80s Kids vs Today
As a child of the 80s, it takes a minute to shift my expectations around toys; mainly, that they don’t want Care Bears or He-Man as much as a plushie of a monster. But these are their interests, and they do enjoy the games under supervision, so sometimes we let our kids spend their allowance on a Huggy Wuggy plushie.
Huggy Wuggy
Huggy Wuggy is part of the game Poppy Playtime. If your kids don’t get nightmares from light horror games, then the gameplay itself isn’t a problem. It’s the video fan fiction and Roblox knock-offs that can turn it weird and frightening. It’s also commonly modified to play “in real life,” that is, on the school playground, but is often nothing more than tag.
I had the Boogeyman; they have Huggy Wuggy.
Rainbow Friends
Rainbow Friends is a Roblox horror game developed by ©Roy & Charcle LLC. I always research the creators as well as the gameplay because there is a history of predators in the Roblox developer space – another article for another time. But ©Roy & Charcle LLC appears to be clean.
The story starts with a gruesome bus crash, before the riders are recruited to help collect blocks and such, searching through deserted rooms with hints of rainbow colors. You basically have to complete tasks before various Rainbow Friends get to you and kill you. Among Us meets ROY G BIV.
The plushies themselves aren’t any scarier than a Tim Burton toy, so if they can play the game without nightmares, they can probably hug one just fine. Compared to some other merch in this store, it’s priced reasonably too. Would I pay $15 for a Huggy Wuggy to hug? Not likely. But $5? Sure.
Of course, I told them that if I ever wake up and see Huggy Wuggy in my face, I will throw him clear across the room 😆.
Photo/Image Credit: Cindy Marie Jenkins, Canva
Read more: YouTube Merch Part 3: MrBeast
Sources:
- Robertson, Andy, “Don’t Panic: What Parents Really Need to Know About Huggy Wuggy,” Forbes, 15 April 2022.
- “Rainbow Friends & PhatMojo Team Up for Toys & More,” Licensing International, 23 January 2023.