Teddy Ruxpin

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Teddy Ruxpin is the name of an animatronically controlled toy in the shape of a chubby teddy bear . It was created in 1985 and is particularly well known in the US and UK . Its reputation as a “child-friendly toy” has been questioned several times in the past.

description

Teddy Ruxpin is about 36 cm tall and weighs about 680 grams. As mentioned at the beginning, he has the shape of a chubby and chubby teddy bear. His eyes can be brown or forget-me-not blue , depending on the manufacturer and toy version . Its fur is dark beige, the insides of the ears and the soles of the feet are white. Its small snout is highlighted in light pastel brown, the nose can be brown, anthracite or black. Teddy Ruxpin is traditionally dressed in a gray t-shirt with brown-red sleeves. Newer versions are fully clothed with pants and shirts in different colors and designs.

On the inside, Teddy Ruxpin is equipped with simple animatronics, which obtained their energy from older versions of batteries, modern versions use a rechargeable battery. In addition, there is a small cassette recorder in the back of the teddy , more modern versions use digital reading chips. When the cassette is switched on, the animatronics are also activated, whereupon Teddy Ruxpin - more or less arbitrarily - opens and closes his mouth and slowly closes and re-opens his eyes.

history

Teddy Ruxpin was created in 1985 by toy designers Ken Forsse, Larry Larsen and John Davies. The production and licensing rights have changed hands several times in the course of history, so that the following companies are now producing Teddy Ruxpin figures: Worlds of Wonder, Hasbro , Yes! Entertainment, BackPack Toys and Wicked Cool Toys . Many manufacturers like to boast that Teddy Ruxpin is “the world's first talking animatronic toy”.

reception

Because Teddy Ruxpin was so popular in 1986 its own 65-piece has already been animated series called The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ( dt. " The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ") brought out and introduced more toy characters. These include Mother Goose (a goose ) and Grubby (a caterpillar ).

Teddy Ruxpin was and is known for singing songs or telling children's stories after inserting specially developed audio cassettes. Accordingly, it was intended for small children. However, old-fashioned audio cassettes slow down when the players run out of power. As a result, songs and texts can no longer be played fast enough, which causes their pitch to drop and the sounds of notes to "rumble". As a result, song and speech can sound unnaturally deep and "demonic". This quirk has led to (not to be taken seriously) rumors that the characters are “possessed”. Corresponding memes enjoy some popularity in internet forums and on various video portals (e.g. YouTube ).

literature

  • Sharon M. Scott: Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia . ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara (California) 2009, ISBN 9780313347993 , pp. 304 & 305.
  • Mark Bellomo: Totally Tubular '80s Toys . F + W Media, Cincinnati 2010, ISBN 9781440216466 , pp. 146-148.
  • Susan Brewer: Collecting Classic Girls' Toys . Remember When, Barnsley 2010, ISBN 9781844680689 , pp. 227 & 228.
  • William D. Crump: Happy Holidays - Animated !: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film . McFarland, Jefferson (North Carolina) 2019, ISBN 9781476672939 . P. 341.