Teddy's *Other* Other Outfit

[Deleted]

Recently, when retrobear posted a link to a British Teddy Ruxpin TV advertisement on YouTube, I noticed that one of the suggested related videos was one by blueoctopede, showcasing the French version of The Airship, as told by a French PlaySkool Teddy II.

It turns out that Teddy Ruxpin had another alternative "main" outfit, way before Yes! Entertainment implemented the red-shirt-with-blue-trousers version!

He's still got the red shorts and shirt, but instead of his usual tan tunic, he's wearing a fairy-tale-esque teal/green coloured tunic with a large, fancy, and also fairy-tale-esque, yellow collar hanging down, with two matching yellow buttons on a red panel just below the middle of that.

Here's a screen-grab;



According to a comment on the video, this outfit seems to have been the one used for PlaySkool's Teddy II (I couldn't find out if it also applied to late-WoW's Teddy II) in both France and Germany.

I didn't even know about this until I saw this video, especially since on the rare occasions that I've seen French Teddy II books, they have the same illustrations (and thus, depict Teddy wearing the same outfit) as the English-language releases. That said, the French Teddy II books I've seen may have been late-WoW ones, and not PlaySkool ones, so whether or not the illustrations were changed is possibly something yet to be discovered.

Pretty neat, isn't it?

[kaylathehedgehog]

Hee! I saw that video not too long ago.

He actually looks really cute it that outfit. Too bad his French voice is just a little too low-pitched for me.

[Panda Ruxpin]

Oh wow! His tan tunic will always be "the" outfit for him, imho, but this one is a nice variant. I do like it much better than the Yes one.

[Deleted]

Mar 5, 2013 22:24:02 GMT -7 kaylathehedgehog said:

He actually looks really cute it that outfit. Too bad his French voice is just a little too low-pitched for me.

Yes! He does! ;D

And, agreed, I do think his French voice is just a little too low for my liking, too.

Mar 6, 2013 6:00:10 GMT -7 Panda Ruxpin said:

Oh wow! His tan tunic will always be "the" outfit for him, imho, but this one is a nice variant. I do like it much better than the Yes one.

Agreed, agreed!

Though, I'm one of those folks who thinks that the Yes! outfit is kind of neat, too. It's the novelty of it - I don't agree with the change to it as his primary outfit for that era, but if viewed simply as a different outfit in the vein of the ones that could be purchased for Teddy I back in that era, I quite like it.

[Deleted]

There were a couple of books, usually ones where they were taking hikes in Woodley Bog or Boggley Woods, or when the season was different, where Teddy wore something other than his tan and red tunic and shorts outfit. Like in "The Mushroom Forest", "Lost in Boggley Woods", and "The Sign of a Friend" where he wears that green outfit, and in "Wooly & the Giant Snowzos" where he wears that sky blue outfit under his winter coat.

[Deleted]

Sorry guys but my fav outfit is the yes entertainment outfit. I grew up with that version of Teddy, i got it when i was 4,so that's why I like that outfit. That was the first way I saw him. I remember the time my grandmother got me a Teddy Ruxpin DVD called the journey begins I thought the outfit he was wearing was weird. But then I got a worlds of wonder teddy and grubby when I was seven and ever since then I've gotten used to the tunic. Both outfits are normal but the yes Teddy will always have a special place in my heart though.

[TRO Admin]

I'm glad the Yes! version has a fan! He needs one! just joking.

I think we're all fans of that version - and any version - because it's Teddy. I hope nobody feels like their favorite isn't up to par with the others. I think what we're disappointed in is missed opportunities by the company that produced it.

[Deleted]

I must admit, it baffled me when I first saw expressions of distaste about the Yes! version's default outfit... I guess that some folks out there must use the outfit as a scapegoat for their disappointment with how the company handled the series.

[Panda Ruxpin]

Oh, I agree. I don't hate the Yes! outfit. And I totally understand that anyone who grew up with that Teddy would prefer that outfit. Nothing wrong with that! :-D

[kaylathehedgehog]

I thought the Yes! outfit was rather cute as well. Besides, it was the late 1990s; that was the fashion back then.

[TRO Admin]

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to the outfit.... It was changed at Yes!'s insistence because they thought it would appeal more to children. They also glued red shirts over some of the original WoW artwork for use in the updated books... wish they would have just hired an artist or got a really good document photographer so they could have skipped the glue.

You have all convinced me to take a lighter tone with regards to Yes! though. I never want anyone to feel like I'm bashing their very treasured memories of how they got hooked on our favorite Illiop, even though that was never my intentions.

One thing I loved about the Yes! version was Phil Baron's new recordings for the VHS "TV Pack".

[Deleted]

Me too. The video pack rocked. I still have my old one and a couple videos.

[Deleted]

Is there anything out there - like, footage or audio clips - from the TV Pack?

I only know that it was based on the same technology originally used for Smarty Bear, and later TV Teddy, and whilst I've seen TV Teddy in action on YouTube (only in videos of his old TV ad, though), I'm much more curious about what Teddy Ruxpin has to say about what's on TV.

[Deleted]

Yes there is from Lachlant1984 on YouTube but not very much though. However I could tell you guys what it's like if your interested. I have mine still and three videos for it. I have The Treasure of Grundo,Escape from the Treacherous Mountains,and Grubby's Romance

[Deleted]

I'm very interested - please do tell!

And thanks for the heads-up - I'll go and look those up shortly.