Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Teddy Ruxpin shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Teddy Ruxpin offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Teddy Ruxpin at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Teddy Ruxpin? Wrong! If the Teddy Ruxpin is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Teddy Ruxpin then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Teddy Ruxpin? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Teddy Ruxpin and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Teddy Ruxpin wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Teddy Ruxpin then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Teddy Ruxpin site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Teddy Ruxpin, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Teddy Ruxpin, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Teddy Ruxpin is a bear-like character created by
Ken Forsse. In the early 1980's, an animatronic talking bear was created for the character by Forsse, Larry Larsen and John Davies. He was first produced in 1985 by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder (toy company). Teddy would move his mouth and eyes as he read stories via a standard
audio tape deck built into his back. There was also a companion toy named Grubby which connected to Teddy via a cable; this allowed the two some (minimal) interaction. As well, there were several other non-animatronic companion toys and characters such as the bird-like Fobs, a hand puppet with a sock-like, extendable neck.
Despite the success of Teddy Ruxpin, WoW filed for bankruptcy in 1988 in the wake of the Black Monday (1987). The toy line was sold to
Playskool, which produced it from the late 1980s to 1996 using the redesign that had been implemented by WoW. This Teddy Ruxpin was smaller and used special cartridges instead of
cassette tapes. Unfortunately, this cartridge system proved to be easily damaged.
In 1998,
Yes! Entertainment brought Teddy Ruxpin back to stores for a third time. The toy's size was the same as the Playskool version, and Yes! Entertainment returned to using the standard cassette tape. This venture was short-lived, however, as Yes! Entertainment's corporate management and financial troubles ultimately resulted in AlchemyII withdrawing the licensing for Teddy.
In 2005 Backpack Toys announced a fourth version of Teddy Ruxpin, which replaces the audio tapes with
cartridge (electronics). Teddy is currently available via retailers and online retail channels.
Voice Actors
Teddy Ruxpin is voiced by Phil Baron who left the entertainment industry in the 1990s to become a Cantor. Baron is currently the only voice actor officially associated with the property as (so far) Teddy Ruxpin has been the only character in the storyline that required updated voice recordings for new projects. Will Ryan voiced Grubby in the 1980s and returned as Grubby in the early 1990s for a musical project. The late
Tony Pope was the original voice of Newton Gimmick. Pope, as well as other voice actors who provided voice talent for AlchemyII in the 1980s, did not reprise their roles in the television series
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin because production moved to Canada. Baron and Ryan have provided the voices of Teddy and Grubby respectively in every Teddy Ruxpin incarnation and project since 1985. Ryan also voiced the character of Tweeg in the adventure series but was replaced by John Koensgen for the television series.
How Teddy Ruxpin talks
A normal (non-Teddy) cassette tape is designed for stereo playback with two distinct tracks on each side for the left and right speakers. In contrast, a Teddy Ruxpin cassette uses the two tracks differently: the left track contains the audio, while the right track encodes the toy's movements. A special hole in the top of the cassette tells the teddy bear that the right track contains movement data. This hole is similar to a standard cassette's
write protection notch, but closer to the center. If the notch is not present, the player assumes that a normal cassette is being played, and avoids interpreting the right track as movements (which would cause the bear to malfunction, as it is not designed to translate the audio levels in a standard
audio book into jaw movements). Normal stereo tape decks use this notch to detect a high bias cassette.
Teddy Ruxpin movement data is encoded as a series of rapid pulse groups known as
Pulse-position modulation. The data track contains continuous groups of nine pulses separated by silence. The spacing between pulses varies, and the length of each space determines the following characteristics (each of which is assigned to one of the "time slots" between two of the pulses): position of Teddy's eyes, upper jaw, lower jaw, and (if Grubby is attached) the position of Grubby's eyes, upper jaw and lower jaw. If the cassette is played in a normal cassette player, one would hear both the program recorded on it, as well as a buzzing noise - this "buzzing" is the pulse-position modulation.
One of the slots is also assigned as a switch to route the audio through Grubby instead of Teddy, and is activated during Grubby's parts of the dialogue. If Grubby is not attached, then the audio plays through Teddy.
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
"The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" was a television series that ran from 1987-1988.
Teddy Ruxpin leaves his homeland in Rillonia with his friend Grubby in search of adventure. They meet up with an inventor named Newton Gimmick who accompanies them on their quest for the Treasure of Grundo. What the trio unexpectedly find are six crystals with different meanings and powers. These crystals, however, also can enable the Monsters and Villains Organization (MAVO) to have absolute power over the land, and their leader, Quellor, wants to make sure that an Illiop never possesses the crystals. Elsewhere, a less pronounced threat also routinely besieges the trio, the wannabe villain Jack W. Tweeg, a greedy troll/grunge who has his eyes on joining MAVO. The sixty five episode series unfolds gradually as the Trio meet interesting and often friendly creatures while visiting intriguing lands and going on wondrous, yet wholesome, adventures.
