What Happened to Talkboy?

Talkboy is the quintessential ’90s movie-to-toy success story. Shown as a kid’s gadget in *Home Alone 2* (1992), the prop generated so much interest that Tiger Electronics released a real Talkboy soon after. The handheld cassette recorder let kids record, play back, and—on the Deluxe model—change playback speed to deepen or raise their voice (perfect for prank calls and Kevin-style hijinks). A color-swapped Talkgirl targeted the broader kid market, and bite-size FX spinoffs added sound-effect buttons.

Talkboy rode the early-’90s wave of movie tie-ins and low-cost electronics to become a holiday hit. But as digital players, mini-disc/MP3, and later phones replaced cassette gadgets, the line faded. By the late 1990s/early 2000s, Talkboy was discontinued, living on as a nostalgia icon—and a reminder that one perfect movie moment can launch a real-world toy craze.