For a more in-depth review of this version of Teddy Ruxpin, please visit the
Teddy Ruxpin FAQ which has a lot of in-depth information about the
various sizes and interworkings.
Ken Forsse, (Check out the interview with him) had the Teddy Ruxpin character forming
in his mind as early as the late 1950s, but up until the 1980s, had invisioned Teddy as a puppet show rather than a toy,
(or later a animated television series) He started his own business in the 1970s, AlchemyII, Inc, and by the
early 80's was involved in many freelance projects, including building animatronic characters for the popular
Disney Channel series "Welcome To Pooh Corner". With several members of his staff helping out, Ken created the
talking toy technology and brought Teddy to life. At the same time, Don Kingsborough was leaving the failing
Atari after just overseeing the layoffs of thousands of employees. Burnt out and on a beach in Hawaii, independantly
wealthy and able to retire but bored out of his mind, he managed to get in contact with Ken Forsse, and immediately
knew Teddy Ruxpin was his springboard back into tbe business. Don named his company Worlds of Wonder, mainly because
he thought everyone who saw the stock symbol "WOW" would want to own at least one share.
Teddy Ruxpin came to life over the course of the next many months, and was released in September, 1985 to rave reviews.
He was the most popular toy of 1985 and 1986, and continued with high sales into the later 1980s. However,
Worlds Of Wonder had created many different toy lines, feeding off the success of Alchemy's Illiop, and began
to have financial troubles after the 1987 Black Friday stock market crash. Sources indicate to me this is also
why a second season of the TV series was not to be.
A Closeup shot of my Worlds of Wonder Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy took standard looking casette tapes in the back of a sometimes metal, sometimes plastic tape player. These
audio tapes were not generally stereo quality when played in a home stereo system, and likewise you could not put a
Van Halen tape (for instance) in Teddy and expect much to happen. Teddy was packaged with "The Airship" book and tape set,
and many many volumes of storybooks and tapes were to follow. The Worlds of Wonder people also created many
Teddy Ruxpin accessories, including a talking Grubby, hand puppets of Wooly, Tweeg and Fobs, and one of my favorite accessories,
a small playmap and a Airship model complete with miniature figurines of Teddy, Grubby, Gimmick and most of the
other supporting characters.
Out of the three versions which have been out a considerable amount of time (Worlds of Wonder, Playskool and Yes!) the WoW Teddy seems to have
the greatest longevity and overall quality. He is much bigger than any subsequent version, and the only version
to use multiple servos to control his functions. Over 10 million Worlds of Wonder Teddys were sold worldwide,
and at many times during 1985 and 1986 they were so hard to find that scalpers often sold them for 20% to 30% higher
than retail price. (It's interesting to note stores did this as well. Teddy retailed for $69.99 and one fan
told me she clearly recalls paying $100 for the bear at a mom and pop toy store)
Between all the incarnations of Teddy between 1985 and 2000, (I briefly owned a Playskool version but no longer do)
this one is by far my favorite. He talked for exactly 20 years, and ironically said his last words around Christmastime
in 2005. That kind of longevity with any product is nearly unmatched.
