Worlds of Wonder or WoW was a 1980s American toy company founded by former Atari employees, including Don Kingsborough and Mark Robert Goldberg.
Teddy Ruxpin (1985), a story-telling bearGrubby, Octopede companion to Teddy and helps him tell storiesLazer Tag (1986), an early version of Laser TagPamela: The Living Doll (1986), an interactive talking doll dressed in overalls and comes with 3 additional outfits, add-on program cartridges ("voice cards"), and sticker activity books that had an alien-themed television commercial that played on the popularity of E.T. The ExtraterrestrialThe Talking Mickey Mouse (1986), an animated version of the iconic mouseGoofy, helps Mickey tell the storiesThe Talking Mother Goose, an animated animal version of the famed storyteller, who tells fairy tales instead of rhymes, in 1986.Hector the ugly duckling, helps Mother Goose tell the storiesAction Max (1987), a VCR and light gun game inJulie(Worlds of Wonder) (1987), an interactive talking dollThe Talking Snoopy (1988), an animated speaking version of Charles Schulz's Peanuts character Snoopy that uses cassettes as the others do and voiced by Cam Clarke"Express it": The Locker Answering Machine (1987), a sound-(high-pitch whistle)-activated tape recorder that can be mounted on the inside of a locker; part of the "Class Act" line of school suppliesHop, Skip & Jump (1989), a jump rope that doubles as a belt or fashion accessoryHide 'N' Sneak (1989), transforms the traditional game of hide and seek into high-tech excitement by allowing a player to locate other players with ultrasonic soundRockin' Boppers (1989), 4 different dolls that "dance" to the beat of musicSkip Stik (1988), a twist-apart 3-foot bar with foam hand grips attached on each end to an 8-footSplatter Up (1988), a wet version of baseball designed by WET Design and later made by Buddy L and Wham-OGT Super Screamers (1990), a slotless race car game using fly-by-wire technology, nicad batteries and Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo racecarsThe Jaminator (1990), an electronic air guitar that plays different riffs depended on which buttons are pressed on the neck and also provides basic rhythm accompaniment with a small keyboard and drum padsLittle Boppers and Monster Boppers versions of Teddy Ruxpin, Mickey Mouse, and The Muppets that dance when music is played; two Mickeys made by Fisher-Price, "Dance Star Mickey" & "Rock Star Mickey", differ from the Little Boppers MickeyZoo Tunes (1990), 3 plush puppet zoo characters, Lion, Hippo, and Alligator that play a series of tunes when sensors in mouth are pressed together; a sensor in the hands changes the tuneLittle Big Rigs, 5 plush construction toysDistributed the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States during its first few yearsClass Act is a product line of school supplies created by Worlds of Wonder in 1987. The line is "high-tech" in style though the only one piece of the ensemble that is "high-tech" in nature is "Express It": The Locker Answering Machine. The line consisted of:
Sack It, designer print and denim backpacksStuff It, hard-shell 3-ring binder with magnetic closureStack It, plastic stacking locker shelving systemExpress It, locker answering machineThere were also decorated Trapper Keeper-styled folders and pencils as part of the line. When Worlds of Wonder declared bankrupcy in 1988 the line was severely hurt by the crisis and ultimately cancelled.
With the strength of its line of toys Worlds of Wonder’s fortunes rose well beyond its assets. This culminated in a rather spectacular tumble as stock trades by company officers spooked investors. The company also received much negative press after the death of Leonard Falcon, who was shot and killed by a sheriffs deputy after the deputy mistook the Lazer Tag toy he was using for a real gun. Attempting to stem the tide, WoW issued Non-Investment Grade Bonds, commonly known as junk bonds, in an effort to buoy itself. Although there is some contention as to whether this strategy would have helped, the attempt was made moot by the 1987 stock market crash. Worlds of Wonder filed for bankruptcy protection and was liquidated in 1988 and went through a series of layoffs. The creditors continued to operate the company in receivership until finally closing its doors in late 1990. This period of operation only involved selling off existing inventory and no new toys were developed or manufactured.
Later versions of "Teddy Ruxpin" were brought out by Playskool and Yes! Entertainment (Yes! was also formed by Don Kingsborough) Backpack Toys and most currently Wicked Cool Toys.
The "Lazer Tag" brand name was continued by Shoot The Moon Products, a toy invention company formed by two other Worlds of Wonder founders and new Lazer Tag equipment has been produced under license by Tiger Electronics and Hasbro. The new Lazer Tag toys are not compatible with the original Worlds Of Wonder Lazer tag gear except via a hidden interface in some of the Hasbro gear.
