Have you ever wondered how much money your childhood Teddy Ruxpin is worth? There's a lot of debate about what collectors are willing to pay. Mainstream media is often confusing, and a Google search doesn't often come up with updated results. It also doesn't help that shows like Pawn Stars and a video short by Wicked Cool Toys have quoted people saying that collectors will pay "thousands" for the bears. 

I've put together the infographic below so that you can competitively price your bear and accessories to sell! Use this as a guide, and please remember that this is pricing for what's currently being bought today. Remember to pay attention to the details -- each listing might be a little different! Hope it helps and feel free to share! :)

It wasn't until I was writing about prototypes the other day that I remembered something that crossed my mind a while ago that didn't make sense. The term "Animagic" was used in early Worlds of Wonder literature, but disappeared shortly after it's initial introduction. Why was that?

The history behind the word takes us back a bit in time. Going through my research, I learned that Ken Forsee used to be an Imagineer at Disney Parks. Imagineers are responsible for creating, piecing together, and maintaining the animatronics that you'd see in Disney Theme Parks. Forsee himself worked on many attractions, such as the famous Abraham Lincoln and It's a Small World ride. 

​And Animagic was also sprinkled over a few other Teddy related documents and news pieces. In this December article titled "Toy Shopping is No Child's Play" from The Washington Post that covered the shortage of bears due to it being a Christmas success, it was mentioned as the following:
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And Animagic was also mentioned in the famous copyright infringement lawsuit of Worlds of Wonder against Veritel Learning Systems in October of 1986 for utilizing the audio track technology to animate Teddy Ruxpin bears to Veritel's own brand tapes.
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​There's no dispute that the term "Animagic" was trademarked by Ken Forsee and Alchemy II, and that it was used all over anything Worlds of Wonder initially touched. And the only other use I can find is actually by the stop-motion animation industry in the 60s and 70s (check out this Wikipedia article here that talks about it). But what's odd is that shortly after it's introduction, the term Animagic literally disappears from anything Teddy Ruxpin related after that court case in 1986. 

Want proof? Compare these different pictures of Teddy Ruxpin boxes. The first image is a close up of the ad above with the prototype Teddy circa 1985. You can barely make out the text, but I believe it says "Animagic Adventure Cassette and Storybook Included!" The second picture is of a recent eBay listing that shows completely different text on the front. The text completely removes the term "Animagic" from any marketing copy. This box says "Includes your first adventure storybook and special animation cassette that makes Teddy Ruxpin come to life!"
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​In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a box in person that's actually had the word Animagic anywhere on it. Why the switch? Why is there never another mention of Animagic again? Seeing that there was an entire toy line of animatronic characters (Mother Goose, Snoopy, Mickey Mouse), they had an opportunity to brand the entire line. No mention of the term was made (that I can find) past the fall lawsuit in 1986 against Veritel Learning Systems, and that's actually the only time I can find it used in 1986 alone.

On June 24th, 2006, Alchemy II let the trademark "Animagic" expire. On June 22nd, 2009, a new company trademarked the term under toys and games. That company is Vivid Toys and Games, a British toy company. 

Why do you think Worlds of Wonder stopped using the term Animagic? Am I missing something? Maybe you can help me solve the mystery. Let me know in the comments below.