Teddy Ruxpin

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This article is about the toy. For the television series, see The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin.
Teddy Ruxpin
File:Teddy ruxpinBackpack.png
The BackPack Toys version of Teddy Ruxpin, released in 2005
Type Teddy Bear
Inventor Ken Forsse[1]
Company Worlds of Wonder (1985–1990)[2]
Hasbro (1991–1996)
Yes! Entertainment (1998–1999)
BackPack Toys (2005–2010)
Country United States
Availability 1986–2010
Slogan The World's First Animated Talking Toy

Teddy Ruxpin was an animatronic children's toy in the form of a talking bear. The bear's mouth and eyes moved while "reading" stories that were played on an audio tape cassette deck built into its back. It was created by Ken Forsse with later assistance by Larry Larsen and John Davies,[3] and the first version of the toy was designed by the firm RKS Design.[4] Later versions would use a digital cartridge in place of a cassette.[5] At the peak of his popularity, Teddy Ruxpin became the best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986, and the newest version was awarded the 2006 Animated Interactive Plush Toy of the Year by Creative Child Magazine.[6] A cartoon based on the characters debuted in 1987.[7]

Technology

Conventional Compact Cassettes carried two audio tracks for stereo sound reproduction. Teddy Ruxpin cassettes used the left track for audio and the right track for a control data stream. The data stream controlled servomotors that moved the eyes and mouth and could also divert the audio signal to Grubby, the companion toy, by means of a proprietary cable. This allowed the two to engage in pre-recorded interactions. Grubby only worked with the initial WOW release of Teddy Ruxpin.

If a conventional audio cassette was played in Teddy Ruxpin, this would be detected and its right audio track would be ignored. Early versions of the toy used three servo motors, but this was reduced to two in later versions.[8]

History

From his debut in September 1985 various toy makers have produced Teddy Ruxpin over the years. The first was Worlds Of Wonder from 1985 until its bankruptcy in 1988. The toys rights were then sold to Hasbro,[9] and produced again from 1991 to 1996. Another version debuted in 1998 by YES! Entertainment. In 2006, the latest version of Teddy Ruxpin, created by BackPack Toys, debuted.

Shortly after his debut, Teddy Ruxpin was dubbed the "Official Spokesbear for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children" in 1985.[10]

Worlds of Wonder

Teddy Ruxpin was first produced in 1985 by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder.[11] They also released the companion toy Grubby and several other non-animatronic companion toys and characters. This included two different versions of the bird-like Fobs (one orange, one purple) that were hand puppets with a sock-like, extendable neck. Other hand puppets were the larger Wooly What's-It, three interchangeable Anythings (This, That, The Other), Tweeg, and L.B. The Bounder.[12] Other items produced by Worlds of Wonder for Teddy Ruxpin were the Answer Box and Picture Show.

With the strength of its line of toys, Worlds of Wonder’s fortunes rose well beyond its assets. Stock trades by company officers spooked investors.[13] Attempting to stem the tide, WoW issued Non-Investment Grade Bonds, commonly known as junk bonds, in an effort to buoy itself. Although there is some contention as to whether this strategy would have helped, the attempt was made moot by the 1987 stock market crash. Worlds of Wonder filed for bankruptcy protection and was liquidated in 1988.[14] They went through a series of layoffs. The creditors continued to operate the company in receivership until finally closing its doors in late 1990.[15]

Playskool

By 1991 Worlds of Wonder had folded and the remaining assets were liquidated.[16] The Teddy Ruxpin toy line was then picked up by Hasbro, which produced him under their Playskool line until 1996 using the redesign that had been implemented by WoW.[17] This design was smaller and used cartridges that resembled 8-track tapes, instead of cassette tapes. Unfortunately, this cartridge system proved to be easily damaged.

