Idea for a new TR cartoon.

[korbendallas]

Since He-Man, Ninja Turtles and Transformers had some good revival cartoons in recent memory, i think it's time for a new Teddy Ruxpin cartoon.

I think Cartoon Network would be the best place for it with the show's creator Ken Forsee can be producer of the show and can be 2D animated with a semi-anime esque feel to it.

This could be a nice "Batman Begins" and 2002 "He-Man" style reboot with more history of the character and his adventures. Some new and old characters including foxy Karen with a possible girlfriend for our hero including some new villains.

My ideal voice cast and some guest voices:

Teddy: Cam Clarke (Leonardo on "Ninja Turtles", Adam/He-Man in the new He-Man cartoon and Keneda in the original late 80's dub of "Akira") or Billy West (Stimpy on Ren and Stimpy and Fry from Futurama).

Grubby: Dan Castelana (Voice of Homer Simpson and Genie in the 90's Aladdin Series).

Tweeg: Mark Hamil.

Gimmick: Wilford Brimley ("The Thing", "Our House", "Cocoon", Those Quaker Oatmeal commercials/Diabeetus commercials and "The Firm").

Prince Aaron: Tom Kenny.

Illena Ruxpin (Teddy's mom): Jamie Lee Curtis.

Burl Ruxpin: Tom Atkins (Detective Cameron from "Night of the Creeps", "Halloween III Season of the Witch", "Escape from New York", "The 1980 Fog", "Maniac Cop", "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and "Creepshow").

Wooly: Tommy Chong.

Princess Azuria: Yeardly Smith (Lisa Simpson).

Louie: Eddie Deezen (Eugene in "Grease" and Mandark on "Dexter's Lab").

Elroy Tweeg: Richard Romanus (Weehawk from "Wizards", Harry Canyon from "Heavy Metal" and Vinnie from "Hey Good Lookin'" including some episodes of The Sopranos).

The Wizard of Wee-Gee (Maurice Labuanne who did Brain in Pinky and The Brain and Egon in Real Ghostusters).

Quellor: James Earl Jones.

[TRO Admin]

Interesting idea. If we ever see another Teddy production, my best bet would it being a full-length movie rather than a series. They just aren't making too many series anymore, and I think they would want to change too many things, or dumb it down to reach their "target" audience. (Notice how many of us were that same demographic in 1987 and loved the show despite it being allowed to be imaginative and entertaining as well as educational)

The movie could be animated or pixar-style, direct to video or theatric, but If it ever happens I think that's how it will go down. I know if I ever win the powerball it will be back for sure.

The cast list is interesting, some good choices there. There will definitely be primarily new voice actors should a new production come to fruition. There is no Teddy other than Phil Baron, however, so I must disagree there. I particularly like the choices of Eddie Deezen and Dan C. from The Simpsons, although I would still hope Will Ryan and the surviving Gimmick voice actor, John Stocker, would return for those characters. Will Ryan can also do Tweeg so I would pencil him in there as well. That cast would probably only be affordable should the movie be big budget and theatrically released.

Someday, a long time from now, if hope seems to have faded completely for any new stories, I hope we can get together as a group and create something new for our kids (or maybe even our grandkids by then, hope springs eternal)

[korbendallas]

Well too bad Phil Baron has retired and i think there should be a new Teddy as much as a new Freddy Krueger besides Englund.

[TRO Admin]

Phil still does Teddy's voice. I don't agree with a "new" Teddy... if it aint broke, don't fix it

[korbendallas]

What about Jackie Earl Haley (From "Watchmen") as Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare on Elm Street? he is gonna be Robert Englund's replacement.

[TRO Admin]

I think with live action movies it's a different element... age plays a factor there where it doesn't in voiceover acting. and Phil was in his 30's when Teddy came out so growing how ever old won't affect Teddy's voice, thank goodness.

[Fen]

I am in agreement with Josh here. I did not like the "remakes" of He-Man or TMNT as much as the originals. However, I did like the updated animation for them. I felt like the budget was spent on that instead of writing a good story. It's a delicate balance these days, and with the competition against the likes of Bakugan, Naruto, and other anime on the market getting a western style animation series up and off the ground is no easy task.

As far as I can recall, the only animation series that seem to survive year after year are those that are either a) super cheesy with a plethora of lewd humor such as Spongebob and Flapjack b)pop culture comedy such as Family Guy our Southpark that poke satiric jabs at western cultural trends or c)epic anime such as Naruto or Dragonball Z where there is a massive story with a spiderweb of subplots and characters that keep the viewers coming back. Not to mention the amazing animation styles.

Gargoyles
Batman
Xmen

All of these had great stories, amazing animation, and interesting characters. Yet all of them had the plug pulled after season 2 by the networks because the ratings dropped. When the ratings drop the money from the advertising drops. When that happens the advertisers pull out and the show gets cancelled, because there is not enough viewers watching to justify carrying it on. Sure networks can advertise and run a huge media campaign in attempt to grab more viewers, but unless people sit down and turn on their tv to watch a show, it is pointless.

The death of a TV show is simply down to ratings.

If the ratings drop, no matter how great the show is, the show gets cancelled.

I would love to see Teddy Ruxpin revived, but I agree with Josh, it is more feasable to see it return as a tv film like the old ABC specials. I would love for Dreamworks or even Pixar to do the animation, yet I would also want to stay true to the original 2D design using 3D animation to render the landscape and vehicles.

