The Perfect Pet: Gemmy Fincredibles {Review & Giveaway}

On average, I'd say it's about once a week that one of my kids brings up the idea that we should have a pet. It typically varies between being a cat or a dog, but there are a variety of other animals tossed into the mix as well – everything from a turtle to a bird to a goat (that last one was after visiting a petting zoo).

And as much as I know my kids would love having a pet around the house, getting a dog or cat right now is just not in the cards for us. Although the love and responsibility that would come along with taking care of an animal would be beneficial for them, the idea of having one more living, breathing character to be responsible for around here is too much for me.

Fortunately, we have found the next-best thing thanks to the always-entertaining, extremely innovative, and ever-creative minds over at Gemmy. Because now that we have been introduced to their new line of Fincredibles, having a pet has never been easier and more manageable.

For the past 25 years, Gemmy Industries Corporation has been the premier industry trendsetter in the fields of holiday home decor, advanced animatronics, and unforgettable novelty items. If you read our My Pet Firefly review from last summer, then you already know that we were beyond impressed at the the realism and entertainment provided by watching this electronic creature flit and fly around inside the jar.

But an electronic pet fish? How could Gemmy have possibly taken their ingenuity and technology and put it underwater and still allowed it to work?

The day the Fincredibles Clownfish arrived, I thought that it would be fun to surprise Big Sister E and Little Sister B by setting it up without them noticing. Hoping that the assembly process wouldn't be too long or complicated, I raised my eyebrows when I saw the instructions on the back of the box. Just add water and screw on the top? It couldn't get much easier than that!

As the girls were still happily engrossed in a game, I quickly pulled out the Fincredible pieces and realized that this was indeed going to be just as simple as the box indicated.

After removing the lid and placing the underwater decorations in the bottom of the bowl, I filled it with water to the clearly-marked MAX line. Lowering the fish into the water and screwing the top and lid into place, we suddenly had an almost-real fish swimming around!

Bringing the bowl in to the other room, I set it on the table and watched as my girls' eyes lit up! A fish! We got a fish?!

Even though it didn't take too long before Big Sister E had realized that our clownfish wasn't real, she was still just as enthralled as Little Sister B in watching it swim around.

The wire that attaches the fish to the animation module is incredibly thin, so it isn't outwardly noticeable when you look into the bowl. Combine that with the realistic darting and swimming, and this is pretty darn close to the real thing (although you do have the soft noise of the motor and some clicking sounds in the background).

Even better, with three play settings, you're able to customize how long your pet fish will swim: 30 seconds in the Demo mode, 90 seconds in the Play mode, and 5 minutes in the E.P. (Extended Play) mode.

In all three modes, you also have the ability to tap on the cap to interact with the fish – something which has made my kids smile every time. They love seeing the clownfish dart around in different directions and change paths just by having tapped a few times on the lid!

Even more, however, they have been thrilled with the addition of the colorful lights that glow down from underneath the top and constantly illuminate and change. During the day the colors aren't overly visible, but in the evening or in a dark room, the girls love seeing the water change from blue to purple to red to green and more!

Whether displayed in the family room for everyone to enjoy or kept in the bedroom to double as a unique nightlight, we have found that Fincredibles really are the perfect pet – providing the appearance and entertainment of a real fish but never hungry or in need of cleaning.

We'll never have to plan for friends to take care of our clownfish when we go on vacation and it is one pet that can be with us forever (as long as we keep changing the AA batteries). What more could I ask for?

Available in Clownfish, Guppy and Oranda Goldfish varieties, all that Fincredibles require are those batteries (or an adapter, not included) and a little imagination and you have a gift that is sure to amaze for years to come. Retailing for $24.99 (or slightly less on Amazon), these innovative pets are available at Cracker Barrel and Kmart stores nationwide.

And, thanks to Gemmy's generosity, one person will be able to share the enchantment of these electronic pets as well, because...

One lucky person will win a Fincredibles 
electronic pet fish from Gemmy!

(Enter with the Rafflecopter form below - if you don't see the form, click here! If you have any problems entering, there is a video tutorial found here that can help.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway A big thank you to Gemmy for providing a Fincredibles fish for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.