Pillow Pals were a line of plush toys made by Ty, Inc. during the 1990s. The toys were given their name because they were soft like a pillow, and were made with children in mind. Though many of them resembled certain Beanie Babies, they did not share names with their Beanie Baby counterparts. Such Pillow Pals saw a decline in popularity in the late 1990s with the introduction of Beanie Buddies, which were also larger versions of various Beanie Babies. In January 1999, all Pillow Pals were redesigned, and their colors were changed. This line did not sell well, and was discontinued by Ty around the end of the year. Today[ when? ], PillowPals LLC takes children's drawings and replicates them into 3D pillows.
At the time of the final retirement, Ty donated its remaining stock of pillow pals to the Ronald McDonald House to be distributed to sick children.
The following Pillow Pals were made during the 1990s:
Name | Animal Type | Introduced | Reintroduced | Retired | Beanie Baby Resembled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antlers | Moose | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Chocolate | |
Baba | Lamb | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Fleece | |
Bruiser | Bulldog | 1997 | Wrinkles | ||
Carrots | Bunny | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Ears, but pink instead of brown | |
Chewy | Beaver | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | ||
Clover | Bunny | 1998 | Ears, but white instead of brown | ||
Foxy | Fox | Sly | |||
Glide | Porpoise | A dolphin | |||
Huggy | Bear | 1995 | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Cubbie, but yellow instead of brown |
Meow | Cat | 1997 | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Snip |
Moo | Cow | 1995 | Daisy, but with white body instead of black | ||
Oink | Pig | 1995 | Squealer | ||
Paddles | Platypus | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Patti | |
Purr | Tiger | Stripes, but yellow-orange instead of orange-black | |||
Red | Bull | Snort | |||
Ribbit (All-Green) | Frog | 1995 | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Legs |
Ribbit (Green-Yellow) | Frog | Smoochy | |||
Sherbert | Tie-Dye Bear | 1998 | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Sammy |
Snap (All-Yellow) | Turtle | 1995 | Speedy, but yellow instead of green | ||
Snap (Yellow-Green) | Turtle | 1999 (neon) | Peekaboo | ||
Snuggy | Bear | 1995 | Cubbie, but pink instead of brown | ||
Sparkler | Bear | 1999 | Spangle | ||
Speckles | Leopard | Freckles | |||
Spotty | Dalmatian | Dotty | |||
Squirt | Elephant | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Peanut | |
Swinger | Monkey | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Bongo | |
Tide | Whale | Splash | |||
Tubby | Hippopotamus | Happy | |||
Woof | Dog | 1995 | 1999 (neon) | 1999 | Bones |
Zulu | Zebra | Ziggy, but pink-green instead of black-white |
After the 1999 redesign, the following Pillow Pals were made:
Name | Animal Type | Difference from original |
---|---|---|
Baba | Lamb | Purple rather than white |
Bibbit | Frog | New introduction in 1999 |
Huggy | Bear | New introduction in 1999 |
Carrots | Bunny | Green rather than pink |
Kolala | Koala | New introduction in 1999 |
Meow | Cat | Purple rather than tan |
Paddles | Platypus | Green rather than purple |
Rusty | Raccoon | New introduction in 1999 |
Snap | Turtle | Tie-dyed rather than green |
Squirt | Elephant | Turquoise rather than light blue |
Swinger | Monkey | Blue and yellow rather than brown |
Woof | Dog | Multicolored rather than brown |
Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, mostly animals.
A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys or cuddly toys. The stuffed toy originated from the Steiff company of Germany in the late 19th century and gained popularity following the creation of the teddy bear in the United States in 1903. At the same time, German toy inventor Richard Steiff designed a similar bear. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. In 1921, Christopher Robin's stuffed toy, given to him by his father, A. A. Milne, would inspire the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh. In the 1970s, London-based Hamleys, the world's oldest toy store, bought the rights to Paddington Bear stuffed toys. In the 1990s, Ty Warner created Beanie Babies, a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets that were popular as collector's items.
Meow is an imitative word for a sound made in cat communication.
Ty is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was founded by Ty Warner in 1986. It designs, develops and sells products, most notably Beanie Babies, exclusively to specialty markets worldwide.
