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50 Epic Toy Design Fails That Are So Bad, It’s Actually Funny (New Pics)
As simple as they might seem in concept, the truth is that making a good toy is harder than it seems. Many toys that represent human figures tend to invoke the uncanny valley, but some are so creepy that it’s unclear what parent’s would look at it and think “my child needs one of these.” At the same time, parents are also forced to search through the veritable ocean of bootlegs.
We’ve gathered some spectacular examples of bizarre, creepy or just downright weird toy design fails from across the internet. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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From What Level Of Hell Was This Retrieved?
They Should Have Thought About This Kinder Egg Toy A Little Longer
The Quality Check Was Clearly Passed
On the face of it, toys really should not be creepy at all. Most folks would probably agree that playthings for children should, on average, be cute and inoffensive. However, toymakers also have to deal with the unfortunate reality that the items they make tend to be human or humanoid forms and, as it turns out, people have a weird aversion to this concept.
This is generally referred to as the uncanny valley, where “mostly” human figures make people nervous. We tend to be able to relate more to forms and figures that resemble us, but as these figures get closer and closer to perfectly resembling humans, there is a “drop,” or a valley which suddenly creates some revulsion.
This "Hagrid" Doll I Bought 15 Years Ago In A Dollar Store Is Just A Repainted Lion From The Wizard Of Oz. Rocking His Mane, Ears, And Medal Of Courage
Off-Brand Toy With An Interesting Name
The Not So Fantastic Four
Some have, rather sensationally, suggested that this powerful aversion to “almost human” figures is some evolutionary response to alien doppelgangers. However, there is a significantly more logical explanation. It's the same reason rotten food, maggots and skeletons all, generally cause some degree of fear and disgust: being around dead things can be dangerous, and a corpse is perfectly in line with something “almost human.”
Playground In Germany
Batman’s Face Is Priceless
This Lamb I Won Out Of A Claw Machine. I Love It
In toys, the uncanny valley tends to show up most often in hyper realistic baby dolls. While it might not be as common of a toy anymore, there was a period of time when dollmakers were going through a sort of arms race to produce baby dolls. This included features like crying until it was “fed,” the ability to urinate and dynamic sounds, from sleeping to laughter.
Geocentric Solar System At A Public School's Playground
My Favorite Show Is Called The Americans
My Friend's Daughter Got A Veterinarian Kit For Her 4th Birthday, He Sent Me This
At a young age, this might all seem quite cool but as an adult, a very lifelike toy making noises and sometimes even “reacting” to movement and light (these sorts of features also exist) are probably the inspiration for horror movies about dolls and toys coming to life.
Homer On Steroids
Bort Sampson
Oh No
SpongeBob Devourer Of Children
Found This Toy At A Random Store. Nothing Makes Sense In This Toy
Strange Dinosaur
Mario Grew A Mustache Above His Nose
I'm A Benign Girl, In A Benign World
Spooderman
“Luigi, I Think Something Is Not Right”
Jamaicachu: "Jamaica No Problem"
This Bootleg Captain America Toy
She Looks Like She's Had A Hard Life
You Had One Job
To be fair, this is how a lot of folks wear their makeup, with a face a totally different complexion than the rest of their body
I Don't Even Know What To Call This
Dora Did Not Like What She Explored
Somewhere there's The Terminator action figurine that comes with a pink, flowery backback.
Spiderman With His Famous Spider-Rifle
I Have No Words
I see Captain America, fit Popeye, a guy with puffed-up cheeks who looks vaguely familiar, Spiderman, and what appears to be the disembodied head of Ben 10
What Am I Supposed To Call This? Lario?
Here Comes The Yellow Cat That Hates Saturdays: Barfyard
Spotted This Chimera At The Mall
Blursed Avengers
The person who packaged this probably thought "Mario Brothers, Batman, The Avengers...all the same thing..."
Adolescence-Deformed Karate Frogs
They Blocked The Middle Slide At The Playground
The Folks Installing The Playground Weren't Looking Too Closely
I Think Wario Ingested A New Kind Of Mushroom. I Wonder What Mario Party He Went To
A Transforming Dinosaur Robot Toy My Son Got
This Is A Toy That I Got Today. My Kid Removed It's Head To Reveal This. I Should Have Read The Text Properly, "Security And Non-Taxic". The Head Comes Off Very Easily, And It's Very Pointy
Any Idea Why My Kid Refused To Ride This?
This Pikachu Off-Brand Found At Goodwill
"Quality" Toy I Found In A Claw Machine
Tele... Babies
Found This At The Mall
This Toy Parking Deck Has A Battery Compartment Without A Battery Compartment
Panda-Themed Children’s Ride
This Burger King's Patrick Star Toy Is Actually Mr. Crab
Poor Woody And Buzz, What Have They Done To You?
I Found Some New Avengers Infinity War Figures. "Derp" Black Widow And "Calm But Clearly Not Amused Steve" Captain America
I wonder if they use AI to do the designs for them... The "mistakes" look kind of similar...
Load More Replies...Quite off topic but you know the plug for Bored Panda's shows at the bottom of every post? Well they've managed to misspell THEIR OWN FREAKING SHOW. 'Secret Diares' indeed.
And my wife wonders why I always take a quick tour through the toy section at the dollar store! :)
i collect these type of mess ups when I see them lmao I have so many derp stuffies
I wonder if they use AI to do the designs for them... The "mistakes" look kind of similar...
Load More Replies...Quite off topic but you know the plug for Bored Panda's shows at the bottom of every post? Well they've managed to misspell THEIR OWN FREAKING SHOW. 'Secret Diares' indeed.
And my wife wonders why I always take a quick tour through the toy section at the dollar store! :)
i collect these type of mess ups when I see them lmao I have so many derp stuffies