Remember during the holidays when Zhu Zhu pets were all the rage. They were in such great demand, similar to how Cabbage Patch Dolls were when I was little (yeah, I’m showing my age). I chuckle every time I walk into a store now and see Zhu Zhu pets piled sky high. If only they were so readily available during the holidays like they were now.
Those cute little Zhu Zhu hamsters have taken on a whole new identity. Now in addition to the cute and cuddly Zhu Zhu hamsters there are no Zhu Zhu Kung Zhu hamsters. The new Kung Zhu line consists of Ninja Zhu Zhu hamsters, complete with body armour and new activity sets.
According to the website (www.KungZhu.com) “With eight original characters split into two battling groups called Special Forces and Ninja Warriors, Kung Zhu Pet owners will have the thrill of training each character to transform fighting, battling warriors. While these Kung Zhu hamsters may start of as “cute” and “mild-mannered” once they are sent into their main training grounds, smart chip technology will actually allow you to hear a distinct personality transformation of fighting ninja and warriors.”
Thanks to BSM Media we received the mega load of Kung Zhu pets. The box was HUGE! I don’t even know how our little UPS man (he’s my height) was able to carry it up six flights of stairs. I could barely move the box let alone pick it up.
We received enough Zhu Zhu pets to have a Zhu Zhu Kung Zhu party. Since I knew we were going over to friend’s house for the fourth of July I asked my friend if it was OK to have a Kung Zhu fourth of July party for the kids. She loved the idea and was excited to help host it. With the help of my husband (it took the two of us to get the box down into the car) we brought the box over to their house with us.
My kids were NOT happy with me. They wanted to open up the play sets the day we received the box. I opted to wait because I figured trying to carry all the lose pieces over to their house would have been a mess, not to mention trying to figure out what piece went where.
There were 9 kids at the party ranging in age from 4 to 13 and a mix of boys and girls. The boys were especially excited about the Kung Zhu pets. The girls, not so much. They are not cute like the original Zhu Zhu hamsters. The Kung Zhu hamsters appeal more towards boys.
If I had to do things over again I certainly would have. My first mistake was laying out all the hamsters and letting the kids pick their own. OH MY! The arguments alone were enough to make me want to box everything back up. I noticed it was more so the siblings that were fighting them the others. Just picking out their pet took a good 10-15 minutes. Sheesh!
After things settled down and the kids broke open their new pet and freed them from their boxes we (my friend and I) asked the kids to come up with some Kung Zhu Ninja names for their pet. Apparently some of the kids were not really aware of what a Ninja was because there were names such as Oreo and Chipper. LOL! The hamsters all come with names but I thought the kids would have more fun naming their own Zhu Zhu. Some how I don’t think Oreo is a scary Ninja warrior name.
We eventually gave the kids the play set pieces and instructed the older kids to help put them together. They all worked together great and there was no bickering (thankfully). I wasn’t even going to attempt to put the sets together. I had a hard enough time with the regular Zhu Zhu pet sets. These sets seemed more elaborate and had more pieces. It did amaze me how the kids were able to figure them out with little problem. We had the Dad’s help out with the assembly.
Once we had the entire set completed we let the kids pick out their warrior armour. There is a specific armour for each Kung Zhu hamster but we let the kids pick out their own. Again there was a little bickering, but not as bad as before.
After that we let the kids play how they wanted to. There is a way to play with the Kung Zhu sets. There are actually suppose to be two different teams, the Special Forces and the Ninja Warriors. We figured it was best to let the kids play with them how they wanted to.
I have to say that most of the kids played with the sets for a couple of hours, the other kids would play off and on. The older kids seemed to lose interest in them more so then the younger ones, but they still had a blast with them.
After a couple of hours the one big play set that the kids assembled was taken apart for some odd reason. It seemed like the kids favored certain sections over the others. The vehicles were the most played with accessory. It was funny to see these little critters zipping around the kitchen & dining room floors. The kids played in the living room which was carpeted so they had to use the vehicles in the kitchen and dining room which had hardwood floors.
When it was time to leave the kids were each able to take home a Kung Zhu critter and armour and I let the kids each pick out a play set or car too. My kids took home the rest. Even though they can no longer make the huge play set at least they can still have battles.
Overall the kids had a blast. As I mentioned earlier I think it’s more geared towards boy. There were three girls and they each played with them but I think they would have preferred the regular Zhu Zhu pet set. My daughter told me there are new Zhu Zhus too including a bunny and hedgehog. I’ll have to keep an eye out for those.
We had kids from ages 4-13. They all played with the sets be the kids under 10 seemed to have more fun with it.
I prefer the original Zhu Zhus better only because I’m not into things with guns and swords (at least that is what they looked like) but I know kids these days are into those things.
My apologies for not having any actual pictures. The other parents were not keen on the idea of having their kid’s images on the Internet. I wasn’t going to argue with them. Everyone has a right to their opinions and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize a friendship over a picture. I personally don’t post images of my own kids that often and I have never mentioned my kids or husband by name for the same reason. I respect their decision. My apologies for not having the pictures, especially of the set up. When you have all the pieces set up it’s MASSIVE!
To learn more please visit www.KungZhu.com. Kung Zhu hamsters are available at Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, Amazon, e-Toys and other locations.
*I received the Kung Zhu toy samples free to do this review from Cepia and BSM Media. There was no other compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.