| The center of the
universe in the World of Teddy Ruxpin is of course the illiop
himself. A genuine, good-natured, imaginative wholesome
character created brilliantly by Ken Forsse, and brought to life by
the voice of Phil Baron, Teddy Ruxpin became the best selling toy of
1985 and 1986, but to those of us who he befriended, he became so
much more.
Teddy's
adventures began when he found an old treasure map and half of a
mysterious medallion. Hoping to unlock the mystery of the map and
the medallion, he began an adventure to the far away land of Grundo,
along with his loyal sidekick Grubby. When they arrived in Grundo,
Teddy and Grubby quickly befriended inventor Newton Gimmick, who
became an instant asset and ally in their search for the treasure.
Teddy, Grubby and Gimmick's adventures would embed lifelong lessons
into an impressional young person (like I was back in the 1980's)
Perhaps the most important of which was subtly taught in every story
and every episode- the value of friendship. Teddy guided the way,
becoming the glue that held several different kinds of personalities
together to reach a common goal. Teddy also taught by example that
sometimes there are things more important than treasure, such as
defending your friends and doing the right thing. He taught these
lessons without being preachy or boring, and also without ever
"selling out."
Following
uncovering them at the Hard to Find City, Teddy became a guardian of
the mysterious Crystals, which held magical powers. Teddy had an
unwavering determination to keep the Crystals from ever being used
for anything but good, and he couldn't be bribed, threatened or
frightened to do otherwise. If we only had politicians more like
Teddy!
Teddy's
character was one of only a handfull that almost constantly stuck to
his original principles and mold throughout the Television series.
When MAVO gets ahold of the Crystals, causing darkness to fall
across the land, Teddy is the one holding his feuding friends
together through the dark storm that follows. He binds everyone
together to accomplish a common goal- getting the Crystals back and
restoring goodness to the world- even when the people he has to band
together are sick from the storm and fighting.... once again, too
bad Teddy isn't a politician.
Teddy was quite
simply the reason for the story, a toy sensation that, instead of
fading away into history with the changing of a fad, endeared
himself to generations of fans, young and old, who were captivated
by his magic, his personality, his purity and his imagination.
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