The plush bears made by Boyds were released late 2004. These were a big hit with many stores selling out their stock. The bears of the four main characters were featured on afghans, wall hangings and pillows and a set of stickers was made with all 6 plush characters.
In addition to the plush, Boyds also a successful resin line of figurines. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Shoebox figurines are jointed for posing. This is a darling little set especially if you've missed Boyd's previous resin pieces.
Cuddle Factory has produced one of the best plush teddy bear sets. This set of 7 based on the MGM characters is huggably soft and each has the Wizard of Oz logo embroidered on their foot. The costuming is really detailed and they measure 9 inches tall when seated. Toto and the Cowardly Lion are especially adorable as teddy bears in disguise.
Enesco's Cherished Teddies Wonderful Wizard of Oz set was offered as Avon exclusives. These 2 1/2 inch resin figurines made up a really cute set. Again, if you missed the 1999 set of Cherished Teddies, this is a nice substitute.
The big surprise came in mid-September from Build-A-Bear. The store where you can fully customize your own teddy bear had a line Wizard of Oz costumes and fully dressed bears as part of their Halloween line. Most stores only stocked the Tin Man and Dorothy costumes, but all of the outfits and fully dressed bears could be purchased from Build-A-Bear's website. The dressed Dorothy and costume were sold out by Halloween, but the website still has most of the other characters available.
