Mr. Potato Head

"Mr. Potato" redirects here. For the potato chip brand, see Mamee Double-Decker.

Mr. Potato Head
Inventor	George LernerMr.potato head/images.jpeg
Company	Hasbro
Country	United States
Availability	1952–present
Materials	plastic felt (formerly)

Mr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in 1949, and first manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952.^[1] Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on television^[2][3] and has remained in production since its debut. The toy was originally produced as separate plastic parts that could be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable. Government regulations forced Hasbro into including a plastic potato body within the toy set.

Over the years, the original toy was joined by Mrs. Potato Head and supplemented with accessories such as a car and a boat trailer. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head may be best known for their appearances in the Toy Story franchise. Additionally, in 1998 The Mr. Potato Head Show aired, but was short lived with only one season being produced.^[4] As one of the prominent marks of Hasbro, a Mr. Potato Head balloon has also joined others in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.^[5] Today, Mr. Potato Head can still be seen adorning hats, shirts, and ties. Toy Story Midway Mania at California Adventure Park in Disneyland California also features a large talking Mr. Potato Head.^[6]

History

In the early 1950s, Brooklyn-born toy inventor George Lerner came up with the idea of inserting small, pronged body and face parts into fruits and vegetables to create a "funny face man".^[2] Lerner would often take potatoes from his mother's garden and, using various other fruits and vegetables as facial features, he would make dolls with which his younger sisters could play. The grape-eyed, carrot-nosed, potato-headed dolls became the principal idea behind the plastic toy which would later be manufactured.

In the beginning, Lerner's toy proved controversial. With the war and food rationing a recent memory for most Americans, the use of fruits and vegetables to make toys was considered irresponsible and wasteful. Toy companies rejected Lerner's creation.^[2] After several years of trying to sell the toy, Lerner finally convinced a food company to distribute the plastic parts as premiums in breakfast cereal boxes. He sold the idea for $5,000. But in 1951, Lerner showed the idea to textile manufacturers Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld, who conducted a small school supply and toy business called Hassenfeld Brothers (later changed to Hasbro). Realizing the toy was quite unlike anything in their line; they paid the cereal company $2,000 to stop production and bought the rights for $5,000. Lerner was offered an advance of $500 and a 5% royalty on every kit sold. The toy was dubbed Mr. Potato Head and went into production.^[2]

Mr. Potato Head was born on May 1, 1952. The original toy cost $0.98, and contained hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, four noses, three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight felt pieces resembling facial hair. The original Mr. Potato Head kit did not come with a potato "body", so parents had to provide their own potato into which children could stick the various pieces. Shortly after the toy's initial release, an order form for 50 additional pieces was enclosed in every kit.^[2]

On April 30, 1952, Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised directly to children on television. Before this, all toy advertising had been directed at parents. This commercial revolutionized marketing, and caused an industrial boom. Over one million kits were sold in the first year.^[2] In 1953, Mrs. Potato Head was added, and soon after, Brother Spud and Sister Yam completed the Potato Head family with accessories reflecting the affluence of the fifties that included a car, a boat trailer, ^[7] a kitchen set, a stroller, and pets called Spud-ettes. Although originally produced as separate plastic parts to be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable, a plastic potato was added to the kit in 1964.^[1]

In the 1960s, government regulations forced the Potato Head parts to be less sharp, leaving them unable to puncture vegetables easily. By 1964, the company was therefore forced to include a plastic potato "body" in its kit. Little children were also choking on the small pieces and cutting themselves with the sharp pieces.^[8] About this time, Hasbro introduced Oscar the Orange and Pete the Pepper, a plastic orange and green pepper with attachable face parts similar to Mr. Potato Head's. Each came with Mr. Potato Head in a separate kit. Female characters Katie Carrot and Cookie Cucumber also made an appearance. Hasbro also made a fast food based line called Mr. Potato Head's Picnic Pals. Some characters where Mr. Soda Pop Head and Franky franky frank. The friends and pals were later discontinued, but Funko revived Oscar and Pete as bobbleheads (along with a Mr. Potato Head bobblehead) in 2002.