YES! Entertainment

In 1998, Yes! Entertainment brought Teddy Ruxpin back to stores for a third time. The toy's size was largely the same as the Playskool version. Yes! returned to using the standard cassette tapes. This venture was short-lived, however, as Yes! Entertainment's corporate management and financial troubles ultimately resulted in AlchemyII withdrawing the licensing for Teddy. During this production of Teddy Ruxpin, the original Hi-Topps videos were edited and released to work alongside Teddy using the Interactive TV & Video Pack. There was also a small Beanie Baby version of the toy that came boxed with the YES! Teddy Ruxpin in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of Beanie Babies at the time.[18]

BackPack Toys

In 2005, BackPack Toys announced a fourth version of Teddy Ruxpin, which replaced the audio tapes with digital cartridges.[19] Although Teddy Ruxpin is no longer produced by BackPack Toys, some remaining toys and cartridges are available via online retail channels.[20]

Book and Cassette Episode List

Worlds of Wonder Original Stories

Worlds of Wonder produced the largest number of stories. They include:

# Title Short Summary Featured Characters
1 "The Airship: Discover a Whole New World" Teddy and Grubby meet Newton Gimmick, and the three begin the search for the treasure. Leota the Woodsprite
2 "The Missing Princess: You've Got to Take Care of You" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick are captured by the Mudblups and meet Prince Arin and, later, Wooly. Then they go to the Hard-to-Find City to save Princess Aruzia from the Gutangs. Mudblups, Prince Arin, Wooly, the Wizard, Gutangs, Princess Aruzia
3 "The Wooly What's-It: Learning Can Be Fun!" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick travel to Wooly's house and later introduce him to Leota the Wood Sprite. Wooly, Leota
4 "Teddy and the Mudblups: Is Being Neat Hard to Do?" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick are out for an adventure when they are captured by Mudblups, again! Mudblups
5 "Tweeg and the Bounders: You Have to Earn the Things Worth Having" . .
6 "Grubby's Romance: Falling in Love is Something Special" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick are shrunken by Gimmick's reducing machine. Grubby meets a caterpillar and falls in love. Karen, Tweeg, L.B., various other bugs
7 "Grunge Music: Tap Your Feet to the Beat" Teddy and Grubby hang out with the Grunges and learn about music and rhythm. Grunges
8 "Take A Good Look: See the Ordinary in an Extraordinary Way" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick are shrunken by the power of Gimmick's new machine using one of the 7 crystals. They explore their "new world" and avoid being stomped on by Fuzz. Fuzz the Fob
9 "All About Bears: When is a Bear Not a Bear?" . .
10 "The Story of the Faded Fobs: Helping Each Other Makes Everybody Happy" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick discover some faded Fobs and, with the help of Wooly, try to help them get their colors back. Fobs, Wooly
11 "Teddy Ruxpin's Birthday: A Day to Say Hurray" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick celebrate Teddy's Birthday with fun, adventure, and many friends! Leota, Grunges, Wooly, Fobs
12 "Teddy Ruxpin Lullabies: Warm and Cuddly Songs to Dream By" Teddy Ruxpin sings all his favorite lullabies for his friends. Fobs, Leota
13 "Teddy's Winter Adventure: A Perfect Time for Sharing" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick enjoy the snow and exchanging presents for the winter holiday with their friends. Grunges, Wooly, Fobs, Tweeg, L.B.
14 "The Third Crystal: Can Teddy Solve the Mystery?" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick must solve the mystery of the Third Crystal and avoid Tweeg. Fuzz, Tweeg and L.B.
15 "Grundo Beach Party: Sun and Sand With Friends Can Be Fun" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick are having a Beach Party with the Grunges. Grunges, Fobs
