The Wacky WallWalker was a
toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...
molded out of a sticky
elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''elastic p ...
. It was shaped similar to a
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
, and when thrown against a wall would "walk" its way down. It was a hugely popular toy in the early 1980s.
Before its introduction in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Ken Hakuta
Ken Hakuta (born 1951), known as Dr. Fad since 1983, is a South Korean-born Japanese-American inventor and television personality. Hakuta, as Dr. Fad, was the host of the popular children's invention TV show ''The Dr. Fad Show'', which ran from ...
received in the mail several sticky octopus-like toys from his mother, who lived in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. They were intended for his children, but Hakuta found himself fascinated with the toy, which was called ''Tako'' in Japan. He realized their
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
potential, and after purchasing rights to the product in 1983 for $5,000, he began to market them locally in Washington, D.C., dubbing them "''Wacky WallWalkers''". Their popularity was mediocre, until
Nina Hyde Nina may refer to:
* Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname
Acronyms
*National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq
* Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology
*No income ...
of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote a
feature story
A feature story is a piece of non-fiction writing about news. A feature story is a type of soft news. The main sub-types are the ''news feature'' and the ''human-interest story''.
A feature story is distinguished from other types of non-news ...
on them. This created a buzz, and people in the Washington area flooded local stores to purchase them. As the fad began to decline, over 240 million Wacky WallWalkers had been sold, raking in about 80 million dollars.
The popular toy was featured in the 1983 animated Christmas special ''
Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls
''Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls'' is an American television Christmas special that aired on NBC on December 11, 1983. The special is inspired by the Wacky WallWalker toys that were imported from Japan and merchandised by Ken Hakuta in 1982. The ...
'', starring the voices of
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company where he originated the voices of many familiar characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Ho ...
,
Tress MacNeille
Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series ''Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrench ...
, and
Marvin Kaplan
Marvin Wilbur Kaplan (January 24, 1927 – August 25, 2016) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Best known as Henry Beesmeyer in '' Alice'' (1978–1985).
Early years
Kaplan was born on January 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
.
The show featured seven Wallwalkers from the planet Kling-Kling: Big Blue, Springette, Bouncing Baby Boo, Crazylegs, Stickum, Wacko, and their leader, Kling-Kling. One character in the special was modeled after Hakuta's son, Kenzo.
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Wacky WallWalker Fada
X-EntertainmentVideo promoting Wacky Wall Walker at the end of a Corn Pops Commercial
Products introduced in 1983
1980s toys
Toy animals
1980s fads and trends