New Teddy Ruxpin: Adorable Or The Blinking Demon Of Your Nightmares?

When you hear the name “Teddy Ruxpin,” perhaps you’re hit with a wave of nostalgia tinged with a lingering wariness of the animatronic talking teddy bear that read stories off a cassette tape shoved in his back. But now that there’s a new Teddy Ruxpin on the scene with bright blue, lidlessly blinking LCD eyes, your nightmares may have a new face.

The Teddy Ruxpin update comes from a company called Wicked Cool Toys, and is the fifth version of the bear that was first introduced in 1985, Gizmodo reports.

Instead of jamming a cassette tape in the toy’s back, there’s 4 GB of onboard storage that can hold about 40 stories at once. And of course, this being the internet of things era, he can wirelessly connect to a free accompanying app via Bluetooth to download new content and let kids read along with an interactive book.

And then there are those eyes…

While the original Teddy Ruxpin’s lidded eyes and moving mouth might have creeped you out a little bit as a kid, there’s something about this iteration that has some among the Consumerist staff reduced to whimpering puddles of fear.

Stare into Teddy’s eyes, and then vote:

Look at the New Teddy Ruxpin’s Expressive LCD Eyes [Gizmodo]