In 1975, the main potato part of the toy doubled in size and the dimensions of its accessories were similarly increased. This was done mainly because of new toy child safety regulations that were introduced by the U.S. government. This change in size also increased the market to younger children, enabling them to play and attach the facial pieces easily. Hasbro also replaced the holes with flat slats, which made it impossible for users to put the face pieces and other body parts the wrong way around. In the 1980s, Hasbro reduced the range of accessories for Mr. Potato Head to one set of parts. The company did, however, reintroduce round holes in the main potato body, and once again parts were able to go onto the toy in the wrong locations.

In 1986, Mr. Potato Head became "Spokespud" for the annual Great American Smokeout and surrendered his pipe to Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in Washington, D.C.^[1]

In 1995, Mr. Potato Head made his debut in Hollywood with a leading role in the Disney/Pixar animated feature Toy Story.^[1]

In 2000, Mr. Potato Head was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, NY.

In 2006, Hasbro also began selling sets of pieces without bodies for customers to add to their collections. Some of these themed sets included Mermaid, Rockstar, Pirate King Princess, Firefighter, Construction Worker, Halloween, Santa Claus, Chef, and Police Officer. In the same year, Hasbro introduced a line called "Sports Spuds"^[9] with a generic plastic potato (smaller than the standard size) customized to a wide variety of professional and collegiate teams.

In 2011, Mr. Potato Head got his first new look in nearly 30 years.^[10]

Versions

In recent years, Hasbro has produced Potato Head sets based on media properties that Hasbro produces toys for under license.

These include the Star Wars-themed "Darth Tater",^[11][12] "Spud Trooper"^[13] and "R2-POTATOO",^[1][14] a 2007 Transformers film-themed "Optimash Prime",^[15] a pair of Spider-Man (red suit and black suit)-themed "Spider-Spud/Peter Tater", a Indiana Jones-themed "Taters of the Lost Ark" set ^[16] (which, despite the title, was released as a tie-in to 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), an Iron Man 2-themed "Tony Starch" and a Trick or Tater version for Halloween in October 2008. An additional five Star Wars-themed potato heads were sold exclusively through Disney Theme Parks including "Luke Frywalker", "Yam Solo", "Spuda Fett","Princess Tater", and "Darth Mash". In 2009 "Bumble Spud"^[17] was produced based on the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. A Kiss version of Mr. Potato Head was produced recently. Disney, in cooperation with Hasbro, also released "Chipbacca", "Mashter Yoda", and "C-3PotatO" in October 2009 at Disney Parks. To celebrate Toy Story 3, five new Mr. Potato Heads were unveiled including Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Mrs. Potato Head, and the classic Mr. Potato Head.^[18] To promote The Looney Tunes Show, Hasbro unveiled Bugs Bunny-, Daffy Duck- and Taz, the Tasmanian Devil-themed Mr. Potato Head dolls.

In 2011 it was announced at the New York Toy fair that a second Elvis Mr. Potato Head (the '68 special) would be released. As well as sets for The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Lion), the Three Stooges, and Star Trek (Kirk and Kor). These will all be released through PPW toys. From Hasbro, there will be a SpongeBob SquarePants release as well.

Impact on popular culture

Mr. Potato Head's popularity has led him to some appearances in films and television. In 1985, Mr Potato Head played a supporting role in Potato Head Kids, his first dramatic television appearance. In 1995, Mr. Potato Head appeared in the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story, voiced by Don Rickles. He returned between 1999 and 2010 in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 alongside Mrs. Potato Head. In 1998-99, he had his own short-lived Fox Kids series, The Mr. Potato Head Show. In addition to film and television, the character has been the subject of a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Cartoonist Gary Larson included the character in several of his The Far Side cartoons. In commercial for Bridgestone tires during Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, Mr. Potato Head is driving a car and Mrs. Potato Head is nagging him.

Mr Potato Head has also acted as spokesperson for several causes. In 1987, Mr Potato Head surrendered his pipe to become the spokesperson for the American Cancer Society's annual "Great American Smokeout" campaign. He performed the role for several years. In 1992, he received a special award from the President's Council for Physical Fitness. In 1996, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head joined the League of Women Voters and their "Get Out the Vote" campaign. Mr. Potato Head is also the inspiration/main character of an upcoming fan film, Potato Headed.

