Talk:Teddy Ruxpin

Copyright?

Are the copyright issues surrounding third-party Teddy Ruxpin-compatible tapes notable enough to include here? --Damian Yerrick (☎) 23:57, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I just added some information about the copycat tape companies, and the lawsuits against them. Mushrom (talk) 01:49, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Speaking of copyright, displaying the image in its box like that on the title page is technically copyright violation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.0.32.111 (talk) 05:05, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Funny, but...

Teddy Ruxpin is a creepy, pre- version of the evil creation "Furby" in the late 1990s.

Hysterical, yes, but no place in article. Baleeted. Aevangelica 03:00, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Created By Ken Forsse

I've edited it twice now, and I'm thinking there may be some misunderstandings by people who don't know the history of the property as well as some of us. Ken Forsse created the character of Teddy Ruxpin primarily on his own. It sat for many years in 'development hell' while Ken found an avenue to adequately tell the story he had created. After working for Disney doing many projects over the years, Ken finally came up with the basis of the Teddy Ruxpin "talking toy" technology. He was then aided by others, notably Larry Larsen and John Davies, in making that technology commercially viable. However, to say that "Teddy Ruxpin was created by Ken Forsse, Larry Larsen and John Davies" is incorrect and misleading. There were also talking versions of Mickey Mouse, Mother Goose, etc. and Davies and Larsen are of course not credited with creating those characters. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Octopede (talk • contribs) 17:10, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

You are correct, I'll have to change the wording the next time I edit the page. I've moved enough bits around for one day. Mathue Mathue 22:38, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

no talking?

Having a talk page serves to improve the article, but does it not also serve as a place we can discuss without mucking up the article? In fact, the comments deleted on this talk page could be elaborated upon sourcing VH1's I love the 70's (or was it 80s) because yes, there are verifiable sources we can have for Teddy Ruxpin freaking out if you put an ordinary cassette tape in it. So moreover, the article implies that the facial features of the doll will not respond to an ordinary cassette tape. I'm sure the stories on VH1 of the doll freaking out would be citation enough, don't y'all think? 160.94.120.152 20:23, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

First find the citation, and then feel free. --Damian Yerrick (☎) 19:16, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

origin of 'Ruxpin' name?

I'm curious as to how the name was chosen, specifically if it was an acronym or conjunction of marketing/engineering terms, or a reference to a developer and/or influence.

Ken Forsse originally chose "Simian Greep" as the name and had another character named Teddy Ruxpin who was a prince (Later became Prince Arin) in the original story. He disliked "Greep" after awhile because it sounded like "Geek", so he gave the Prince's name to Teddy and the rest is history.

In my conversations with him, there have been a few characters who were named after people he knew, (Leota being one example) but to my knowledge Teddy was not one of them. The name was also not chosen for marketing purposes- in fact quite the opposite. The marketing people always wanted to change Teddy's name to something else but focus groups with young kids proved Teddy's original name was a hit.

Dupe Penny Arcade Reference

Removed dupe Penny-Arcade reference under references. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.173.5.8 (talk • contribs) 18:22, 11 July 2007

Teddy Ruxpin's Voice

Anyone know who performed the voice of Teddy Ruxpin? It almost sounds like actor/voice actor Michael Bell.

In the books, and cartoon, it credits Phil Baron as the voice of Teddy Ruxpin. I don't think there is room in the article for it. Hope this helps you out though.--75.11.154.52 (talk) 06:21, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

T.J. Bearytales

Hasbro has made a knockoff called T.J. Bearytales. Don't know where to fit it in the article. I think there were also some knockoffs during the '80s, but I can't remember any of their names. Evan1975 05:02, 25 August 2007 (UTC) --75.11.157.6 (talk) 09:49, 18 April 2011 (UTC)Correction, MADE. He's done too, just like the new version.

Relevance of company info

I still don't see the relevance of including a full paragraph of general info about Worlds of Wonder's decline in this entry. That information belongs in the specific entry for the company; including tidbits about WoW's sale of junk bonds, etc. goes beyond the scope of Teddy Ruxpin. Accordingly, I am condensing it (instead of fully deleting it this time, since the liquidation bears mentioning) in this article. Lpython 22:09, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

The junk bonds information was added in September of 2005 to clear up a somewhat common misconception that poor sales of Teddy Ruxpin were behind the decline of WOW.

