Over the last few months, we've been taking a walk down memory lane as part of our Parade Rewind series and looking back on some of the most influential toys of the 20th century. First, we covered how the 1950’s revolutionized the toy industry with the addition of television advertising and plastic molding. Next, we traveled back in time to the 1960s, which one toy expert called a “transformational time for toys.” Then, we circled back to the 1970s and discovered that toys played a pivotal role in pop culture during a “time of transition in childhood and parenting.” This month, we're exploring 25 popular 1980s toys every kid wanted.
"Toys became larger than life due to television commercials, toy stores, Saturday morning cartoons and growing interest in collectible play," Blake Changnon, the founder, president and CEO of The Changnon Family Museum of Toys and Collectibles, tells Parade. "The decade introduced toys that blended imagination, storytelling, technology and creativity in new ways. Many 1980s toys are still remembered today because they became part of childhood memories and are still collected by the generation that grew up with them."
Related: The 2 Most Popular Toys of Every Decade from the 1930s On, According to a Collector
"These compelling cartoons heightened kids’ interest and turned new brands, as well as some that had been dormant for years, into powerhouses that evaporated from store shelves," he adds.
"Standout brands that were invented in the 1980s include Trivial Pursuit, My Little Pony, Nintendo Entertainment System, Masters of the Universe, Transformers, Teddy Ruxpin, She-Ra, Jem and the Holograms, Micro Machines, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Nintendo Game Boy," he tells Parade.
"Developments in technology were leading to new interesting toys, like the Speak and Spell (the first consumer electronic device to use a DSP chip), Teddy Ruxpin and new gaming consoles, like the Nintendo Entertainment System," she notes.
"What was new was the unique selling points of the popular lines, as companies tried to innovate to steal market share," she shares. "This meant that toys shrunk, transformed or had ever more interesting action features to appeal to children."
Related: Where Can You Buy NeeDohs? The CEO Shares Everything To Know About the Viral Collectibles
25 Popular Toys Every Kid Wanted in the 1980s
1. Transformers
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Similar to many other popular toys from the decade, Transformers action figures were also featured in a TV show.
"The cartoon and comic launched simultaneously, with sales of the toys fueled by both," Davies says.
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was born from a comic series by artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and became one of the most popular toy crazes and franchises of all time," Oceanna Colgan, a nostalgia-focused content creator and video producer, tells Parade. "Who would have thought combining comedy, pizza culture and the names of Italian Renaissance artists would generate such a lasting impact on generations of kids?"
3. Cabbage Patch Kids
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"Each doll was unique and bore the signature of its maker on its bottom," he shares.
"When people talk about fighting in Toy'R'Us to get the 'hot toy' for Christmas, the video footage that plays is likely from the Cabbage Patch Kids craze. When these dolls were introduced, they were in high demand with a small supply," Friedland says.
4. Barbie
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"The '80s [were] when Barbie transformed from a fashion doll into a cultural icon that mirrored the real world," Friedland states. "Thanks to lines like Barbie and the Rockers, which capitalized on the rise of MTV, and sets that emphasized careers, Barbie felt more aspirational than it had in the past, which worked well in the '80s."
"The dress is total 1980s opulence and many collectors credit her as the doll that got them started," she says.
5. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
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To this day, retro Nintendo gaming systems like the NES are still in high demand.
6. Polly Pocket
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Still made today, the pint-sized toy "opened up into entire mini worlds," per Colgan.
7. Garbage Pail Kids
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"A parody of Cabbage Patch Kids, this line of trading cards featured characters having some terrible thing happen to them. They were soon banned in schools because they distracted students," Changnon says.
8. American Girl
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Each of the dolls came with her own book that kids can read to hear more about her backstory. Over the years, the brand expanded to include many more dolls, including ones that customers could customize with different features.
Related: 11 Popular Food Chains From the ’80s We Wish Would Come Back Now
9. 'Jem and the Holograms' Dolls
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Per Colgan, Jem dolls "captured the glamor, music-video energy and neon fashion aesthetic that defined so much of the decade."
Even better, there was a TV show to go along with the dolls.
10. Rainbow Brite
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Per Colgan, the toys "perfectly captured the colorful fantasy aesthetic of the 1980s."
