Talkboy: The Greatest Movie Prop Ever

Originally designed as just a plot element in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, it then became a must-have toy.

Of course you remember the Talkboy from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Unfortunately it didn't actually exist. It was actually designed as a non-functioning prop for the movie.

Via images.businessweek.com

But, after a massive letter-writing campaign by fans of the movie, the Talkboy was put into production. Manufactured by Tiger, it was released in 1993 and became an instant hit.

Talkboy was a handheld cassette player with an attached microphone, its features included a fast/slow switch, which sped up (to a faster speed of 130%) or slowed playback (slowdown to a speed of 76%), causing voice manipulation.

The Talkboy also benefited from being released almost simultaneously with the VHS release of Home Alone 2.

Tiger also released a pink version marketed towards girls, called Talkgirl.

Via etsy.com

Tiger expanded the Talkboy line well into the late ‘90s, releasing the Talkboy FX Plus, Talkboy Jr., Talkboy Pen and the Talkboy Shock Rocker.

Via ebay.com

Hasbro bought Tiger in 1998, and the Talkboy line was phased out in favor of newer lines like Furbies, Bop It, and HitClips

Because of its popularity, Talkboy’s are still widely available on sites like eBay, usually ranging between $20 for a used one, to $150 for mint in the box.

The only problem would be finding blank cassette tapes to use with it.

The memorable Talkboy commercial: