The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin

Animated Series

"The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin"

Animated Series (1987)

Overview

"The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" was an animated series based on the characters and talking toy phenomenon created by Ken Forsse. Building on the stories that accompanied the original talking toy, the show aired in the fall and winter of 1987, consisitng of 65 episodes.

While retelling many of the stories first depicted in the World of Teddy Ruxpin Adventure Series, the show is noteable for expanding on those stories with an overarching plot that unfolded over the span of the show's run.

The show's unique format allowed for a single story arc to be told over five episodes, while each of the thirteen arcs expanded on the overall plot, building every week to the epic conclusion.

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An Alchemy II Production
Original Air Date
  • September 14, 1987 - December 11, 1987
  • Running Time
  • 30 minutes
  • Produced by
  • Alchemy II, Inc.
  • Worlds of Wonder
  • DIC Enterprises
  • Atkinson Film-Arts
  • Distributed By
  • DIC Enterprises
  • LBS Commincations, Inc. (Syndication)
  • Hi-Tops Video (VHS Releases, discontinued)
  • Entertech Home Entertainment and Blue Steel Releasing (Teddy Ruxpin: The Movie, VHS, discontinued)
  • First National Pictures (DVD, discontinued)
  • Mill Creek Entertainment (DVD, discontinued)
  • Image Entertainment (DVD, discontinued)
  • Henson Independent Properties (Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel)
  • Directed by
  • Chris Schouten
  • Produced by
  • Jean Chalopin
  • W.H. Stevens Jr.
  • Andy Heyward
  • W.H. Cloutier
  • Animation Advisor
  • Kazumi Fukushima
  • Creative Supervision
  • Jean Chalopin
  • W.H. Stevens Jr.
  • Script Coordinators
  • Lori Crawford
  • Gail Chapple
  • Assisted By
  • Bill Ruiz
  • Patricia Hicks
  • Story Editors
  • Jack Mendelsohn
  • Doug Stratton
  • Brian Jeffrey Street
  • Writers
  • Mary Crawford
  • Derek Diorio
  • Patrick Granleese
  • Rick Jones
  • Dan Lalande
  • Mary Mackay-Smith
  • Patrick A. McCarthy
  • C.B. Mendelsohn
  • Ken Ross
  • Doug Stratton
  • Brian J. Street
  • Alan Templeton
  • Voice Direction
  • Chuck Rubin
  • Talent Coordination
  • Chuck Rubin
  • Marsha Goodman
  • Starring
  • Phil Baron
  • John Stocker
  • Will Ryan
  • John Koensgen
  • Robert Bockstael
  • Pier Kohl
  • Holly Larocque
  • Abby Haygard
  • Anna McCormick
  • Les Lye
  • Rick Jones
  • Doug Stratton
  • Production Managers
  • Winnie Chaffee
  • Garry Proulx
  • Associate Producers
  • Jack Spillum
  • Dave Mepham
  • Production Coordinators
  • Vic Kephart
  • Susan Conley
  • Anne Marie Ouellette
  • Reg Harris
  • Pamela Pilkington
  • Carolin McRae
  • Nancy White
  • Kathleen Scott
  • Character Design
  • Richard Petsche
  • Victor Glasko
  • Head of Backgrounds
  • Gordon H. Coulthart
  • Background Desingers
  • Sophie LaPointe
  • Lawrence Barkley
  • Rick Sluiter
  • Storyboard Supervisor
  • Richard Morrison
  • Storyboards by
  • Sam Agro
  • Robert Browning
  • Larry Cariou
  • Curtis Crawford
  • Cam Drysdale
  • David Feiss
  • Eric Fredrickson
  • James Hiltz
  • Tom Nesbitt
  • Jamie Oliff
  • Arna Selznick
  • Trish Stolte
  • Timing by
  • Glenn Wright
  • Woody Yocum
  • Lip Assignment
  • Carol Bissonnette
  • Rebecca Greenwood
  • Shirl Kwan
  • Layout Supervisor
  • Tim Deacon
  • Layout Artists
  • Richard Allen
  • Scott Amey
  • Scott Bennett
  • Peter Bielicki
  • Charles Botham
  • Nora Brown
  • Kevin Brownie
  • Maryann Capling
  • Tim Dillabough
  • Peter Ferk
  • Richard Forgues
  • Meinert Hansen
  • Warren Huska
  • BLake James
  • Pierre Jarry
  • Mark Komza
  • Steven Majaury
  • David E. Merritt
  • Wayne Millett
  • Terry O'Reilley
  • Lyndon Ruddy
  • André St-Amour
  • Robert Walker
  • Barbara Woodruff
  • Key Animation Supervisors
  • Devanand Ramsaran
  • Marc Sevier
  • Drew Edwards
  • Key Animators
  • Lillian André
  • Kelly Armstrong
  • Brenda Beaton
  • Benoit Cecyre
  • Chris Damboise
  • Michael Dazé
  • Danièlle Deblois
  • John Delaney
  • Scott Fiander
  • Jill Halliday
  • Greg Holfeld
  • Paula Irvine
  • Bob Jaques
  • Wayne Lee Pack
  • Brian LeMay
  • Patrick McCourt
  • Howy Parkins
  • Dave Parks
  • Robert Shedlowich
  • Michael Shiell
  • Greg Upshaw
  • Nick Vallinakis
  • Robert Waldren
  • John Williamson
  • Jeff Wilson
  • Technical Coordnator
  • John Duggan
  • Technical Department
  • David Barrett
  • Susan Mundell
  • Eleanor Hamilton
  • Shane Pearce
  • Clayton Jaconbs
  • Lee Vainola
  • Jeffrey Weese
  • Final Check
  • Ulrich Blazejewski
  • Keiko Mannion
  • Oscar Capiral Jr.
  • Cam Wilson
  • Editing Supervisor
  • David Vainola
  • Pre-Production Assistants
  • Lee Cadieux
  • Dave Kovacs
  • Cheryl Gurnsey
  • Michael Mitchell
  • Jerry Holbrook
  • Ann Mullens
  • Kelly Kincaid
  • John Mullens
  • François St-Amour
  • Re-recording Mixers
  • Robert LeClair
  • Shalini Kelly
  • Effects Recording
  • Tamara Smith
  • Videotape Supervisor
  • Paul Harris
  • Head Post Production
  • James N. Williams
  • Supervising Editor
  • Norman LaBlanc
  • Dialog Editors
  • Stephanie Duncan
  • Helen Watson
  • Marguerite Cleinge
  • Music Editors
  • Daniel Desbiens
  • Joe Fitzpatrick
  • Sound Effects Editors
  • Stephanie Crawford
  • Robert Cooper
  • Pierre R. Labelle
  • Mike Fitzpatrick
  • Assistant Editors
  • David K. Camelon
  • André Lavoie
  • Bob Deeks
  • Normast Rivest
  • Peter Harmathy
  • Wendy Rockburn
  • Cutters
  • Claire Bambrough
  • Malcom Collins
  • Music Score Composed and Arranged by
  • Andrew Huggett
  • Songs Composed and Arranged by
  • George Wilkins
  • Story Consultants
  • Phil Baron
  • Len Levitt
  • Concept Design
  • David High
  • Alchemy II Production Executive
  • Larry Larsen
  • Assisted by
  • Sandi Vidan
  • Jodie Resnick
  • Audio Coordination
  • Don Riedel
  • Executive Producers
  • Jean Chalopin
  • W.H. Stevens Jr.
  • Andy Heyward
  • Alison Clayton
  • Christopher Brough
  • Plot

