Can you and I be friends?

[Panda Ruxpin]

Hi everyone!

New guy here. I just registered yesterday, so I figured I shouldn't wait too long before at least saying hello.

Anyway, I'm somewhat of a "new" Teddy Ruxpin fan. I remember when Teddy Ruxpin first came out in 1985. I remember thinking it was cool, but I was really into action figures and just getting into skateboarding around that time. So at the time it didn't even cross my mind to think about getting Teddy.

Well a year or so later, my younger sister and brother each got Teddy, and shortly after my sister got Grubby and my brother got the Picture Show projector. So I experienced and enjoyed "The World of Teddy Ruxpin" vicariously through them.

Also, I remember watching the live action movie when it aired on TV. In fact, we recorded it on BetaMax (lol) and we watched the heck out of it. Later, my younger brother ended up getting VHS tapes of the animated series, and I remember watching it quite often with him.

Fast forward to the modern time (a few weeks ago, actually) and my brother had been going through all his old toys and things, and came across his Teddy Ruxpin stuff. When I saw the Picture Show projector, I had a very unexpected rush of Teddy Ruxpin nostalgia that has been completely dormant in my life over the years.

So digging around the internet about Teddy Ruxpin stuff lead me here.

I have also since bought the animated series DVD set that apparently came out last year and have been watching the show. Man, what memories. I had forgotten how good the show was. The writing is really excellent. I don't think I ever appreciated the quality of it like I do now as an adult. The dynamic between Tweeg and LB is hilarious! Great stuff.

Anyway, I guess that generally sums up my story. :-P Great site here and I look forward to many fun adventures in Grundo!

[kaylathehedgehog]

Welcome aboard! Hope you enjoy your stay!

[Deleted]

Welcome aboard dude. Glad you're returning to the land of Grundo and joining Teddy and the gang on their adventures.

[Deleted]

Hi and welcome! Nice to make your acquaintance. ;D

I love your avatar, by the way - brilliant work, there.

[Panda Ruxpin]

Thank you all! It is refreshing to see that there is an active fanbase for Teddy still and I'm happy to be a part of it.

Still, I can't help but feel a little sad that the 2006 era was not so successful. I'm sure you all have discussed it all already, but until only recently, I did not even know about the Backpack release. I wish I had, though. And I really wish it weren't so difficult to get one new in package nowadays. I guess I just missed out in my lack of awareness.

It seems like there could have been so much potential, given today's technologies and with the MP3 cartridges they used. Like,for example, this seemed like the best time since the original line that they could have had a new electronic Grubby. Maybe he could have connected via USB, or even blue tooth. Maybe that was still too much to expect even back in 2006.

But I still feel (and hope) that another shot at it with the most current tech, and marketed at kids as something new (like it was to us) instead of trying to capture parents' nostalgia, could be as successful as ever.

I guess I just really hope that we haven't seen the last of our favorite Illiop and his friends...

[Deleted]

Well you never know. Maybe Teddy will return someday. You're not the only one. Until I joined this forum I didn't know about Teddy's brief revival in 2006, or his earlier 1998 version by Yes! Entertainment.

[kaylathehedgehog]

^ Very true. It took My Little Pony three do-overs before they it reached the level of popularity it had during the 80s.

Maybe Teddy will experience the same thing during his next reboot.

[Deleted]

Hey Panda Ruxpin. You know if you contact a guy called Whitney Greene online. He can actually do a customized Panda fur Teddy Ruxpin? If you'd like one I suggest you ask him. Just thought I'd tell you that if you were interested

[TRO Admin]

I need to do a better job. I'm the moderator/webmaster and I'm always the LAST one to welcome someone!

WELCOME! Thanks for your input here so far. We all look forward to more contributions here from you and getting to know you better.

I like your avatar. Any chance you can share the Teddy Ruxpin font you used for the "Panda" ?

[Panda Ruxpin]

Yes, it would be great if Teddy and his friends made a successful comeback. We can always hope!

Teddysonicfan, thanks! I'll have to check that out. That would be cool!

Hi Josh, thank you for the warm welcome! It seems like this is a really nice community, and your main page is a very good resource for all things Teddy! I read your interviews with Ken Forsse and Phil Baron, and it only made me really appreciate the world of Teddy Ruxpin even more! Such wonderful stories about how it all came to be!

Thank you (and Cyborg Illiop) for the kind words about my avatar. I had fun putting it together. :-) Unfortunately I do not have a font to match. The "Panda" part is just photoshopped using existing letters and the letter "A" is made from the "X" from Ruxpin. I was actually going to ask if anyone here had any of the proper fonts used on the original packaging. ^_^

[TRO Admin]

Great photoshop on the Panda lettering. I obviously couldn't tell it wasn't a font

I wish I could come across this font. It was WoW's font, Not AlchemyII's , and has been replaced on everything post-WoW with the classic Alchemy Teddy font, which is just as great - but it would be cool to do a few things on the site with the WoW version. I may have to contract someone someday to make one.

Thank you so much for the compliments on the site. Unfortunately I don't have the amount of time I used to have to update - but I'm hoping to marathon a bunch of work on it soon in hopes of having a "finished" product by 2014 sometime. I'm glad you found what is there useful. The interviews were conducted in my teens and early 20's, and it really felt like a giant extension of my childhood getting in contact with all these folks. It's really one of my happiest memories, so I'm thrilled to hear it when people enjoy them.

So glad you joined us, and look forward to conversing with you more!

[Deleted]

Panda - Awesome avatar. It looks really cool. And I like how you did it too.

Josh - We're here if you need reviews done. I'm actually planning on writing up reviews on all the episodes and Adventure series stories for my own amusement. So if you want to use some of them let me know.

[kaylathehedgehog]

^ What he said. I've graduated so if I need any episodes reviewed, just let me know.

[tdickensheets]

Panda Ruxpin sound like Teddy Ruxpin brother.

[Sylverwolfe]

I'll be your friend. Heck!!! I would LOVE a Panda Ruxpin to go with Teddy!!! I really like Panda bears, I have a full mascot style costume of a panda.

WOW!!! As I write this, I wanted to link to pictures of my suit. An interesting news story caught my eye relating to pandas.

news.yahoo.com/why-don-t-pandas-113100956.html

Well...That was weird!

Anyway:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=608948739765&set=t.100001800872999&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash4%2F297111_608948739765_1759006106_n.jpg&size=574%2C960