A Rolled Up Sock? What Were the "Popples?"

Photo via YouTube

The Popples were a toy and cartoon from 1986 of brightly colored bears that could tuck into a ball.

They were created by "Those Characters From Cleveland" and were sold to Hasbro in 2018. They would lead to a reboot Netflix series in 2015.

The Popples were a perfect blend of very bright colors that was hard for a kid to ignore--whether it was in toy form or on a cartoon.

The Popples didn't have a super long run during the ‘80s and might not be totally remembered by everyone.

There was enough interest, however, to reintroduce them on Netflix in 2015.

So if you’ve asked What were the Popples you came to the right place

What Is a Popple?

A Popple is considered a marsupial teddy bear. They are brightly colored and have a long tail on them with a pom pom at the end of them.

Each Popple “transforms” itself by tucking in and turning into a ball.

It would switch into ball mode from a pouch that could be inverted, so the character rolled into the pouch, and Voila! There’s your ball.

The name Popple was given because it was based on the “popping” noise that would be made when they unfold themselves from the ball.

Also, a “popping” noise would be made when pulling something from their pouches.

FYI this wasn’t happening with the toys, it’s from their mythology just so we’re clear.

Creating the Popples

"Those Characters From Cleveland" are the ones that created the Popples. They were a division of "American Greetings" which is the largest greeting card company in the world.

"Those Characters From Cleveland" would handle more of the toy-related things and would eventually change their name to "American Greeting Properties."

They brought us some pretty significant toys for a card company including:

• Care Bears
• Topsy and Time
• The Get Along Gang
• Holly Hobbie
• Strawberry Shortcake

Rolling Up a Pair of Socks?

Susan Trental, a plush toy designer from "Those Characters From Cleveland," is the one who came up with the design for the Popples.

She also brought us other heavyweights like Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears so she’s pretty much a rock star in the toy hall of fame.

The method for transforming the Popple is said to have come from her simply rolling up a pair of socks.

She would then work with an art director named Thomas Schneider on creating prototypes for the first Popples.

Even though it was created by "Those Characters From Cleveland," it would be Mattel that actually manufactured the Popples. And they would be released in 1986

The First Group of Popples

The first batch of Popples would be made up of 9 of them and that included:

• Pretty Cool - a male Popple with blue and pink fur
• Party- a large female that was pink, hot pink, and lavender
• Pancake - Female with purple, orange, and pink fur
• Puzzle - medium-sized and orange, green, and pink
• Prize - medium-sized with magenta, green, pink, and white fur
• Puffball - aren’t they all puffballs?
• Pretty Bit - a small female who was white, yellow, blue, and magenta
• Potato Chip - small female yellow, pink, magenta, and lavender
• Putter - a small male who was green, orange, pink, blue, and red.

You may have noticed that every Popple starts with the letter "P."

Other Popple Editions

The Popples weren't around a very long time and only had a couple of good years. It’s understandable because the ‘80s was probably the most competitive time in the history of toys and cartoons.

Leading up to the ‘80s there had been a lot of restrictions on being able to advertise to children and cartoon/toy tie-ins.

Ronald Reagan deregulated all this in the’80s, and this opened the floodgates for not only toys and the commercials for them: but all the cartoons that acted as basically a 30-minute long commercial.

There were so many products, shows, and cartoons that it was impossible to stand out, so to get a few good years is a pretty big accomplishment.

Here were a few other variations of the Popples they brought out:

• Rock Star Popples and Baby Popples- These were punk rock Popples and little baby ones. The babies had rattles in their tails and came with little squeaking baby bottles.
  
• Sports Popples- They were a blatant attempt to crossover and get more of the boy market. These were sports Popples that turned into balls and you had:
• Big Kick (soccer ball)
• Dunkster (basketball)
• Touchdown (football)
• PC Pitcher (baseball)
• Net Set (Tennis Ball)
• Cuester (turned into an 8 ball)

• Pufflings- These were like little Popple pets.

• Pocket Popples- These were pretty successful, successful and were basically scaled-down Popples that could fit in your pocket.

The Popples Cartoon

Most people didn't realize how it all came together. Do you remember that the first pilot episode was a live-action special? Do you know that Shelley Duvall actually made this?!

Yes, Shelly Duvall aka Olive Oyl and Wendy Torrence in The Shining helped to bring the Popples to TV.

The Popples cartoon started with this live-action pilot that was really successful. They decided to make a cartoon series with all the same Characters.

It ran from 1986 to 1987 and the pilot included the use of marionettes and puppets. You can still watch it on YouTube.

The basic premise is 9 of the Popples (from that original release) live with a human brother and sister named Billy and Bonnie.

They think they are the only kids that know about Popples until they find out that their neighbors also have some too.

The neighbors have the Rock Stars, Pufflings, and Baby Popples which was a perfect way to spread around the brand.

The kids try to hide the existence of the Popples from their parents, but in the live-action show, the parents find out. They never do in the cartoon.

Season 1 would have 24 episodes along with 20 from season 2.

Fun Fact: Rob Meurer who wrote the Popples song “Popple Magic” at the end of the live-action pilot helped write and play on “Sailing” by Christopher Cross.

The Netflix Reboot and Other Releases

This thing has actually been on for three seasons. The premise this time around is following the comedic adventures of Bubbles, Sunny, Lulu, Izzy, and Yikes.

The series came out on October 30, 2015, and started with 10 episodes.

As far as toy reboots, the company Toymax started making the Popples again in 2001.

They released new characters that still looked a bit like the old ones and a bunch named after celebrities such as Jessica Biel and Melissa Joan Hart of all people.

In 2007 Playmates Toys, (who also owns other American Greetings toys like Strawberry Shortcake now) put out four new characters called “Pop n Giggles Popples”.

This time, they include a sound box that actually makes the pop noise when they come out.

To coincide with the new Netflix series, a company called "Spin Master," and "Saban Brands," put out toys of the five new versions from the series.

Wrapping It Up

The Popples came and went pretty quick, but made enough of an impact in 1986.

They were a unique Idea and pretty creative if you compare them to a lot of other toys that were flooding the market.

Even though they only lasted for a few short years, they made a decent impact in the 1980s and are still remembered fondly.

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