References in other media
- In the episode of "Urban Legends: origins" the supposed "origin" of the bear is told in an entertaining ghost story fashion.
- During some of the pirate sequences of earlier episodes of the TV show Meltdown (show), a Teddy Ruxpin can be seen among Hubbard's belongings. Teddy Ruxpin is also parodied in an unrelated story arc in the episode "Analog Cabin," in which various bizarre demo (music) tapes are fed into a Teddy Ruxpin-type toy, causing it to run amok. Later, a tape of the show's theme music causes the toy to self-destruct. The technology of the actual Teddy Ruxpin was somewhat sidestepped, as (presumably for comedic purposes) the facial features of the toy responded to regular audio cassettes.
- Teddy Ruxpin is referenced in the song 100% Dundee by Philadelphia based hip-hop outfit The Roots.
- Teddy Ruxpin is referenced in the song "It's Ok, But Just This Once" by Gym Class Heroes
- In a 1987 episode of Mama's Family, Mama character refers to her neighbor's stuffed talking cat as "Kitty Ruxpin"
- An episode of Robot Chicken features David Letterman doing a Top 10 "things you'd never hear from Eddy Buttskins", accompanied with a similar talking teddy bear.
- The bear is referred to in Penny Arcade (webcomic)'s June 14, 2002, July 4, 2007, and July 6, 2007 comic strips.
- The Song "Skinned Knees and Gapped Teeth" from the band Dear and the Headlights talks about children making their Teddy Ruxpin sing along to Guns N' Roses.
- In the one episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Carlton said "Have you been undressing my Teddy Ruxpin again?".
References
External links
- The OFFICIAL Teddy Ruxpin site
- The UNofficial Teddy Ruxpin Frequently Asked Questions website - The oldest Teddy Ruxpin fan website
- Teddy Ruxpin Online
- First National Pictures
Teddy Ruxpin is a bear-like character created by Ken Forsse. In the early 1980's, an animatronic talking bear was created for the character by Forsse, Larry Larsen and John Davies. He was first produced in
1985 by toy manufacturer
Worlds of Wonder (toy company). Teddy would move his mouth and eyes as he read stories via a standard audio tape deck built into his back. There was also a companion toy named Grubby which connected to Teddy via a cable; this allowed the two some (minimal) interaction. As well, there were several other non-animatronic companion toys and characters such as the bird-like Fobs, a hand puppet with a sock-like, extendable neck.
Despite the success of Teddy Ruxpin, WoW filed for bankruptcy in 1988 in the wake of the
Black Monday (1987). The toy line was sold to Playskool, which produced it from the late 1980s to 1996 using the redesign that had been implemented by WoW. This Teddy Ruxpin was smaller and used special cartridges instead of cassette tapes. Unfortunately, this cartridge system proved to be easily damaged.
In 1998,
Yes! Entertainment brought Teddy Ruxpin back to stores for a third time. The toy's size was the same as the Playskool version, and Yes! Entertainment returned to using the standard cassette tape. This venture was short-lived, however, as Yes! Entertainment's corporate management and financial troubles ultimately resulted in AlchemyII withdrawing the licensing for Teddy.
In 2005 Backpack Toys announced a fourth version of Teddy Ruxpin, which replaces the audio tapes with cartridge (electronics). Teddy is currently available via retailers and online retail channels.
Voice Actors
Teddy Ruxpin is voiced by Phil Baron who left the entertainment industry in the 1990s to become a Cantor. Baron is currently the only voice actor officially associated with the property as (so far) Teddy Ruxpin has been the only character in the storyline that required updated voice recordings for new projects. Will Ryan voiced Grubby in the 1980s and returned as Grubby in the early 1990s for a musical project. The late Tony Pope was the original voice of Newton Gimmick. Pope, as well as other voice actors who provided voice talent for AlchemyII in the 1980s, did not reprise their roles in the television series
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin because production moved to Canada. Baron and Ryan have provided the voices of Teddy and Grubby respectively in every Teddy Ruxpin incarnation and project since 1985. Ryan also voiced the character of Tweeg in the adventure series but was replaced by
John Koensgen for the television series.
How Teddy Ruxpin talks
A normal (non-Teddy) cassette tape is designed for stereo playback with two distinct tracks on each side for the left and right speakers. In contrast, a Teddy Ruxpin cassette uses the two tracks differently: the left track contains the audio, while the right track encodes the toy's movements. A special hole in the top of the cassette tells the teddy bear that the right track contains movement data. This hole is similar to a standard cassette's write protection notch, but closer to the center. If the notch is not present, the player assumes that a normal cassette is being played, and avoids interpreting the right track as movements (which would cause the bear to malfunction, as it is not designed to translate the audio levels in a standard audio book into jaw movements). Normal stereo tape decks use this notch to detect a high bias cassette.
