Teddy Ruxpin the Toy and Toon.

Teddy Ruxpin was a legend in his own time. A character that caused a 1980's toy craze, and won the hearts of a generation . Teddy Ruxpin was the enduring vision of Ken Forsse. Ken captured a kids wonder with his life-like storytelling Toy and accompanying 65 episode Cartoon series.

The Toy

The Toy was developed by Ken and Produced by Worlds Of Wonder in 1985. Teddy is a bear- like  Iliop with animatronic features that would interact with a cassette tape placed in Teddy's back. Teddy Ruxpin would tell you stories that you could follow along with in a book that sold with each cassette adventure.

Ruxpin's mouth moved and his eyes blinked in sync with the story that made for the feeling of actual interaction. Teddy had several outfits that could be purchased separately. You could also purchase his companion Grubby who could actually be plugged into Teddy via auxiliary cable and he would interact right along with your teddy ruxpin toy. Worlds of Wonder took a dive in the 90's that put them out of business. Since then Playskool and backpack toys have put out different versions.

The Cartoon

The cartoon was done by Alcamy 2. The series does a steller Job at bringing the characters further to life on screen. The stories are well paired with the book and tape series. The show begins asTeddy and Grubby set out on a quest for the treasure of Grundo. The pair hails from the island of Rilonia a land off Grundo's southern coast mostly inhabitaed by iliops. Together Teddy the Iliop and Grubby the Octopede travel the land of Grundo discovering 6 mystical crystals in the Hard to find city that will be the key to unlocking the series and Teddy's past.

The cartoon employs a unique style of storytelling that is more akin to a soap opera than a Saturday morning cartoon. Each episode is very intertwined and related to the series as a whole. Plot elements are not just quickly summed up at the 30 minute mark like most cartoons of the day, but spread out through a string of episodes. This tactic really gets you hooked and coming back for more. The series starts out very strong but begins to dip in the middle and does' t exactly have the epic ending you would expect after watching the first 20 or so episodes. But the series is still great to watch and worth checking out.

My musings

If you are looking for the Toy, the internet is full of them as well as the book and tape series. Ebay and Amazon are a good resource. Also if you happen to get hooked make sure you check out all the Teddy Ruxpin hacks on youtube, people are doing some cool things keeping the memory of Teddy alive.

If you are going to purchase the cartoon series I recommend purchasing the set in a three part series from amazon or ebay rather than the complete series dvd. The complete series can be ridiculously overpriced, Purchased seperatly I picked up the series for under $15. 

Its about time we see Teddy Ruxpin make a come back. I would not be surprised if I saw a modern version hit shelves soon. I would really like to someday make a graphic novel or comic series that would finish the adventure out the way I saw fit, but that requires time, not to mention all the purists that may condemn me for it. So go watch Teddy Ruxpin. Below I have included some great links to sites about our favorite iliop that I enjoy and you may too.

http://www.teddyruxpinonline.org

http://www.dreeyoreshospital.net/index.html

http://www.jcaliff.net/tr/