Hasbro (Amy)

Amy (Christmas 2007)

As you can see from this page, Amy is very special to me.  I received just a few weeks before the 2007 Christmas.  She is marked Hasbro, 1992, Real Baby, Giggles and Coo, Made in China.    She operates with batteries and a switch on the back of her neck.  With the switch on, when you press her belly, she giggles.    The thing that makes this particular Hasbro Real Baby a little more special to me is the fact that she also says a phrase, sometimes after the giggle, and sometimes "it seems" on her own.  I have noticed she says the phrase especially to a sudden sound such as when one of my dogs bark or if I say, "boo" suddenly to her. 

I wrote the Hasbro Toy Company and asked for information about this particular year of the Real Baby doll models.  I asked them exactly what was the intended function.  Hasbro wrote back and said, there was no information about this particular doll.

If anyone out there has a 1992 Hasbro Real Baby, please email me at connielimon@yahoo.com  and let me know what your doll is doing.

All the dolls in my house have a spot for display.  Amy's spot is on top my desk.  I have also been "lead" or "compelled" to purchase a special bed for Amy.  All the clothes you see in these pictures around her are clothes I already had.  I went through and picked out everything that fits her.  I felt she needed the attention of changing her clothes and taking her picture.  I also purchased her two new outfits.  The red Christmas outfit and a mint green outfit with a little hat.  She looks good in hats and bonnets, I think.

The phrase Amy says sounds like this:  "Uraha-Uraha Up-Up."

The woman I purchased her from told me before the purchase that she had a psychi reading done on Amy.  The psychi was convinced that this little doll is the host to a very young spirit unable to communicate properly.  My guess is maybe around 8 to 12 months old.  The words up, up are very clear.  The other words sound more like a little tune.  The tone of voice is definitely of a very young child, I believe to be female.  The phrase sounds like a little tune, perhaps, that a little child would sing as she was playing with her doll and the words up, up could have the meaning of the child lifting the doll up in the air and she lifted, she would sing the tune and say "up, up" to her doll.

Throughout the psychic reading obtained by the person I bought the doll from, they said there was constant giggling and this phrase being said.  I have heard only the phrase and it occurs only when the switch is on.

Reactions from my dogs were:

Ginger smelled of her face, her hands and feet and then motioned her for to get down on the floor.

Hershey smelled of her just a little and then bit her hand.

If you will take notice of Amy's eyes in these pictures of how they glisten and I see different expressions, could be just the way distance I am from her when I take the pictures.  I don't know about anyone else looking at these pictures, but I feel like she looks more real than any doll I have pictured on this web site. 

See below information I found on the internet about the Hasbro Real Baby Dolls

Amy

In the year of 2000, Hasbro announced a new interactive baby doll called "My Real Baby."  This particular doll cried, cooed and instantly responded to its owner with smiles and squeals.  Hasbro called the doll the "most technologically advanced baby doll" ever.  The doll was created from an exclusive alliance between iRobot Corporation, which was also known as IS Robotics, Inc., of Somerville, Mass., and Hasbro, Inc.

The doll I have pictured on this page was produced in 1992, which was before this new technology with iRobot, and the creation of "My Real Baby."  The doll I have pictured here is marked specifically "Real Baby."

The "My Real Baby" looks completely different from Amy pictured here.  The My Real Baby dolls use animatronics (a type of technology used in Disney toys) and Natural Response Technology, a process that iRobot worked on for six years before My Real Baby was produced.  Six years before the year of 2000 is 1994 at the earliest.  Amy was produced in the year of 1992 and is marked on a label sewn to her side.  I cannot see how this doll could have received any of the this technology that allowed for speech.

The My Real Baby that came out in the fall of 2000 was clearly marked to do the following:

• Her face changes from a smile to a frown and back again
• She giggles and laughs when you tickle her feet or bounce her on your knee
• she will tell you when she needs to be burped, changed or fed
• she begins speaking simple baby words like "mama" and "vum-vum"
• she advances to short sentences like "I Love you, Mama" and "I want baba, Mama"
• A child can rock her to sleep and, when she is ready to take a nap, she will say "night, night"

Amy, the 1992 Hasbro Real Baby doll does none of the above.  She giggles briefly when you press her stomach, and then as I explained above, she says the phrase that includes the words up, up, not when you bounce her on your knee.  I have got her to say this phrase the most with a sudden sound such as the dog's barks or saying the word "boo" and sometimes just by saying, "what do you have to say to me Amy?"  Amy will answer me with the phrase and stop.  I ask her again the same.  She answers with the phrase.

Source for above information, other than my own words was:  BNET Research Center Articles.

Read below information taken from Hasbro's Company History

The 1990s for the Hasbro Toy Company was full of innovation and excitement, however, they did not mention anything about the speech technology used in the "My Real Baby" dolls that appeared in the year 2000.  What is of interest to me in their 1990s history is the fact that one of Hasbro's proudest moments happened in the mid-90s (which is also before 1992 when my doll was produced).  On Valentine's Day, 1994, the doors of the Hasbro Children's Hospital opened in Providence, Rhode Island.  It was dedicated to state-of-the-art pediatric and family care.

In 1995 Hasbro entered the video gaming market with the creation of Hasbro Interactive.  They launched a number of successful software franchises based on its own brands, including Tonka and Monopoly, as well as established new software brands, such as Rollercoaster Tycoon.  Hasbro sold its interactive division to Infogrames Entertainment SA in 2000.  The Company's brands continued to thrive in the video gaming market through a licensing agreement with the Infogrames.

