Calico Critters vs. Li'l Woodzeez Comparison Review

I have always secretly wanted to buy a Calico Critters set.  Given my reckless abandon in buying dolls of all kinds, it's a bit strange that I have never taken the plunge and ordered some of these enticing woodland fuzzies for myself.  When I fell in love with the Tickle Your Taste Buds Bakery and had my first introduction to the Li'l Woodzees, I knew there would be a comparison review at some point in my near future.  That time has come.

Calico Critters are articulated, flocked plastic woodland creatures with human attributes.  Li'l Woodzeez are essentially a less expensive version of the same idea.  Both lines have characters who come with roughly sketched-out personalities and/or occupations.  Calico Critters live in Cloverleaf Corners, Li'l Woodzeez live in Honeysuckle Hollow.  Here's a picture of them:

Calico Critters Furbanks Squirrel Family (L) and Li'l Woodzeez Waterwaggles Beaver Family (R)

Calico Critters pre-date the Li'l Woodzeez by a significant amount of time.  Calico Critters first appeared in 1985 under the name Sylvanian Families.  These early toys were sold worldwide by the Japanese company, Epoch.  In 1993, International Playthings took over the distribution of these toys in North America and changed the name to Calico Critters.  It is my understanding that in all continents outside of North America, the toys are still called Sylvanian Families (that link will take you to the Sylvanian Families website--different from the Calico Critters site).  Calico Critters are sold through a large variety of stores, including directly from International Playthings.  Around here, I see them at independently owned higher-end toy stores, and also at Toys R Us.  I stumbled across this site, which has a wonderful collection of photos of the different sets through the years.  Definitely worth a look.

Calico Critters Furbanks Squirrel Family

Li'l Woodzeez are made by Battat and are a much more recent addition to the market.  I believe these toys made their debut in 2010.  Li'l Woodzeez can be found at Target and on Amazon.

Li'l Woodzeez Waterwaggles Beaver Family

I think my pent-up repression from denying myself these cute characters for so many years came back to bite me.  I ended up buying two of each brand of critter family--you know, because bigger data sets are always more accurate.  I bought my Li'l Woodzeez sets at Target for $9.99 each.  I traveled to an independent toy shop in Freeport to purchase the Calico Critters, and paid $21.99 for each set.  I tried to select a basic family and a unique family from each line.  I will do a comparison between the basic families--a Li'l Woodzeez beaver family and the Calico Critters squirrel (chipmunk) family in this post and then I'll show you the more creative characters later.

First, here's the Calico Critters set.  The box is a simple cardboard window box.  It has a nice scene from Cloverleaf Corners on the back:

Do you see the horse?  He's really cute. I almost bought him.

A wonderful feature of the packaging is that the plastic window is not attached to the cardboard in any way.   If you open the box and slide the cardboard insert out, the plastic just comes off.  I am surprised by how awesome this simple feature is:

The only mildly annoying thing is that each Critter is wired onto the cardboard background.  On the other hand, even with my cruddy old classroom scissors, four snips was all it too to release those 4 ties.

It is very easy to get these little guys out, and as a bonus, the plastic and cardboard are already separated for easy recycling.

The first thing I noticed about this group was their clothes.  Not only are the outfits bright and cheery (and clearly well-made) but the family coordinates as a unit without being too matchy:  

Here's the mother, Emma, who is a modest actress:

Actress is not what leaps to mind when I see a squirrel in this dress.

Emma has shiny black teddy bear eyes:

She's wearing a floral collared dress with an attached lace-lined apron.  There's a small velcro closure in the back, and her big tail sticks out underneath the velcro.

The details on the Calico Critter's clothing are remarkable for outfits this tiny.  The collar on Emma's dress is two layers of fabric sewn together with the hem inside, and the little puff sleeves are even gathered with elastic.  The only flaw?  The velcro on this dress is pretty weak and has a hard time staying closed.

The father, Kenneth, is an actor and director.  He likes ordering people around:

Hey!  Do what I say or I'll unload my cheeks on you!

The subtle facial features make for a very friendly, versatile face.  Even though this is a squirrel pretending to be a human, he's not silly or caricatured:

I like that there is no paint around the mouth and nose.

