How They Got Here

2025 is an appropriate year for Teddy Ruxpin to achieve this accolade because it is has been precisely a 40 years since he was born in 1985 as a storytelling animatronic bear. So we should let Teddy Ruxpin tell his own story himself:

“I was born during the height of the Cold War. One difficult aspect of that, besides the threat or all out nuclear war, is that I was born in the United States—and the Soviet Union was much more closely associated with bears, with Ronald Reagan having won re-election the previous year with a comfortable margin on the backs of a famous commercial starring a bear, who was playing the Soviet Union.

So I largely had two goals in life. One was to end the Cold War, not only for my country, but also for myself because it was not the easiest being a bear in the United States at that time, even though I was able to rise to massive popularity, despite the pervasive anti-bear sentiment in my homeland at the time. To be sure, I was born in Grundo. But I am such a patriotic American, that when I say ‘homeland’ here, I am referring to the United States. In 1991, I successfully achieved my first major life goal of ending the Cold War. It had taken me six long years.

With that goal now checked off, I moved my focus to achieving my next goal: medaling in The World Famous Sweet Livin’ Productions World’s Best Bear Poll. It took me 34 years but I finally did it this year. It was no easy feat. Mathematically speaking, it was almost six times as difficult as ending the Cold War.”

Where They Came From

Grundo, a very far-off and interesting land that was thought to fictional, like Teddy Ruxpin himself, until he medaled in The World Famous Sweet Livin’ Productions World’s Best Bear Poll. Now it is widely accepted as a real, far-off interesting fictional land with famous places like The Treacherous Mountains (known for their treacherousness), The Great Desert (known for its greatness), Ben’s Beach (known for Ben), The Jungle With No Name (known for its lack of selling its naming rights to the highest corporate bidder), Tweeg’s Tower (known for being taller than any other nearby potential landmarks), and Grunge Village (known for being Teddy’s old stomping grounds).

What’s Next For Them

Since Teddy is known for being a great storyteller, it is once again pertinent for us to let Mr. Ruxpin describe his future in his own words:

“Sure, I have been quite a successful bear in ending the Cold War and medaling in The World Famous Sweet Livin’ Productions World Best Bear Poll. For most bears that would be enough. In fact, it would be too much. But I am a storytelling, friendship, and magical fun badass. So there is no reason I cannot medal higher. So what is next for me? I know gold is in my future, but I am humble enough to say I may not immediately catapult from bronze to gold. So silver may be next for me. Only time will tell. And by time, I mean on year.”

How They Compare To Their Predecessor

Winnie-the-Pooh is a world famous teddy bear while Mr. Ruxpin, despite having the given name of Teddy, is a world famous animatronic storyteller. They are both world class in their respective professions.