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Post by retrobear on Mar 31, 2012 20:11:24 GMT -7
I believe we have a classic Cartoon Network here or else they air classic programs at certain times of the day. Dang, I wish we could put a bug in the right person's ear to get them to add Teddy to the lineup.
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Post by TRO Admin on Mar 31, 2012 20:14:28 GMT -7
As much as I would like to see another Teddy released - I'd only like to see it done if it's done properly, which in this current climate would be difficult. I don't say this to discourage anyone - only as a plainly stated fact.
The toy will always be close to our hearts - especially those of us who were lucky enough to have one during our childhood or, in some other cases, a rough time during adulthood when Teddy brought in some much needed light. I believe it could be all of this for a new generation as well, but only if it's done properly. The Yes! version was poorly designed, executed and marketed and clearly failed in that mission. The BackPack version suffered from the decline of the economy and lack of marketing. While I'm glad these versions happened - hopefully to bridge the gap between the WoW version and the real 'second coming' of Teddy the toy that would happen with a new manufacturer that has the necessary resources to do it right from top to bottom - if companies continue to over-saturate the market with new versions which don't quite take off, it only hurts the viability of the property in the long run. I certainly hope Teddy comes back to Toy Stores - but I'm willing to wait for the right circumstance, where Teddy will officially be introduced to a new generation of kids and adults.
That leaves us with the storyline, which needs to be continued. All of us are hungry for Teddy's next adventure. I believe the best way to move the story forward in this economy and digital age is by a visual medium. Television or the big screen being the favored choices. Ken has written a wonderful treatment for a new film or TV production that blends Teddy's classic formula of friendship, humor, and adventure.
I wouldn't read too much into the statement on the DVD packaging about Teddy the toy being available. As I said before, this was partly due to the fact that this release has been in the works for awhile. Things slip by editorial reviews, especially things that are still technically true - There are some remaining BackPack Teddies still available at different outlets. It could also be the product of someone who was simply misinformed.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2012 20:18:04 GMT -7
You mean Mr. Forsse has actually written a treatment for a Teddy movie/tv project? Has he started taking it around to studios yet, if you know?
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Post by TRO Admin on Mar 31, 2012 20:24:23 GMT -7
Yes - it's been seen by some folks
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2012 20:27:51 GMT -7
That's really great. I'm glad that he wrote the treatment, because, honestly, I can't imagine any Teddy project, whether it's a storyline for a new toy, a treatment for a movie or a new tv show, being written by anyone but Ken Forsse. Obviously other writers wrote the episodes for the tv show, but Mr. Forsse set the stage for the show and wrote the first five episodes (The Airship, Missing Princess arc). So if his treatment gets developed and produced then it'll feel like Teddy Ruxpin for me.
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Post by TRO Admin on Mar 31, 2012 20:33:55 GMT -7
I agree. Although other writers will no doubt be involved, it's good to know the basis of the story comes from none other than Teddy's Dad
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Post by lachlant1984 on Apr 1, 2012 3:29:22 GMT -7
In Canada we have Teletoon Retro, which airs classic cartoons from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Teletoon is basically the Canadian version of the Cartoon Network. We have Cartoon Network here in Australia too, I assume it's the same as the American version. My best friend who's also a Teddy Ruxpin fan and likes the cartoon more than I do has Foxtel I think, or at least his family did, he's never told me that Cartoon Network broadcast episodes of Teddy Ruxpin, so that leads me to believe they do not.
