 |
| 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. However, fan reactions were mixed. It 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]
In addition to the reboot in 2018, Hot Topic and Unique Vintage clothing brands have created merchandise inspired by the vintage Polly Pocket brand including handbags, makeup, and clothing items for adults. [13] [14]
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+. [17] [18]
Polly Pocket: Adventures in Rio was released on Prime Video in the UK and the United States in September 2024. [19]
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.
Some similar toylines to Polly Pocket include Mimi & The Goo Goo’s, and Mighty Max by BlueBird. A few other small scale sets that came out around the time of the original BlueBird compact Polly Pocket sets include Dollhouse and Fairytale Castle by Bluebox toys, Starcastle Kingdom by Trendmasters/Giochi Preziosi in 1995 [21] and Fairy Winkles were produced by Kenner in 1993–1995. [22] Small compact toys featuring Pokémon characters were created by Tomy and Nintendo in 1997. First released in Japan and China, these pastel colored playsets were called "Chibi Poké House" which were later released in North America with different color variations and were called “Pokemon Mate”. They are a similar scale and style to the Polly Pocket toys. [23] Bluebird Toys produced miniature playsets of the DC & Marvel universe, Dr Who, The Muppets, and Wallace & Grommit in their “Micro Superstars” line of toys, as well as “Forever Friends” micro bear playsets. lastly, Bluebird released Disney Polly Pocket style playsets from 1995 to 1999. These were called the Disney “Tiny Collection” or “Mini collection”. [8]
Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries.
Little People is a toy brand for children ages 6–36 months and to ages 3 and up, originally produced by Fisher-Price, Inc. in the 1960s as the Play Family People. The current product line consists of playsets, mini-sets and accessories, books, CDs, and DVDs focusing on various configurations of 5 characters named Eddie, Tessa, Mia, Koby, and Sofie. Mattel reports that since the brand's launch, over 2-billion Little People figures have been sold in over 60 countries. In 2016, Little People was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
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Chatty Cathy was a pull-string "talking" doll originally created by Ruth and Elliot Handler and manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965. The doll was first released in stores and appeared in television commercials beginning in 1960, with a suggested retail price of $18.00, though usually priced under $10.00 in catalog advertisements. Chatty Cathy was on the market for six years and was the second most popular doll of the 1960s after Barbie.
Totally Hair Barbie is a fashion doll, in the Barbie line by Mattel, that was released in 1992. The doll's extra-long hair reached all the way to her toes and at the time, she had the longest hair ever for a Barbie doll at 11.5 inches in length. She is notable for being the highest selling Barbie doll in history, having racked up $100 million worldwide in 1992.
Bluebird Toys plc was a British toy company. They were responsible for the Polly Pocket brand, Havok wargame and Disney Tiny Collection. The company's previous toy lines included Manta Force, Oh Penny!, the British version of Oh Jenny! from Matchbox Toys, Mighty Max and miniature Thomas and Friends sets.
Play Along Toys was a Florida-based toy company, and a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific.
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Polly Pocket is a 2D-animated adventure fantasy children's television series based on Mattel's doll of the same name. It features Polly having a magical locket that allows her and her friends to shrink down to tiny sizes.
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