H. Ty Warner is an American billionaire toy manufacturer, businessman, and convicted felon. He is the CEO, sole owner and co-founder of Ty Inc. which manufactures and distributes stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies and other lines. He is also the owner of Four Seasons Hotel New York, which he bought with profits earned selling Beanie Babies during a fad in the late 1990s. In 2020, he was No. 359 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America, with a net worth of US$2.3 billion.
Squirt or squirting can refer to the following:
Puffkins is a series of spherical stuffed animals distributed by Lisle, Illinois-based Swibco. It was introduced in 1997 as a competitor to Beanie Babies. Puffkins are sold with a tag containing a birthdate and poem, and like Beanie Babies, the toys have new designs introduced and other designs retired. Although Puffkins were retired in 2002, Swibco re-introduced the line as Puffkins 2 in 2007 with mostly the same design.
The retirement of a Beanie Baby or a product from any line of Ty Inc., the manufacturer of Beanie Babies and other lines of collectibles, is its withdrawal from production. This has occurred in varying amounts of time following its introduction, depending on Ty's goals for that particular item. Some Beanie Babies have remained in production for several years following their introduction. Others have been retired just days after being introduced. Occasionally, beanies that have been introduced for a single purpose have been retired on the day they have been distributed. More rarely, some beanies have had their production canceled prior to their shipment to retailers, but following their announcement to the public, thereby never becoming available.
Clubby was a Beanie Baby that was available in 1998 exclusively by mail order to those who joined the Beanie Babies Official Club by purchasing a kit. It was followed up in later years by other bears also named "Clubby" followed by a Roman numeral. In all, a total of ten styles of bears, named Clubby, Clubby II, Clubby III, Clubby IV, Clubby V, Clubby VI, Clubby VII and Clubby VIII. In addition, larger sized Beanie Buddies of Clubby, Clubby II, Clubby III, Clubby IV, Clubby V and Clubby VI were produced. A four pack box set of Jingle Beanies containing Clubby, Clubby II, Clubby III and Clubby IV was also released. Although the Clubby bears were not rare, they often proved elusive for people who weren't enrolled in the club, who were forced to search for them on the secondary market or through the Ty Store.
The Teenie Beanies are miniature Beanie Babies that were offered as McDonald's promotions in Happy Meals from 1997-2000.
Ty Girlz were girl dolls manufactured by Ty Inc. Similar to the Ty Beanie Babies, the Ty Girlz are on a limited release pattern with dolls being introduced and older ones retired at various times. Ty Girlz are plush toys that are connected to an online virtual world at TyGirlz.com. Introduced to the global market on April 13, 2007, Ty Girlz was one of only a few virtual worlds geared to girls. The line was discontinued in 2013 and the virtual world shut down on June 7 of that same year.
Holidays were a common theme of Ty Beanie Babies. For some holidays, a special Beanie Baby has been produced every year.
Beanie Babies 2.0 were a brand of stuffed toys, a spin-off of the popular Beanie Babies line, announced by Ty Inc. on January 2, 2008. The group was introduced following the retirement of all retail Beanie Babies that had been produced prior to 2004.
Of the many themes and involvements of Beanie Babies produced by Ty, Inc., one of them has been professional sports. Beanies have been used both to represent and promote various sports.
Geographic Beanie Babies refers to Beanie Baby dolls that were made exclusively for retail sale in the country they represented. The collection consists of approximately 50 named dolls representing 10 countries on 4 continents. The dolls can now be found on the secondary market outside their original country.
Mary Beth's Bean Bag World, originally Mary Beth's Beanie World, was an American monthly magazine dedicated to Beanie Babies and competing plush toys.
Bopper or boppers may refer to:
YooHoo & Friends is a South Korean line of stuffed toys released by Aurora World around July 2006.
Lina Trivedi is an American entrepreneur, author, educator and civil servant.
The Beanie Bubble is a 2023 American comedy-drama film directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash Jr. from a screenplay by Gore, based on the 2015 book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute by Zac Bissonnette about the Beanie Babies bubble. The film stars Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, and Geraldine Viswanathan.