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Secret Life of Toys
Genre Children's television series
Written by Jocelyn Stevenson
Voices of
Theme music composer PEEK-A-BOO
Composer(s) Jocelyn Stevenson (Lyrics)
Markus Windt (Sound)
Country of origin Germany
United Kingdom
United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) Brian Henson
Producer(s) Peter Coogan
Running time 10 minutes
Production company(s) Jim Henson Productions
Distributor The Jim Henson Company
Release
Original network The Disney Channel (U.S.)
BBC (UK)
Picture format 4:3
Original release 5 March (1994-03-05) – 28 May 1994 (1994-05-28)

Secret Life of Toys is a fun children's TV show from 1994. It's based on an older Christmas TV special called The Christmas Toy. The show has 13 episodes, and each one is about 10 minutes long.

This series was filmed in Monheim, Germany. It first aired on The Disney Channel in the US starting March 5, 1994. It also played on the BBC in the United Kingdom, and on channels like Family Channel and TVO in Canada. Kids in other parts of the world, like South Africa and Australia, also got to watch it!

What's the Story?

The show follows the exciting adventures of a group of toys. Their main characters are Rugby Tiger and his friends. These toys live in a new playroom with two children named Penny and Simon.

The cool thing about these toys is that they come to life and move around when Penny and Simon aren't in the room! The toys have special rules, called "No-nos," to keep their secret safe. These rules help them make sure the children never find out they can talk and move.

Sometimes, a toy accidentally breaks one of these "No-nos." When that happens, all the toys have to work together. They try their best to hide the fact that they are alive from the humans. It's all about teamwork and keeping their secret safe!

Meet the Characters

Main Toy Friends

  • Rugby Tiger (Dave Goelz) is a brave and adventurous tiger plush toy. He's always ready for something new to happen!
  • Mew (Nigel Plaskitt) is Rugby's good friend. Mew is a small catnip mouse toy that belongs to the family cat.
  • Balthazar (Jerry Nelson) is a very old and wise bear plush toy. He acts like a father figure to the other toys. Balthazar tells them when it's safe to move around.
  • Raisin (Louise Gold) is a rag doll who loves to play and isn't afraid to get messy. She's a bit of a tomboy.
  • Hortense (Louise Gold) is a rocking horse who tends to worry a lot. She often gets nervous about things.
  • Ditz (Dave Goelz) is a clown plush toy. He can sometimes get confused or mixed up, which leads to funny situations.

Other Toys You'll See

  • Bratty Rat (Jerry Nelson) is a tricky rat toy who was bought from a secondhand store. He can be a bit sneaky.
  • Bunny Lamp (Mike Quinn) helps with the lighting in the playroom. He also warns the toys when people are coming!
  • Bleep (Rob Mills) is a toy robot. Sometimes he freezes up when he's trying to talk.
  • Cruiser (Brian Henson) is a toy who looks like a small person driving a taxi. He loves to use cool slang words. His motto is: "A dollar on the drop, and ten cents for any additional miles."
  • Datz (Jerry Nelson) is a paper bag puppet. He looks a lot like Ditz, his brother.
  • Dinkybeard (Jerry Nelson) is a wooden toy pirate.
  • Daffodil (Louise Gold) is a delicate princess doll. She lives on a high shelf. Daffodil is one of the oldest toys in the house. She used to belong to a family that lived there before.
  • Eggie (Mike Quinn) is a toy egg, a bit like Humpty Dumpty. He thinks eggs are the smartest creatures ever!
  • Humble Gary (Mike Quinn) is a very modest tiger toy.

Episodes Guide

The show has one season with 13 episodes. Each episode usually has two short stories. Here are some of the episodes:

No. Parts Original Airdate
1 "Oops! / Don't Tell Me" 5 March 1994 (1994-03-05)
  • Oops! – Hortense accidentally sets off a tricky trap in the playroom. The toys have to work hard to fix it.
  • Don't Tell Me – Rugby's curiosity gets him into trouble. He doesn't listen to others and ends up locked out of the playroom.
2 "Follow the Leader / Disappearing Ditz" 12 March 1994 (1994-03-12)
3 "I'm Going to Tell... / The Cat Toy That Roared" 19 March 1994 (1994-03-19)
  • I'm Going to Tell... – Raisin accidentally records a secret conversation. Bratty Rat threatens to tell everyone.
4 "Rock-a-Bye Worries / The Magic Fish" 26 March 1994 (1994-03-26)
5 "Climbers / Be Plush" 2 April 1994 (1994-04-02)
  • Climbers – Rugby finds a lost toy named Felix. Balthazar bravely rescues Felix.
  • Be Plush – Rugby thinks he's better than Humble Gary, a new tiger toy. But Gary is brave and goes to meet the "monster" under the stairs.
6 "Queen Raisin / Balthazar in Beam Land" 9 April 1994 (1994-04-09)
7 "Ditz and Datz / Mummies" 16 April 1994 (1994-04-16)
  • Mummies – Raisin, Balthazar, and Ditz dress up as mummies to scare Rugby after he finds a strange stone.
8 "All Washed Up / Bunnochio" 23 April 1994 (1994-04-23)
9 "More Than a Mouse / Happy Hortense to You" 30 April 1994 (1994-04-30)
10 "Down with Dinkybeard / The Sky is Falling!" 7 May 1994 (1994-05-07)
11 "Baby Balthazar / True Mew" 14 May 1994 (1994-05-14)
12 "Mr. and Mrs. Rugby / I Spy" 21 May 1994 (1994-05-21)
  • I Spy – A new teddy bear named Spy Guy doesn't want to go back to the toy store. He pretends to be Balthazar to try and send the real Balthazar away instead.
13 "Who Shares Wins / It's a Giveaway" 28 May 1994 (1994-05-28)
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