I was recently able to get my mitts on an adorable new White Tiger from the Alive series by WowWee.  All those who have been looking for a well-made, cuddly, interactive toy for their kids, or are looking to add to their collection of stuffed animals, the Alive Cub is a perfect fit.

If you'd like a sneak peek at the elusive beast, and can't wait until your order ships, then read on!

Unboxing the Alive Cub

In typical WowWee fashion, the Alive Cub is quite securely packaged in his paper and wire-tied "cage."  You'll have to be a little patient in order to let him out into the wild.

Here he is in his "cage."

You'll need to remove these wire-ties to get him out of the box.  Just untwist them, or do like I chose to do, and cut them with a pair of scissors.  I'm betting the box will be useless by the time you are done!

First Impressions

Once I freed the Cub from his cage and let him loose, I was immediately impressed at the "feel" of the animal.  The fur is indeed very realistic; just rough enough to feel like a real wild animal, but soft enough to be "pettable."  The patterns in the fur also look quite nice and detailed, along with being somewhat "random."

In addition to the fur and general design of the Cub, you will soon notice that the "skeleton" of the Cub is designed to be accurate, and feel like a real cat.  There are "bones" along his spine and in his tail.  This actually took me by surprise at first, since I didn't expect to see that level of detail - but it really adds something to the experience of the toy.

A closeup of the White Tiger Cub's face reveals his sky blue eyes, whiskers, and ears.  Again, the attention to detail here is very clear.

Your Cub will come with his or her own "Adoption Certificate," which you can fill out with the name of your new pet, its age, and the date you acquired it.  I thought this was a really nice touch.

Turning on the Alive Cub

In order to get the true Alive experience, you'll need to flip on the Cub's power switch.  

As you can see above, the power switch is located in the cub's belly, beneath a padded Velcro patch.  The middle setting is "Off," the left setting is the "Try Me" mode (where you can press his ear, and he will react) and the right setting is "Normal."  I chose the Normal mode for my demonstration, to see how the Cub would react to me.

The Alive Cub In Action

While the Alive Cub doesn't roam your house freely, nor can you upload custom programming sequences in Java - that's exactly the point.  The Cub is designed to be simple to play with, and have a personality all its own - all while not requiring any significant tweaking or a high learning curve.

The Cub reacted to my attention by purring and meowing.  I think I may have petted it too much, since I couldn't seem to get it to go to sleep.  Watch the eyebrow and mouth movements carefully, as they're quite realistic and really give the animal a distinct personality.  You'll also see what happens when you jostle or play "too rough" with the Cub.

Conclusion

I've said this a few times in this article, and I'll say it once more - the Cub is a great fit for children and collectors alike.  Even without the realistic facial movements, sounds, or reactions, it's still a carefully crafted plush animal.  The fur, "skeleton," and other features show true attention to detail, and as such, make a great gift for collectors.  On the other hand, children will love the Cubs' adorable nature and interactivity.  (Well, and maybe some adults too, at least those who are still kids at heart!)

The Alive Cubs are available in the White Tiger, Panda, Lion, and Polar Bear varieties for a suggested retail price of $59.99 USD.

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