Polly Pocket facts for kids

Polly Pocket is a popular toy line featuring tiny dolls and accessories. Chris Wiggs first created the idea in 1983. Later, a company called Bluebird Toys started making them in 1989. In 1998, Mattel, another big toy company, bought Polly Pocket.

The Story of Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket was first designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983. He made it for his daughter, Kate. He used a makeup powder compact to create a tiny house for a small doll.

Early Days with Bluebird Toys

Bluebird Toys in Swindon, England, liked the idea. They started selling the first Polly Pocket toys in 1989. In the early 1990s, Mattel helped distribute Polly Pocket toys. In 1998, Mattel bought both the Polly Pocket brand and Bluebird Toys. The original sets made by Bluebird Toys are now valuable collector's items.

Original Polly Pocket Design

The first Polly Pocket toys were small plastic cases. These cases opened up to become a dollhouse or other playset. The Polly Pocket dolls were less than an inch tall. They could fold in the middle and had round bases. These bases fit into holes inside the case, helping the dolls stand up. Sometimes, the tiny dolls even came inside pendants or large rings.

A collection of rubber clothing and larger dolls produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Mattel's New Look for Polly

In 1998, Mattel changed Polly Pocket's look. The new dolls were bigger. They looked more like real people. Polly had a straight ponytail instead of her old curly bob hairstyle.

The next year, Mattel launched "Fashion Polly!" These dolls used the same characters, like Polly, Lea, Shani, and Lila. But they were about 3.75 inches (9.5 cm) tall. They had a new kind of clothing. Instead of cloth, they used "Polly Stretch" garments. These were rubbery plastic clothes that could be stretched onto the dolls. There were also boy dolls like Rick and Steven.

Polly Pocket Expands

Like Barbie and Bratz, Polly Pocket also grew into a media franchise. This means there were animated movies, books, and a website. The website is now part of the bigger Mattel website.

In 2002, Mattel stopped making the smaller Polly Pocket playsets. They continued to make the larger fashion dolls.

Magnetic Toys and Safety Concerns

In 2004, Mattel introduced the Polly Pocket "Quik Clik" line. These dolls had plastic clothes that clicked together with magnets. On November 22, 2006, Mattel recalled 4.4 million Polly Pocket playsets. This happened because some children swallowed small magnetic parts. These toys had been sold worldwide for three years. The use of magnets in children's toys can be risky, especially if there are two or more magnetic parts.

More Changes and a Comeback

Mattel relaunched Polly Pocket in 2010. They changed the dolls again, making their feet, heads, and legs bigger. The height stayed about the same. Fans had mixed feelings about these changes. New characters called Cutants, which were hybrid animals, were also introduced.

In 2012, Polly Pocket toys were stopped in the U.S. but were still sold in Europe and South America. Eventually, they were only sold in Brazil.

On February 12, 2018, Garrett Sander announced that Polly Pocket would return. The new toys are miniature dolls in playsets, much like the original 1990s Polly Pocket. They are a bit larger than the first tiny dolls. The new Polly dolls are made of flexible plastic. They can stick to certain surfaces and bend to sit in chairs.

In addition to the 2018 reboot, clothing brands like Hot Topic and Unique Vintage have made items inspired by the old Polly Pocket. These include handbags, makeup, and clothes for adults.

Polly Pocket in Media

Films

• Polly Pocket: Lunar Eclipse (2004)
• Polly Pocket 2: Cool at the Pocket Plaza (2005)
• PollyWorld (2006)
• Toy Story 4 (2019) (features the Giggle McDimples character)
• An untitled live-action film is also planned.

Web Series

Mattel brought Polly Pocket back with a web series in 2010. It had two seasons and can be watched on YouTube. The first season used flash animation, and later seasons used CGI. The series continued until 2017.

TV Series

Mattel relaunched the brand again in 2018. They worked with DHX Media (now WildBrain) to create a new animated TV series. It first aired in Canada on Family Channel on July 8, 2018. The show is about a young girl named Polly. She has a magical locket that lets her and her friends shrink to a tiny size. You can watch the series on streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and Paramount+.

Polly Pocket Playset Characters

Here are some characters who appeared often in early Polly Pocket playsets. This list does not include characters who only appeared in one or two sets.

• Polly Pocket: She originally had curly blonde hair and a headband. She was like the mayor of Pollyville. Later, her design changed to a ponytail.
• Tiny Tina: A doll with blonde pigtails.
• Wee Willie: A boy doll with a blond bowlcut haircut.
• Midge: A strawberry blonde doll with straight hair and bangs. She usually wore overalls.
• Little Lulu: She had straight brown hair parted in the middle. She often wore a playsuit or swimsuit. Her name comes from a comic character.
• Pixie: She had brown hair parted in the middle in a flip style. She usually wore a long-sleeved top with a scoop neckline.
• Titch: A boy doll with brown hair in a bowlcut. He sometimes wore a hat.

Modern-Day Characters

• Shani: An African-American doll with curly dark hair.
• Lila: A doll with a brown pixie cut, later a red ponytail.
• Todd: A boy with brown hair.
• Lea: A doll with long red hair.
• Ana: A dark-haired doll with curly hair.
• Crissy: She had short brown hair with bangs. In 2010, she was shown as Asian with long, jet-black hair, sometimes with pink streaks.
• Rick: A boy with blond hair.

Other Similar Toylines

Some other toy lines are similar to Polly Pocket. These include Mighty Max by Bluebird Toys. Other small-scale sets from around the same time as the original Polly Pocket compacts include Starcastle Kingdom by Treadmasters (1995) and Fairy Winkles by Kenner (1993–1995). Small compact toys featuring Pokémon characters were also made by Tomy and Nintendo in 1997. These were called "Pokémon Mate" and were similar in size and style to Polly Pocket. Finally, Bluebird Toys also made miniature Disney sets from 1997 to 1999.

See also

In Spanish: Polly Pocket para niños

• Mighty Max