Wacky wall walker
Encyclopedia
The Wacky WallWalker was a toy
molded out of a sticky elastomer
. It was shaped similar to an octopus
, 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
, Ken Hakuta
received in the mail several sticky octopus-like toys from his mother, who lived in Japan
. They were intended for his children, but Hakuta found himself fascinated with the toy, which was called Tako in Japan. He realized their marketing
potential, and after purchasing rights to the product in 1983 for $100,000, he began to market them locally in Washington, D.C.
, dubbing them "Wacky WallWalkers". Their popularity was mediocre, until Nina Hyde of The Washington Post
wrote a feature story
on them. This created a buzz, and people in the Washington area flooded local stores to purchase them. Within the next several months, hundreds of media outlets ran stories on them, creating one of the biggest selling fads of all time. 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, starring the voices of Daws Butler
, Tress Macneille
, and Marvin Kaplan
. 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.
The Wacky WallWalker was referenced in the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXII's Avatar parody when the female alien hit a tree and "walked" down it in the manner of the Wacky WallWalker.
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
molded out of a sticky elastomer
Elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with the property of viscoelasticity , generally having notably low Young's modulus and high yield strain compared with other materials. The term, which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term rubber, although the latter is preferred...
. It was shaped similar to an octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
, 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Ken Hakuta
Ken Hakuta
Ken Hakuta, known as "Dr. Fad" since 1983, is an American inventor and television personality. Hakuta, as Dr. Fad, was the host of the popular kids invention TV show, The Dr. Fad Show, which ran from 1988 to 1994. The show featured kids' inventions, and promoted creativity and inventiveness in...
received in the mail several sticky octopus-like toys from his mother, who lived in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. 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
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
potential, and after purchasing rights to the product in 1983 for $100,000, he began to market them locally in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, dubbing them "Wacky WallWalkers". Their popularity was mediocre, until Nina Hyde of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote a feature story
Feature story
- Published Features & news :While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in the style of a news story, for instance...
on them. This created a buzz, and people in the Washington area flooded local stores to purchase them. Within the next several months, hundreds of media outlets ran stories on them, creating one of the biggest selling fads of all time. 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, starring the voices of Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
, Tress Macneille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
, and Marvin Kaplan
Marvin Kaplan
Marvin Kaplan is an American character actor and voice artist. Kaplan is probably best known for his recurring role on the sitcom Alice where he portrayed a phone company employee named Henry Beesmeyer who frequented Mel's diner. He was a part of the cast from 1977 to the series end in 1985...
. 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.
The Wacky WallWalker was referenced in the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXII's Avatar parody when the female alien hit a tree and "walked" down it in the manner of the Wacky WallWalker.