Stuffed animals come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny bean bag frogs to gigantic teddy bears bigger than most people. If you’ve ever wondered just how big the world’s largest stuffed animal is, read on for the fascinating details.
If you don’t have time for all the specifics, the quick answer is that the current Guinness World Record holder for the largest stuffed animal is a massive 198 foot and 3 inch long teddy bear made in Mexico in 2019.
In this article, we’ll explore the various contenders for the world’s biggest stuffed animal title over the years. We’ll look at their sizes, who made them, what they look like, and where you can see them on display if they still exist.
The History of Giant Stuffed Animals
Early pioneers of oversized plush (1900s-1960s)
The origins of giant stuffed animals can be traced back to the early 20th century, when companies like Steiff in Germany began experimenting with larger toy designs. These early oversized stuffed animals were still modest in size, often under 3 feet tall.
Key innovations in materials like synthetic fur fabrics and plastic eyes enabled the production of larger stuffed animals over time.
One pioneer was the Ideal Toy Company, which released a 4-foot tall stuffed giraffe in 1957 named Longfellow. As television became more popular in the 1950s and 1960s, companies increasingly used larger stuffed animals as advertising tools and store displays to catch customer attention.
Department stores often featured giant stuffed animals during holiday shopping seasons as the plush giants drew the gaze and delight of children and parents alike.
Rise of giant teddy bears in the 1980s and 1990s
The modern era of giant plush really took off in the 1980s and 1990s, as major plush brands like Ty and Gund manufactured stuffed animals in ever-increasing sizes. Inspired by promotions from companies like Vermont Teddy Bear, retailers engaged in a “battle of the bears” to create the largest stuffed mascots, with giant teddy bears reaching heights over 25 feet tall in the early 1990s.
A watershed moment came in 1993 when Five Star Teddy Bear in Canada produced a teddy bear dubbed “Bearington” that stood over 3 stories tall at 10.3 meters (33 ft) tall. As giant teddy bear-making became more competitive, new world records exceeded 36 ft by the end of the 1990s.
Other popular giant stuffed animals of the era included frolicsome gorillas, darling giraffes, and soft pot-bellied pigs.
Modern massive plush creations of the 2000s and beyond
The new millennium saw stuffed animal creators push to ever greater extremes. Individual hobbyists began amassing collections of plush giants, while major retailers used towering stuffed mascots over 50 feet as marketing spectacles.
Manufacturing innovations like computer-aided design enabled precise scaled-up blueprints for massive bears and creatures previously unimaginable.
Today, several extremely tall teddies vie for the record of world’s largest stuffed animal, though most exceed 65 feet in height and require industrial cranes to move them! Looking ahead, experts predict advancements like synthetic faux fur, tougher interior skeleton frames, and aerospace technology will enable 200 ft plus stuffed creature creations for advertising firms with big budgets and builders with even bigger dreams.
The Current Record Holder: Xolo the Teddy Bear
The current record holder for the world’s biggest stuffed animal is Xolo the Teddy Bear. Standing at over 20 feet tall, this gigantic teddy bear was created in 2019 by the company Xolo Toys in Istanbul, Turkey.
Xolo measures an incredible 7 meters (23 feet) tall from head to paw. To put that in perspective, that’s taller than a two-story house! Xolo is so big that the company had to manufacture him in separate pieces and assemble him inside the exhibit hall.
Xolo’s Grand Unveiling
Xolo made his first public appearance in July 2019 at the Tour Istanbul exhibition center. His giant smiling face and cute round belly attracted lots of attention and photos. Visitors praised his “unbearably cute” looks.
According to Xolo Toys, over 5,000 people came to see the giant teddy bear on opening day alone! Many visitors remarked that pictures don’t do Xolo justice – you have to see him in person to really grasp his enormous size.
