The first Weebles toys appeared in shops in the early seventies as a kind of follow-on from the Punching Clown from the Romper Room TV series (a franchised US kids show from 1953). Weebles are actually meant to be miniature versions of those bop-bag punching things. Hasbro acquired Romper Room Inc. in 1969 and it wasn't long before the Weebles were born.
In the UK Airfix made Weebles called Romper Room and they looked different to the US version (see the Weeble in the header image). They had scary moulded faces with holes for eyes - guaranteed to terrify any child.
The very earliest Weebles were altogether different from the type that can be bought today. They were shorter and fatter with peelable stickers which were surface mounted and easily scratched. Less than a year on a new generation of Weeble was launched with improved stickers which were no longer peelable.
The original line-up comprised the father who wore a red shirt or a blue sweater, a blond mother with a green dress a little boy wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt, a red-haired little girl wearing green trousers a pink baby holding a blue balloon and a brown dog.
A few years later the Weebles treehouse and cottage were produced and before long the Weebles had gained significantly in popularity and a whole range of other vehicles and accessories were being produced.
The vehicles included a police van, firebrigade truck (rare), boat (the S.S. Lilleput) an aeroplane and airport, a submarine with a diver Weeble and a dairy truck (rare). Other accessories were available including a pic-nic set with pic-nic table (food printed on top) a playground set which included swings slides and roundabout, pop-up camper, a train, a harbour with lots of boats, the well remembered haunted house (with scared girl, boy, witch and glow-in-the-dark ghost), a blimp (with pilot), circus (with Wobbles the clown, Gina the trapeeze artist, and Bert the Ringmaster), a swimming pool, and a race-track (with numbered Weebles).
Disney got in on the act and licensed the production of various Disney themed Weebles sets including the Magic Kingdom set, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set, a Winnie the Pooh treehouse, a Winnie the Pooh cottage, and a Winnie the Pooh circus. The actual Disney Weebles characters include Mickey Mouse, Billy and Karen the Mouseketeers, Donald Duck, Goofy (in two forms), Pooh, Tigger, and Christopher Robin.
A range of other Weebles lines emerged including a Treasure Island set which included pirate Weebles and a pirate ship and another treehouse set but this time for Tarzan and his ape friend. There was also a wild west Weeble set called The Weeble West Ranch, which included a stern Train, the Wagonmaster, and Indian Wigwam sets. The wagonmaster is larger than the cowboy girl and boy and Indian girl and boy from these sets.
Other themed Weebles sets included the holiday sets which were produced in carded sets of two. For Christmas you got Santa and Rudolph and for Easter there was a bunny rabbit and a chick dressed in their Sunday best. On halloween you had a glow-in-the-dark ghost in his purple ghost van (because ghosts drive vans don't you know), or you could get a superhero SuperWeeble whose back was opaque so that when turned he would become an ice-cream truck driver to conceal his superhero identity! The SuperWeeble came with an ice-cream truck and his enemy was a dodgy character called Mr. Trouble, who carried a bomb in his back pocket. Other carded sets included The Flintstones family and Raggedy Ann and Andy.
In 1978 a new variation of the Weeble was born - the Tumblin' Weebles. These were slightly different in that instead of having a fixed weight in their bottom, they had a free weight which could move up in to their head when tipped and resulted them in rolling around like a jumping bean. There were a few other sets produced for the Tumblin' Weebles including a fun house.
In the early 80's a range of Sesame Street characters appeared as Weebles including Big Bird and his aeroplane, Ernie and his helicopter, the Cookie Monster and his Sailboat, Bert and his convertible, and Oscar the Grouch. There was also a Sesame Street playground available for them.
A range of other Weebles merchandise has also been produced including puzzles, a big bop-bag, and even jewellery so that you could wear a charm necklace of your favorite weeble to school!
Today Weebles are still being made under Hasbro's Playskool brand and come in an even wider range of characters including many animals.
The original Weebles remain collectable however and are well worth hanging on to if you still have them.
The 70's TV adverts and other advertising for Weebles featured the catchy and lasting phrase "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!", a lphrase which has been reused as a lyric by a band called Lawnmower Deth in their song of the same name!
The name Weebles is also used as a derogatory name for the Ole Miss athletic teams (University of Mississippi).
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