Storywise it would be amazing to have a sort of "Return to Grundo" where it picks up from the final episode of the TV series and answers the questions about why the Gutangs and Illiops fought each other. How the Illipers and Perloons arrived in Grundo as well as touch on the "Treasure of Grundo" for the new generation.

I would like for John Lasseter to work with Ken Forsse as I appreciate his ability to bring "heart" into his work.

It would also be v good to have as much of the original cast work on the project as well as provide lots of extras on the DVD release. Something that was sadly lacking from the current DVD's.

[korbendallas]

Well you gotta admit my ideal casting is solid! but wait... i just thought of Roger Bumpass (Squidward from Spongebob) as LB, Mike Judge as the Grunge Leader and maybe Doug Bradley (Pinhead from the Hellraiser saga) as Quellor's voice.

[Deleted]

I have to agree with Josh that there is no other Teddy besides Mr. Baron. His voice is iconic and synonymous (or harmonous?) to that character. Remember, that before Teddy was a TV star, he was a talking toy. The voice was vital to selling that product, and it was a perfect fit. Everyone remembers the first time they heard, "Hi, my name is Teddy Ruxpin. Can you and I be friends?" Tampering with a voice like that is equivalent to dressing Super Mario in a tuxedo, turning Sonic the Hedgehog orange, or changing the Yankees' NY logo to pink. It is iconic, it is the life of the character. While I can appreciate the idea of reviving the series in a new format, I'm not sure changing Teddy's voice will help so much as hinder the product.

I have to agree with Josh and cassiagwenllian. I think Pixar would be a perfect fit for a Teddy movie. While it may seem odd to betray Teddy's 2-D roots, I think if we wanted to bring him back in a contemporary way, 3-D computer animation is the way to go. I'm not a big proponent of DreamWorks, as I tend to think most of their movies boil down to a plot loosely based around as many pop-culture references as they can manage in 90 minutes. John Lasseter, as cassiagwenllian mentioned, has a real knack for injecting the "human" quality into his films that allow us to connect with the characters in ways that few storytellers understand anymore. I think the best comparisons for Teddy ala Pixar would be Toy Story and Wall-E. Toy Story had a great, fun, goofy sort of feel that let it appeal to a young audience, but the subject matter is universal across all demographics. Wall-E had a great soul to the film, and I think THAT is what separates Teddy Ruxpin from the others in his genre. Put those two elements together, and you have a great story.

I agree that there are questions that need to be answered, as Teddy himself gives us a proverbial mission statement in the closing of "The Mystery Unravels". Teddy sets off back to Grundo in search of other Illiops who survived the siege of the Hard-to-Find City, he is off to regain the 7th Crystal from Quellor, and he vows to return all seven Crystals to the Pavillion in the Hard-to-Find City, which, I've always imagined, is the key to answering all these questions.

Some great stuff here, and I feel so inspired to be talking with fans who have the same passion for these stories as I do.

[tdickensheets]

I can do the voice of Grubby.

[korbendallas]

Sony CGI animation can do this movie or maybe Robert Zemecksis who did two superb CGI movies like Beowulf and A Christmas Carol can do this.

[Fen]

To be honest, Beowulf was a failure in the theaters, and although it had relatively good CGI (and I say that between my teeth because the horses on Beowulf were animated HORRIBLY), it seemed like the budget was cut on the film before it had a chance to be completed. The advantage of Pixar is their long running record of producing quality family entertainment and animation. Even before they were owned by D!sney, Pixar stood alone as a company that brought not just innovative animation but also clever stories. They will not take a project on unless they know it is worth spending the time and effort to make it perfect.

I don't think Robert Zemeckis fits the bill. Technically he's good, he understands how to use motion capture technology, how to create better animation than Beowulf or even Polar Express, yet story wise his shots lack the "heart" that Lasseter has perfected. To quote a review of "Disney's A Christmas Carol" (which is wrong in that Disney did not write it... but what the heck... Disney gets away with murder these days)

_{"Watching this picture, one can't help but pine for the Mr. Zemeckis of old, the Spielberg protege who directed the "Back to the Future" series and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and won an Oscar for "Forrest Gump." Perhaps it's time for the ghosts of cinema past, present and future to pay him a visit to impart the lesson that brilliant original stories matter far more to audiences than special effects." - Sonny Bunch "Washington Times"}

I think for the Teddy Ruxpin film to be decent it has to stay true to the story, it has to have a pure cast that have no real history in movies. It has to have a director who understands the emotions of the story better than just the technical aspects. It needs a cast that isn't "type cast" already.

If not Lasseter, perhaps Spike Jonze would fit the bill better.

[TRO Admin]

I agree with cassiagwenllian here.

Zemeckis' last couple features have disappointed me. I am a big Cast Away/Forrest Gump fan and I think those are his best pieces of work. Back To The Future is enjoyable too if a little dated.

Pixar would be the best house to produce the film if it were a theatrical release. More than likely it will be a direct to DVD deal, which I think will actually be a better option. With a lower budget the creative people always have more input than the business people... and business people, as I know working in that world, aren't the right kind of people to weave anything fun, creative or imaginative.

[kaylathehedgehog]

Mmm, if Pixar did produce a CGI Teddy production, the franchise would in some sense come full circle.

IIRC, didn't Mr. Forsse (?) work as a Disney imagineer before he created Teddy?

[TRO Admin]

Kayla, you are quite correct.