Background
Joy Michel (the former VP of Creative for Ty Inc. and the designer on nine of their plush lines including Beanie Babies) and Rocket USA designer and founder, Michael Perry, have teamed up under the Dakota Designs label to release a truly huggable plush line - the Lubies - from Rocket USA.
Series 1 was recently revealed to the public at the Atlanta Gift Show. There are a total of eight characters included in the initial Lubies series: Cat, Cow, Polar Bear, Pig, Brown Bear, Elephant, Dog and Penguin. For purposes of this review, we’ll be looking at the Polar Bear Lubie.
Packaging
Each plush includes a tag that has a drawn picture of the character as well as a “Did You Know?” fun fact about the animal. *I believe the series will be packaged in a small box.
The Figure
The Polar Bear Lubie plush has a circumference of 12” (like a softball) and its arms, legs, ears and tail are all moveable. The material is super soft plush and the filling allows for a lot of give. The eyes are small black beads hat snap inside of the plush (so they won’t fall off). The plush has the Lubie logo embroidered on its behind.
Our Opinion
Everyone loves a soft plush, correct? Well, they don’t come much softer than the new line of Lubies. The Polar Bear Lubie is definitely cuddly enough for little kids (they have a recommended age of 0+) but I am guessing that plush collectors will also find a place in their collection for the line.
Even though this line is designed by the former creator of the – one time - immensely popular Beanie Babies, I don’t see this as becoming a “craze” line. That’s not saying it’s not a fun plush, it would just be impossible to recreate the Beanie Baby craze.
Primarily, I see this line being big with kids. It’s priced at a point that will not break the bank – less than $9. But that doesn’t mean that plush collectors won’t like them. They’re fun to throw around and well produced. And since Rocket USA will be releasing several different animal Lubies, you should be able to find your favorite animal (everyone has one of those, right) in Lubie form.
You can pick one up at the following:
While you might be pressed to find any of the Lubies in stores – they were only released last week – they will retail around $8.99.
Polar Bear Lubie Grades:
Quality: 9/10
Stitching: 8/10
Tag Design: 7/10
Softness: 10/10
Hype: 7/10
Fun Factor: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Overall: 9.2/10
Have this figure? What do you rate it?