16 "Teddy Ruxpin's Christmas: A Musical Celebration" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick host a Christmas Party. Almost all Series Characters Pictured
17 "The Medicine Wagon: Teddy, Grubby, and Gimmick are Tricked by Tweeg" . .
18 "Autumn Adventure: Teddy and Grubby Find Out How Fun Autumn Can Be" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick have fun singing about the fall and dressing up in costumes to try to scare their friends. Fobs, Wooly, Grunges
19 "Double Grubby: Gimmick's Invention Duplicates Lots of Trouble" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick deal with a duplicate of Grubby after Gimmick's new crystal-using Duplicator machine makes a copy of more than just an apple! No additional characters
20 "The Day Teddy Met Grubby: Do You Remember The Day You Met Your Best Friend?" Teddy tells the story of how he met Grubby for the first time back home in Rilonia. Teddy's Mother
21 "Gizmos and Gadgets: Teddy and His Friends Make an Important Discovery" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick come up with an invention for Gimmick to present at King Nogburt's Logic Faire. Fobs
22 "The Mushroom Forest: You Can Be Anything You Want to Be" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick get lost in the Mushroom Forest and meet some new friends and sing some songs. The Anythings
23 "Teddy Ruxpin Summertime: A Fun-Filled Musical Summer" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick have fun going camping, swimming, and doing various other summer activities. Grunges, Wooly, Fobs
24 "Lost in Boggley Woods: Teddy and His Friends Meet the Wogglies" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick get lost in Boggley Woods and meet the Wogglies. Wogglies
25 "Wooly and the Giant Snowzos: Do You Believe Everything You Hear?" Teddy, Grubby, Newton Gimmick, Fuzz, and Wooly are spending a cold winter's night when they get unexpected visitors. Wogglies, Fuzz, Wooly, Snowzos
26 "Anything in the Soup: Will the Anythings end up in Grunge Gumbo?" While Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick are making gumbo with the Grunges, they meet some interesting creatures. Grunges, Anythings
27 "Grundo Springtime Singtime: A Springtime Sing-Along for One and All!" . .
28 "One More Spot: Teddy, Grubby, And Gimmick Meet Amanda the Ladybug" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick meet Amanda and decide to use Gimmick's reducing machine to shrink themselves to go to the Bug Fair. Amanda the Ladybug, Ladybug team, various other bugs
29 "Tweeg Gets the Tweezles: A Healthy Attitude Works Wonders" . .
30 "Uncle Grubby: Grubby Finds Three Good Reasons to Be Patient" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick must help take care of some baby Fobs and find their parents. Bounders, Wooly, Fobs
31 "The Sign of a Friend: Teddy and Grubby Meet a Silent Friend" . .
32 "Teddy Ruxpin Lullabies II: More Dreamy Songs for Sleepy Time" . .
33 "Teddy Ruxpin Sings Love Songs: A Special Collection Of Teddy's Favorites" . .
34 "The Do-Along Songbook: Sing Along With Teddy Ruxpin and His Friends" Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick teach a variety of fun, active, and dancing songs. Fobs
35 "Quiet Please: Teddy Sings His Way Through A Quiet Day" . .
36 "Safe at Home with Teddy Ruxpin: Grubby's Special Assignment" Teddy and Grubby investigate the home and discover ways that you can be safe, healthy, and happy at home. No additional characters
37 "Water Safety with Teddy Ruxpin: The Fobs Learn How To Swim" Teddy teaches a swimming class to the Fobs while Grubby participates and learns some water safety skills himself. Fobs, Grunge Lifeguard
38 "Fire Safety with Teddy Ruxpin: Teddy's Junior Fire Patrol" Teddy teaches fire safety to the fobs while Grubby helps and learns some fire safety skills himself. Fobs
39 "Teddy Ruxpin Visits the Dentist: Sponsored by Crest" . .