There is a correction you need to make; Teddy Ruxpin toy line was never ‘sold’ to Hasbro i.e. Playskool. (I’d love to see your source on the entity being ‘sold’) AlchemyII licensed him to Playskool after WOW went belly up. It is correct that Playskool did sell TR and he was sold under the Playskool trade name. AlchemyII has dissolved and all rights now fall under Mr. Forsse who now controls the licensing of the toy. Mathue 00:51, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

--76.235.77.153 (talk) 04:53, 6 March 2011 (UTC):Feel free to make that correction yourself. You are clearly more of an expert on this issue than I am - I say that with no sarcasm. I was simply looking at it with an editor's eye, as the previous info was company history that was not entirely relevant to the issue at hand. If I were reading the entry for aspirin, I wouldn't want the M&A history of Bayer to be there; what's the point? I came to read about the drug and not the company; or, in this case, I came to read about the bear and not WoW's sob story. But since they pertain to the history of TR, the details of the licensing could probably use elucidation. Lpython 12:51, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I'll edit the correction when I next have a bit of spare time. As for relevance about the company history one might note that there is a whole section about scenes in movies or lyrics in songs that TR is mentioned, these certainly have even less to do with things. If one would conclude that the Junk Bonds history is of no use certainly the whole 'References in other media' should go. Mathue 19:48, 16 September 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mathue (talk • contribs)

Added back in the information today Mathue Mathue 22:38, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

But is company History THE SAME as Teddy Ruxpin History? This information is indeed relevant but is it the beginning of Teddy Ruxpin history specifically? The paragraph as written points to a history prior to the demise of WOW which is not explored at all. I would love to know how TR was developed.

Also, when was the Playskool version sold? How large was it? Does this article need a separate entry for version and hardware/firmware/software changes? There seems to be a wealth of information about this iconic toy and I'd enjoy seeing it fully developed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.129.148.205 (talk) 16:38, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

I know the feeling! It's getting more and more, and if people who have everything can help add to this site, it then can be nominated for a star- easily!

Teddy Ruxpin and normal cassettes

Well, I'm one of those who're not lucky enough to encounter a Teddy Ruxpin during my childhood. Does the toy move randomly if an ordinary tape is played back, or does it just sit still? RAM (talk) 03:28, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Depends on the type of Teddy you have. The metal tape players try to use the right track of the cassette as signals for his motors, while the plastic tape players have a switch that turns his motors off when a non-Teddy tape is played. Here's some more info for you: http://www.animationfascination.com/teddy1.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pika62221 (talk • contribs) 04:42, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Hair Chewing Danger

Anyone else remember a brief moral panic over "some kid" (probably an urban legend since it was never anyone you knew directly, but implied to be someone not that different from you) getting their hair caught in Teddy's mouth and the motor winding it up causing the poor kid to be scalped? The actual danger would probably be at most a small bald spot from that one bit of hair (and probably not even that), but when the story was told, you were always left with the impression that the kid never grew hair on his head again. -Fuzzy (talk) 01:11, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I definitely remember this. One of the litany of reasons I could never have one, I'm sure! Lpython (talk) 20:20, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

I've heard of this too, though knowing how the toy works I can't see how it could occur. The motors are no more powerful than those found in a tape player and they certainly don't move enough to wrap hair around, let alone have enough torque to pull hair out at the roots. I've also not found any indication from reliable news sources to that it ever happened. Mathue Mathue 22:38, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, it doesn’t seem possible for a cassette playing device to un-root your hair. I myself have also never heard of such incidents. --DavidD4scnrt (talk) 00:48, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

This appears to have started with a Cabbage Patch dolls [1]

New toy image

Replaced the auto-deleted image that used to be on the page with one of my own so there won't be any issue with it in the future. Mathue Mathue 22:39, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

References in other media AKA Trivia "Lists of miscellaneous information" section

Anyone want to entertain the idea of eliminating this section? Mathue 04:42, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Added "Lists of miscellaneous information" to title.

