It was while doing this work that he got the idea to apply the same principles to a stuffed animal that kids could enjoy at home, one that could talk, move, sing, yawn, blink, etc. Teddy was born from the mind of Ken Forsse, an ex-Disney employee who designed animatronic creatures for Disneyland rides like It’s a Small World and Jungle Cruise in the ’60s and ’70s. This bear had a name, and that name was Teddy Ruxpin.įor the uninitiated, Teddy Ruxpin was my best friend one of the best-selling toys of the mid ’80s - I’m talking $93 million in sales in its first year. Then my parents explained that this wasn’t any ol’ bear. He wasn’t just not squishy, his back was straight up hard and boxy as hell. He came in a box, appeared to be wearing a tan smock, and he was a lot less squishy than a teddy should be.
Stuffed animals were basically my love language back then and I was just jazzed to add another one to my collection, even if this one didn’t look particularly remarkable at first glance.Įxcept this bear wasn’t like my other stuffed companions.
I tore it open and squealed with small Mexican child joy at what I thought was a garden variety but very cute brown teddy bear. While this isn’t a huge issue, because we all know that an occupied kid = a happy parent, there've been a few times the kids have been playing with Teddy and I’ve received a phone call that I needed to pick up.One Christmas morning in the late ’80s/early ’90s, I woke up to find a large present with my name on it under the Christmas tree. In our home, we don’t have an iPad and the kids don’t have their own tablets (#BudgetProblems), so if they want to play with the app they have to borrow a phone from me or my husband.
#Teddy ruxpin Bluetooth#
You can listen to the stories without one, but if you want to look at the pictures and let the kids read along (which is far more engaging, especially for the older ones) the only way to do that is via Bluetooth on the handheld device of your choice. Note that in order to read the stories, you have to use a smartphone or tablet. (This hasn’t seemed to bother my kids, but may be something to be mindful of if you have a particularly easily creeped-out kiddo!) I'm prettttty sure this is why he comes with an eye mask: partly to protect his eyes, but partly because no one wants to find themselves face-to-face with an eyeless bear in the middle of the night. If you want to skip a page or song, you just press on his chest (where the logo is on his jacket). You can pick which story you want him to read by squeezing his right paw, and you can pause by squeezing his left. Teddy 2.0 is equipped with Bluetooth, and as the story is displayed page by page on the app, he reads along with it. My younger boys love being told the stories, while my older two will actively read along. He’s intended for ages 2 and up, and I can attest to the fact that all of my kids enjoy playing with him (read: fighting over him) for different reasons.
There are many things that make this updated version of Teddy Ruxpin great: As long as you have 4 AA batteries on hand, you can use him immediately. When friends come over, he's even been the first toy that they pull out to play with (closely followed by old standbys Matchbox cars and dinosaur figurines). While I was apprehensive at first, unlike the Teddy of yore, 2017's version looks sweeter and friendly - and the kids love playing his stories and singing along to his songs over and over. 1) Teddy Ruxpin is far smaller and more cuddly than he used to be.Ģ) He comes pre-loaded with three stories ready to go (BIG win).ģ) He has magical eyes (more on this in a sec).Ĥ) He’s swapped out the cassette tape for an app.
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