HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Popples is a toy and television franchise created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary of
American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately owned American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting cards, electroni ...
. Popples resemble brightly colored
marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a p ...
teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bea ...
s with long tails ending in a pom-pom. Each Popple character transforms to resemble a brightly colored ball. In 2018, Popples was sold to
Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
.


History

Susan Trentel, who worked for TCFC and had created the first prototypes on
Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 19 ...
and
Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...
, was the
plush Plush (from French ) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or ...
toy designer who invented the method for transforming the Popple. Supposedly, the idea came from rolling up socks. Trentel worked with art director Thomas Schneider on the creation of the first prototypes (Patent #4614505).


Toy merchandise

Popples were manufactured by
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories a ...
between 1986 and 1988. Each toy had a pouch on the back that could be inverted so the character rolled ''into'' the pouch and resembled a brightly colored ball.


Original line: 1986–1988

The first introduction included nine Popples. * Pretty Cool (P.C. for short) is a large male Popple with blue fur, pink hair, orange cheeks and contrasting orange and yellow ears. * Party is a large female Popple, with pink fur, hot pink hair, lavender cheeks and contrasting lavender and pink ears. * Pancake is a large female Popple with purple fur, orange hair, pink cheeks and contrasting blue and pink ears. * Puzzle is a medium-sized male Popple with orange fur, green hair, pink cheeks and contrasting blue and red ears. * Prize is a medium-sized female Popple with dark magenta fur, white hair, lavender cheeks and contrasting green and pink ears. * Puffball is a medium-sized female Popple with white fur, yellow hair, orange cheeks and contrasting blue and magenta ears. * Pretty Bit is a small female Popple with lavender fur, hot pink hair, pink cheeks and contrasting pink and blue ears. * Potato Chip is a small female Popple with yellow fur, pink hair, pink cheeks and contrasting lavender and magenta ears. * Putter is a small male Popple with green fur, orange hair, pink cheeks and contrasting red and blue ears.


Rock Star Popples and Baby Popples

The second launch brought the Rock Star Popples: Punkity (magenta girl with microphone and star on her belly) and Punkster (blue boy with guitar and lightning on his belly) as well as the Popples Babies: Bibsy (white with purple and white hat, bib and booties with stars) and Cribsy (pink with blue and white striped hat, bib and booties). The babies had rattles in their tails and came with a squeaking baby bottle.


Pufflings

A line extension brought about Pufflings, which looked like little Popple pets (they were basically a ball of fluff with a face and tiny paws and tail coming out, and could flip inside out to look a bit like a sea anemone) and carried riddles and jokes on tags inside them. There were 6 different colors of Pufflings: Red, yellow, sky blue, purple, white and magenta.


Sports Popples

The Popples also had Sports Popples who turned into balls: Big Kick (soccer ball), Dunker (basketball), Touchdown (football), PC Pitcher (baseball), Net Set (tennis ball). The Sports Popples included Cuester, who turned into an 8-ball, but no known toy has been made of him. Similarly, no toy was made of the original Pitcher but PC was dressed in a baseball outfit to replace him.


Other full-sized Popples

There were numerous variants: Flower Popples (who would turn into flowers when you flipped them inside out), Pillow Popples (wearing pajamas and turned into sleeping bags), Fruit Popples (who turned into different fruits), and Special Editions with limited distribution (including an animal series only released in Europe with Popples that resembled a parrot, dog and rabbit), and Costume Popples who were wearing special outfits and turned into something related (example: a ballerina Popple that turns into a handbag).


Pocket Popples

Besides the stuffed animals, another successful Popple-themed line of merchandise was Pocket Popples. Based on same characters as the larger Popples they were scaled to fit in a pocket. They had PVC faces, articulated arms and legs, and fabric features of ears, tails and pocket (where they hid).


2001 revival lines

In 2001, Toymax started making the Popples once again, but they made the new Glow 'n' Charm Popples (Pitter Patty, Pizazzy Jazzy and Popsy Daisy). This rendition features four characters named Pixie Doodle, Polka Dottie and Pinwheel Penny (who looks like Putter from the 1980s toyline, but with blue stripes). There is also a Snoozytime Popple who looks like P.C. Popple, but wears pyjamas and a nightcap, plus celebrity Popples which includes the Popples who had their name based on celebrities including Tiffany, Rachael Leigh Cook, Elisa Donovan, Nicole Oliver, Melissa Joan Hart, Amanda Lewis, Shoshanna Lonstein, Jessica Biel and Christina Ricci. They also introduced the items starring the classic 80's Popples, including stickers, notebook, folder, pen, keyring and tin box keyring. They introduced birthday cards as well.


2007 revival lines

A revival was attempted by
Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing their own line of pre-school toys, ...
(who is also the current manufacturer of toys featuring another American Greetings property,
Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 19 ...
) in 2007. This rendition only has four characters, KissyPopp (
pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
), HappyPopp (
yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...
), MonsterPopp (
blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
), and PrettyPopp (
purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...
), marketed under the name 'Popp n Giggles Popples' which contain a sound box that makes a popping sound followed by a giggle when the Popple comes out of its pouch (or when you press down on the shoulders while in its box, or sitting on a hard surface). Also released in 2007 was a version of Popples 'Pufflings' called 'Popp n Mini Message Popples', SpeedyPopp (
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
), FriendlyPopp (
purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...
), RiddlePopp (
blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
) and SecretPopp (
pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
) which could record a 'message'. There are also "Key Chain" and "Cell Phone Charm" mini plush Popples that more closely resemble the Popples of the 1980s available in countries outside the US, such as Japan. Key Chain Popples that have been spotted include those that resemble Party, Puffball and Potato Chip. Various "Deco Packing Tape", and T-shirts, stationery and school supplies featuring the original Popples exist as well.


2015 revival

Coinciding with the new '' Popples'' series on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
, a revived toy line was released in November 2015 by
Spin Master Spin Master is a Canadian multinational toy and entertainment company that markets consumer products for children. Its brands include '' Bakugan'', Gund, Etch A Sketch, Meccano/ Erector, Air Hogs, '' PAW Patrol'', Aquadoodle, Tech Deck, ...
and
Saban Brands Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commun ...
, including the characters Bubbles, Lulu, Sunny, Izzy, and Yikes.


2020 revival lines

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
launched a Funko POP Vinyl toyline of the original 86's Popples, starting with Prize and P.C. and continuing on with other Popples in the future.


Television media


Original series: 1986

The original ''Popples''
animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eithe ...
was broadcast between 1986 and 1987 in United States, and later rebroadcast in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
.


Netflix series: 2015

The franchise was adapted for a
Netflix original series Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pro ...
that premiered in October 2015.


Other media

Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint ...
released a four-issue series between 1986 and 1987, coinciding with the original cartoon.


See also

*
Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...
*
My Little Pony ''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature ...
*
The Wuzzles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
* Trolls


References


External links

* {{Hasbro Mass media franchises introduced in 1986 1980s toys American Greetings Fictional humanoids Transforming toys Stuffed toys