When the OOglies came to Earth in search of the funniest planet in the universe, no one could have predicted how the hilarious interactive aliens would capture the hearts of consumers nationwide.

Now, the alien force is losing one of its own, as Playmates Electronix announced the first retirement in the highly collectible OOglies toy line. Effective immediately, Quinn, the Jester OOglie clad in distinctive red and white motley, will no longer be manufactured and available in retail stores.

OOglies have continued to increase in popularity since the line's launch and quickly became one of the breakout toys of the 1999 holiday season.

Disguised as Earth life forms, OOglies respond with increasing laughter and become more hysterical as they are tickled -- their eyes light up, spin and change colors, and they wobble with excitement. Pull its tail and an OOglie makes more wild alien sounds or plays a tune. A simple pat on the head is all it takes to calm down the wacky alien toys. OOglies' laughter has proven popular as a category for all ages.

``In the tradition of collectible toys, we are retiring this very popular OOglies character in order to develop more, exciting characters for 2000,'' said Karl Aaronian, executive vice president, Playmates Toys.

[Updated 1-28-2000]