VillaWare V5555-14 Pooh n' Pals Toaster 2-Slice

by Villaware

Product Features

• Two-slot toaster imprints Pooh's or Tigger's face on each bread slice
• Plays Winnie the Pooh Theme Song when toast pops
• Extra-wide slots automatically self-adjust to thickness of bread
• Electronic browning control with five settings
• Removable crumb tray; one-year warranty

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.6 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009K3SP
• Item model number: V5555-14
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,527 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Breakfast-time is just a little more cheerful when serving toast from this two-slot Winnie-the-Pooh pop-up toaster. Kids (and grownups) are greeted by a happy picture of Tigger and Pooh and the words "Rise ‘n Shine" on the outside of the toaster. Toasting is even more fun as bread is imprinted with either a picture of Pooh or Tigger and the toaster plays the Winnie the Pooh Theme Song as toast is ejected. The Pooh toaster even has a lift control shaped like a little honeybee.

The toaster has extra-wide slots that can accommodate bread, frozen waffles, toaster pastries, or bagels and guides that automatically self-adjust and center themselves around any thickness of bread for even browning. An electronic control dial offers five different browning settings and a cancel button raises the lift control and ejects toast mid-cycle if it’s getting too dark. The professional stainless-steel exterior gives this Pooh toaster a retro look; however, the outside of this appliance gets very hot during toasting so it should always be used by adults and should be kept out of reach of little hands. The Pooh toaster has a crumb tray that slides out of the bottom for cleaning and is covered by VillaWare under a one-year warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde

Product Description

VillaWare Disney Pooh Toaster toasts Pooh and Tigger's face onto each slice and plays the Winnie the Pooh theme song when the toast pops up. Extra wide slots, 5 setting browning control and removable crumb tray. Classic stainless steel housing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars terrible product, February 7, 2005

By 

the original catnose "theoriginalcatnose" (Holden, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: VillaWare V5555-14 Pooh n' Pals Toaster 2-Slice (Kitchen)

We received this toaster as a gift, and thought it was a really great one. But the first time we tried to use it, a lot of smoke and a plastic-burning smell came out. There was no plastic or any object visible inside the toaster. The retailer was contacted, and assured us that a "small amount of smoke" and a smell were normal for the first use or two.

Well, we tried it a couple more times, and the smoke just got worse. So we sent it back.

We recieved the replacement, and I'm happy to say, just a little smoke. But it still had an extremely strong reeky plastic burning smell. We actually had to plug it in outside and run it several times to get rid of some of it, but it is still lingering after maybe 20 cycles. I am reluctant to feed my kids the toast cooked in that toxic stink.

As for the performance, the music chime stopped working after a few cycles, and never started up again. I was actually happy about that, because it was extremely annoying. The toast practically has to be burned for the faces to appear on them, and then they're hardly recognizable (pooh's face has a lamentable habit of falling off into the toaster). This toaster also gets EXTREMELY hot to the touch; I burned myself on the stainless steel exterior. I know I shouldn't be running around touching hot toasters, but it was just a brush-up against it by accident, and it was certainly a lot hotter than any other toaster I've ever owned. This toaster could be hazardous for anyone, but I would say it poses a definite danger for small children, especially as they may be enticed to touch it by the pictures on the side (yes, all children should be kept away from electrical appliances, but kids can be wily).

I will be returning this product. And I am shocked at what this item retails for, considering its shoddy performance, which would make sense if it was cheap. It's really too bad, because it is a cute product/idea (if I gave it any stars, it would be for that), but doesn't work well and is not worth the health risk.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor quality appliance, May 17, 2006

By 

Jeannie L (Farmington, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: VillaWare V5555-14 Pooh n' Pals Toaster 2-Slice (Kitchen)

The bumble bee "handle" used to push the toasting lever down is very poor quality. In retrospect, it's hard to believe anyone designing a product would think this cheap plastic decoration would serve for actual use as a lever. Can't believe I didn't notice it and return the product immediately. Sooner or later you end up pushing down on a bare metal shaft that's about 1/4" top to bottom.

The music stopped playing after the 3rd or 4th use. The dial for choosing your browning level is imprecise at best. You end up with a lot of toast that isn't what you want.

Even though I didn't experience any smoking/smell issues and haven't noticed it being overly hot to the touch, this product is very expensive for what you get. If you want a toaster, go for the discount store $5 sale toasters if you want quality. Otherwise you pay $30-40 for the cute factor. It will look very cute on your counter and if you don't use it you won't be upset about it's poor quality.

My choice would be zero stars, but the review agent requires at least one.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Just A Gimmick Toaster, January 12, 2006

By 

John W. Adam (Wake Forest, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: VillaWare V5555-14 Pooh n' Pals Toaster 2-Slice (Kitchen)

I highly recommend that you do not buy this or any other Villaware Disney Toasters. They all get very hot, you and your little loved one will get burned; in more ways than one. You have to practically burn the toast to see images and the music works Loud and well for a short time then, Nothing! The heating elements burn up and smoke!!! Also the browning select, or should I say the burning select, control is backwards it turns counterclockwise. It is just a Gimmick Toaster, Not Safe or Reliable at All.

Respectfully Submitted, John W. Adam