In Hasbro's history for the 1990s, they mentioned several other acquisitions and toys introduced, but no mention of a 1992 Hasbro Real Baby.  Apparently this little doll was not all that popular, and it is my guess all she was suppose to do was giggle and coo with no kind of speech capabilities.  However, without any kind of documentation from the company, I am not able to conclude that this is the case, as they told me they have no information regarding this particular doll and her functions.

There were also other Real Baby dolls produced earlier than 1992, I believe it was around 1985, and they look entirely different from Amy as well.  In addition, they are bigger and do not giggle or make any kind of noises.

Hasbro's FURBY was mentioned as one of the decade's most popular and innovative toys.  This was a cuddly animaltronic pet produced in 1998 with a spunky personality that had children and their parents waiting in line as new shipments were delivered one holiday season.  More than 40 million FURBY toys were sold in three years.

It is possible "someone" had access to the animaltronic technology and programmed this particular doll, Amy, to say this phrase. 

My other guess is that she is indeed the host to a spirit, perhaps, one that was somewhere near the Hasbro Children's Hospital that opened in Providence, Rhode Island.  This particular doll, Amy, came out of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which is not that far from Rhode Island.

At any rate, I have enjoyed Amy very much.  I have welcome her into my home and given her the red carpet treatment.  Whatever happened in the life of this little doll remains a mystery.  She has now reached a destination where she is very loved and cherished here with me

Source for the above was from the Hasbro Company History Online

What is new with Amy?

Well......I took her into another room of my house, and by mistake, left the room without her.  At the end of the hallway, I suddenly heard a noise that sounded exactly like a baby crying, a short cry it was.  I stopped and said "what was that?"  It was distinctively different than any sound I had ever heard coming from my dogs.  I stood quietly as I turned my ear toward the direction where I "mistakenly" left Amy and then remembered, I left Amy back there.  Was that her crying?  I waited to see if I could another cry.  Nothing happened.  I went back to the room where I left her and remember this was "by mistake."  I did not plan to leave her in there.  The button on her neck was in the off position.  Now what was this noise?  Where did that cry come from?  Was it Amy telling me I had left her behind and she was not happy about that.  Did she know I heard and was returning, the reason why she never cried again?  I don't know the exact answer to these questions.

Now.......you see Amy below in her new bassinet-like bed.  Before she arrived here, I had not been "tuned in" to buying my dolls beds.  I have been placing them here and there and everywhere on top furniture, etc.  But for Amy, I felt like I wanted to buy her a bed.  I missed the ebay auction for her first bed and when she arrived I put her in my office on top my desk.  A few days after she arrived here, I awoke in the night to see a shadow standing in the doorway of the room where I sleep.  I drifted back off to sleep.  Then I awoke suddenly again to see a shadow in the very position where you now see Amy in this bed below.  Was the shadow Amy telling me where she wanted to be in the house?  I had thought of this position to place her bed, if I did indeed purchase one for her, she seemed fairly snug on top my desk and we were changing clothes daily of which I felt she truly enjoyed the spot and the attention.  I could some how feel this or maybe I just imagined she was enjoying this.  Anyway.....the notion to buy a bed had left me by now.  However, I considered 2 other places in my sleeping room to place a bed for Amy if I did buy one.  The shadow did not visit those other places.  The shadow only visited the spot where you now see Amy.  Days passed.  I forgot about seeing the shadows.  Now I suddenly feel "tuned in" to look for another bed for Amy.  I found this one, placed the first bid, and said, well if I get it for this bid, fine, if not, I will wait for another one.  I did win the bed from ebay auction on my first bid.  The bed arrived.  I immediately felt to place the bed where it is now (but really and truly had forgot about seeing the shadow in this spot before by now).  When I put the bed in this spot, it fit.  There was no other place in the room where I felt like I wanted to move it.  I can actually see this bed and Amy right across from where I sleep.  Next, I moved Amy into the bed and put the clothes I already had on hand plus a few new outfits I purchased especially for her in the children's premie and 0 to 3 months section of baby departments in the bed with her.  Next, came these lovely outfits I purchased from ebay from a seller in the UK.  They are hand made knitted outfits.  I purchased several, not knowing which doll I would put them on until they arrived.  I first imagined Amy in one of the pink outfits and I still may try one of those on her.  I put those and the other outfits on other dolls, and Amy ended up in this pretty peach outfit, which I do think suits her better than all the rest.  So I felt was picture taking time again as you can see below.

Oh and what else?   Well......I heard another short, sudden cry.  The button on back of neck is turned off at the time I heard this.  I had had a particularly long and out of routine day.  Dogs do not like out of routine days.  And I suppose Amy does not either.  I was sleeping.  Amy is across from where I lay sleeping.  The dogs are whining and crying and barking, all of which I know is because I changed their routine, and they are complaining.  Then suddenly, I heard a different sound, similar to the one described above when I left Amy in the separate room from me.  This cry seem to come from the direction of Amy and her bed, which is right across from me, but I was also half asleep when I heard this.  The cry awoke me along with the whining, crying and barking of my dogs.  Was Amy upset too that I seemed to be a little distant from everyone at the time, and had changed everyone's routine