 |
| Type | Doll |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Chris Wiggs |
| Company |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Availability | July 24, 1989–present |
| Materials | Plastic |
| Slogan | Friends! Fun! Adventure! (2010-2017) Tiny is Mighty! (2018–present) |
| Official website | |
Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories first founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and licensed by Bluebird Toys from 1989 until both entities/properties were acquired by Mattel in 1998. [1]
Polly Pocket was designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 for his daughter Kate. Using a makeup powder compact, he fashioned a small house for the tiny doll. Bluebird Toys of Swindon, England, licensed the concept, and the first Polly Pocket toys appeared in stores in 1989. [2] Mattel held a distribution arrangement with Bluebird Toys for Polly Pocket items in the early 1990s. In 1998, while production lulled/slowed, Bluebird Toys endured multiple hostile takeover attempts until Mattel finally purchased both the brand and Bluebird Toys later that year. The sets made by Bluebird Toys are now valuable collectables. [3] [4]
The original Polly Pocket toys were plastic cases that opened to form a dollhouse or other playset with Polly Pocket figurines less than an inch tall. The dolls folded in the middle, like the case, [3] and had circular bases which slotted into holes in the case interior, allowing them to stand securely at particular points in the house. This was particularly useful for moving points in the case. Because the dolls were so small, sometimes they came enclosed in pendants or large rings instead of the more typical playset cases. [5] In 1998, Mattel redesigned Polly Pocket. The new doll was larger, with a more lifelike appearance than the original dolls. She had a straight ponytail, rather than the curly bob hairstyle used previously. The following year, Mattel also introduced "Fashion Polly!," which used the same characters from the new Polly Pocket (Polly, Lea, Shani, Lila, etc.), but they came in the form of 3+3⁄4 inches (9.5 cm) plastic jointed dolls. They gave a new spin on fashion dolls; instead of traditional cloth clothing, Polly Pockets used unique "Polly Stretch" garments, created by Genie Toys, rubbery plastic clothes that could be put on the dolls and removed. There are also some boy dolls (Rick, Steven, etc.). Like the Barbie and Bratz brands, Polly Pocket has also expanded into a media franchise, consisting of DVD-exclusive animated films, books and a website, with the latter currently a section of/under the larger Mattel website. [6]
In 2002, Mattel stopped producing the smaller Polly Pocket playset range but continued to produce the larger fashion doll. [5]
In 2004, Mattel introduced the Polly Pocket "Quik Clik" line. Instead of having rubbery clothes, the dolls had plastic clothes that would click together by magnets. On November 22, 2006, 4.4 million Polly Pocket playsets were recalled by Mattel after children in the United States swallowed loose magnetic parts. Affected toys had been sold around the world for three years prior. [7]
Mattel relaunched Polly Pocket in 2010 by making further changes to the dolls, including increasing feet size, head size, and leg size, although the height remains approximately the same. The company also introduced the Cutants, which are non-articulated figures of hybrid animals.[ citation needed ]
In 2012, Polly Pocket toys were discontinued in the US [8] but remained available in Europe and South America. The brand dwindled, eventually being sold only in Brazil. The dolls would continue to be sold exclusively in Brazil until the brand's 2018 reboot.[ citation needed ]
On February 12, 2018, it was announced that Polly Pocket would be making a comeback, with a relaunch of the dolls. [9] [10] The new toys are miniature dolls in playsets, like the original 1990s Polly Pocket, rather than the larger Fashion Polly. [11] [10] However, they are slightly larger than the original 1990s version. Rather than slotting into holes in the case, the new Polly is made of a flexible plastic that sticks to certain surfaces, but also bends so she can sit in a chair. [12]
Clothing brands such as Hot Topic, Unique Vintage, and Cinder, along with fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs, Mimi Wade, [13] and Loewe [14] have created merchandise inspired by the vintage Polly Pocket brand including handbags, makeup, and clothing items for adults. [15]
Mattel revived Polly Pocket in 2010 with two-season web serial programming, which is currently only available on YouTube. The first season of the first webseries was made using flash animation technology with the rest of the series using CGI. The web series maintained a pattern until it got a soft revival starting in 2013 having some characters removed and many other changes until the last season in 2017.
Mattel relaunched the brand for a second time in 2018 by collaborating with DHX Media (now WildBrain ) on a new animated TV series which initially aired on Canadian television on Family Channel on July 8, 2018. The series featured a young girl named Polly who has a magical locket that allows her and her friends to shrink down to a tiny size. The series is currently available for streaming on YouTube, Netflix, Hulu and Paramount+. [18] [19]
Polly Pocket: Adventures in Rio was released on Prime Video in the UK and the United States in September 2024. [20]
Below is the list of recurring characters who appeared several early Polly Pocket playsets. This list does not include characters who only appear in one nor two playsets. [21]
Bluebird released Disney Polly Pocket style playsets from 1995 to 1999. These were called the Disney “Tiny Collection” or “Mini collection”. [8]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| Toy brands |
|  | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games |
| ||||
| Acquired brands | |||||
| Business units |
| ||||
| Corporate acquisitions |
| ||||
| Litigation | |||||
| Other |
| ||||