He's wearing a two piece outfit that consists of a checkered button-down shirt and forest green overalls.  The shirt doesn't really open in front, but the buttons are real.  The shirt opens and closes with velcro in back.  The overalls don't close in back at all, but rather have a slit that is open to accommodate the tail. Notice that the pants actually have little pleats in front!

The outfit doesn't scream "director" to me.  More "Little House on the Prairie."  That's part of the wholesome appeal of these toys, though, I guess.  This shirt is fantastic: 

The dark brown buttons are awesome.

The lack of closure in the back of the boys' outfits seems careless, but it actually makes getting these clothes on and off very easy.  

All of the edges are nicely finished.

The little boy, Douglas, is a dreamer:

I'm not the only one.

He's wearing cute little checkered overalls with orange buttons.  Again, his pants stay open in the back so that his tail can stick out.

Being shirtless with overalls that are slightly too big is a really appealing look for a little guy, I think.  The loose fit also makes the outfit easy to get on and off.

I love the orange buttons!

The little girl, Greta, is a practical, down-to-earth perfectionist.  Her name doesn't match the other names.  Douglas, Emma and Kenneth seem Scottish or at least British while Greta is decidedly German.  They need some help from the Monster High naming team.

*Update: I received a very helpful email from Andrew offering the explanation that since both of the parents in this family are actors, the kids are named after film legends Douglas Fairbanks and Greta Garbo.  It's very subtle and clever and I feel silly to have missed it!  Thank you, Andrew.

Grear?  Gwen?

She's wearing a bright green floral sundress with little red buttons.  Her dress doesn't close around the tail very well, you have to squish it up against her body and fasten the dress on top of it.

Greta's dress has little beads instead of buttons:

The seams on the inside of the kids' outfits look a bit messy, with lots of lose strings and unraveling edges.  My suspicion is that for something so small, seams like this are difficult to avoid.  All of the edges are hemmed, and so I think the clothes will hold up well despite the messy appearance.

The two adult characters have the exact same body.  Without their clothes, you can't tell them apart.  This is true to real life--there are no superficial physical differences between male and female chipmunks (except in some species the females are larger).

Actually, Kenneth has a bum leg and leans a bit to one side,
so I know which one is him.

The animals have 5 points of articulation--neck, shoulders and hips.  They have hands shaped so that they can grip small objects:

The tail is made out of a nice, thick fake fur.  It has a string running through it that goes inside the body and must be secured in there somehow.  It can move around, but seems pretty securely anchored.  Kenneth has a tail that stands up, Emma's tail is droopy.  I think this is a manufacturing difference, not something that is meant to be a distinction between the two characters.

Does he look a little angry from this side?
With maybe an evil glint in his eye?

She's angry too, but perhaps a little less so.

 The squirrels can sit pretty easily...

...although Kenneth's leaning leg makes it hard for him to sit upright:

Whoa!

Kenneth also has some lose articulation in his left arm, but it's not a big deal.

Both adults can hold simple walking poses on their own:

The two kids have the exact same body, too.  In fact, without the four of them posed together for perspective, it's hard to tell which are the kids and which are the adults!  Here are the two kids:

The March of the Chipmunks.

Their heads are proportionally larger than the parents' heads, but otherwise, they seem very similar.

***

On to the Woodzeez!  Here's the back of the box, describing how the Waterwaggles family owns a launderette:

The Woodzeez packaging is a bit tricky.  They are mounted in a plastic shell that is enclosed within a cardboard display.  The package is open in front so you can pet the animals and see how soft they are.  I got this contraption open by cutting the cardboard along the front so I could see what was going on inside.

After that, I could just rip out the plastic that was holding the animals.  They don't come out of that plastic shell easily, though.  Each beaver is held in there with a plastic harness that is held together with a plastic tie:

After I freed the beavers from their harnesses (not easy to get in there and snip those plastic ties...) I still had to rip the plastic that was holding the book and the mother beaver's hat off the back of the cardboard.  Here's everything removed from the package:

It's not the worst packaging ever, but in direct comparison to the Calico Critter's box, it was a hassle.  I didn't want to have to open any more of those.