    Illiop Teddy Ruxpin and his friend, Grubby the Octopede, leave their home in Rillonia in search of the fabled Treasure of Grundo. With the help of kind invenetor Newton Gimmick and his ingenious Airship, they meet the brave Prince Arin and help him rescue his sister Aruzia from the nefarious Gutangs. Along the way, they find six magic Crystals.

    Gimmick begins to use the Crystals to power his many inventions, lead the trio to discover their many unique powers. Meanwhile, bumbling wanna-be villain Tweeg and his Bounder henchmen L.B. try with little success to thwart the three friends' adventures in hopes that Tweeg will be accepted into the evil Monsters and Villains Organization (M.A.V.O.).

    When Tweeg steals one of the Crystals, he's immediately accepted into the organization, lead by the dreaded Supreme Oppressor, Quellor, who reveals that obtaining all six of the Cyrstals will allow him to plunge Grundo into eternal darkness. Quellor enlists Tweeg and several other henchmen in his quest to steal the Crystals and destroy Teddy and his friends.

    With the help of his friends and the powers of the Crystals, Teddy takes it upon himself to make sure they never fall into M.A.V.O.'s hands. Along the way he, Grubby, and Gimmick will meet amazing friends, dodge terrible enemies, and discover untold secrets of family, Grundo, and the history of the Illiop civilization.

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    Synopsis

    A synopsis of each episode can be found using the list below:

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    Production

    Ken Forsse originally envisioned a Teddy Ruxpin television series using animatronic costumes akin to what Alchemy II had done on "Welcome to Pooh Corner". While a pilot was produced (see the "ABC Special"), it proved too expensive to produce as a series, leading to the creation of a traditionally adnimated series.

    Financial incentives saw the production move to Canada, where much of the writing, animation, and recording took place.

