Rebooting Ruxpin

     Growing up, I was a fan of Ken Forsse's Teddy Ruxpin. I never had the famous talking doll or any of the storybooks, but I did have several of the Teddy Ruxpin toys, which my brothers and I played with quite a bit. The adventures we created with those things were probably way better than anything that was ever officially produced. I'm talking 'Shakespeare' good!

Like the time Grubby and Michelangelo had to rescue Boba Fett 

with Bill and Ted's time-traveling phone booth!

     As with most things from my childhood, Teddy Ruxpin has always kind of stuck around in the back of my mind. A while back, I tried re-imagining the characters as gritty sci-fi heroes, but I eventually tired of that and gave it up. It seems like everything's gritty these days.

For example, here's a screen grab from the new Shirt Tales reboot.
What's up with that?!?

     There's been a ton of cartoon reboots lately: Thundercats, My Little Pony, Scooby-Doo, Ninja Turtles... The list goes on and on. Some are good. Some are bad. The point is, the stars of my childhood are getting a second chance! And I say it's about time the spotlight shines back on everyone's favorite illiop! Yeah, that's right. Teddy's not even a bear! He's called an illiop! How nutty is that?

     So if you'll indulge me while I do some wishful thinking, I thought it'd be fun to give Teddy and his friends my own new spin. Here's the first in this 'on-again off-again' lineup of mine: Teddy Ruxpin himself!

     The original Teddy Ruxpin was too much of a "goody-goody" for my tastes. I wanted this version to show a little more mischievous spunk, but still have that same passion for adventure.  Hopefully, all of you like it. 

     Your comments are well appreciated, and stay tuned as I post my further revamps of the Teddy Ruxpin characters. I might even come up with some new friends and foes for the beloved bear.

...oops! I mean, illiop. I swear! That gets me every time!