The Li'l Woodzeez come with a small paperback book:

I love books, especially books for kids, and so I am glad this set comes with a book.  It is a simple book with drawings that I wish were more bright and colorful (it's kind-of like a cereal box book), but it's a great accessory.

Unlike the Calico Critters, in this family, the two kids are different sizes.  As an aside, you can purchase Calico Critter babies that are tiny like the little beaver, but they are only sold separately (and are devastatingly cute).

Here's the mother, Lulu:

She is wearing a pink checkered dress with a pink polka dot apron that has crude false pockets.  She also comes with a rubbery straw hat that feels funny and has an odd smell.  

The back of the dress has a velcro closure that accommodates the small beaver tail.  You can see that the quality of the fabric is lower than that used for the Calico Critters.  The dark beaver fur shows through the thin pink material of the dress.  

Also, the print on the dress is not in scale to the size of the character.  Most of the seams are hemmed, but they are a bit messy and lopsided.

Here's Bobby, the father:

I like the idea of a vest over a button down shirt, and this looks pretty nice, but it is very simply done.  The buttons are not real, they're just stitched onto the shirt.  The shirt has a nice pattern that is in scale, but the material is very thin.  The outfit doesn't have any details like a collar, cuffed sleeves or pleats.  There's a small opening in back for the tail:

The white thread is a bit messy-looking.

Bobby's outfit looks a bit Humpty Dumpty to me.  The detail in the fly of the trousers is nice, and the vest looks good from the front, but it doesn't continue around the back:

Tweedle dee.

Tweedle dum

The little girl, Tapper, is wearing a bright pink and blue floral dress with an un-hemmed teal blue collar. 

I wonder how well that collar will hold up?  It looks like it might unravel a bit.

The baby beaver, Tiny, is just wearing a blue diaper:

He's very sweet.

As with the Calico Critters, both of the adults are identical:

The Waddle of the Beavers.

They have 6 points of articulation--neck, shoulders, hips and tail.  The legs are incredibly short, but the animals can still sit really well.  The round body gives them fewer distinct posing options.  Their hands cannot grasp anything:

The bodies on these guys are cute, but I have to say that in contrast to the lithe figures of the Calico Critters, the Woodzeez look pretty round.  There is a lot of fuss over dolls that are too thin, and so it seems only fair to point out that these animals are the opposite.  This is irksome to me as a biology teacher because wild animals are never overweight.  Not that I think children are really emulating their small toy woodland creatures, but perhaps this wasn't the best-chosen human attribute to give these toys.

The big sister looks almost identical to her parents when they aren't posed side-by-side.  Her articulation is exactly the same as the larger animals.  Her teeth are not especially well painted:

She has a defect on the flocking over her left leg.  The flocking is peeling off in this area:

The baby boy also shares the same proportions.  His tiny little legs can even bend so that he sits.  The only significant difference is that this little guy does not have a tail.  Lest you be confused, baby beavers do, in fact, have tails.  Isn't he cute?

Looking at all of the equivalent characters side-by-side, the most striking difference is in the quality of the clothes.  The Calico Critters' clothes are made from much more appealing fabrics, and have little sewn details that give them a more polished overall appearance: 

Another basic difference between the two lines is in the quality of the flocking.   The flocking on the Calico Critters is softer and more dense.  At the store where I purchased my Calico Critters, there were several of the animals out on display for little kids to play with.  The cashier said these had been out for several years, and although there was wear to the flocking, there were no bald patches.  They had the look of a well-loved stuffed animal.  In contrast, even new out of the box, there were defects in the flocked fur of the Woodzeez.  I did a scratch test on the bottom of one of the feet of an animal from each set.  This was to determine how easily the flocking could be removed.  I scratched pretty hard with my fingernail. The squirrel foot took some damage in the form of a permanent disruption to the pattern of the fur, but I could not get the flocking to scrape off:

The fur on the beaver's foot scraped off very easily:

After creating an opening, I could peel the fur off the whole bottom of the foot in a millisecond:

I find the face details to be another notable difference between the two groups of animals.  Both faces are cute, don't get me wrong, but the faces of the Calico Critters are subtle and very nicely accented.  The eyes are sturdy and large and the painted features are sharp and distinct.  The details in the Woodzeez faces are not quite as nice.  The eyes are less substantial and slightly dull.  The paint looks sprayed on and a bit cheap.  