    To ensure that the writing would retain a consistent tone and faithfulness to the characters' integrity, Ken Forsse and Leonard Levitt created a "Teddy Ruxpin Bible". This outlined key elements like a brief history of Grundo, notes on Grundo's geography, descriptions and biographies of the main and supporting characters, and an overview of the series' plot. While the individual episodes were written by members of the Canadian production team, Ken, Len, and Phil Baron served as story consultants throughout production to ensure fidelity to their original vision.

    The first five episodes retell the story depicted in the ABC Special and originally told in the Adventure Series stories "The Airship" and "The Missing Princess".

    Many of the stories follow their Adventure Series counterparts, often expanding to fit into the series' overall story arch, such as Tweeg managing to steal the Crystals during "Grubby's Romance". Other episodes are wholly unique to the series and have no basis anywhere else in the Teddy Ruxpin canon.

    While Phil Baron and Will Ryan reprise their roles as Teddy Ruxpin and Grubby the Octopede, the rest of the cast are Canadian replacements for their Adventure Series counterparts. John Stocker replaced Tony Pope as Newton Gimmick, John Koensgen replaced Will Ryan as Tweeg, and Holly Larocque replaced acclaimed voice actress Russi Taylor as Leota the Woodsprite.

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    Aftermath

    The series ends on an apparent cliffhanger, leading many to believe a second season was produced. However, there's no evidence that this was ever the case, as the team only ever envisioned 65 episodes for the show.

    A feature film, which would have brought the story to a more final conclusion, was commissioned but never produced. Several frames of animation from what would have been this feature have been spotted online, depicting a terrified Teddy Ruxpin facing off against a towering Quellor.

    Several episodes of the series were released on VHS and Betamax by Hi-Tops Video from 1987 - 1988. Many of these were bookended by live action segments featuring Teddy introducing the episodes and saying goodbye. Some of the packaging included special items such as postcards, pamphlets, and recipes.

    Volume

    VHS Title

    Episodes

    Bonus Gift
    1 The Treasure of Grundo Episode 1, 2, & 4 Kids' Emergency Calling Card
    2 Guests of the Grunges Episode 3 Chocolate Chip Friendship Cookie Recipe
    3 Escape From the Treacherous Moutnain Episode 5 Your Very Own Family Tree
    4 Take a Good Look Episode 6 Your Own Special Journal
    5 Grubby's Romance Episode 7 Pen Pal Postcards
    6 Teddy Outsmarts M.A.V.O. Episodes 8 - 10 Maze With Paint Set
    7 Come Dream With Me Tonight N/A Teddy Ruxpin Song Sheet
    8 The Faded Fobs Episodes 11 - 12 N/A
    9 Tweeg Gets the Tweezles Episode 13 N/A
    10 A Royal Adventure Episdoes 22 - 25 N/A
    11 Teddy and the Mudblups Episode 28 N/A
    12 Win One For the Twipper Episode 29 N/A

    On March 7, 2000, Entertech Home Entertainment and Blue Steel Releasing released a direct-to-home video VHS titled "Teddy Ruxpin: The Movie". Despite the title, it consists of slightly edited versions of Episodes 1-5 of "The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" animated series.

    On February 21, 2006, First National Pictures released two DVD volumes containing a total of 11 episodes. The remaining episodes were never released.

    Volume

    Title

    Episodes

    1 The Journey Begins Episodes 1 - 5
    2 The Journey Continues Episodes 6 - 11

    In 2008, Mill Creek Entertainment released three volumes of all 65 episodes on DVD. Each volume consisted of two DVDs containing approximately ten episodes each. These volumes were later combined into a boxed set called "The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin: Come Dream With Me".

    Release Date

    Title

    Episodes

    January 15, 2008 The Six Crystals Episodes 1 - 20
    May 6, 2008 Mysteries of the Hard to Find City Episodes 21 - 40
    July 22, 2008 Return to Rillonia Episodes 41 - 65

    On July 10, 2012, Image Entertainment released a 10-disc boxed set of the entire series.

    In October 2019, the entire series made its streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video under Jim Henson Producitons. The series was completey remastered, adding a more vibrant color pallette and fixing many of the audio issues found on previous DVD releases. The series was available at no additional cost for customers with an Amazon Prime membership. Those without a membership could purchase the series for $0.99 per episode, or purchase the entire series for $53.99.

    In April 2020, the remastered version of "The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" was released on The Roku Channel. Identical to the Amazon Prime release, this marked the first time the series was available to watch for free, with the only requirement being the creation of a Roku account.

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    Differences between the books and animated series

    While much of The World of Teddy Ruxpin Adventure Series stories "The Airship" and "The Missing Princess", there are some key differences between the story as told here:

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