Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»Toys & Games
    Toys & Games 3 Mins Read

    Weebles

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down”

    The minute they came to town in 1969, Romper Room’s Weebles gave Fisher Price’s Little People a run for their money as the best in plastic people fun. There was a new family on the block called the Weebles, a family of adorable egg-shaped people with an amazing knack for keeping their heads up.

    The Weebles originally came as an entire nuclear family of Weeble Dad, Mum, brother, sister, baby and family Weebles dog.

    Weebles worked by a counterweight system, and no matter how far you pushed them down on the side or hit them, the Weebles would pop right up.

    Much like the punching clown that popped up time after time each time you punched it, a weighted bottom proved physics theory and kept the toy upright.

    Soon after the Weeble debut came the Weeble house, complete with Weeble Wobble slides (instead of stairs, since Weebles had no feet). The Weebles effortlessly tumbled head over hull as they made their way from the upstairs window, down the yellow slide, and into the Weeble car in the garage.

    In the UK, Weebles were marketed by Airfix and had a distinctly different appearance to their US counterparts. In contrast to the stickers on the American version, the British Weebles had moulded plastic features that looked downright demonic. In Spain, “Los Weebles” were manufactured by Brekar.

    As the Weebles gained popularity and became more affluent, they acquired luxury items like a camper, a train, a boat and a plane, all Weeble friendly.

    The Weebles family then created a vast empire of real estate and entertainment, sharing the Weebles Wigwam (tepee, horse and Indian Weeble) and Weebles Treasure Island (a tropical island of palm trees and treasure, pirate boat and pirate Weeble).

    When the rat race became mundane and the Weebles were feeling a little low, they hitched up the Weeble Wagons and saddled up to the Weeble Wild West Ranch for some good old fashioned fun.

    And then the fun came to town via the Weebles Circus, the Greatest Weeble Show on Earth. Wobbles the clown joined ringmaster Bart and trapeze artist Gina under the big top for stilt walking, trampoline tricks, and the Weeble-shooting cannon (popcorn, peanuts and circus animal cookies not included). For athletic needs, the Weebles had a racing team for the Wobble race and celebrated Halloween with the Weebles Haunted House.

    In 1978, a variant was released called the “Tumblin’ Weeblies” in which the weight was loose and allowed the Weeble to move more freely and even (shock, horror) fall over. Needless to say, they didn’t catch on.

    The Weebles were eventually adopted by Playskool, and though their place on the toy market has been a little wobbly as old favourites have given way to new, they have always been favourites of those who grew up with them.

    weeblesThe beloved egg-shaped Weeble family is gone, transformed into recognisable characters sitting on rounded bottoms. Modern Weebles changed from the clear eggshell to a childlike drawing on coloured eggs, and then the egg flew the coop and a new sculptural relief-style body replaced the classic Weeble wobble.

    Weebles remain popular today and have been given the licensing treatment, emerging in sets including Peppa Pig, various Disney characters, the Teletubbies and Paw Patrol.

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Yo-Yo
      Yo-Yo
      A playground favourite for millions of schoolchildren the world over, the Yo-Yo is actually, according to some historians, one of…
    • Vanguard
      Vanguard
      Through tight corridors, against numerous foes, with only a four-way blaster for defence, a solo fighter took on the challenge…
    • Pong
      Pong
      The first successful computer game was a video version of ping-pong, whose "ball" was a blip that bounced back and…
    • Pet Rocks
      Pet Rocks
      The Pet Rock was probably the biggest toy fluke of the 20th century. Can you imagine people today buying a…
    • Harlem Globetrotters On Tour
      Harlem Globetrotters On Tour
      When their KISS pinball machine hit big in the summer of 1979, the folks at Bally saw they had something…
    • Mouse Trap
      Mouse Trap
      First released in 1963, this colourful, kooky trap game was complex, but a set of blueprints on the game board…
    • Magic 8 Ball
      Magic 8 Ball
      The original Magic 8 Ball was produced by the Alabe Crafts company in the late 1940s, and billed not for…
    • Little Golden Books of Barbarous Banality
      Little Golden Books of Barbarous Banality
      Perusers of supermarket checkout displays will be familiar with the standard arrays of Kit Kats, Who Magazine's 100 Most Infuriating People…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleViewmaster
    Next Article Whee-Lo

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
      Richard Donner’s sequel is only marginally less impressive than […]
    • Christian Death
      Goth‘s unlikely tendency to flourish in the world’s […]
    • Nine Below Zero
      Formed in the late ’70s (originally performing as […]
    • Rub-a-Dub-Tub
      1 9 8 3 – 1 9 8 4 (UK) 60 minute episodes Broadcast on […]
    • Aerobicide (1986)
      A psychopathic nutter is killing the members of a 1980s […]
    • Wash & Go
      “Take two bottles into the shower? Not me. I just wanna […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.