 Here are the two families trying out the wonderful Tickle Your Taste Buds Bakery:

I love his expression.

Douglas is eyeing the D-Lightful Designs cake...

Oh--and look who is almost in scale with this bakery!  The little Ty girl:

Here's a lineup for size comparisons:

Bottom line? The Calico Critters are pretty great.  They have soft, sturdy bodies with durable flocking. They have beautiful clothes with carefully chosen fabrics and hand-sewn details.  The Calico Critters also have simple but sweetly expressive faces.  The mix of squirrel features and anthropomorphic qualities is well balanced--they are cute without being silly.  I can see these toys appealing to kids who love dolls and dollhouses, but also to kids who just love animals.  I should have bought these for my eldest son when he was three because he would have come up with the most wonderful, imaginative games for them.  They are definitely not just for little girls.  The only manufacturing defects I could find were in Kenneth's leaning leg and loose arm and Emma's droopy tail.  Of these, Kenneth's leg is the only thing that inhibited my play in any way.

The Li'l Woodzeez are endearing, with their bucktoothed smiles and expressive whiskers.  Their faces are comical and caricatured.  I like that the two kids are different sizes--the baby brother is precious.  The clothes are acceptable, but look crudely made in comparison to the Calico Critter outfits.  The flocking is soft, but seems to come off easily.  The faces are appealing, but the spray-painted accents look a bit cheap and some of the painted teeth have flaws.  The rounded body type of the Woodzeez gives them fewer posing options.   My biggest concern with these toys is their durability.  Both the flocking and the un-hemmed elements of the clothing make me worry that they will not stand up well to significant play.

It isn't at all surprising to me that the Calico Critters are nicer than the Li'l Woodzeez--they cost twice as much.  The question is, is the difference in quality accurately represented by the difference in price?  I would have to say yes.  The Calico Critters seem about twice as nice as their less expensive counterparts.  This suggests that both are an excellent buy.  However, because of my reservations about the long term durability of the Woodzeez, I have to strongly recommend spending the extra $10 and getting Calico Critters instead.  No matter how inexpensive a toy is, if it breaks or falls apart too soon, it is essentially worthless.  In my head, I picture these two scenarios: on the one hand I see a child being horrified and saddened on the day when her favorite Woodzee suddenly loses a big patch of fur...and on the other hand I picture a set of well-loved Calico Critters being passed along to a delighted younger sibling or a cousin for many more years of play.  Easy choice.

Calico Critters:

Age Level	3 and up
Value	The $20 price tag is fair considering the high-quality miniature clothing and the durability of the animals.
Quality	Great quality.  The clothes are hand-sewn with finished edges and excellent details.  The flocked characters are nicely designed and seem to hold up over time.
Packaging	Very good.  Mostly cardboard with an unattached plastic window.  4 wire ties to cut.  Easy to recycle.
Collectable?	The size, quality and variety of this line will make them appealing to adult collectors.
Versatility	The pleasant faces and anthropomorphic bodies of these toys make them great for dollhouse play.  They can also stand alone as cute little animal figures for any kind of imaginary play or just companionship.  They could even act as stuffed animal toys for larger dolls like MiM.
Overall	Recommended.  I wish I had bought these for my children when they were younger.

Li'l Woodzeez:

Age Level	3 and up
Value	The quality is about half as good as the Calico Critters, so the $10 price seems fair.
Quality	Dubious quality.  The animals are very cute and fun right out of the box, but I worry how the clothes and flocking will hold up over time.
Packaging	Not awful, but the plastic shell and individual plastic harnesses on all of the animals are difficult to remove and the accessories sealed in plastic at the back are a pain to get out.
Collectable?	No.  The quality is not high enough for these to be collectable.
Versatility	Almost as versatile as the Calico Critters, although I feel the facial features and body style are bit caricatured and this makes them slightly less versatile overall.
Overall	Wouldn't recommend over Calico Critters.  It’s not that they aren’t cute, but long term durability is a real concern, especially if you are buying them for a small child.