I'm still of the thought that I'd like to see this section pared down significantly or eliminated. Mathue 23:28, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, if no one objects (Since I floated this idea back in May) I'm going to par down the trivia section a bit over the next few daysMathue 21:04, 23 October 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mathue (talk • contribs)

Go ahead. --Damian Yerrick (talk | stalk) 21:36, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Okie, done. Hopefully I've not stepped on too many toes by how much I cut it down. Mathue 19:04, 28 October 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mathue (talk • contribs)

Mathue's edit summary for this edit (Basically I'm snipping any trivia which puts TR in any negative light.) surprised me. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how it fits with a neutral point of view. I'm not reverting just yet, but I'd like to know the reasoning behind this edit and its summary. --Damian Yerrick (talk | stalk) 15:42, 7 November 2008 (UTC) The trivia secion seems fake anyway, so get rid of it —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.11.153.54 (talk) 12:31, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Tweeg.ru Link

I am the webmaster of Teddy Ruxpin Online (teddyruxpinonline.com) and have edited snippets of this article on and off for the last four years. I added my link the first time about 3 years ago and subsequently have had to re-add it multiple times. I have noticed the TRFAQ link has also disappeared a time or two and just recently was re-added as well. I feel that my link (as well as that of the TRFAQ) is quite justified as not only have both of us added value to the article, information we could have very well simply left on our own individual pages, but also because most of the relevant information could be found on one, the other, or both well before Wikipedia ever existed- meaning we're likely the source where the good majority of edits on this page have originated from. I would like to, perhaps belatedly, state that I do not speak for Mathue of the TRFAQ, but feel strongly about both our links staying put. In the past I have also removed the link to the tweeg.ru website and it's preceding URL multiple times. As is stated in the bulletin that can be seen when editing links, the site is in the Russian language and contains no pertinent information not already found on TRO or the TRFAQ. In addition, it's moderator, if she lived in the United States of America, could very well be prosecuted not only for multiple counts of blatant copyright infringement, but also for stalking/harassment charges stemming from information posted on her site and harassing international phone calls made to several parties. I would humbly suggest to all those who moderate this site to not only refrain from removing the TRO and TRFAQ links, but also to refrain from adding the tweeg.ru link and remove it swiftly if it is again added. Quite simply, don't feed the troll and maybe she will stay away. I noticed a moderator on the links' bulletin mentioning this would soon be brought up in discussion, so I took the liberty of starting it.

Regards- and Happy New Year. JOSH —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.101.223.57 (talk) 04:19, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Clean up

Sheesh, this a--76.235.87.32 (talk) 01:57, 11 April 2011 (UTC)rticle needed some MAJOR cleaning!! It flows MUCH better now, and is also current.--76.235.76.17 (talk) 03:24, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

I got all 40 books. What about me putting the entire series up, like Mother Goose and Mickey have?

Tape list

That book and tape list is both complete and non-complete. How? Well, it has all the book/tape sets, but none of the answer box or picture show tapes listed. I have all 7 of the picture show tapes, and I know of 5 answer box tapes, should I list them also, as WOW made them too?

I'll add them for you.--206.166.83.51 (talk) 19:17, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

Horrible color choice

   The color (#954535, was someone going for dark brown like a bear??) chosen for the headings of the Worlds of Wonder Original Stories section table are in practice illegible on my two displays. Should try again.
--Jerzy•t 08:54, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

Relax Wikipedia!!!

Sometimes we *all* need a little bit of therapy, especially on Wikipedia.

Relax, and don't take sh*t so seriously. Big smile!!! :) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYSgk44FYNk. 24.51.217.118 (talk) 05:02, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

• Different Teddy Ruxpin Outfits.png

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:52, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

1986's hottest toy at Christmas

Here's an article showing that also in 1986 Teddy was still the hottest item for the holiday season with the line "Teddy Ruxpin, the only bear that didn't hibernate last winter, was very popular last Christmas. The talking bear, which also gestures, still can't be found on store shelves or in supply rooms because of the continuing demand for them. His name is mentioned everywhere."

https://www.newspapers.com/image/344598786/?terms=teddy%20ruxpin%20best%20selling%20toy&match=1

So, it is confirmed he was the hottest thing still in 1986, which as the article mentioned his scarcity on shelves led to competitors selling variations, leading to a decline (and likely the demise of WOW) in his sales in 1987. IF there is any debate he dominated 1985 and 1986, it should now be put to an end, 1986 saw him just as hot as 1985. 2600:1702:3AE0:4760:6DAB:D690:5DCB:8DD1 (talk) 22:41, 5 July 2022 (UTC)

"Teddy Ruxpin (upcoming TV series)" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Teddy Ruxpin (upcoming TV series) and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 September 11#Teddy Ruxpin (upcoming TV series) until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 22:09, 11 September 2022 (UTC)