Teddy Ruxpin movement data is encoded as a series of rapid pulse groups known as Pulse-position modulation. The data track contains continuous groups of nine pulses separated by silence. The spacing between pulses varies, and the length of each space determines the following characteristics (each of which is assigned to one of the "time slots" between two of the pulses): position of Teddy's eyes, upper jaw, lower jaw, and (if Grubby is attached) the position of Grubby's eyes, upper jaw and lower jaw. If the cassette is played in a normal cassette player, one would hear both the program recorded on it, as well as a buzzing noise - this "buzzing" is the pulse-position modulation.
One of the slots is also assigned as a switch to route the audio through Grubby instead of Teddy, and is activated during Grubby's parts of the dialogue. If Grubby is not attached, then the audio plays through Teddy.
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
"The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" was a television series that ran from 1987-1988.
Teddy Ruxpin leaves his homeland in Rillonia with his friend Grubby in search of adventure. They meet up with an inventor named Newton Gimmick who accompanies them on their quest for the Treasure of Grundo. What the trio unexpectedly find are six crystals with different meanings and powers. These crystals, however, also can enable the Monsters and Villains Organization (MAVO) to have absolute power over the land, and their leader, Quellor, wants to make sure that an Illiop never possesses the crystals. Elsewhere, a less pronounced threat also routinely besieges the trio, the wannabe villain Jack W. Tweeg, a greedy troll/grunge who has his eyes on joining MAVO. The sixty five episode series unfolds gradually as the Trio meet interesting and often friendly creatures while visiting intriguing lands and going on wondrous, yet wholesome, adventures.
References in other media
- In the episode of "Urban Legends: origins" the supposed "origin" of the bear is told in an entertaining ghost story fashion.
- During some of the pirate sequences of earlier episodes of the TV show Meltdown (show), a Teddy Ruxpin can be seen among Hubbard's belongings. Teddy Ruxpin is also parodied in an unrelated story arc in the episode "Analog Cabin," in which various bizarre demo (music) tapes are fed into a Teddy Ruxpin-type toy, causing it to run amok. Later, a tape of the show's theme music causes the toy to self-destruct. The technology of the actual Teddy Ruxpin was somewhat sidestepped, as (presumably for comedic purposes) the facial features of the toy responded to regular audio cassettes.
- Teddy Ruxpin is referenced in the song 100% Dundee by Philadelphia based hip-hop outfit The Roots.
- Teddy Ruxpin is referenced in the song "It's Ok, But Just This Once" by Gym Class Heroes
- In a 1987 episode of Mama's Family, Mama character refers to her neighbor's stuffed talking cat as "Kitty Ruxpin"
- An episode of Robot Chicken features David Letterman doing a Top 10 "things you'd never hear from Eddy Buttskins", accompanied with a similar talking teddy bear.
- The bear is referred to in Penny Arcade (webcomic)'s June 14, 2002, July 4, 2007, and July 6, 2007 comic strips.
- The Song "Skinned Knees and Gapped Teeth" from the band Dear and the Headlights talks about children making their Teddy Ruxpin sing along to Guns N' Roses.
References
External links
- The OFFICIAL Teddy Ruxpin site
- The UNofficial Teddy Ruxpin Frequently Asked Questions website - The oldest Teddy Ruxpin fan website
- Teddy Ruxpin Online
- First National Pictures
Teddy Ruxpin
The new Teddy is back! Buy now or sign up for the Teddy Ruxpin newsletter. ... Meet Teddy Ruxpin. 20 years ago Teddy Ruxpin won the hearts of millions of children, parents, and ...
Teddy Ruxpin - About Teddy
The new Teddy is back! Buy now or sign up for the Teddy Ruxpin newsletter. ... About Teddy. 20 years ago Teddy Ruxpin won the hearts of millions of children, parents, and ...
Teddy Ruxpin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teddy Ruxpin is an animatronic talking bear which was created by Ken Forsse with later assistance by Larry Larsen and John Davies. He was first produced in 1985 by toy manufacturer ...
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin is an animated television series based on the Teddy Ruxpin animatronic teddy bear created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of ...
YouTube - 80s Commercials - Teddy Ruxpin
Rate: 79 ratings. Sign in to rate. Views: 106,861. Share: Favorite: Playlists: Flag: MySpace. Facebook. Digg. more share options. fewer share options. This video will appear on ...
Teddy Ruxpin - 80s cartoons
Teddy Ruxpin 80's cartoons. Watch Teddy Ruxpin video's, listen to sounds and more! ... 11th September 2008 Bristol band cLuMsY have launched their free to download tv theme tune ...
Teddy Ruxpin Merchandise Store - Teddy Ruxpin Gifts & Products Shop
Teddy Ruxpin Merchandise Store - Best selection Teddy Ruxpin dolls and program cartridges at the Official Store for Teddy Ruxpin gifts and products
Penny Arcade! - The Reimagining
Equal parts comics and commentary, Penny Arcade features Tycho and Gabe, the alter egos of creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Read about the antics and thoughts of the Penny ...
Teddy Ruxpin Online Forums - Home
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Teddy Ruxpin Online
Fan resource featuring interviews with the cartoons creators, an image gallery, song lyrics, articles and trivia.