Other Cassettes

Worlds of Wonder created two devices that worked only with Teddy Ruxpin. They were the Picture Show and Answer Box. Neither of these would work with Grubby. The cassettes produced for the Picture Show, which used slide wheels, similar to the View Master were:

  • Big little Wooly
  • Gimmick learns a lesson
  • Groundrace
  • Teddy & the Surf Grunges
  • Teddy's underwater rescue
  • Tweeg's lemonade stand
  • Wedding in Grundo

The Answer Box cassettes included:

  • Color my World
  • Counting is Fun
  • Easy as ABC
  • Just About The Size Of It
  • Learn About Opposites
  • Shapes are Everywhere
  • Up, Down and All Around

Available extra outfits

Worlds of Wonder made different outfits for Teddy and Grubby. These were sold separately and include:

  • Flying Outfit
  • Hiking Outfit (both Teddy and Grubby had their own version)
  • Nightshirt
  • Raincoat
  • Christmas Outfit
  • Sleeping Outfit (both Teddy and Grubby had their own version)
  • Summertime Outfit
  • Tuxedo that came as a boxed set with the "Love Songs" book and tape
  • Winter Outfit
  • Workout Outfit

Promotions

In 1986, during the height of Teddy Ruxpin's popularity, Worlds of Wonder combined with different partners to give safety messages to children. Some of these collaborations included firefighters,[21] as well as the United States Lifesaving Association.[22]

Actress Joanna Kerns served as spokesperson for the toy shortly after its introduction. Kerns herself was at the height of her fame as Maggie Seaver, the family matriarch on the ABC-TV sitcom Growing Pains.

In 1987, Worlds of Wonder contracted with Wendy's restaurants to feature a Teddy Ruxpin themed Kid's Meal promotion. These were similar to the miniatures produced by Worlds of Wonder, except they were smaller and flocked.

Also in 1987, Teddy Ruxpin characters joined the Ice Capades program, which toured the country.[23]

Voice actors

Phil Baron was the voice actor on all tapes and on the TV show, but he left the entertainment industry in the 1990s to become a cantor. Baron is currently the only voice actor officially associated with the property, as Teddy Ruxpin has been the only character in the storyline requiring updated voice recordings for new projects. Will Ryan voiced Grubby in the 1980s and returned as Grubby in the early 1990s for a musical project. The late Tony Pope was the original voice of Newton Gimmick. Pope, as well as other voice actors who provided voice talent for AlchemyII in the 1980s, did not reprise their roles in the television series The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin because production was moved to Canada; John Stocker replaced Pope as Gimmick for this production. Baron and Ryan have provided the voices of Teddy and Grubby, respectively, in every Teddy Ruxpin incarnation and project since 1985. Ryan also voiced the character of Tweeg in the adventure series but was replaced by John Koensgen for the television series. Additionally, Russi Taylor and Katie Leigh did the voices of Leota the Woodsprite and Princess Aruzia, respectively, on the book-and-tapes, but when the TV series was produced in Canada, Holly Larocque and Abby Hagyard took over the roles.[24]

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin

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Main article: The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin was a television series that ran from 1987 to 1988. In the series, Teddy Ruxpin leaves his homeland in Rillonia with his friend Grubby in search of adventure. They meet up with an inventor, named Newton Gimmick, who accompanies them on their quest for the Treasure of Grundo. The trio unexpectedly find six crystals with different meanings and powers. These crystals, however, also can enable the Monsters and Villains Organization (MAVO) to have absolute power over the land, and their leader, Quellor, wants to make sure that an Illiop never possesses the crystals. Elsewhere, a less pronounced threat also routinely besieged the trio: the wannabe villain Jack W. Tweeg, a greedy troll/grunge who has his eyes on joining MAVO. The sixty-five episode series unfolds gradually, as the trio meet interesting and often friendly creatures while visiting intriguing lands and going on wondrous, yet wholesome, adventures.

Lawsuits

At least two other companies produced tapes that would work with the Teddy Ruxpin toy. Both Veritel Learning Systems and Vector Intercontinental made Teddy Ruxpin compatible tapes. Worlds of Wonder successfully sued these companies, and the courts ordered the tapes be removed from the market.[25][26][27]

See also

References

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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lovable Teddy Ruxpin evolves from toy to animated star of his own half-hour program thanks to Crawley Films, Toronto Star – October 31, 1987
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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