Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy Ruxpin is an animatronic children's toy in the form of a talking 'Illiop', a creature which looks like a bear. The toy's mouth and eyes move while he reenacts stories 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,[2] and the first version of the toy was designed by the firm RKS Design.[3] Later versions used a digital cartridge in place of a cassette.[4] At the peak of its popularity, Teddy Ruxpin became the best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986, and the 2006 version was awarded the 2006 Animated Interactive Plush Toy of the Year award by Creative Child Magazine.[5] A cartoon based on the characters debuted in 1986.[6]
 The BackPack Toys version of Teddy Ruxpin, released in 2006 | |
| Type | Teddy Bear |
|---|---|
| Company | Worlds of Wonder (1985–1990)[1] Hasbro (1991–1996) Yes! Entertainment (1998–1999) BackPack Toys (2005–2010) Wicked Cool Toys (2017–recent) |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1985–present |
| Slogan | The World's First Animated Talking Toy |
In 2018, it was announced that Alchemy and The Jim Henson Company would make a new Teddy Ruxpin TV series. The series would be animated in a digital puppetry form and would be aimed at preschoolers.[7] In 2019, it was announced that The Jim Henson Company would be distributing the series under the Henson Independent Properties banner.[8]
Technology
Conventional Compact Cassettes carried two audio tracks for stereo sound reproduction. Teddy Ruxpin cassettes used the right track for audio and the left 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 left audio track would be ignored. Early versions of the toy used three servo motors, but this was reduced to two and even one in later versions.[9]
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 toy's rights were then sold to Hasbro,[10] and produced again from 1991 to 1996. Another version debuted in 1998 by YES! Entertainment with another version in 2006, produced by BackPack Toys. Owned and operated by Robert Taylor. The most recent version of Teddy Ruxpin was produced by Wicked Cool Toys.
Shortly after his debut, Teddy Ruxpin was dubbed the "Official Spokesbear for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children" in 1985.[11]
Worlds of Wonder
Teddy Ruxpin was first produced in 1985 by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] They went through a series of layoffs. The creditors continued to operate the company in receivership until finally closing its doors in late 1990.[16]
Playskool
By 1991 Worlds of Wonder had folded and the remaining assets were liquidated.[17] 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.[18] 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, an "interactive video" model was released under the branding "TV Teddy". The TV Teddy system consisted of a series of specially encoded VHS cassettes, an RF-transmitter that relayed signals encoded on the video track to the animatronic, and an animatronic RF-receiver consisting of a loudspeaker, and two servos which provided much-simplified eye and mouth movements compared to both the WOW and Playskool versions.[19] The VHS cassettes consisted of original opening content specifically designed for Teddy to interact with, followed by previously-released Hi-Topps videos which were encoded with additional content for the animatronic. 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.[20]
BackPack Toys
In 2005, BackPack Toys announced a fourth version of Teddy Ruxpin, which replaced the audio tapes with digital cartridges.[21] Although Teddy Ruxpin is no longer produced by BackPack Toys, some remaining toys and cartridges are available via online retail channels.[22]
Wicked Cool Toys
Wicked Cool Toys announced in early 2016 that they would produce a new Teddy Ruxpin in fall of 2017. This Teddy Ruxpin does not come with physical cartridges, instead being programmed with 3 stories inside of the toy. The rest of the stories are available for purchase on a mobile app.
