Geoffrey the Giraffe

My stepmother recently reminded me of a fond memory from my high school days. She, my father, and I were watching TV one night when a commercial for Toys ‘R Us came on.

My father: “I don’t like those Toys ‘R Us commercials. That talking giraffe really freaks me out.”

My stepmother: “You know he’s not real, right? Giraffes can’t really talk. He’s animatronic.”

My father: “Of course Geoffrey is real! An animatronic giraffe couldn’t own a toy store!”

Me: “So, you think they trained a real giraffe to do all of those things in the commercials?”

My father: “Why not? Is that so hard to believe? They can train dogs and horses, why not a giraffe?”

My stepmother: “Train him to own and run a toy store?”

My father: “Why not?”

The sad part is that I think he was serious. Still makes us laugh.

 

UPDATE: If you’re at all curious, it was in fact an animatronic giraffe made by the Stan Winston Studio for Toys ‘R Us. In most commercials, it was only a robotic head in a box, not the whole body.