Keypers

Keypers are toys in the shape of animals that were designed with opening compartments for children to store small items in. They were made in the 1980s by Tonka Corp.

Overview

The Keypers characters depict animals (including a snail, ladybug and turtle) and have small compartments which are intended for children to hide things in. The large adult Keypers have special keys so you can lock and unlock the compartments they have located on them. The small baby Keypers have a slit in their backs so you can squeeze, open and then hide things inside. The Keypers also have small Finders for friends. The Finders help the Keypers find lost items.

Styles

Various styles of Keypers were made, with many color variations depending on which country it was released in. Other variations were that some had glitter and non glittery eyes, and the adult bear even has different names depending on the US or UK version.

As a collectors' item

Some Keypers items are very rare and are now sought after by collectors or for nostalgic reasons. Some items can be found in thrift stores, on online auction websites like eBay, and on 1980s toy-selling webpages.