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Kind and Gentle Freddy Krueger toys.

I decided to be social this weekend, hence, no posts. Remedy: New post now. I: succinct.

By the very late '80s, a mix of goofy one-liners, pop songs and Nintendo references turned Freddy Krueger into something, dare we say, child-friendly. And it showed in the merchandise. Nearly every horror icon has been immortalized with some kind of toy, but most of those things were really meant for the older crowd. Not so with Freddy. He actually had toys that were marketed to kids!

LJN, a company perhaps best known for its Thundercats collection, snagged the license and put forth a ton of Freddy-related dolls and playthings. I've already covered their official Freddy Figure, as well as an odd thing known only as a Freddy Spitball. Today, a third relic from LJN's attempt to make Freddy as benign as Barbie finds its way onto X-E: The Freddy Squish'Em!

Gotta love the Freddy Krueger promo shot that LJN used on the packaging. This is a more gregarious and inviting Freddy, complete with presidential smile and #FF0000 outer glow.

The idea with the Freddy Squish'Em was that it'd revert to its normal shape no matter what you did to it. You could twist, bend and crush him, and Freddy would pop right back into his original crazy position. I'm not completely sure what LJN was trying to convey with Freddy's pose, but I feel like I'm being solicited to bet on a curbside round of Three-Card Monte.

The lame gimmick of "does not break when you throw it" notwithstanding, this Freddy Squish'Em was at least a cool way to spice up a kid's bedroom display shelves. Baseball trophies and ceramic Rose Tea animals could've only sparked so many conversations when friends came over, but Freddy was a guaranteed icebreaker.

I worry about this new Elm Street movie. I worry that it's going to give the next generation the impression that Freddy cannot temper his desire to kill small children with his desire to just hang out and shoot the shit. It's easy to forget a time when Freddy was our buddy, but this foam figurine reminds us. So long as you rooted for him, Freddy was on your side.

Freddy was also a yo-yo.

Also from 1989, it's Spectra Star's official Freddy Krueger Yo-Yo! Freddy was just one in a huge assortment of franchises given the yo-yo treatment, ranging from Gumby to Garfield. It'd be hard to argue that Freddy hadn't become a kid-targeted character considering the company he kept in this weird yo-yo collection. When you're shortpacked in a shipping box full of Donald Ducks and Super Marios, you've kinda lost your adults-only edge.

You'll notice that Spectra Star added a string graphic over Freddy's glove, to insinuate that he was actually playing with the yo-yo. Thank God Freddy isn't real, because he never would've signed off on that.

The shame of being a yo-yo is clearly etched onto Freddy's face. It's almost as if he's trying to shield himself from our judgmental view. Freddy is in complete and total disbelief that he has become a yo-yo, or maybe that's just what he wanted us to think? It could've been a face-saving measure, because no one who is a yo-yo can also be the object of our gravest nightmares.

How much did Spectra Star pay you, Fred? Was it worth being the laughing stock of Hell?

Posted by Matt on 10/05/2009. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 74 comments

Hi all: I know you’re wanting to see the Die-O-Rama results…still working on ‘em! :)

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 10/05/2009 11:53 PM


Can’t wait Matt! First Non-Matt comment, woot!

Chestnuts roasted by Terror Claws @ 10/06/2009 12:05 AM


(almost) first!

Matt, you have got to pick up the Trick r Treat DVD and write a blog post about it!

Chestnuts roasted by Chris @ 10/06/2009 12:06 AM


I remember my cousin got a piece of Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger skin from some convention he worked at with his mom. He also took a picture with some guy dressed as RoboCop, only you could see RoboCop’s eyes ’cause he didn’t have the lens in his helmet. Spooky.

Chestnuts roasted by Jerrod @ 10/06/2009 12:07 AM


Chris: I saw and loved it this weekend. Also saw Drag Me To Hell. Liked it a lot. Especially because we were hammered and imagining PC into all of Mac’s scenes.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 10/06/2009 12:07 AM


Can’t wait to see the die-o-rama results!

Chestnuts roasted by Russ @ 10/06/2009 12:08 AM


Good to see another entry, Matt!

I didn’t send a die-o-rama in. I didn’t have the money to fill a shoebox with unopened Star Wars figures…

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 10/06/2009 12:09 AM


I doubt the new film will pack enough presence, or have the longevity to tarnish the spirit of the old, comfort-zone-Freddy.

Nice find, btw. That’s the sort of thing we’d have gone apeshit bonkers over during grade-school.

Chestnuts roasted by Fu3lman @ 10/06/2009 12:10 AM


You loved it? Nice.

I was so scared that this movie would be one of those things that I look forward to for awhile and then turns out to suck (*cough Spiderman 3 *cough) but everyone ive talked to that has seen it so far haas really enjoyed it. Can’t wait to by the DVD myself.

