SDCC05: Uglydoll

The Ugliest toys you'll ever love. Trust me, just keep reading.

Dave Horvath and Sun Min Kim, the creators of Uglydolls, took time to show us around and talk to us about the creation of this offbeat fan favorite.

In 2001 Dave and Sun Min created Uglodolls. They had been corresponding by letter for a few months and Dave started drawing a strange character (later becoming Wage) in each letter. Later Sun Min made a plush doll based on those drawings and named it the "ugly doll". They made about 20 and sold them to friends through the Giant Robot store in LA. After they quickly sold out they realized they needed to make more and came up with newer designs.

The Uglydolls line now sports many loveable characters and critters in roughly 10" plush. At the San Diego Comic Con they debuted the Little Uglys line; a half size line of their classic designs. The future will see color variations in the Little Uglys line and possibly in the fill size line as well. Also new are the Uglydolls vinyls produced by Critterbox.

I've seen these in stores and magazines before, and my first reaction was that this was a horrible idea and there's no way these would ever sell. When I was asked to report on these at the Con I was treating it more as work than a joy. I have to say speaking to Dave and Sun Min really turned me around. Hearing the great story of their creation, and their enthusiasm for their babies did something to me. Man, I really like these now. Give them a try, and they'll probably grow on you too.

Little Uglys