The Adventures Of Teddy Ruxpin

He's a toy. He's on TV. It was only a matter of time before Teddy Ruxpin became a bona fide video star. In this, his debut video venture, Teddy, and his octoped friend, Grubby, set off in search of treasure only to run into all manner of peril (read other licensed characters), including the evil Tweeg, his band of bounders, and a group of Mudblups. Before it's all over, Teddy has shifted his attention from the treasure to rescuing a lost princess--which, needless to say, he accomplishes. One can quibble endlessly with the commercialization inherent in all of this, but the story is fast-paced, entertaining, and well-produced. It doesn't have the needless violence of the Gobots and G. I. Joe-type cartoons, nor is it terribly guilty of the smarminess of something like the Care Bears. And my children, January, Chris, and Jazza, all gave it a unanimous thumbs up--unashamedly turning a deaf ear on my erudite lecture about the insidiousness of the commercial toy industry. Recommended. (Provided by and available from at a substantial discount: NORSTAR, 1580 Old Bayshore Hwy, San Jose, CA 95112; 1-800-457-7402, in CA 1-800-345-9291).