mrpotatohead.net-1990s

The 1990's

Mr. Potato Head’s appearance stayed pretty much the same from the late 1980’s on through the 1990’s. Although the basic Mr. Potato Head toy didn’t change, (other than the packaging) new versions were added to the line. I guess it’s the more the merrier when you’re a bonafied superstar... and by all accounts the big Spud was on the top of his game! The 1990’s proved to be more prosperous than all previous decades for Mr. Potato Head! He not only continued to be one of the hottest toys on the market, he became a movie star and cultural hero. To begin with, Mr. Potato Head was awarded a Presidential Sports Award in 1992 from the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports. What a way to celebrate your fortieth birthday!

It was an experience that turned Mr. Potato into an old softy... literally. In 1992, Hasbro introduced the Soft Stuff Potato Head. This plush version of everyone’s favorite tuber had velcro parts that could be attached anywhere on his head.

But all that popularity paled in comparison to what was to come in 1995. Pixar Pictures and Disney released a ground breaking movie called Toy Story. This first ever full length computer generated movie boosted Mr. Potato Head from mere toy to the stratosphere of cultural icons! Actor Don Rickels supplied the voice to a cynical yet lovable animated Mr. Potato Head. The success of this movie spawned a flurry of related licensed items.

The 1990's saw Mr. Potato Head on shirts, ties, posters, games, puzzles, postcards...and hundreds of other products. And with these new products came a sprucing up of the Mr. Potato Head logo. In 1996, the round red and yellow
“Mr. Potato Head” logo replaced the prominent Playskool logo on all Potato Head items.

Even with all that new found fame, Mr. Potato Head was just getting rolling. In 1996, the League of Women Voters asked Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head to join their “Get Out and Vote” campaign. And speaking of campaigns, in January of 1998, Burger King began a promotional push for their new french fries. The world wide "spokesspud" for this campaign was of course Mr. Potato Head! Their new “fry guy” was seen on billboards, posters, and fashioned into nearly a dozen new Kids Meal toys.

In the fall of 1998 the toy that began on TV returned to the tube. The Fox Kids Network began airing the live action TV show, “The Mr. Potato Head Show”. This show featured a puppet version of a muscular Mr. Potato Head and a gang of his kitchen friends. And although his TV gig kept him pretty busy, he still found time to join Mrs. Potato Head for a starring roll in the 1999 feature film sequel Toy Story 2!

The licensing of Mr. Potato Head grew tremendously in the later part of the 1990s. Mr. Potato Head appeared on so many items in the 1990's that it’s hard to keep up with it all. Even without the outside licensing, the incredible size of Hasbro and the numerous name brands that they own made it possible for them to release Mr. Potato Head versions of all kinds of products such as Play-Doh, Monopoly tokens, craft items, as well as computer and electronic games.

As a Mr. Potato Head collector, acquiring the products of the 1990’s will keep you very busy. There were there many, many products on the market. You may want to limit your collection to one area of items, i.e. toys, printed items, premiums etc. Or you can go for broke and try to get it all! Some of the most popular items of the 1990's are the collectors edition themed Mr. Potato Head sets. They usually didn’t stay on the market for a long time, and their prices shot up rather quickly on the secondary collector market. The Radko Christmas ornaments are also a favorite item, and they too were only sold for a limited time.