Line #26 Franchise/LeapFrog


1	[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leapfrog_enterprises.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:240:Learn something new every day.]]
3	[[https://leapfrog.com [=LeapFrog=] Enterprises]] is a toy and publishing company based in Emeryville, California, founded by former Cooley LLP attorney Michael Wood in 1995 after coming up with a way to aid in his son's reading lessons. The company specializes in educational toys and electronics. They are primarily known for the [=LeapPad=], an electronic talking book device, the Leapster - a handheld gaming console with the processing power that's about equivalent to a UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, and the Fly Pentop computer, which somehow gained popularity in the business and computing world (the creator of the Fly left [=LeapFrog=] and created the Livescribe enhanced pens in 2009).
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5	They are also well known for the ''[=LeapFrog=] Learning Friends'', characters originally created for materials to be used for products such as [=LeapPad=] learning systems, but has since been spun-off to be used in various other toys and even [[WesternAnimation/LeapFrog animated VHS/DVD releases]].
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7	In February 2016, they revealed that they were nearing bankruptcy due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own [=LeapPad=] and Epic tablet devices[[note]]A number of factors came into play despite the Epic receiving critical acclaim from parenting groups - applications sold on [=LeapFrog=]'s in-house app store sell for way more than on Google Play and elsewhere as well as the requirement to buy gift cards to get credit to buy the apps if you don't live in the main 6 countries Leapfrog has a presence in, draconian region locking/restrictions keeping parents overseas from accessing certain services, apps or videos, and a watered-down hardware combined with lack of proper Bluetooth HID peripheral support contributed to the Epic's tepid reception in some circles. Also, it forces apps to run in the UK locale for those living in the "other" region, including forcing the UK keyboard- when the most recognizable keyboard in the world is the ''US'' one, and forcing locale-aware apps to display UK English spelling and play UK audio, without giving the user a chance to customize said settings[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.
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9	Please note: Tropes unique to the DVD series have been moved to the [[WesternAnimation/LeapFrog Western Animation]] section. This page lists tropes that applies to the toys and the company's products in general, although tropes that crosses over into the DVD series are allowed.
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12	!![=LeapFrog=] products exhibit the following tropes:
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14	[[foldercontrol]]
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16	[[folder:Products in general]]
17	* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]]. Averted with the ''Learning Friends'' themselves, but in their universe they have purple caterpillars, purple fireflies, green and purple dogs, purple octopi, and more. And then Edison, said purple firefly, joins the main cast just as everyone that is not Leap, Lily and Tad is PutOnABus...
18	* AmbiguouslyBrown: Dot and Dan.
19	* AnAesop: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXWltWyRAgU An ad]] for [=LeapStart=] tries to make the point that online content shapes children's view of the world by having a young kid talk like a ConspiracyTheorist.
20	* ArtShift: The [=LeapFrog DVDs=] initially mis-portrayed Edison as a more normal yellow firefly, as he was purple in all the toys and [=LeapPad=] books. He regained his purple color since ''Let's Go To School''. Also, the character designs in the [=DVDs=] has noticeable simplifications when compared to the book. And well, there's a major crossover with ArtEvolution with the major character design change between ''A Tad of Christmas Cheer'', and ''Let's Go To School!''.
21	* AscendedExtra: Edison. Originally introduced as a minor character in a [=LeapPad=] book, he was PutOnABus for a bit, and then brought back in time for A Tad of Christmas Cheer, and then upgraded into a core character.
22	* CharacterCatchphrase: "Time to change your batteries!" "Thanks for learning with Leap Frog. Bye-bye!"
23	* {{Expy}}: Both VideoGame/{{JumpStart\|Series}} and [=LeapFrog=] feature (or, in [=JumpStart's=] case [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome featured]]) similar-looking fireflies[[note]]the [=JumpStart=] version's pre-2000-or-so incarnation doesn't look like [=LeapFrog=]'s Edison, but the post-2000 incarnation does[[/note]] named Edison who are best friends with frogs, and a cat named Casey. The question is, who's Expy-ing off whom?
24	* FurryConfusion: We have Dot and Dan, anthropomorphic dogs. Then we have Scout and Violet, zoomorphic dogs. Then to prove that it's in the same universe, have Dot and Scout appear together in the [=ClickStart=]'s intro cutscene. Then take the MindScrew up to new heights when Scout and Violet are portrayed as anthropomorphic in some of the toys as well.
25	* InNameOnly: The [=LeapPad=] Explorer is a Tablet device with a color LCD touchscreen, and shares absolutely no similarities in operation with the [=LeapPad=] of old.
26	* InnocentlyInsensitive: In ''Counting on Zero'', Professor Quigley tells Zero that he is [[ExactWords worth nothing]], as in mathematical terms. Zero interprets this as him being useless, and decides to run away. Unlike other examples of this trope, Quigley never apologizes to him.
27	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: The ''Purple Girl Green Boy'' variant is used with Violet and Scout respectively. Also, many of their products comes in either blue and green or purple and pink.
28	* PreciousPuppies: Dan and Dot (particularly the SpinoffBabies version of Dot), Scout and Violet, Buddy, Bella and the rest of the Puppy Pals, and now Bailey.
29	* RearrangeTheThemeTune: Many Modern Toys by [=LeapFrog=] use a rearranged version of the [=LeapPad=] Learning System start-up sound.
30	* {{Retcon}}: A cross-media example- In the earlier [=DVDs=], it's established that Tad, Leap, Lily and the rest of the Learning Friends all live in Alphaville. Now, it's established that Scout and Friends live in Shapeville, given the name of the park and how it's walking distance from their home. This completely throws out the continuity presented by the Clickstart learning computer, which states that Scout is Tad and Dot's dog, indication that the current Scout and Friends [=DVDs=] is set in a different universe from the Learning Friends continuity.
31	* SameLanguageDub: The UK releases of the toys have a "British English" sticker to indicate that it's for the UK market, and toys with the sticker have a British accent compared to those sold in the US.
32	* SpinOff: The [=LeapPad=] was spun off into various different sub-models, and some of them are incompatible with each other. This also applies to the Leapster (although all but the Leapster Explorer are cross-compatible) and the Tag (the Tag is compatible with Tag Junior titles, but not the other way around).
33	* SuddenlyVoiced: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] for Scout. He does not talk in his first appearance on the [=ClickStart=] educational computer, but the next toy that features him, the eponymously-titled ''My Pal Scout'', has him voiced. And then he does not talk when he made his animated DVD debut in the ''The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park'' and ''Numbers Ahoy'' [=DVDs=], but said DVD has extras that are not part of the story where he ''sings''. And then, comes the Scout and Friends videos...
34	* PutOnABus: Everyone that is not Leap, Tad, Lily or Edison when ''Let's Go To School'' was produced. Heck, shortly before that point, it seemed that the entire ''Learning Friends'' crew was put on the bus in favor of keeping only Scout and Violet around. Thank goodness they had the sense to at least let the core kids off the bus before it moved off. But for the rest of the characters, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome they were just gone like that and have never been mentioned since]]. Although some did re-appear in [=LeapPad=] books that were republished and reworked for the Tag, they have never been seen in any newer toys and new Tag titles, and are not in the [=DVDs=] after ''A Tad Of Christmas Cheer''.
35	** It appeared that Leap, Lily and Tad were also put on the bus after ''Numbers Ahoy''.
36	** In 2014, it seems that Scout, Violet, Penny and Eli are put on the bus...
37	* TheBusCameBack: ...as Leap, Lily and Tad have been taken off the bus.
38	* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: The only difference between Scout and Violet? The color, and the fact that Violet has ''eyelashes''.
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41	[[folder:Toys]]
42	* ChildrenVoicingChildren: Scout (and Violet, to an extent) were originally voiced by Charlie Ibsen, who was 9 years old when he started. The UK releases also played this straight. This however is averted with later Scout/Violet toys, as well as the [=DVDs=].
43	* DummiedOut: A number of features present in commodity Android but not on the Epic, like the recent apps menu, lock screen and several others, are in the firmware all along, albeit with references to them being removed off [=SystemUI=] and Settings' resource files, or commented out in configuration files, preventing certain apps such as replacement home screens from being installed. They can however be [[https://huckleberrypie57.blogspot.com/2017/02/leapfrog-epic-part-1-hidden-lock-screen.html accessed]] through third-party utilities.
44	* HelloInsertNameHere: [=LeapFrog=] put out several toys that can be customized to say the owner's name. Some uses a cartridge programmer and flash cart that can be used to program the owner's name in, then inserted into certain toys. Others like the Scout and Violet My Pal plushes, [=LeapTop=] toy computers, and Story Time Pad toy tablets, can be programmed to say the owner's name via USB cable.
45	* UsefulNotes/IOSGames: About a dozen titles.
46	* MadLibsDialogue: The above-mentioned programmable toys can also be programmed to know the owner's favorite food/fruit, animal and color.
47	* NoBackwardsCompatibilityInTheFuture: Games for lower-end [=LeapPad=]-series tablets purchased through retail are incompatible with the Epic due to the lack of a cartridge slot; there are however ports of them available on the Epic as recompense for those who previously purchased a [=LeapPad=] cart.
48	* SpinOffBabies: The [=LeapFrog=] Baby line of products, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: toys and accessories for infants. It comes with baby-fied versions of the learning friends characters.
49	* TakeThat: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXWltWyRAgU This ad]] for [=LeapStart=], which is a bitter jab (or at least as far as the company could reasonably do given their family-friendly image) at [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy Theorists]] and their negative effects on impressionable children. Kids' minds are like a sponge, and as such [=LeapFrog=] knows that so-called "truthers" can and will warp a young person's mind for all the wrong reasons. Considering how Alex Jones's wife complained about having to deprogram their children from her husband's indoctrination, this is sadly TruthInTelevision.
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Context Franchise / LeapFrog