"Rainbow Brite was adventure, love and light all in one," she says.
11. Care Bears
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Per Davies, Care Bears later expanded to include "cousins, including lions, monkeys and elephants."
12. Micro Machines
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The tiny automobiles were "heavily detailed" thanks to "cutting-edge engraving techniques," he shares.
"The magic was in the marketing with John Moschitta speed-talking through commercials that listed a dizzying array of features, and ended with the tag line 'If it doesn’t say Micro Machines, it’s not the real thing,'" he explains.
13. Rubik’s Cube
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"The simple idea of trashing a puzzle in multiple directions to get each side to show a solid color became an obsession for kids and adults," Friedland states. "The cross-generational nature of the puzzle made it a huge success and drove sales. Invented in the 1970s, it made the leap to the U.S. in 1980. Rubik’s Cube also had a cartoon show, but that was developed after the toy hit cult status."
14. 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'
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Per Changnon, the action figures soared in popularity in the '80s when their accompanying TV show launched.
15. Pound Puppies
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Per Davies, the dogs' "sad eyes" made the toys "hard to resist."
"They tugged on emotional heartstrings," she says.
16. My Little Pony
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Per Friedland, there were "hundreds of characters" to collect, and an animated TV series that was inspired by the toys.
17. G.I. Joe
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In the '80s, Changnon says, the action figure was "rebranded as 'A Real American Hero.'"
18. 'Star Wars' Toys
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"While Star Wars figures first hit stores in the late '70s, they were still dominating sales in the '80s, especially with the release of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi," Friedland points out. "Star Wars action figures and vehicles were usually at the top of every kid’s list, and they wanted pretty much every human, alien and droid they saw in the movies on their shelves. Iconic vehicles like the X-Wing and Millennium Falcon that were made to scale with the figures drove the play patterns and additional sales."
19. Lite Brite
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Related: 50 Things Only People Who Lived in the 1970s Will Remember
20. Teddy Ruxpin
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"Teddy Ruxpin felt futuristic because it blended animatronics and storytelling. Ken Forsse, Teddy’s inventor, was a visionary and a former Disney Imagineer," Colgan tells Parade. "He poured his heart into it for decades and built a magical world so many kids escaped into."
21. Speak & Spell
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Per Colgan, the Speak & Spell used a TMC0280 linear predictive coding speech synthesizer that "made the electronic voice sound incredibly futuristic to kids at the time."
22. She-Ra
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"She-Ra offered expansion of the fantasy action-adventure toy genre, but [was] targeted towards girls during a time with very gendered toy aisles," Colgan says.
23. Glo Worm
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"Glo Worm worked on a lot of levels for toddlers. It lit up like a nightlight and was cuddly, so it helped ease bedtime anxiety," Friedland says. "It was also cute with a face that shifted from a daytime 'awake' version to a nighttime 'sleepy mode' that made it easy for kids to understand bedtime."
24. LEGOs
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"You can’t help but think of the space theme when you think of 1980s LEGO. The Classic Space theme had more sets than any others during the decade, and it was given a refresh in 1987 with new heroes, and for the first time, villains," she says.
25. Koosh Ball
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"These were popular because they gave even the clumsiest kid the ability to catch a ball. Combined with the unusual texture, it made it a must-have fidget toy for kids and adults," Friedland shares.
Related: 25 Popular Cars Everyone Wanted in the 1970s
Sources:
Blake Changnon is the founder, president and CEO of The Changnon Family Museum of Toys and Collectibles, a virtual museum featuring his extensive collection of Pleasant Company and American Girl items.Oceanna Colgan is a nostalgia-focused content creator and video producer who creates short documentary-style videos exploring the hidden history and cultural impact of toys, games, books and pop culture. Kayleigh Davies is an antiques and collectibles specialist at online auction marketplace Auctionet. She has specialized in toys for 15 years and is a toy consultant for Miller’s Antiques Handbook and Price Guide.Bob Friedland is a toy expert who has experience running public relations for both Toys"R"Us and FAO Schwarz. Throughout his career, he has supported several toy brands and companies, including Hasbro, Target, Bandai, Lionel Trains and more.Hence then, the article about 25 popular toys every kid wanted in the 1980s was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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