The sedate Teletubbies are causing quite a ruckus in New Zealand

Web posted on: Wednesday, July 29, 1998 2:42:16 PM

HAMILTON, New Zealand (CNN) -- Those loveable little Teletubbies are causing quite a stir in New Zealand.

The first shipment of stuffed toys based on the characters of the children's show went on sale there on Wednesday in Hamilton. An estimated 100 customers lined up before 8 a.m., and when doors opened a mad rush ensued in which children were tipped from strollers and elderly women were shoved around.

The Teletubbies merchandise was sold out in less than two minutes.

The store manager blamed the English supplier for the small shipment and said the toys' pre-sale publicity had incited people.

The Teletubbies -- Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po -- are the four characters on the London-born children's show by the same name seen on the BBC and PBS. The characters are a technological hybrid -- cute characters with big ears and TV screens where their stomachs should be. They speak in a form of baby talk, and "love each other very much and live happily together in their own world of childhood imagination," according to the PBS Web site.

Some parents have accused the hit program of using dumbed-down, baby language that keeps their children from developing linguistically.

Still, the popularity of the show is reaching all corners of the globe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.