FurReal Friends (later furReal in 2017) is a toy brand division of

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

and formerly of

Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) is an American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld electronic games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as '' Brain Warp'' and the ...

and Dreamright Toys created in 2002 focusing on robotic pets. FurReal toys widely vary in style and size, depicting different domesticated animals,

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s, wild animals, and

legendary creature A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist. In t ...

s as robotic toys. They are usually small enough to be held, but have been manufactured large enough for children to sit on. Each furReal robotic toy moves to a degree. Two slogans were "They love you for real, furReal Friends" and, for 2013, "My best friends are FurReal Friends". In 2017, "Make every day magical" was used on Hasbro's furReal webpage.

Products

FurReal are animatronic replications of creatures and animals, and are marketed as an alternative to live pets. The toys seek to emulate the behaviors of common pets, including

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s, cats,

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

s and dogs. Toys designed to represent wildlife include

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

s, leopards, jaguars, and

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

s. There are also models of extinct animals such as

s, and mythical creatures like

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

s and

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

s. The toys come with an "adoption certificate," that can be filled in with the owner's name and the name of the furReal "pet." The first furReal Friend was simply called "Cat," and was referred to as female in her 2003 instruction manual. She had sensors in her head, right cheek, left cheek, shoulders, back, and tail. Cat would mimic sleeping and could be woken up by having the top of her head scratched. If not played with or petted for three to five minutes, she would shut down. Over the years, the toys became more complex and could accomplish a variety of actions. As of 2023, furReal toys' features can include mimicking eating, sleeping, urinating and defecating, as well as walking, grooming, playing music, making sounds and lighting up.

Notable models

In 2006, was Butterscotch

Pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

: an animatronic pony large enough for small children to sit on. A halter, brush, and toy carrot were included. When sat upon, Butterscotch would "move her head up and down, blink her eyes, and twitch her ears while making soft sounds," according to the toy's manual. Butterscotch was designed with an assortment of

sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

that mimicked those of live horses. It was followed in 2007 by a second animatronic pony named

S'more A s'more (alternatively spelled smore, pronounced , or ) is a confectionary, confection consisting of toasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker, graham crackers. S'mores are popular in the United States an ...

s of slightly higher quality and with more sound effects. Zambi, a robotic baby elephant, was intended for charitable sales in 2009. The instruction manual thanked the buyer for "adopting" the special edition toy, which also came with a bracelet. Purchases of Zambi supported a charitable fund called Project Zambi, which aimed to benefit children orphaned by

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in Africa. The Project Zambi Celebrity Charity

Auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

, in collaboration with

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

, auctioned off Zambi elephant toys signed by celebrities. The event took place over 10 days, beginning on October 5, 2009. Jaden and Willow Smith were celebrity ambassadors for the fund.

Notes

External links

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Sega Toys Japanese websiteFan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furreal Friends Hasbro products Products introduced in 2002 Toy animals Artificial pets 2000s toys 2010s toys 2020s toys

Products

Notable models

See also

Notes

External links