Description

Created by Jim Henson Company alumni Tim Clarke, Maureen Trotto and Larry Mass for the Seven Towns company in 1987, Boglins were initially brought to Coleco as a potential addition to their Sectaurs line; but were eventually marketed on their own by Mattel in 1987. The three original large scale Boglins were Dwork, Vlobb and Drool (Vlobb and Drool were called Plunk and Flurp in the UK), and were packaged in unique wooden crate-like boxes with bent plastic jail-bars. Although sporting small arms and a tail, these puppets mostly consisted of a large goblin-like head, drawing some inspiration from the giant Olmec heads of Ancient Mexico. Constructed from an artificial rubber known as Kraton, the initial models also featured glow in the dark eyes, which could be moved using a lever hidden inside the puppets, as well as the ability to wink/blink via a small plastic tab above each eye. Unlike many toy lines of the 1980s there was no accompanying cartoon series or comic book for Boglins, with a backstory only mentioned in the “Bogologist Field Notes” on the back of the packaging. The notes establish the science of “Bogology”, detailing how the creatures originated from a “swampy bog that time forgot”, possibly a “missing link” to human personalities. The first release of large creatures were given the species name Boglinus Humungus.

Smaller Boglins (a subspecies known as Boglinus minimus), named Squidge, Shlump, Shlurp, Sponk, Squawk, and Squeel were also early releases into the line (in the UK these names were changed to Squit, Boink, Splatt, Blap, Klang, and Doink respectively). Lasting only two years in the United States, Boglins proved to be a bigger hit within the United Kingdom, distributed by the toy companies Ideal and Action GT. Other later Boglins included “Talking Boglins” (Glint and Kwirk), Aquatic-themed “Soggy Boglins” (Snish the Fish, Slogg the Frog, and Slobster the Lobster), “Halloween Boglins” (Blobkin and Bog o’ Bones), “Glow Boglins” (Klang, Doink, and Squit), “Action Boglins” (Rasp, Gunge, Likk, Iball, and Spit), “Bash’em Boglins” (Splat and Skwish), and re-releases of the original larger Boglins: Dwork, Flurp, and Plunk, now including hair and “wiggly tongues”. “Baby Boglins” were also produced, much smaller in size serving more as finger puppets as opposed to the full-sized hand puppets. These came inside of small plastic eggs and included Blap, Boink, Squit, Klang, Doink, Splat, Cratch, Flop, Lurp, Mork, Snot, and Suk; Boink, Klang, and Squit also came in “Baby Action Boglins” variants. Other variations included small hard-plastic “Caged” Boglins, as well as “Acrobat Boglins” made from a sticky elastomer similar to the octopus-shaped Wacky WallWalkers of the same era.