By the Numbers
So exactly how big is Xolo? Let’s break it down:
- Height: 7 meters (23 feet)
- Width: 5 meters (16 feet) from paw to paw
- Weight: 5000 kg (over 11,000 lbs)
- Foot size: a whopping 1.8 meters (6 feet) long
To craft Xolo, the company used 4 tons of fur and 2 tons of wood for his skeleton. His eyes measure half a meter (1.6 feet) wide. Just one paw weighs a staggering 400 kg (880 lbs)! 😮
A Record-Setting Bear
Thanks to his mammoth measurements, Xolo earned the Guinness World Record title for the world’s largest teddy bear. He broke the previous record held by a giant bear named Teddy that was “only” 10 feet tall.
Has Xolo held onto his record in the years since? So far, yes! As of December 2023, over four years after his debut, no other teddy bear has surpassed Xolo’s size.
While Xolo enjoys his world record holder status, his makers at Xolo Toys have set their sights on breaking their own record someday. But for now, Xolo remains the undisputed biggest stuffed bear on the planet!
Have you seen Xolo in person? Let us know your thoughts about this colossal cuddly bear in the comments!
Other Notable Giant Plush Creations
The Sultan teddy bear
Another extraordinarily large teddy bear is The Sultan, who measures a whopping 4.3 meters (14 feet) tall. Handmade in Turkey in 2018, The Sultan holds a Guinness World Record for the title of tallest teddy bear.
This gentle giant took nearly five months to stitch together and is filled with lightweight plastic pallets so he can stand upright without difficulty 😊. The Sultan teddy travels the world attending exhibitions and bringing joy to thousands of spectators wherever he goes with his friendly smile.
Sega Joypolis’ giant Mega Miffy
The massive Mega Miffy bunny plush created by Sega Entertainment is almost 12 feet tall and resides at the Sega Joypolis indoor amusement park in Tokyo, Japan. First unveiled in 2015, the bright white XXL-sized stuffed animal bunny with cute button eyes and orange limbs matches the perfect proportions and charming personality of the beloved storybook character Miffy.
Mega Miffy greets over 1 million Joypolis visitors every year, making this bunny one of the most-seen giant plushies ever. Guests love standing next to the innocent-looking yet totally humongous plush bunny for amusing photos.
Rilakkuma relaxing in Hida, Japan
A sleepy yet super-sized plush edition of the famous Rilakkuma bear character lounges across a picturesque stream and green mountain landscape as part of an art installation in Hida, Japan. This adorable 13-foot long cuddly bear took a team of locals nearly six months to design and hand-sew using durable materials that could withstand the natural outdoor elements year-round.
The giant teddy bear named ‘Rilakkuma’ first appeared reclining across Hida’s Tanigawa-dake mountains in 2016 as part of a publicity campaign to boost tourism in the area. Over 200,000 Instagram selfies have been taken alongside the chilled-out bear, making this one of Japan’s most famous photo op destinations.
The giant teddies of Liverpool and Norfolk
Lastly, enormous teddy bears installed on rooftops have become icons and beloved mascots for the communities of Norfolk and Liverpool in England 🇬🇧. Norfolk’s 32-foot smiling teddy bear overlooks cars passing along the busy A11 highway into Thetford, instantly recognizable thanks to its bright blue eyes, red bowtie and friendly wave 👋.
Locals affectionately call it ‘Blue Bow Ted’. Similarly, Liverpool proudly displays a 26-foot tall plush teddy above the Royal Court Theatre which has become a selfie hotspot for Liverpool residents and tourists alike.
These monumental snuggly bears prove that supersized plushies can unite communities everywhere.
Making a Giant Stuffed Animal
Design and Structural Considerations
When embarking on creating a colossal plush toy, key factors to consider in the design are structural integrity, weight distribution, and durability of materials. The frame, often made of wood, PVC pipe, or steel, needs to be strong enough to hold hundreds of pounds of stuffing without buckling or breaking.
An internal skeleton provides crucial load-bearing support. Cushioning materials like high-density upholstery foam can then be layered over the frame to create the body shape before encasing it all in a stuffed animal skin.
