build a bear workshops
freak me the freak out.....just thinking of Halloweeny things and things that i find creepy...this has got to be as high up on the list as it gets for me...
>I'm disturbed by the swirling guts machine with the spout you put the empty bear skin to to fill your bear.
>I'm made (almost) queasy by the empty bear carcasses with their happy little eyes hanging limply from the walls like some kind of children s horror flick.
>I'm disturbed by the little boxes you can put in them to give them a voice...but not as much so as the swirling gut machine.
While i can appreciate the creative thought that went into making such a chain and as much as Im sure the average person would enjoy receiving a specially made bear just for them, Im disturbed beyond what is reasonable at the process. I look at the map kiosks in the mall just so i can know what wing to avoid in order to not bump into one. Unfortunately sometimes there are mobile build a bear stations throughout the mall...i live in fear of those.
Now tell me, am i the ONLY one who isn't at least slightly creeped out my these things?
The only thing that scared me more was that awful talking Teddy Ruxpin (ca. 1990) with the silky, menacing voice.
The only thing that scared me more was that awful talking Teddy Ruxpin (ca. 1990) with the silky, menacing voice.
HOLY CRAP! My sister had one of those, and it freaking creeped me out! His eyes blinked, too, which made it even worse...
Yeah, I've never been much of a fan of build-a-bear, either.
ETA:
I love "creepy" things, don't get me wrong...but the creepiness of build-a-bear is presented in such a fluffy, pretty context that it just isn't my cup of creep-tea.
There's "supposed-to-be-creepy" and then there's "accidentally creepy". Accidentally creepy is just plain frightening. Supposed to be creepy things, well, that's what you expect when you go in for it, right?
Children's toys aren't supposed to be creepy, particularly bears. At least no one has ever made a Chucky-type horror film using a teddy bear, in spite of that one horrible Ray Bradbury story.
Have they?
Oh, please tell me that they haven't. :'(
The only thing that scared me more was that awful talking Teddy Ruxpin (ca. 1990) with the silky, menacing voice.
i had a Teddy Ruxpin. i LOVED it. but probably because i was at the age to love it and not find it creepy... and i was kinda disappointed when Build-A-Bear came out... cuz i was too old to go.... :-[
ahhh nostalgia attack! i had a teddy ruxpin vhs when i was little..all i remember about it is a giant strawberry and some sort of beverage that they guy made..root beer i think. kids' movies are really kinda weird when you think about them.
vhz: ahhh what if you worked there and had to close ALONE, with all the carcasses there..in the dark...eeek creeeeepyyyy. i would never ever ever work there.
Where'd you hear about this build a bear thing??
I've never seen one of those shops. I'm sure it would freak me out to.
I love Build a Bear. I used to save up change and buy them whenever I had enough. I would pay for them in dimes and such. I haven't made one in years though. Just thought I'd pop in to mention that I like them.
i had not ever seen them until the last few years. I wonder how long they have been around? Ive seen them in malls from Az to Me and all the states Ive lived at in between. People use em a lot for kids birthday parties....
I had a teddy roxpin too....actually I think it was my brothers...all i really remember was that her had a a striped shirt and it must have gotten lost at some point because years later (when i was still quite young) i found his striped shirt buried in the sand box and could juts barely remember where it came from.
My sister had a Teddy Ruxpin; I was in an antique mall the other day and they had one on the shelf!
I loved Build A Bear as a kid; I only have one stuffed animal from there, though, and it's not a bear, it's a cow! I still have him. I thought it was sweet how we got to put little red hearts into them before they were stitched up. In a way, it's not really creepy as in swirling guts and animal corpses, but more like comforting because, in a way, you're bringing something to life! But I guess it's how you look at it.
I loved Build A Bear as a kid; I only have one stuffed animal from there, though, and it's not a bear, it's a cow! I still have him. I thought it was sweet how we got to put little red hearts into them before they were stitched up. In a way, it's not really creepy as in swirling guts and animal corpses, but more like comforting because, in a way, you're bringing something to life! But I guess it's how you look at it.
Agreed.
My only complaint is how they still talk to you like you're a little kid when you're making one.
In a way, it's not really creepy as in swirling guts and animal corpses, but more like comforting because, in a way, you're bringing something to life! But I guess it's how you look at it.
nope! you're wrong :P
just kidding...well, you know...
My sister had a Teddy Ruxpin; I was in an antique mall the other day and they had one on the shelf!
I loved Build A Bear as a kid; I only have one stuffed animal from there, though, and it's not a bear, it's a cow! I still have him. I thought it was sweet how we got to put little red hearts into them before they were stitched up. In a way, it's not really creepy as in swirling guts and animal corpses, but more like comforting because, in a way, you're bringing something to life! But I guess it's how you look at it.
I agree. The swirling gut machine scared me when i was little, but it was because it seemed HUGE and LOUD and not soft and sweet like everything else in the store. I also didn't like seeing the animals being stuffed, because I thought the workers were too rough with them and I felt bad..like, hey, that's my animal you're messing with! I still have a leopard from there that my sister made me. Somewhere..
Agreed.
My only complaint is how they still talk to you like you're a little kid when you're making one.
BWAAAAAAA-hahahaha! :D That made me laugh out loud (oh, my bad - LOL).
I agree. The swirling gut machine scared me when i was little, but it was because it seemed HUGE and LOUD and not soft and sweet like everything else in the store. I also didn't like seeing the animals being stuffed, because I thought the workers were too rough with them and I felt bad..like, hey, that's my animal you're messing with! I still have a leopard from there that my sister made me. Somewhere..
I KNOW. I always felt like my stuffed animals had feelings, which often prompted my mean brother to throw them against walls and do dumb things like stomp on them. :'(
I KNOW. I always felt like my stuffed animals had feelings, which often prompted my mean brother to throw them against walls and do dumb things like stomp on them. :'(
this, yes, me too...actually as kid i think i felt like EVERYTHING had feelings...like my cloths, toys, shoes, but especially my stuffed animals and dolls...i know that's normal at some point in development, but or me it lasted much much longer than normal and truth be told...if i think about my stuffed animals that are in storage at my dads house....a little part of me feels sad for them....
You're telling me my most beloved bunny doll doesn't have feelings?? :'( :'(
I'm just gonna pretend I never even heard that. :-[
I still have that vague feeling in my heart that my stuffed animals can feel and everything despite the fact that I know better; I guess there is always a part of people that never grow up. Somewhere along the line, though, as I've experienced animal abuse multiple times and such, it's the real animals I've seen get stomped on that truly breaks my heart and kills me inside.
I loved Build A Bear as a kid; I only have one stuffed animal from there, though, and it's not a bear, it's a cow! I still have him. I thought it was sweet how we got to put little red hearts into them before they were stitched up. In a way, it's not really creepy as in swirling guts and animal corpses, but more like comforting because, in a way, you're bringing something to life! But I guess it's how you look at it.
Agreed.
My only complaint is how they still talk to you like you're a little kid when you're making one.
Same here. I like Build-a-Bear, but I don't want to do all the kiddy crap just to put the fake heart in the bear (the time I got one the worker was a little *too* into it...)