17] based more on the TV series.

In 2018, ZhuZhu Pets was discontinued again, following the ending of the cartoon and lower-than-expected sales.

2024 Revival

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In May 2023, Cepia LLC filed a trademark for 'ZhuZhu'. In June, the website was completely refreshed to say that ZhuZhu would be "Returning Soon". Rumours of the franchise returning were soon confirmed true by employees at Cepia, and in September 2023, Cepia LLC uploaded a video on Vimeo showing the first new Zhu Zhu Pets line for 2024 called 'Zhu Zhu Aquarium'. The new line was showcased at New York Toy Fair 2023 and made its debut release in April of 2024. The brand is currently active as of today, with the website online for their debut, alongside the idea that this new series/generation of Zhu Zhu Pets is set to expand later on.[18]

Video games

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In December 2009, Activision and GameMill Publishing signed an agreement with Cepia to release ZhuZhu Pets video games.[19] The first title, simply titled ZhuZhu Pets, was released in March 2010 for the Nintendo DS, iOS, and Microsoft Windows.

In August 2010, Activision and GameMill Entertainment signed an agreement to release a Kung Zhu title for the Nintendo DS.[20] alongside a sequel to the original title, this time based on the "Wild Bunch" subtheme.[21] Kung Zhu and ZhuZhu Pets 2: Featuring The Wild Bunch were both released in October for the Nintendo DS, while the latter was also released on the Wii.

Additional Nintendo DS titles were released in 2011 - ZhuZhu Princess: Carriages & Castles (a reskin of the first title) was released at the end of February,[22] followed up with Zhu Zhu Puppies at the end of March,[23] a game tie-in to the Quest for Zhu movie in September, and ZhuZhu Babies (a re-skin of the second title) in November.

Coinciding with the release of Quest for Zhu, a video game adaptation for the Nintendo DS was released.[24]

Films

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Cepia LLC created The Dream Garden Company for 4 films[25] with distribution by Universal Pictures.[26] On September 27, 2011, the franchise's first full-length feature film Quest for Zhu was released straight-to-DVD.

A second full-length feature film, The Power of Zhu, probably in the works and has a trailer,[27] potentially being released on DVD sometime in 2012 as well as a third film The Secret of Zhu that featured the voices of Brad Garrett and Ken Jeong[28] and fourth film Journey to GloE.[29] However, as of February 2014, no other films or even plans for films have been released for "The Power of Zhu", although it was completed and was "secretly distributed" to TV stations in France and Brazil under the title "Amazing Adventures of Zhu".[30][31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Zhu Zhu Pets: Toy successes hard to predict, but robotic hamsters got a craze rolling". Chicago Tribune. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  2. ^ ZhuZhu Puppies Are Here! Commercial, retrieved March 5, 2022
  3. ^ Breyer, Jackie (February 22, 2010). "Are you ready for Kung Zhu?". The Toy Book. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Vicki Mabrey; Kinga Janik (November 20, 2008). "Zhu Zhu Pets: Hamsters to Save Christmas?". ABC News.
  5. ^ a b Anderson, Mae (November 27, 2008). "Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze". Denver Post. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  6. ^ "Welcome to Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters!". Cepia LLC. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  7. ^ "Welcome to Cepia LLC". Cepia LLC. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  8. ^ "Zhu Zhu Pets News" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Go Go Pets and Peppa are top tips". www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "Go Go Hamster toy Mr Squiggles is safe, Cepia insists". BBC News. December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  11. ^ a b Chang, Andrea (December 8, 2008). "Zhu Zhu Pets are safe, U.S. agency says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  12. ^ "Group corrects statement about safety of hot toys". Associated Press. December 8, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  13. ^ a b Kavilanz, Parija (February 15, 2010). "Meet the new Zhu Zhu pets". CNN Money.
  14. ^ "Zhu Zhu Pets' TV Animation, Manga Planned by Sega Japan". Anime News Network. February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Giochi Preziosi Group secures key partnership deal for ZhuZhu Pets". Licensing International. January 14, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Musulin, Kristin. "First look: Zhu Zhu Pets to scurry back into stores". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  17. ^ Spin Master (September 13, 2016). "Spin Master and Cepia, LLC Sign Global Distribution Partnership".
  18. ^ "Zhu Zhu Aquarium". www.zhuzhupets.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  19. ^ "Upcoming Video Games Based on 'Toy Of The Year Nominee' Zhu Zhu Pets&#153". activision.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  20. ^ "Activision Publishing and GameMill Publishing Get Fur-ocious This Fall With Kung Zhu&#153". activision.com. August 6, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  21. ^ "Activision Announces 'ZhuZhu Pets: Featuring The Wild Bunch' for DS and Wii". IGN. August 12, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  22. ^ "Activision's 'ZhuZhu Princesses: Carriages & Castles' for Nintendo DS is Now Available". IGN. February 28, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  23. ^ "Activision Announces Upcoming 'ZhuZhu Puppies' for Nintendo DS". IGN. March 14, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  24. ^ "ZhuZhu Pets: Quest for Zhu for DS - GameFAQs". gamefaqs.gamespot.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  25. ^ "Cepia - Zhu Zhu Pets". www.cepia.com. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  26. ^ "Universal Pictures and Cepia LLC join forces for first-ever ZhuZhu Pets® global Marketing and Distribution DVD and TV Alliance" (PDF). August 18, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  27. ^ The Power Of Zhu Trailer (Better Quality) (Cancelled ZhuZhu Pets Movie), retrieved September 1, 2022
  28. ^ Hulu 2 - ZhuZhu Pets Secret of Zhu, retrieved September 1, 2022
  29. ^ "Journey to GloE". Splash Entertainment. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  30. ^ Gardner, Eriq (August 3, 2015). "Universal Sued for "Secretly" Distributing Children's Film Overseas". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 2, 2018. Through its own investigation, Cepia learned that Universal International had distributed the Amazing Adventures of Zhu to at least two television broadcasters without Cepia's knowledge or approval." Cepia adds that the "unilateral actions were especially harmful" because the television airings in Brazil and France "destroyed the potential DVD/Blu-Ray market" and further, "led to its availability on the Internet for free download.
  31. ^ MoonScoop, Dreamgarden, Zhu-Zhu Pets The Power of Zhu Full Movie (English Dub), retrieved September 1, 2022
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