The Talking Toy
The World of Teddy Ruxpin has taken many forms, but none have endured quite so well as the original storytelling toy.
Teddy Ruxpin debuted in September 1985 and revolutionized the industry as the world's first animated talking toy. Using technology previously reserved for experiences like the Walt Disney theme parks, children could experience that magic in their homes.
A friend for life has come to life...
In the years following his debut, amid a rapidly changing toy industry, Teddy would fade in and out of the spotlight, always re-emerging every few years to a new generation with stories to tell and friends to make.
Check out our comprehensive guides below to explore some of the changes Teddy has gone through over the years and rediscover the magic that helped Teddy find his way into the hearts of firneds and fans all over the world.
The Stories
The stories in The World fo Teddy Ruxpin are collectively known as the Teddy Ruxpin Adventure Series. You can read about those stories by visiting the Adventure Series Story Index.
With the release of Yes! Entertainment's Teddy Ruxpin in 1998, the series was temporarily re-branded "The New World of Teddy Ruxpin", but that was later dropped with future releases.
Talking Toy Timeline
The original and most popular incarnation fo Teddy Ruxpin, featuring over 40 stories and a plethora of acessories, over 6 million units were sold. They can still be found on eBay, often bundled with several stories and accessories.
First redesigned in Worlds of Wonder's last year, and later re-introduced under Playskool's banner, this was the first major change to everyone's favorite Illiop. This version was more cuddly than the original and used cartridge-style cassettes less prone to unraveling. About a dozen of the original stories were released for this version.
Donning a new look, Yes! Entertainment unveiled a Teddy for the new millennium. Using the internal design of the Playskool's Teddy while restoring the classic cassette deck found in Worlds of Wonder's original, the Teddy of the 90's promised to harness all the power of modern technology to bring children new and exciting ways to eperience classic adventures. A TV Pack was released to connect Teddy to your television, where he could help narrate the re-released VHS tapes. WIth about a dozen stories, this Teddy quickly fizzled out as the industry had largely moved forward. A planned "Computer Pack" was never released.
Managing to be both the biggest change to, and most faithful adaptation of Teddy since the original, BackPack Toys restored Teddy's original look, while making him even smaller and cuddlier for his friends to hold. Traditional cassettes were replaced with digital MP3 cartridges, and the accompanying books were split into two versions: narration and illustration. The "Treasure of Grundo" series storyline was overhauled and now included snippets of audio from the 1985 ABC Special, with brand new narration recorded by Teddy's voice actor, Phil Baron.
After almost a decade of absence from store shelves, Wicked Cool Toys released a brand new version of Teddy Ruxpin in 2017. Lacking any sort of physical media, the tapes and cartridges were transferred to digital files that sync with Teddy over bluetooth from a paired tablet or smartphone. Servo motors for Teddy's eyes were repalced with LCD screens that allow Teddy to express a wider range of emotions. Fourteen stoires were released for this version via the accompanying app.