Book and cassette episode list
Worlds of Wonder
Worlds of Wonder produced the largest number of stories. They include:
| No. | Title | Short Summary | Guest 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, the Woodsprites and the Elves |
| 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" | Teddy introduces the character of Tweeg, a bumbling, greedy sort who apparently is always trying to get rich off making gold. | Tweeg, L.B. and the Bounders |
| 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?" | Teddy and Grubby discuss real-life bears and similar species such as koalas and pandas. | . |
| 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, Wooly, L.B., and the Bounders |
| 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, Leota, 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" | . | Tweeg, L.B. and the Bounders |
| 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 Rillonia. | 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!" | . | Grunges and Fobs (Wooly and Newton Gimmick appear in the audience, but have no lines.) |
| 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" | . | Tweeg, L.B. and the Bounders |
| 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" | . | Leota, Katie, and the Woodsprites |
| 32 | "Teddy Ruxpin Lullabies II: More Dreamy Songs for Sleepy Time" | . | . |
| 33 | "Teddy Ruxpin Sings Love Songs: A Special Collection Of Teddy's Favorites" | . | Almost all Series Characters Pictured |
| 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
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
- The Great Grundo 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
Book and cartridge episode list
| No. | Series | Title | Short Summary | Featured Characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Included | "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 | Treasure Series 1 | "Wooly and The Wizard: Helping to Solve the Mystery" | ||
| 3 | Treasure Series 1 | "Captured By Mudblups: Sometimes You Have to Change Your Plans" | ||
| 4 | Treasure Series 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 |
| 5 | Treasure Series 2 | "Treasure: Knowing What's Really Valuable is Important" | ||
| 6 | Adventure Series 1 | "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 |
| 7 | Adventure Series 1 | "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 |
| 8 | Adventure Series 2 | "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 |
| 9 | Adventure Series 3 | "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 |
| 10 | Music Series 1 | "Teddy Ruxpin Lullabies: Warm and Cuddly Songs to Dream By" | Teddy Ruxpin sings all his favorite lullabies for his friends. | Fobs, Leota |
| 11 | Music Series 1 | "Teddy Ruxpin's Christmas: A Musical Celebration" | Teddy, Grubby, and Newton Gimmick host a Christmas Party. | Almost all Series Characters Pictured |
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,[23] as well as the United States Lifesaving Association.[24]
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.[25]
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.[26]
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin was a television series that ran from 1986 to 1987. 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.
Unofficial tape injunction
At least two other companies (Vector Intercontinental and Veritel Learning Systems) produced tapes that worked with the Teddy Ruxpin toy. Worlds of Wonder successfully sued them in 1986, claiming the effect these tapes had on Teddy were too similar to the results of playing the proprietary recordings, and the courts (in Ohio and Texas) ordered the infringing tapes off the market.[27]
See also
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Cuff, Daniel F. (1988-04-04). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Worlds of Wonder Loses Its Chairman". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
- Pierson, John (November 22, 1999). "Style And Substance: Why Design Matters Many small-business owners believe they can't afford good product design. Why some companies are rethinking that equation". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "Teddy Ruxpin goes digital". CNN Money. 2005-06-15.
- "Teddy Ruxpin Earns Top Spot in 2006 Toy Awards". DesignTAXI. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin (1987–1988)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "Alchemy, Henson bring back Teddy Ruxpin". c21Media. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- Zahed, Ramin (June 11, 2019). "Henson Adopts 'Teddy Ruxpin' and '#Friends'".
- "Teddy Ruxpin & Grubby". www.robotsandcomputers.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- "Teddy Ruxpin Goes to Hasbro". The New York Times. September 9, 1991. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- Clarity, James F.; Weaver Jr, Warren (1985-09-26). "BRIEFING; All Hail Bear". The New York Times.
- "Toys: Intensive Care for a Talking Bear". Time. 1986-02-10. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- Goldstein, Alan (1985-11-24). "Alchemy II Makes Technology Cuddly Company Tries to Conjure Up Cash With New Talking Bear". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- "You Call These Toys?". Time. 1987-12-07. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- "Toy Maker Finds a Buyer". The New York Times. 1989-02-22. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- Zonana, Victor F. (1987-12-22). "Cash-Strapped Toy Maker Worlds of Wonder Petitions for Chapter 11 Protection". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- "BANKRUPTCY: Chapter 11 for Teddy Ruxpin". Time. 1988-01-04. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- "Teddy Ruxpin Goes to Hasbro". The Los Angeles Times. 1991-09-09. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- "Teddy Ruxpin using VHS Video Cassettes? Meet TV Teddy!". YouTube: DataBits Channel. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- "Yes! Entertainment Teddy Ruxpin". Teddy Ruxpin Online. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "Teddy Ruxpin goes digital". CNN. 2005-06-16. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- "Teddy Ruxpin Favorite Software Series Bundle Program Cartridge". Teddyruxpin.tystoybox.com. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "Firefighters Join Talking Teddy Test – Orlando Sentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 1986-10-12. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "United States Livesaving Association : Board of Directors Meeting : Boca Raton, Florida" (PDF). C.ymcdn.com. May 4–8, 1989. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- "'Ice Capades' A Hot Ticket - Philly.com". Articles.philly.com. 1987-02-25. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- Lovable Teddy Ruxpin evolves from toy to animated star of his own half-hour program thanks to Crawley Films, Toronto Star – October 31, 1987
- "Chapter 5B – I.P. Protection of Digital Rights in the New Millennium". Docs.law.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
External links
- Grundo Gazette
- The UNofficial Teddy Ruxpin Frequently Asked Questions website
- Teddy Ruxpin Online
- Teddy Ruxpin Hospital and Adoption Centre
