The Mattel See 'N Say® family is perhaps the most familiar use of the chatty-ring outside of Chatty Cathy herself. Using the classic Mattel pull string and tiny phonograph/record inside the toy, the See 'N Say® was home to a variety of sounds and phrases. Along with Captain Kangeroo's Mr. Green Jeans and later Sesame Street visits to the farm, Mattel's See 'N Say® was a likely source for many children to hear their first duck sound. The See 'N Say® was advertised as a toy that lets you "Look! Listen! 'N Learn". The Farmer Says edition of the See 'N Say® was selected as the representative See 'N Say® inductee to the Talking Toy Hall of Fame® for its prevalence and almost archetypical talking toy sounds. The sound of the string pulling 'RRRRRR" and the resulting "The duck says Quack Quack Quack" is classic See 'N Say® and is also registered in the Sound Watermarks Hall of Fame, another Phonographia project.
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Original 1966 version of the farmer says on left, later pull string in middle, Fisher Price 21st century version on right
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All of the following Mattel See 'N Say® family members use the Chatty-ring unless otherwise noted. For early models of the See N' Say®, references to the "pointer" are normally a character's three-dimensional arm and hand extended and pointing , e.g., see the 1966 Farmer Says (above) where the farmer's arm is extended up and his finger used as the pointer for selection of a sound. Later models use a graphic of a character mounted onto the selector which usually has an arrowhead-like design for pointing.
Mattel See 'N Say® Talking Toy
The Farmer Says | Turn the farmer pointer | 1966 | 12 selections of farm animal sounds | Sheep, dog, duck, frog, horse, coyote, rooster, pig, cow, bird cat, turkey | |
Smartpig | Bank | 1965 | Says seven phrases. | Advertised as "I talk about money! I help you save real money too!" | |
The Bee Says | Turn the bee pointer | 1965 | 26 selections, by alphabetic letter, A is for Apple, Z is for Zebra | Bee's stinger on head used as pointer (later model pictured) | ![]() |
Disneyland | Turn the Mickey pointer | 1966 | 12 Disney characters | Bambi, Winnie the Pooh, Donald Duck, Peter Pan, Pluto, Jimmy Cricket, Mary Poppins, Pinochio, Goofy, Dumbo, Snow White | |
Mr. Sound Says | Turn the man with microphone | 1966 | 11 sounds | Fire engine, cuckoo clock, choo choo train, hammering, airplane, typewriter, automobile, wood saw, motorcycle, ocean liner, thunderstorm | |
Snoopy Says | Turn the Snoopy pointer | 1968 | 11 sounds | Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Pippen, Schroeder, Violet... | |
Sing a Song | Turn the children's choir pointer | 1969 | 12 songs | Sings the first verse of nursery rhymes and classic children's songs: Mulberry Bush, Londong Bridge, Jingle Bells, Sing a Song of Sixpence, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Yankee Doodle, Little Dog Gone, Jack and Jill, Ten Little Indians, This Old Man, Mary had a LIttle Lamb, Row Your Boat | |
Raggedy Ann | Turn the Raggedy Ann pointer | 12 sounds | Raggedy Ann related characters speak phrases | ||
Spelling Fun-damentals | Turn the arrow (blackboard) | 14 words to hear and spell | See 'N Say makes the sound the picture makes, spells the word, then repeats the word. | ![]() |
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Mother Goose | Turn Mother Goose arrow | ![]() |
Mattel See 'N Say® Talking Story-Maker
Dr. Suess | Turn the Grinch | 12 sound Story-maker | ![]() |
Mattel See 'N Say® Talking Storybook
Funny Pets in Faraway Places | Turn the dial | 1967 | 10 different story-lines | 18 washable tear-proof pages, Advertised as "Hear the story! Read the Story!" | |
Ride along with us | Turn the dial | 1967 | Helicopter ride | ||
The Little Clown's Circus | Turn the dial | 1970 | 10 different story-lines | 18 washable tear-proof pages, Advertised as "Hear the story! Read the Story!" |