The Hugga Bunch
The Hugga Bunch was a 1980s toy line from the Kenner, Parker Brothers companies and Hallmark Cards. Starting in early 1985, the companies manufactured the Hugga Bunch dolls, each of which held a smaller doll called a "huglet" in their arms. During that year, the line generated over US$40 million in sales.
The title characters in the franchise lived in a place called "Huggaland".
Film
The toys inspired The Hugga Bunch, a 1985 television film produced by Filmfair Communications.Written by David Swift and directed by Gus Jekel, it earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects. Produced for US$1.4 million, it was the most expensive TV special ever produced at the time. Along with a making-of special, it was released on VHS, LaserDisc and Beta by Vestron Video's Children's Video Library. To date, it has not been released on DVD and/or Blu-ray.
Plot
In the film, a girl travels through her mirror into HuggaLand to find a way to keep her grandmother—the only one who knows how to hug—young.Cast
- Gennie James - Bridget Severson
- Natalie Masters - Grams Severson
- Terry Castillo - Huggins
- Tony Urbano - Hugsy
- Aarika Wells - Queen Admira
- Carl Steven - Andrew Severson
- Susan Mullen - Janet Severson
- Mark Withers - Parker Severson
- Kelly Britt - Aunt Ruth
- Richard Haydn - Bookworm
A Day Full of Hugs
| Song | Songwriters |
| Everybody Needs A Friend | Tom and Stephen Chapin |
| All Kinds of Hugs | Tom Chapin, John Forster and Stephen Chapin |
| Smiling Again | John Forster |
| The Choose-Up Song | John Forster, Stephen and Tom Chapin |
| Through the Mirror | Stephen Chapin, Tom Chapin and John Forster |
| March to the Bookworm's House | Tom and Stephen Chapin |
| The Bookworm's Book | Stephen Chapin, Tom Chapin and John Forster |
| The Hug-A-Lug Song | Johnny Talon and Don Specht |
| Shrugs Are Like the Measles | Tom Chapin, John Forster and Stephen Chapin |
| Love to Share | John Forster |