ELEANOR TAYLOR|REGULARS
Released by Tiger Electronics in 1998, which were bought that same year by Hasbro, Furbys took the world by storm. You might be thinking Furbys look an awful lot like Mogwai from Gremlins. Warner Bros actually noticed this too and threatened to sue Hasbro for it which resulted in Furbys being changed to look more different. The legal threat wasn’t too damaging though because, in 1999, both companies partnered to release a Furby which was based on Gizmo the Gremlin. In 1999, the NSA banned Furbys from their bases due to concerns that they were secretly monitoring conversations. Like the grown adult that I am, I love Furbys. I am not sure why I am obsessed with these tiny guys, but they are just so absurd and dumb looking. This is my ranking of limited edition Furbys and most of these were made between 1998-2002. That was the Furby golden age and all Furbys to come after 2002 suck and are boring, and lame.
1. Jester Furby (1999)
Amount made: 72,000
I actually have an acrylic painting of this Furby which I made ages ago and it is fantastic. A fun fact about these guys is that they were made by a different manufacturer to normal Furbys, so they are actually thinner. This is also the factor that made them such a bad job; most of these Jester Furbys have missing pieces and don’t work correctly. For all his mechanical flaws, this guy is my fave.
2. Little Bo Peep Furby (2001)
Amount made: 0
Little Bo Peep Furby is actually an unreleased Furby. This devastates me because as you can see, the homegirl looks good. The crook, the hat, the sheep and the pink colour. I LOVE IT. Little Bo Peep Furby is coming for Jester Furby’s crown. Literally, the only reason she isn’t there, is because she is unreleased. Withholding Little Bo Peep Furby from us is a criminal offence.
3. Wizard Furby (1999)
Amount made: 90 000
Wizard Furby is what Autumn Furby wanted to be. Autumn Furby walked, so Wizard Furby could run. This man is giving me everything, he is absolutely owning his outfit and I love him SO MUCH. The starry cloak and the hat tell me that he is a wizard; he is not too detailed but it’s just enough to inform you about his role and tell you that he is special.
4. Blue Moon Shelby (2001)
Amount made: Unknown
Shelby is an icon. To this day, I am unsure of what prompted his design. The least Furby-like Furby on this list, but he is a Furby in mollusk form! Shelby is actually technically not a Furby, he is a Furby Friend. This was a weird line of toys that could communicate with Furbys. Shelby speaks both Shelbish and Furby. Shelby weirds me out, on account of the whole mollusk thing, but he is the most creative thing Hasbro has ever made.
5. Valentine’s Day Furby (2000)
Amount made: 150,000
Valentine’s Day Furby understood the assignment. She is not as weird as some other limited editions (I’m looking at you, Shelby) but her colour scheme and necklace are so dang cute. She is fun, fresh and fierce.
6. Bejewelled Furby
Amount made: 5
Only two Bejeweled Furbys were ever sold, at $100,000 each. This is the rarest Furby and I want to love her. I really do. It's actually unknown if Bejeweled Furby was an official release. This is because she was sold at FAO Schwartz Toy Store in New York. This store was infamous for bedazzling kids toys at the time. I suspect that they genuinely took Snowball Furby and put expensive jewellery on her. This is because Bejeweled Furby has the same body. The jewellery is made of 18k gold, 63 diamonds, 44 rubies, blue sapphires, emeralds and 157 Swarovski crystals.
7. President Furby (2000)
Amount made: 36,000
President Furby has a unique dialogue and sings ‘hail to the chief.’ I do not like America or fascist governments. But I included this man because he looks kinda like President Trump and that amuses me. I also respect his unique sounds.
8. Royal Furby (2000)
Amount made: 135,000
I want to love this guy, but I cannot. He looks cheap, like garbage. His fur is a weird overly saturated blue, and also, I am an anarchist, so I don't support authoritarian governments. Yes, that extends to a hypothetical Furby King. I really love the concept of the Furby King tbh, but I hate how he looks, the execution sucks for this one.
9. Spam Furby (1998)
Amount made: Unreleased
There are many unreleased Furbys you can find online. I want to take a moment to appreciate the simplicity of Spam Furby. Here, we have a Snowball Furby wearing a shirt with ‘spam’ on it. I have questions about this Furby. Was it made as part of a collaboration with Spam? Did children in 1998 like Spam? Why did this happen? I want one though.
10. Furbish (1999)
Amount made: Unknown
Furbish is a Furby Knockoff. I wanted to include him because I kind of dig him. Look at his strong arms! He speaks Furdish (the knockoff Furbish language). Furbish was actually sued by Hasbro, and the Japanese authorities then seized as many of these as they could get their hands on. In late 1999, it is known that Japanese police shredded 20,000 fake Furbys and I think Furbish was probably destroyed with them. It’s okay, he lives on in my heart.