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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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