Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy Ruxpin is an animatronic children's toy in the form of a talking 'Illiop', a creature which looks like a bear. The toy's mouth and eyes move while he reenacts stories played on an audio tape cassette deck built into its back. While the character itself was created by Ken Forsse, the talking toy was designed and built by Forsse’s Alchemy II, Inc. employees, including Larry Larsen and John Davies. Later versions have a digital cartridge in place of a cassette.
The BackPack Toys version of Teddy Ruxpin, released in 2006 | |
| Type | Teddy Bear |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Ken Forsse |
| Company | Worlds of Wonder (1985–1990) Hasbro (1991–1996) Yes! Entertainment (1998–1999) BackPack Toys (2005–2010) Wicked Cool Toys (2017–2019) |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1985–2019 |
| Slogan | The World's First Animated Talking Toy |
At the peak of its popularity, Teddy Ruxpin became the best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986. The 2006 version was awarded the 2006 Animated Interactive Plush Toy of the Year award by Creative Child Magazine. A cartoon based on the characters debuted in 1986. Teddy's extreme popularity in 1986 buoyed the controversial launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System, also distributed by Worlds of Wonder.