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Post by lachlant1984 on Apr 1, 2012 3:42:38 GMT -7
As much as I would like to see another Teddy released - I'd only like to see it done if it's done properly, which in this current climate would be difficult. I don't say this to discourage anyone - only as a plainly stated fact. The toy will always be close to our hearts - especially those of us who were lucky enough to have one during our childhood or, in some other cases, a rough time during adulthood when Teddy brought in some much needed light. I believe it could be all of this for a new generation as well, but only if it's done properly. The Yes! version was poorly designed, executed and marketed and clearly failed in that mission. The BackPack version suffered from the decline of the economy and lack of marketing. While I'm glad these versions happened - hopefully to bridge the gap between the WoW version and the real 'second coming' of Teddy the toy that would happen with a new manufacturer that has the necessary resources to do it right from top to bottom - if companies continue to over-saturate the market with new versions which don't quite take off, it only hurts the viability of the property in the long run. I certainly hope Teddy comes back to Toy Stores - but I'm willing to wait for the right circumstance, where Teddy will officially be introduced to a new generation of kids and adults. That leaves us with the storyline, which needs to be continued. All of us are hungry for Teddy's next adventure. I believe the best way to move the story forward in this economy and digital age is by a visual medium. Television or the big screen being the favored choices. Ken has written a wonderful treatment for a new film or TV production that blends Teddy's classic formula of friendship, humor, and adventure. I wouldn't read too much into the statement on the DVD packaging about Teddy the toy being available. As I said before, this was partly due to the fact that this release has been in the works for awhile. Things slip by editorial reviews, especially things that are still technically true - There are some remaining BackPack Teddies still available at different outlets. It could also be the product of someone who was simply misinformed. That was very well said Josh and I agree with pretty much all of your points. And I see your point about the packaging for the new DVD's but do you know exactly how long this thing has been in the pipeline? I too want to see another version of Teddy Ruxpin come out, and as you say it should be done by a company with the necessary resources like say Hasbro, or Fisher-Price, or Mattel to name a few. I see your points about the DVD, but if as you say the synopsis was written by someone who was misinformed, surely people like Ken Forsse and co would step in and correct them, don't you think there's already been enough time for the synopsis to be corrected if need be, that is if the statement about Teddy Ruxpin toys still being available is untrue? OK, what you say about the BackPack Toys remaining stock of Teddy Ruxpin still being available through some outlets may be true in the US for example where Teddy Ruxpin was most popular, but just how many toy stores still carry the product? If the stuff about Teddy Ruxpin still being available is untrue then the synopsis needs editing in my opinion. Also the videos were released when the toy was around, in 1998 you had the interactive VHS tapes for Teddy Ruxpin then in 2006 you had the DVD's when the BackPack Toys Teddy Ruxpin came out, so do you see my point? I don't hate the Teddy Ruxpin cartoon, but I care far more about the toy than the cartoon, and to see these DVD's being released without an accompanying toy release is kind of sad in my opinion and very frustrating for die hard Teddy Ruxpin fans like myself, I could rant and rave about this for hours and hours and hours, but I'm not going to. I'm really hoping that something does come of this, but only time will tell now, because there's no information apart from that synopsis, and as you so rightly say, the synopsis isn't much to go on with.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2012 5:07:54 GMT -7
Yeah, right now it'd be more viable, financially to bring Teddy back to tv, or in a movie, rather than do all the production work, writing, recording, illustrating and marketing that comes with a toy like Teddy Ruxpin. Especially in such an unstable economy. Even a company with vast resources, like Hasbro, or Mattel, if they spend all that money on the development of a new Teddy Ruxpin toy and storyline, and it doesn't sell very well, that company could find itself in some financial trouble.
Though, considering that Playskool is a subsidiary of Hasbro, I think Hasbro should be the one to make the new Teddy toy if one is ever made.
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Post by lachlant1984 on Apr 1, 2012 5:24:39 GMT -7
Yeah, right now it'd be more viable, financially to bring Teddy back to tv, or in a movie, rather than do all the production work, writing, recording, illustrating and marketing that comes with a toy like Teddy Ruxpin. Especially in such an unstable economy. Even a company with vast resources, like Hasbro, or Mattel, if they spend all that money on the development of a new Teddy Ruxpin toy and storyline, and it doesn't sell very well, that company could find itself in some financial trouble. Though, considering that Playskool is a subsidiary of Hasbro, I think Hasbro should be the one to make the new Teddy toy if one is ever made. I totally see your point, but the suggestion that Teddy Ruxpin won't come back in a toy form breaks my heart like you wouldn't believe. All the writing and recording has already been done, it was all done in the 80's, I think there's enough backlog of stuff to at least make a start, but apart from that you've got some good points there. I'll stop now because I really don't want to start fighting with people about this. Bye for now guys.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2012 5:34:46 GMT -7
Trust me, you're not the only one who wants to see Teddy Ruxpin back on the toy store shelves. One more thing, using the old material would depend on how much was saved after Playskool had their time on Teddy Ruxpin. The artwork on the books were changed for Yes!, to incorporate the new tunic Teddy had, and the Backpack books were changed even more, even the dialogue, from what I've heard from The Airship on Youtube, was changed slightly, and depending how the tapes were recorded, the originals might not even exist anymore, since it's been 20 years since the Playskool Teddy came out, and things degrade over time. But, who knows, maybe we'll get something close to the originals in the future.
