Secret Life of Toys

Secret Life of Toys is a 1994 children's TV series based on the 1986 Christmas TV special The Christmas Toy. Each of the fourteen 30-minute episodes consists of two 15-minute stories. The show was taped in Monheim, Germany (near the Dutch border), and aired on The Disney Channel in the US (beginning on 5 March 1994),[1][2] the BBC in the United Kingdom, Family Channel, Vrak and TVO in Canada, Spacetoon in the Arab world, Top TV in South Africa, The Kids' Channel in Israel, RTB in Brunei, Armed Forces Network in Germany and Japan, TVP1 in Poland, Channel 55 in Bahrain and on ABC TV in Australia. The series was formerly streamed on Netflix and Hulu and is currently available on Kidoodle.TV

Secret Life of Toys
GenreChildren's television series
Written byJocelyn Stevenson
Voices of
Theme music composerPEEK-A-BOO
ComposersJocelyn Stevenson (Lyrics)
Markus Windt (Sound)
Country of originGermany
United Kingdom
United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerBrian Henson
ProducerPeter Coogan
Running time10 minutes
Production companyJim Henson Productions
Release
Original networkThe Disney Channel (U.S.)
BBC (UK)
Original release5 March (1994-03-05) –
28 May 1994 (1994-05-28)

Plot

This series depicts the further adventures of Rugby Tiger and his friends in a new playroom with two different children, Penny and Simon. Penny and Simon's playtime affect how the toys' setting and situations are in the children's absence. For the toys' safety, they have a code called a set of No-nos. However one of the toys end up breaking one of those rules by accident. When that happens, they toys have to work together to keep the fact they can move and speak away from the humans.

Characters

Main characters
  • Rugby Tiger (Dave Goelz) is a plucky tiger plush toy who is always looking for an adventure. He was designed by Larry DiFiori and built by Rollie Krewson.
  • Mew (Nigel Plaskitt) is Rugby's good friend who is a catnip mouse toy that belongs to the family cat. He was designed by Larry DiFiori and built by Joann Green.
  • Balthazar (Jerry Nelson) is a really old bear plush toy who is very wise. He functions as a fatherlike leader to the toys, and tells them when it's safe for them to move. He was designed by Larry DiFiori and built by Joann Green
  • Raisin (Louise Gold) is a tomboyish rag doll replacing Apple.
  • Hortense (Louise Gold) is a worry-prone rocking horse replacing Belmont.
  • Ditz (Dave Goelz) is a clown plush toy who can easily get mixed up. He was designed by Larry DiFiori and built by Marian Keating.

Other characters
  • Bratty Rat (Jerry Nelson) is a shifty rat who was purchased at a secondhand store.
  • Bunny Lamp (Mike Quinn) takes care of the lighting in the toy room and warns the toys when people are coming.
  • Bleep (Rob Mills) is a toy robot who sometimes freezes during his speech. He was designed by Larry DiFiori and built by Tom Newby and Norman Tempia.
  • Cruiser (Brian Henson) looks like a Fisher Price Little People figure who drives a taxi. He loves to use cool slang words. His motto is: "A dollar on the drop, and ten cents for any additional miles." He was designed by Larry DiFiori and built by Tom Newby and Norman Tempia.
  • Datz (Jerry Nelson) is a paper bag puppet that looks like his brother Ditz.
  • Dinkybeard (Jerry Nelson) is a wooden toy pirate. He was designed and built by Paul Andrejco.
  • Daffodil (Louise Gold) is a breakable princess doll who lives on the top shelf replacing Queen Meteora. Nobody really understands her. Daffodil is arguably the oldest toy in the house, having belonged to a family that previously owned it. After her original owner grew up and moved away, she lived alone in the attic of the house for many childhoods until the current family's children found her and brought her into their playroom. She alone among the toys understands what the attic actually is.
  • Eggie (Mike Quinn) is a dimwitted Humpty Dumpty-like toy egg who thinks eggs are the smartest creatures in the world.
  • Humble Gary (Mike Quinn) is an extremely humble tiger.

