Popples :: Plush

"Popples can be turned inside out to make children laugh! These soft loveable creatures can be changed from fluffy balls to furry friends...and back again! They're soft, silly and they love to be popped in and out of their pouches!"

Popples were produced by Mattel from 1986-88 and were a large series of plush characters which could be pushed inside it's own pouch to create a furry ball. They became so popular that hoards of accessories were also produced. Popples, like several other toys from the 1980's, have been re-issued a few times. They were firstly re-released in 2001 by Toymax, then again in 2007 by Playmates Toys and yet again by Furyu in 2009.


Images on this page thanks to Nhtpirate or Renee!


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Plush Popples

Popples started life characters in a Saturday morning cartoon that aired in the USA in 1986. The characters were created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary company of American Greetings, and the plush toys were manufactured by Mattel from 1986-88.

There were at least twelve different sets of Popples produced, as well as a couple of individual characters.

  • Original Popples
  • Slumber Party Popples
  • Puffling Popples
  • Pocket Popples
  • Punk Rocker Popples
  • Baby Popples
  • Sports Popples
  • Cheerleader Popples
  • Flower Popples
  • Fruit Popples
  • Costume Popples [UK]
  • Animal Popples [French]
  • Individual Popples

Original Popples

There were nine Popples in the original series, three at 13", three at 11" and three at 8". Each one could turn inside the pocket on its back into a ball shape. The nine characters from this set were re-used several times in new sets.

  • 13 Inch Popples ~ "With these large Popples, there's more for children to love!"
  • 11 Inch Popples ~ "These Popples are just the right size for kids to hug and love!"
  • 8 Inch Popples ~ "A handful of mischief and fun! And like all Popples, they love to be popped out of their pouches."

13 Inch Popples  

P.C. Pancake Party

11 Inch Popples  

Puffball Prize Puzzle

8 Inch Popples  

Putter Potato Chip Pretty Bit

Slumber Party Popples [aka Pajama Popples & Pillow Popples]

There were three Slumber Party Popples, using characters from the original series. They wore night caps and when turned into their pocket they looked like they were tucked up in bed! They were 15cm tall.

Party, Puffball and Pancake

Puffling Popples

"They're furry, fun, with a 'giggle' in every one! Theses colourful Puffling Popples have a little hiding place where they hide a joke!"

There were six Puffling Popples. They didn't have names as far as I know, just went by their colour outer colour (when turned inside out they become a different colour). They looked completely different from all other Popples, like a round baby furball, and when turned into their pockets they looked like little bobble hats! They were 9cm tall.

Pocket Popples

"They're a handful of fun for everyone! These Popples are poseable with movable arms and legs, so they can sit, stand and pose in lots of silly ways. And this year, there are four new faces - Cribsy, Prize, Pretty Bit and Putter!"

There were ten Pocket Popples, so called because they were small enough to fit in your pocket. Six of the original characters were released at first (Party, Pancake, Puffball, Potato Chip, Puzzle and PC) follwed by the other three (Prize, Pretty Bit and Putter) and one new character (Cribsy). They had hard plastic face and moveable limbs, the rest was a jersey type fabric and fur.

Party Pancake Puffball

P.C. Potato Chip Puzzle

Prize Pretty Bit Putter Cribsy

Rock Star Popple

"Here they are - ready to rock, ready to roll! Puckster Poppe comes with his own removable guitar. He's dressed for the stage in a performing cape and a bright orange hairstyle! Joining him for rock 'n roll fun is Punkity Popple - she's the singer and comes with her own microphone. She's every bit the rock star, too - with lots of bright colours and spiked 'do too."

There were two Rock Star Popples, both new characters to the original set. Punkity came with a microphone attached to her and Punckster with a guitar attached to him. They were 11" high.

Punckster Punkity

Baby Popples

"The cutest Popples ever! Their bottles squeak and their tails rattle. Their colourful bibs are attached with fabric fasteners and their booties are removable so children can have fun dressing and undressing them. And they love being rolled into their ball."

There were two Baby Popples, both the characters to the original set. They were 11 inches tall. Bibsy came with a pink furry bottle and Cribsy with a yellow furry bottle.

Bibsy Cribsy

Sports Popples

"What do you call these silly sports superstars? A team of Popples! Kids'll love to play ball and pop out a football, soccer or basket ball star. And this year, the new MVP (Most Valuable Popple) is the grand slam hitter -- the softball player P.C. Popple!"

There were five Sports Popples produced in total, including one character from the original series and four new ones. Each popple was named after a different ball game (except P.C.) and turned into their related sports balls. They were 10" high. Big Kick, Duncker and T.D. (Touch Down) were released first in 1986, with P.C. added in 1987 and Tennis in 1988.

Tennis was only released in UK/Europe, where the others had alternate names based on their sports:

  • Big Kick [Football]
  • Dunker [Basket-Ball]
  • P.C. [Base-Ball]
  • T.D. [Rugby]

Big Kick / Foorball Duncker / Basket-Ball Touch Down / Rugby

P.C. / Base-Ball Tennis

Cheerleader Popples

"Give me a P! Give me an O! Give me a P-P-L-E-S! What do you get? Cheerleader Popples! Just turn'em inside out and be a cheerleader -- they roll up and turn into pom-poms. Each character comes in her own pretty costume!"

There were three Cheerleader Popples, all characters from the original set. They each came with pom-pom's attached to their paws and also turned into pom-poms too.

Party Potato Chip Puffball

Flower Popples

"Look what's popping up all over! Each one turns inside out and blooms into a beautiful flower!"

There were six Flower Popples produced but I know four of their names (all new characters). When turned into their pockets they looked like flowers.


Daisy

Buttercup

Honeysuckle

Periwinkle

Daisy Periwinkle Honeysuckle Buttercup ? ?

Fruit Popples

There were six Fruit Popples, all new charaters to the original set, and were only released in UK/Europe. They were all shaped like insects and could turn into a piece of fruit and were 9cm tall. They were names after the fruit they turned into.

  • Orange [bee]
  • Pear [ladybird]
  • Peach [butterfly]
  • Apple [ladybird]
  • Lemon [butterfly]
  • Plum [bee]

Costume Popples / Carnival Popples

There were four Costume Popples made exclusively for UK/Europe, all new charaters to the original set. They were 15cm tall.

They were each named after the costume they wore and each one turned into a different object.

  • Chef [chef's hat]
  • Ballerina [purse]
  • Red Indian [drum]
  • Clown [spotted balloon]

Animal Popples

There were three Animal Popples released in France and were 28cm tall. The US had their own version of the puppy (below), but it was not part of a series. They were named after their animal type and turned into simple balls like the original Popples.

  • Parrot
  • Dog
  • Rabbit

Individual Popples

There were two individual Popples released which were not associated with any series, both were animals.

Rabbit Dog

For Sale

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Popples :: Plush