Teddy Ruxpin ( TV Series 1987 - 1988)
Plot
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin is an animated television series based on Teddy Ruxpin, an animatronic teddy bear created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder. It was produced for television syndication by DiC with Atkinson Film-Arts using many of the same voice actors used in the book-and-tape series that was made for the eponymous animatronic toy. While some of the stories used in the TV series were adapted from the books, many were original and greatly expanded upon the world established there. The series differed from traditional children's animation in that most of its 65 episodes were serialized rather than in traditional episodic form.
Characters
Main Characters
Teddy Ruxpin (voiced by Phil Baron): A young Illiop (roughly 15) whose father disappeared when he was a child. He comes to Grundo to follow a treasure map. Like other Illiops, he is kind and friendly. He loves adventure.
Grubby (voiced by Will Ryan): An Octopede about Teddy's age. They are best friends. Noted for his large appetite, he is fond of cooking and eating root stew and other foods made from roots (which usually do not taste good to most people). Though not the bravest or smartest of Teddy's friends, he always sticks by Teddy.
Newton Gimmick (John Stocker): A bald inventor with a slight stuttering problem and a broad and otherwise questionable definition of "science". He is also somewhat absent-minded. He is usually referred to simply as Gimmick.
Allies
Prince Arin (voiced by Robert Bockstael): The brave Illiper son of the king and queen of Grundo. He lives at Grundo Castle and speaks with a British-sounding accent. He first met the trio while searching for his kidnapped sister.
Princess Aruzia (voiced by Abby Hagyard): Prince Arin's younger sister who has a sweet demeanor. Though a princess, she does not mind doing work. Wooly apparently has a crush on her.
The Wooly Whatsit (voiced by Pier Kohl): A large furry purple creature who is not very bright, but very helpful and good-hearted. Later revealed to be a Snowzo. He is usually referred to simply as Wooly.
Leota (voiced by Holly Larocque): A strict but kind Woodsprite and schoolteacher. Most of her students are elves and woodsprites, but Wooly joined the class as well.
Burl Ruxpin (voiced by Phil Baron): Teddy's long-lost father. An Illiop who lost his memory a long time ago, but regained his identity toward the end of the series.
Villains
Jack W. Tweeg (voiced by John Koensgen): A Troll/Grunge hybrid and an evil wizard-wannabe who thinks he has a recipe to turn buttermilk into gold. He is very suspicious and often spies on Gimmick from his tower. He is usually referred to as simply Tweeg. Jack W. Tweeg has desperately wanted to join M.A.V.O.
L.B. (voiced by Robert Bockstael): Short for Lead Bounder, L.B. is a sarcastic Bounder who usually acts as Tweeg's henchman. L.B. does not show a particularly high degree of loyalty or intelligence, but has enough sense to know that Tweeg's schemes never work.
Quellor (voiced by Les Lye): The Supreme Oppressor of M.A.V.O. He is the main villain of the series who sees Illiops as an enemy to his master plan of regaining all six crystals to the one he has in The Black Box. With them, his darkness will reign supremely over the land of Grundo.
Species
Illiops: Brown and bear-like, with kind dispositions.
Octopedes: Orange and caterpillar-like with eight legs, each with fully-formed hands.
Perlunes: Humans who usually are professional in nature (e.g. scientist, doctor, wizard).
Illipers: The near-relatives to humans but broad-faced with flat noses, who live in a medieval type society.
Grunges: Relatives of the Illipers but jungle-dwellers with antennae in lieu of ears, who tend to be passionate about their hobbies.
Fobs: Small, furry, multicolored and penguin-like, sometimes kept as pets.
Elves: Tiny humanoids with pointy ears and shoes.
Woodsprites: Tiny humanoids with butterfly-like wings.
Snowzos: A race of large, white and yeti-like creatred who look more dangerous than they are.
Bounders: A race of red, round, two-legged and rhinoceros-like, usually sarcastic. They are said by some viewers to resemble Ripto from the Spyro the Dragon series.
Mudblups: A race of large and lumpy animated blobs of mud, dull witted and slow moving but very strong. Sensitive to bright light, since all of their lives are spent underground.
Trolls: Green, thin, and with pointed noses, for them being good means being bad.
Gutangs: Green and monkey-like who wear brown tribal owl-like armor, usually belligerent.
Anythings: Small shy creatures able to change into other objects, i.e., carrots, potatoes, other produce. They use their ability to hide. They were previously called Nothings.
The Seven Crystals of Grundo
The First Crystal (Imagination) - Shrink and Grow
The Second Crystal (Honesty) - Duplication
The Third Crystal (Trust) - Invisibility
The Fourth Crystal (Bravery) - Oxygen Generator
The Fifth Crystal (Friendship) - Speed Altering
The Sixth Crystal (Freedom) - Flight Ability
The Seventh Crystal (The Black Box) - Restore and Erase Memory
The episodes[edit] OverviewAlthough the series is mostly serialized, it is further broken down into weekly story arcs which involve visiting a different part of Grundo or exploring a major plot thread. Some story lines were taken directly from the toy's book & tape story sets, with secondary plots added to increase the running time.
Protect Yourself
When the series was originally syndicated, each episode included a short segment called "Protect Yourself" which ran after a teaser for the next episode and prior to the credits. It featured an animated Teddy Ruxpin on a live-action set, who would introduce contemporary child stars such as Jason Bateman, Brice Beckham, Tiffany Brissette, Shannen Doherty, Corey Feldman and Shalane McCall. The guest would then give young viewers advice on topics such as avoiding strangers, what to do in an emergency, how to respond to inappropriate touching, or running away. A common theme was to talk to a trusted grown up for help.
Episode List
1.The Treasure of Grundo
2.Beware of the Mudblups
3.Guests of the Grunges
4.In the Fortress of the Wizard
5.Escape from the Treacherous Mountain
6.Take a Good Look
7.Grubby's Romance
8.Tweeg's Mom
9.The Surf Grunges
10.The New M.A.V.O. Member
11.The Faded Fobs
12.The Medicine Wagon
13.Tweeg Gets the Tweezles
14.The Lemonade Stand
15.The Rainbow Mine
16.The Wooly What's-It
17.Sign of a Friend
18.One More Spot
19.Elves and Woodsprites
20.Grundo Graduation
21.Double Grubby
22.King Nogburt's Castle
23.The Day Teddy Met Grubby
24.Secret of the Illiops
25.Through Tweeg's Fingers
26.Uncle Grubby
27.The Crystal Book
28.Teddy and the Mudblups
29.Win One for the Twipper
30.Tweeg Joins M.A.V.O.
31.The Mushroom Forest
32.Anything in the Soup
33.Captured
34.To the Rescue
35.Escape from M.A.V.O.
36.Leekee Lake
37.The Third Crystal
38.Up for Air
39.The Black Box
40.The Hard to Find City
41.Octopede Sailors
42.Tweeg the Vegetable
43.Wizard Land
44.The Ying Zoo
45.The Big Escape
46.Teddy Ruxpin's Birthday
47.Wizard Week
48.Air and Water Races
49.The Great Grundo Ground Race
50.A Race to the Finish
51.Autumn Adventure
52.Gimmick's Gizmos and Gadgets
53.Harvest Feast
54.Wooly and the Giant Snowzos
55.Winter Adventure
56.Teddy's Quest
57.Thin Ice
58.Fugitives
59.Musical Oppressors
60.M.A.V.O. Costume Ball
61.Father's Day
62.The Journey Home
63.On the Beaches
64.L.B.'s Wedding
65.The Mystery Unravels