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Oops! / Don't Tell Me"5 March 1994 (1994-03-05)

  • Oops! – The children set up an elaborate practical joke, using Hortense as an integral part of their Rube Goldberg-type mechanism. When they leave the room, Hortense sneezes and accidentally sets off the joke, therefore breaking the First No-No, "Never destroy anything belonging to the children". How will they ever get it all back together again before the children return? Oh, worry, worry, worry!
  • Don't Tell Me – Rugby hates being told what's going to happen or how things work - he'd much rather find out for himself. But when his stubbornness gets him locked out of the playroom, he has to listen to the others in order to solve his problem.
2"Follow the Leader / Disappearing Ditz"12 March 1994 (1994-03-12)

  • Follow the Leader – Balthazar is feeling old and tired, and when he sees how much the other toys admire the youth and strength of Dr. Wizardo, the hero of one of the children's computer games, he presses the "escape" button and lets Wizardo out. When Wizardo takes over, things rapidly get very unpleasant, and Balthazar has to save his friends. He soon discovers there's more to being a leader than youth and strength.
  • Disappearing Ditz – After Ditz repeatedly interrupts Rugby's magic show, Rugby wishes that Ditz would disappear. Ditz agrees that this would be a wonderful trick, so Rugby puts Ditz in his magic box, never expecting for one moment that he will disappear. When he does, by falling through a broken board, Rugby is devastated. He realises you have to be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
3"I'm Going to Tell... / The Cat Toy That Roared"19 March 1994 (1994-03-19)

  • I'm Going to Tell... – When Raisin accidentally tapes over one of the children's audio cassettes, the last thing she needs is Bratty Rat threatening to tell on her. She does everything possible to keep him from carrying out his bratty little threat, but in the end, he tells. But the consequences are not at all what Raisin expected.
  • The Cat Toy That Roared – Mew borrows Rugby's precious tail for a game of Pin the Tail on the Tiger. Once blindfolded, he wanders into the children's imaginary lion's den. When the lion roars, Mew is so scared that he drops the tail and flees. Now what's he going to do? He has to return Rugby's tail, but if he goes into the lion's den, the lion will eat him up and spit out his hat and shoes.
4"Rock-a-Bye Worries / The Magic Fish"26 March 1994 (1994-03-26)

  • Rock-a-Bye Worries – Hortense, the venerable rocking horse, has always been a worrier. But when she believes herself to be the getaway horse in a bank robbery, she does more than worry. In front of her concerned friends, she rocks madly, getting nowhere, until she falls over. Now they've all got something to worry about...
  • The Magic Fish – The Magic Fish is a fortune-telling game the children play. When they leave the room the clairvoyant fish, naturally, comes to life and starts answering questions. Raisin doesn't want to take turns finding out the answers to her questions -- she wants the fish to herself, so she kidnaps him. She soon regrets that the one question she never asked was, "What happens when you kidnap a magic fish?"
5"Climbers / Be Plush"2 April 1994 (1994-04-02)

  • Climbers – Balthazar, the undisputed leader of the toys, is generally believed to be afraid of nothing. But the dignified old bear has a secret - he's terrified of heights. When Felix the Climber, who was last seen climbing the rafters, is found stuck behind an old radiator, Balthazar must face his greatest fear in order to rescue an old friend.
  • Be Plush – To a toy, being plush is a state of mind. A toy who is plush is unbelievably cool, and Rugby naturally considers himself to be the plushest toy in the playroom. He maintains all tigers are plush... until he meets Humble Gary, a new stuffed tiger given to the children. Humble Gary is anything but plush. When Rugby sets out to teach Humble Gary the secret to plushness, he discovers Humble knows more than Rugby thought...
6"Queen Raisin / Balthazar in Beam Land"9 April 1994 (1994-04-09)

  • Queen Raisin – Raisin is sick and tired of the fact that Daffodil, the fragile doll who lives on the High Up Shelf, is always chosen to be the queen. Raisin decides it's her turn. She paints her face and fixes her hair. Now all she needs is the crown. The problem is that it's firmly planted on Dilly's head, high up on the shelf, a long way from the floor.
  • Balthazar in Beam Land – When Rugby annoys everyone by always doing exactly the opposite of what he's told, Balthazar just laughs. "He's just like me when I was young." Or so Balthazar thinks. When he tells Rugby to go into the dark and dangerous attic room, a place the toys call Beamland, Rugby does not refuse, as Balthazar expected, but goes in. Now it's up to Balthazar to save him.
7"Ditz and Datz / Mummies"16 April 1994 (1994-04-16)

  • Ditz and Datz – One day, the children make a paperbag puppet, name him Datz and declare him to be Ditz's brother. The other toys know full well that Datz is just an old paper bag, but Ditz is thrilled to have a brother. Fuelled by Ditz's belief in him, Datz comes to life... and he is not a nice guy. Ditz has to choose between his friends and his "brother" - a decision which becomes easier the meaner Datz gets.
  • Mummies – Raisin has heard Rugby boast one time too many. When he says he's not afraid of the Mummy that might come back to claim the Mummy Stone which Rugby has in his possession, Raisin concocts a scheme to scare the wits out of Rugby and prove him wrong. The problem is, the scheme works too well.
8"All Washed Up / Bunnochio"23 April 1994 (1994-04-23)

