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How to be a Bubbly Chubby Chaser

How to be a Bubbly Chubby Chaser

I’d like to dedicate this “children’s toy themed” blog entry to my newborn son, Andrew. I’m new to this thing called fatherhood, but I’m loving every minute of it… well, that is until he’ll starts playing with my toys 😉

Over a decade ago while I was in college, my brother, Jason, and I stumbled upon these odd figures at Wal-Mart. They were part of the humble beginnings of my weird toy fascination.

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 Bubbly Chubbies

I’m sure you recognize them.

You probably thought they were these guys, the Teletubbies.

 Teletubbies

They do look a lot like Teletubbies (which I’m sure is absolutely intentional), but these are actually Bubbly Chubbies! (Pretty original name, huh?)

Sure. At first glance, these things are just odd-looking, androgynous aliens. That’s a bit off-putting in itself, but, as always, it gets stranger.

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 Bubbly Chubbies Bubbly Chubbies
 Bubbly Chubbies Bubbly Chubbies
Bubbly Chubbies

Unbeknownst to us, all these years Jason and I have been in possession of some very rare artifacts. These toys aren’t around anymore, and I don’t mean they’re just old and forgotten – I mean they no longer exist.

Apparently, Ragdoll Productions Ltd., the creators of Teletubbies, weren’t too happy about Wal-Mart ripping off their ridiculously popular, money-making property and they were ordered by a federal court to recall and destroy all the Bubbly Chubbies toys. You might call it the “Bubbly Chubby holocaust.” I know it’s a bit morbid, but these toys are kinda like Holocaust survivors. (Damn. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to equate Survivors’ lives and struggles to some crummy knock off toys. I just needed to dramatize the scarcity of a weirdo toy). Get the full scoop in this New York Times article.

So, what we’ve got here is the same toy with four color variations – Blue, Violet, Pink and Yellow.

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 Bubbly Chubbies Bubbly Chubbies

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 Bubbly Chubbies Bubbly Chubbies

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 Bubbly Chubbies Bubbly Chubbies

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 Bubbly Chubbies Bubbly Chubbies

It may be an accident in the toys’ design, but I love how the transparent eyeballs actually reveal the each Chubby’s color scheme. Kind of neat.

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 Bubbly Chubbies

And they’re all wearing wireless headphones. What’s up with that?

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 Bubbly Chubbies

I wonder what they’re listening to. Probably the Bananas in Pajamas theme song or something.

Oh yeah. Did you notice the trap doors on their backs? It’s where their batteries are stored. Why batteries, you ask?

To power their death stare of course.

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 Bubbly Chubbies

“YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND OH CHUBBY MASTER.”

A simple push of their literal belly button, and you unleash the hypnotic death stare of the unassuming Bubbly Chubbies.

Yeah, these are a pretty blatant ripoff, but I’m glad the toy designers had the foresight to integrate the typical LED red laser into these knockoffs… and I’m especially glad they put them in their eye sockets.

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 Bubbly Chubbies

I just don’t know whether they’re supposed to hypnotize me or turn me to stone. Either way, I know not to look them in the eye.



15 Responses

  1. joeyellis says:

    @WeirdoToys very funny.

  2. spaceboyrobot says:

    @WeirdoToys awesome blog; totally adding it to my rss feed.

  3. Ben says:

    The final picture with their demonic glowing red eyes will forever be ingrained into my subconscious. Thanks, Justin!

    I do remember these at Wal-Mart, but I’m amazed at the circumstances of their demise. I mean, don’t these people realize this is how the knock-off industry works? Your blog is basically a repository for all sorts of fly-by-night toy companies that should have been sued for their horrible toy copycats.

    I also feel like any publicity is good publicity. I’m sure as soon as this story hit, dozens of scalpers quick went to Wal-Mart to pick these up and jack up the prices on them.

  4. Brian Adams says:

    Ha! They should have been sued for the name alone. Great pics!

  5. TriclopsApeman says:

    RT @WeirdoToys: [blog post] See how Wal-Mart got its ass sued by Teletubbies – http://www.weirdotoys.com/2010/11/30/how

  6. Jason says:

    Man. Haven’t seen these guys in a while. You’ve captured their cute lil’ chubby evilness perfectly. We need more glowing eye knockoffs around here.

  7. CDAJunior says:

    RT @WeirdoToys: [blog post] See how Wal-Mart got its ass sued by Teletubbies – http://www.weirdotoys.com/2010/11/30/how

  8. BubbaShelby says:

    Ragdoll Productions Ltd didn’t need to resort to getting a lawyer; everyone knows the cure for a bubbly chubbie is penicillin!

  9. greg says:

    i gotz yo’ Bubbly Chubby! aww snipes!

  10. Mistuh_T says:

    blatant hip demonic rip offs. blue tooth and glowing red eyes? what what!

  11. Celina says:

    last picture reminds me of a zombie horde.

  12. KittyMack says:

    I LOVE that final shot!

  13. Oh man that was hysterical! LOL. Bubbly Chubbies. I didn’t think it was possibly but these are WAY creepier than teletubbies that they were ripped off from.

  14. Matt says:

    Hi Justin,
    You have some really cool stuff on this page. I liked reading about the Bubbly Chubbies. It would piss me off if I had a great, ground breaking idea like Tele-Tubbies and it go ripped off. Hehe. I chuckled just to think that our legal system could be burdened with the chore of sorting out a Tele-Tubbie case. Who did the Tele-Tubbies get for a lawyer? – Blues Clues?

    Well. Keep on keeping on with this site.

  15. icur1mi says:

    Congrats! How is everything going with the little guy? My little Logan James was born two days ago and is doing so well! I Love being a dad too! he already has more action figures than he could imagine!

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