Doll-A-Day 2017 #2 Hugga Bunch Impkins

  I recently came across a Hugga Bunch doll.

  Now Hugga Bunch dolls have never really impressed me one way or another. That's kind of unusual, because most people either love or hate them. They either find them adorable, or are creeped out by their furry faces and weird little pin point eyes.

  Originally created as characters for Hallmark greeting cards, Hugga Bunch were licensed by Kenner and were produced as dolls, starting in 1985. That makes them Unsentimental Niece's era. In fact, I think I bought her one.

All the Hugga Bunch dolls had names.This one, as you can see from her 'bracelet' is Impkins.

  The dolls all had different colour hair,eyes, and outfits. There were also a couple of African American Hugga Bunch dolls.

The dolls came in large boxes with clear plastic fronts, alot like Cabbage Patch doll boxes.

  The large Hugga Bunch dolls all came with a tiny one, which was called a 'Hugglet'. Impkins' Hugglet was called Nuzzler.

Unfortunately I can't show you Nuzzler, because he's AWOL.
  Hugga Bunch dolls were about 18" tall. They are all plush and very soft and huggable,which is fitting I guess.

  After the dolls became popular there were tons of other Hugga Bunch products produced, including  small vinyl dolls, Viewmaster reels, and lunch boxes. (There's one of those around here somewhere, as well as a Christmas stocking. I really need to get rid of those.) Taco Bell gave out Hugglet sized dolls with their kid's meals.

This is a Taco bell doll named Gigglet

Much better than some of the junk you get now.A toy like this would cost quite a bit in stores.

  There was even a movie in 1985,which at a cost of $1.4 million was the most expensive  TV special ever produced at the time, and won an Emmy award for Outstanding Visual Effects. (Which seems a little surprising when you look at the movie now, but it was the 80's. Visual effects have advanced a lot since then. But even for the 80's,well, let's just say they weren't the Muppets.)You can watch the movie on Youtube HERE.
The dolls eventually lost popularity, as everything does, and were discontinued. They still have quite a following however, and are sought after by Hugga fans.