Sourcing Enough Stuffing and Materials
A mammoth stuffed critter, such as the world’s largest at over 40 feet long, requires staggering amounts of stuffing materials. Polyester fiberfill stuffing is a common choice given its lightweight nature and ability to spring back after compression.
With over 3 tons of stuffing needed, sourcing enough at an affordable cost is key. The outer fabric also needs to be durable, flexible, and made of high-quality materials that can withstand frequent handling without tearing. Custom-made faux fur or plush fabrics are often used.
Assembling the Pieces
Constructing a colossal plush plaything is an enormous undertaking, requiring significant manpower and space. First, the internal frame and base shape are assembled according to technical design plans.
Foam and stuffing are methodically layered on next, with constant pressing, shaping, and smoothing to achieve the desired contours and firmness. The panels of outer fabric are carefully measured, cut, and expertly sewn together, leaving an opening to stuff the internal cavity.
The last steps involve positioning the outer skin around the filling, hand-sewing the opening closed, and adding facial features and other finishing touches. It’s extremely labor-intensive but rewarding to see a giant stuffed animal come to huggable life!
Where to See Giant Teddy Bears and Stuffed Animals on Display
Teddy bear and doll museums
Some of the best places to marvel at colossal stuffed animals are teddy bear and doll museums. These delightful museums showcase impressive private collections of bears and other plush toys of all shapes and sizes from around the world.
For example, the Teddy Bear Museum in Jeongseon, South Korea displays over 4,000 teddy bears and plush animals in a sprawling complex. Highlights include Sami, an astounding 65-foot-tall teddy made for the 2018 Winter Olympics!
Other remarkable teddy bear museums include the Teddy Bear Museum in Dalton, New Hampshire displaying early 20th century bears, and England’s Teddy Bear Museum showcasing over 1,000 bears from the Victorian era to the present.
😊 At most teddy bear museums, guests can admire bears of all sizes from tiny antiques to giant record-breaking plushies. It’s beary exciting for teddy enthusiasts!
Amusement parks
Giant character plush toys also delight visitors at amusement parks and theme parks. For example, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee features a huge 26-foot-tall teddy bear named Bearywoods! 🧸 Other stuffed animal mascots include Bubba at Alton Towers theme park in England, standing 20 feet tall.
And since 2016, Dutch Wonderland amusement park in Pennsylvania has been home to Sebastian, an incredible 40-foot-tall giraffe who holds the record for world’s tallest plush!
Theme parks invest in colossal character plush toys as fun photo opportunities and memorable park icons. In fact, amusement plushies are getting bigger, with GIGANTIS, an enormous 55-foot teddy bear, unveiled at a German theme park in 2021!
Theme park stuffed animals provide whimsical wow-factors for guests.👏
Other public plush displays and events
Oversized plush animals also make special appearances at a variety of public events and displays. Towns may feature monumental teddy bears to celebrate local history, such as the Berlin Giant Bear installed in Vermont honoring the area’s teddy bear manufacturing legacy.
🐻 since 2001, New Jersey’s Loveladies has hosted an annual Giant Bear Hunt where large artist-decorated bears are displayed around the community.
What’s more, record-breaking bears occasionally go on tour! In 2022, two tremendous teddies measuring over 50 feet tall named Domingo and Cielito toured several states. And to raise funds for children’s hospitals, the Big Bear Buddies project created colossal plush pandas and cats totaling over 100 feet long!
Clearly, giant plush creatures make wonderfully endearing attractions. 😻
Conclusion
As we’ve explored, people have been creating absolutely enormous stuffed animals for over a century, with today’s giant plushes dwarfing most of the early pioneering works. While countless outsized plush creations have come and gone, some have stood the test of time to still wow visitors today.
The biggest stuffed animal in the world title currently belongs to Xolo the giant teddy bear in Mexico, but who knows what even bigger plush wonders the future may hold? One thing is certain – humankind’s love of gigantic snuggly creatures knows no bounds!