Well anyways, it really is something that is worth its own blog post, atleast IMO.

Chestnuts roasted by Chris @ 10/06/2009 12:10 AM


Second, oh yeah. Well, I watched the last part of Raw, and finally! Chris Jericho got his ass kicked. It’s
about time somebody shut him up.

Bad news, Daybreakers won’t be out until January.

Chestnuts roasted by Lonestar76 @ 10/06/2009 12:20 AM


Everyone should do themselves a favour and go and see Zombieland.

I like the finger… things at the end Matt.

Chestnuts roasted by Phil G. @ 10/06/2009 12:26 AM


Now I can’t stop imagining some teenager from one of the Elm Street films who has as their one writer-mandated personality trait an obsession with Yo-Yos. They did it with puppets, this wouldn’t be far off.

In the dream he finds a really awesome Yo-Yo, but it’s actually Freddy in disguise! He makes some lame crack about walking the dog and then strangles the guy.

The next morning the adults find him hanging from the ceiling via Yo-Yo string.

Chestnuts roasted by Doctor_Who @ 10/06/2009 12:28 AM


Awesome stuff…..anything Freddy is alright with me. Speaking of LJN Matt, do you have any other of their old 80′s line of WWF wrestlers? I always loved your bio’s for the ones you reviewed way back when and always had hoped you might come back with a 3rd installment someday. As a matter of fact I think the first one may have been the gateway to finding this site after Googling for info on the set. Anyways, just thought I’d throw that out there…..

Chestnuts roasted by Loneman1 @ 10/06/2009 12:35 AM


All right new post. Big Freddy fan myself. Not as much as Jason, but freddy rox. They made ALL KINDS of stuff based on the Nightmare series. I remember those squirting ball toys you reviewed.

Chestnuts roasted by ULTRAMAN @ 10/06/2009 12:41 AM


I remember some of the Freddy Kruger toys, too, mostly because they were so ubiquitous in the late 80s-early 90s, not because I actually wanted any. I’ve never been a huge horror fan.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 10/06/2009 12:43 AM


I was actually thinking this morning about the Freddy Kruger figure I got as a kid (been watching the Nightmare moveies lately). As I recall, it was pretty much one of those 12″ GI Joes dressed as Freddy.

What really sticks out in my mind about the figure is the fact that his face was a hard plastic shell, and that upon removing it you saw this generic Ken-doll looking head. Of course that mattered little, as you could also take off his sweater and slap on a bandolier from one the off brand 12″ GI Joes and have Rambo Freddy!

So awesome.

Chestnuts roasted by Goat Royale @ 10/06/2009 1:54 AM


Zombieland was great, Trick r Treat was awesome. Nice Simpsons referance to the guy that made the comment about unopened Star Wars figures.

Chestnuts roasted by Long time reader, fourth time poster @ 10/06/2009 3:08 AM


That youtube video may be the creepiest thing I have ever seen. Thanks to the snow glove.

Chestnuts roasted by Mortalwind @ 10/06/2009 5:48 AM


Monopoly starts at McDonald’s today!

Chestnuts roasted by Rich Uncle Pennybags @ 10/06/2009 5:51 AM


I like the idea of kids needing icebreakers when they go over to each other’s houses to play.

“So… um… do you like… blocks?”

Chestnuts roasted by Thorzul @ 10/06/2009 7:59 AM


I’m watching NOES right now, actually. Man, I love that movie.
The merchandise is a bit odd, but I think that’s what makes it so cool, actually.

Chestnuts roasted by Kapprika @ 10/06/2009 8:30 AM


Congratulations, Matt. This entry just got a spot on TV Tropes’ Misaimed Marketing page.

In other news: Atop The Fourth Wall reviews the Silent Hill comic

Chestnuts roasted by TB Tabby @ 10/06/2009 9:07 AM


So, uh…. How about them crudely drawn comics of rude ghosts?

Chestnuts roasted by PlantMonster @ 10/06/2009 9:13 AM


Yeah, for some reason the video makes me equally giggly and uncomfortable. Probably because that Freddy Squish’em is so emotive. I think I experience the whole gauntlet of emotions that go with getting squished in half, spun around, tossed away and then taunted by a giant black glove.

Chestnuts roasted by velouria_78 @ 10/06/2009 9:14 AM


So… Uh… I have kind of a confession to make. I have never seen any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Or the Friday the 13th series for that matter. Really, none of the horror classics. Halloween, TCM, Scream, Saw… You name it, I probably haven’t seen it. Truthfully all my knowledge of these films has come from this site. I… Um… So there it is, then.

Chestnuts roasted by Rhino @ 10/06/2009 9:40 AM


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