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Paul Scheer finds Teddy Ruxpin isn't as kid friendly as he remembers

The comedian and actor says the talking bear was his favorite toy growing up. We got him to unbox today's tech-savvier version. It didn't go well.

Connie Guglielmo SVP, AI Edit Strategy
Connie Guglielmo is a senior vice president focused on AI edit strategy for CNET, a Red Ventures company. Previously, she was editor in chief of CNET, overseeing an award-winning team of reporters, editors and photojournalists producing original content about what's new, different and worth your attention. A veteran business-tech journalist, she's worked at MacWeek, Wired, Upside, Interactive Week, Bloomberg News and Forbes covering Apple and the big tech companies. She covets her original nail from the HP garage, a Mac the Knife mug from MacWEEK, her pre-Version 1.0 iPod, a desk chair from Next Computer and a tie-dyed BMUG T-shirt. She believes facts matter.
Expertise I've been fortunate to work my entire career in Silicon Valley, from the early days of the Mac to the boom/bust dot-com era to the current age of the internet, and interviewed notable executives including Steve Jobs. Credentials
  • Member of the board, UCLA Daily Bruin Alumni Network; advisory board, Center for Ethical Leadership in the Media
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Connie Guglielmo
2 min read

When he was a kid growing up in New York, comedian Paul Scheer remembers, he asked for a Teddy Ruxpin doll from Santa Claus. 

The only problem: That was the year the talking bear was so popular it was impossible to find. So Scheer's dad told him Santa was so overwhelmed, they had permission to go to toy stores together to find the bear. They finally found one, a few months after Christmas. Scheer said he constantly played with Teddy Ruxpin. 

Watch this: Paul Scheer unboxes his 'elusive childhood toy'

"I realize as I've gotten older that my child life might have been a little sad that I was very excited to have a doll that would speak to me. But I really wanted this doll," Scheer said. "You put an audiocassette in his back and he would read out a book to you and he would act out the parts ... It was insane."

Now, 20-plus years later, we surprised Scheer with the latest version of Teddy Ruxpin during a visit to CNET headquarters last month. It's a Bluetooth-enabled model powered by a smartphone app, and as we discovered during Scheer's unboxing, four triple-A batteries. And that's why this unboxing plays out over two videos. One to unbox it; another to actually play it. 

Unboxing Teddy Ruxpin ended up being a "Kubrickian" experience for Scheer, who wasn't quite as enamored with the 2018 version as he was with his childhood playmate. Watch and see what happened. 

Watch this: Paul Scheer finds Teddy Ruxpin a bit unsettling

The life, death and resurrection of Teddy Ruxpin: The iconic toy makes a comeback.

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