The famous toy has made other appearances. In 1997 Burger King brought him aboard for the introduction of their new French fry and their "Try the Fry" campaign. In Britain, Walkers crisps has a line of crisps called Potato Heads, featuring a Potato Head rendition of Gary Lineker on the packet.^[19] An interactive Audio-Animatronic version appears in the queue for the Toy Story Midway Mania! attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's California Adventure.

Bill Bryson briefly talked about the character (its early incarnation) in The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, calling it amongst the most pointless toys of his childhood—it let kids confirm the harsh truth that even with eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hat, etc. it is still only a middle-class tuber.

Page 44 of Earth (The Book) is dedicated to Mr. Potato Head, and he is described as a "popular children's toy whose sensory organs could be quickly removed and stored in" an unfortunate location.

In the English language, "potato-head" is a slang term used to describe either a person with a potato-like shape to their head, or someone who lacks intelligence. It's in reference to this, and not the toy, that Louis Armstrong recorded Potato Head Blues in 1927. ^[20]

Games

Mr. Potato Head has appeared in the popular Wii/DS games "Hasbro Family Game Night 1, 2, and upcoming 3 as he host your Family Game night in 2 he has his companion The Mrs. He has also appeared in Toy Story 3 the Game and Toy Story Mania. He has also appeared in an activity center game for PC

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Mr Potato Head". Museum of Childhood website. V&A Museum of Childhood. http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/toys/construction_toys/mr_potato_head/index.html. Retrieved September 11, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Walsh, Tim (2005). Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Made Them. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-5571-4. 
3. ^ www.hasbro.com - History of Hasbro: Mr. Potato Head^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "The Mr. Potato Head Show". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315688/. Retrieved June 10, 2011. 
5. ^ Suddath, Claire (November 27, 2008). "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Time. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1862565,00.html. 
6. ^ "Toy Story Mania! | Walt Disney World Resort". Disneyworld.disney.go.com. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/hollywood-studios/attractions/toy-story-mania/. Retrieved May 23, 2011. 
7. ^ "‪Vintage Original Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head commercial 1960's‬‏". YouTube. 2009-01-26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICGrjmJouWA. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
8. ^ d. martin. "1960". Mrpotatohead.net. http://www.mrpotatohead.net/1960/1960.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
9. ^ "PPW Toys". Sports-spuds.com. http://www.sports-spuds.com/. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
10. ^ Townsend, Allie (February 24, 2011). "Mr. Potato Head Gets Off the Couch. Meet Hasbro's Slimmer Spud". Time. http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/24/mr-potato-head-gets-off-the-couch-meet-hasbros-skinnier-spud/. Retrieved May 20, 2011. 
11. ^ "Darth Tater at Wookieepedia". Starwars.wikia.com. May 15, 2011. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Tater. Retrieved May 23, 2011. 
12. ^ "Darth Tater at Star Wars Merchandise Wiki". http://swmerchandise.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Tater. 
13. ^ Spudtrooper at Star Wars Merchandise Wiki
14. ^ Artoo-Potatoo at Star Wars Merchandise Wiki
15. ^ "Optimash Prime". Tfwiki.net. May 10, 2011. http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimash_Prime. Retrieved May 23, 2011. 
16. ^ "Indiana Jones Taters of the Lost Ark". Indianajones.wikia.com. http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Indiana_Jones_Taters_of_the_Lost_Ark. Retrieved May 23, 2011. 
17. ^ "Bumble Spud". Tfwiki.net. 2011-05-14. http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bumble_Spud. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
18. ^ "browse". Hasbro.com. 2009-02-13. http://www.hasbro.com/playskool/en_US/shop/browse/Playskool/Mr-Potato-Head. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
19. ^ "UK Screen Association News - Gary Lineker as Mr Potato Head". Ukscreenassociation.co.uk. http://www.ukscreenassociation.co.uk/news/articles.htm?aId=176. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
20. ^ "potato-head". answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/potato. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 

External links

• Hasbro - Mr Potato Head Official website