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Post by TRO Admin on Apr 1, 2012 6:31:40 GMT -7
@lachlant... I appreciate your passion for Teddy. I've been doing the website for almost 14 years and for most of that time Teddy's been outside of the toy store looking in. At one point we had petitions and letter writing campaigns to help bring Teddy back. So - I know the frustration of seeing the world deprived of something that deserves to make it brighter. With that being said - I feel I must not only hope for a return, but a triumphant one. Those of us who would scoop up a retread of say, the Yes! Teddy - (a version lacking in overall quality, that is) would pretty much only be the fans who are already on board. Not only would it not attract a new base - if it's not properly manufactured, marketed or designed in the spirit in which AlchemyII originally conceived it - it may do more harm than good. The reality is none of us know what will transpire. I'm only making educated guesses based on what I perceive from the market, which is that not much investing in new or reborn toy brands is happening right now - and again, I don't want to see Teddy done again without the proper investments. Please don't mistake that for cynicism or think I'm not hoping for the best. I appreciate you not wanting to fight about it - in fact we don't tolerate that here. It's a friendly community where we can debate things like this in a civilized manner. Continuing the story and introducing it in a viable way to the old audience as well as a new audience is the key outcome for me. I believe that can best be done at this point and time in movies or television. That kind of production, done properly, could very well spur someone to invest the proper time and resources into making the toy come back to it's original glory. The DVD has been in the works for awhile, it was delayed a bit for reasons I'm unaware of. They didn't place that on the DVD because there is a new toy in the works - If there were, I'd know about it. The DVD company is most likely not particularly interested in the toys as they don't have any ties with that part of the license. I'm sure it came from someone misinformed, and could have been looked over in the editing process for all sorts of reasons. I wouldn't spend any time analyzing it beyond that.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2012 10:08:30 GMT -7
I agree with Josh. Having a movie or a new tv show would most likely get people to invest time and money into a new toy version of Teddy Ruxpin. That's probably the best way to do it. I've seen other franchises that didn't have much merchandise based on the original version of it (Batman comic books, Firefly tv series, etc), but as soon as it gained a movie or a new tv show, merchandising for it went through the roof and suddenly there was a bunch of toys, books, comics, games, and clothing based on the product.
It's nice we can discuss things like this in a civilized manner. If I wanted a fight, I'd go over to the Star Trek One Yahoo! discussion board and start a Borg Queen debate. Oh boy that discussion gets real nasty sometimes. Mainly because the two most stubborn people in the group, take over the conversation and they're at the extreme end of either side, and both of them refuse to budge and concede that the other person might be right. Not something I want to see happen here.
Anyways, here's hoping we get a movie or a new tv show. Personally, I want to see a good Teddy Ruxpin animated feature film, with traditional animation, and a really good story, instead of rehashing The Airship and The Missing Princess. Maybe the movie should be that continuing adventure, from where we left off at the end of episode 65 of the tv show. Or maybe it'll go in it's own direction.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2012 14:19:01 GMT -7
Anyways, here's hoping we get a movie or a new tv show. Personally, I want to see a good Teddy Ruxpin animated feature film, with traditional animation, and a really good story, instead of rehashing The Airship and The Missing Princess. Maybe the movie should be that continuing adventure, from where we left off at the end of episode 65 of the tv show. Or maybe it'll go in it's own direction. Following on from this, what I would really like to see (and it's been on my mind for a while, now), if such a thing led to a new talking toy version, would be for the pack-in media NOT to be The Airship, but an equivalent new beginning for the new generation to enjoy, which would also function as a continuation for us "original" fans. Naturally, this would preclude reissuing the older stories*, too, but this would probably get the "revival" a better reception in the press - one criticism that got levelled at the BackPack Toys version was that it was some sort of nostalgia cash-grab, with no attention paid to how heavily-revised the accompanying stories were. *(At least at first, anyway. Perhaps later on, the original versions could be re-released for both older and newer fans, with a distinct label such as "The Original Adventures", to differentiate it from the new Adventure Series and the music packs, both old and new.) Not any easy thing to write, to be sure, but in my mind it's the best thing that could possibly be done to allow the new generation to feel that the series is also "theirs", rather than being a retread of something from before their time.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2012 14:38:14 GMT -7
That'd be cool. I like that idea. It gives fans like ourselves a continuation of the series we grew up with, but it gives the kids of today something new, rather than a retread of what's gone on before. Which is what they did with Knight Rider back in 2008, what they did with Star Trek in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and in 2009 with JJ Abrams' Star Trek movie, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2003.
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