  • All Washed Up – Ditz gets washed and hung up to dry. When he comes off the clothesline, he finds that he can't put his arms down. In order to keep him from being upset about this, his friends find all sorts of ways to employ a clown with his arms stuck up in the air. They're so good at making him feel useful that he doesn't know what to do when his arms stop being stuck - he can't be useful anymore!
  • Bunnochio – The Bunny Lamp wants to be a real toy. With the help of his friends, his wish is granted. For one wonderful moment he is free to move around just like a real toy -- until he realises that now there's no one to be the lamp.
9"More Than a Mouse / Happy Hortense to You"30 April 1994 (1994-04-30)

  • More Than a Mouse – Mew wants to prove that he's not just a cat toy - he's a mouse! So, he runs away and moves into what he thinks is a mousehole. But it's not a mousehole. It's the tunnel which is set up for the children's electric train. When Rugby gets stuck in the tunnel trying to get Mew out before the train comes, Mew has to use his mousiest talent in order to get Rugby out.
  • Happy Hortense to You – Hortense is once again left out of the children's birthday celebrations. To make it up to her, her friends decide to give her a birthday party. A rocking horse birthday, however, is not like any other, and the toys have no idea what they're letting themselves in for...!
10"Down with Dinkybeard / The Sky is Falling!"7 May 1994 (1994-05-07)

  • Down with Dinkybeard – Dinkybeard comes to the playroom to play pirates just when Raisin wants to show everyone her latest acrobatic tricks. Unfortunately, they'd all rather play pirates instead, so Raisin decides she does not like Dinkybeard. She has to change her tune, however, when he saves her from a nasty fall.
  • The Sky is Falling! – When Ditz discovers a lost piece to one of the children's puzzles, he thinks he's found a piece of the real sky. He elicits the help of his friend Eggy to put the piece back where it belongs before the whole sky falls on everyone's heads. But is tying a bunch of bats together and flying out the window really the best way to solve the problem?
11"Baby Balthazar / True Mew"14 May 1994 (1994-05-14)

  • Baby Balthazar – Balthazar, tired of the responsibilities of being the oldest and wisest, says that he would like to be a carefree little baby, always always. Though warned about the power of an "always always", Balthazar insists that being a baby always, always is what he wants. He gets his wish and all is well until his friends need his help.
  • True Mew – As far as the toys are concerned, Daffodil is "not like us". Because she doesn't say much, they think she doesn't really understand. One day, the children forget to put her back on the High Up Shelf, and Mew is nominated to look after her. When she goes beyond the Beamland door, despite all warnings, Mew discovers that Dilly understands a lot more than anyone thinks.
12"Mr. and Mrs. Rugby / I Spy"21 May 1994 (1994-05-21)

  • Mr. and Mrs. Rugby – The children tie Rugby and Raisin together and pronounce them married. Rugby can't believe his bad luck -- today is the day he's to be hoisted to the High Up Window to lookout over the roofs and tell everyone what he sees. And the last toy he wants to take with him is Raisin!
  • I Spy – Spy Guy, a toy the children ordered, finally arrives, but he's not at all what they expected. He's a bear, and they already have a bear. So, their mother suggests they take him back. But Spy Guy doesn't want to go back - he wants to stay. He therefore disguises himself very convincingly as Balthazar, planning to send Balthazar back to the store in his place.
13"Who Shares Wins / It's a Giveaway"28 May 1994 (1994-05-28)

  • Who Shares Wins – If a toy doesn't get shared, he or she becomes invisible to the other toys until he or she gets shared again. This would happen to Mew on the day of the Big Bounce Contest -- and he's the best bouncer the Little Toy Team has! Determined not to ruin his team's chances, Mew sets out to become visible, no matter what it takes.
  • It's a Giveaway – The children, in a moment of extreme generosity, decide to give Rugby away to the local children's hospital. Though being a Giveaway is the greatest honour a toy can have, Rugby doesn't want to go. But how is he ever going to get out of it?

References
  1. "TV REVIEWS : Muppets Come to Life in 'Toys'". Los Angeles Times. 5 March 1994. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  2. The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 12, no. 2, February/March 1994: pp. 32, 39.
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