Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket is a toy line of inch-tall dolls and accessories sold by Mattel.

The line was founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and was first sold to the public in 1989. Between 2012 and 2018, it was not sold in the US in 2012 and declined in other countries, with Brazil being the only country to sell the products throughout that period.

The toys have been the basis for four movies, a TV series, and a web series and been featured on clothing and other fashion products.

History

Origins and early history

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. 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 collectibles.

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, and had circular bases that 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.

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 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.

Recent history

In 2002, Mattel stopped producing the smaller Polly Pocket playset range but continued to produce the larger fashion doll.

In 2004, Mattel introduced the Polly Pocket "Quik Clik" line. Instead of having rubbery clothes, the dolls had plastic clothes that would click together with 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.

Mattel relaunched Polly Pocket in 2010 by making further changes to the dolls, including increasing foot 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.

In 2012, Polly Pocket toys were discontinued in the US 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.

On February 12, 2018, it was announced that Polly Pocket would be making a comeback, with a relaunch of the dolls. The new toys are miniature dolls in playsets, like the original 1990s Polly Pocket, rather than the larger Fashion Polly. 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.

Clothing brands such as Hot Topic, Unique Vintage, and Cider, along with fashion designers such as Marc Jacobs, Mimi Wade, and Loewe have created merchandise inspired by the vintage Polly Pocket brand including handbags, makeup, and clothing items for adults.

Adaptations

Films

* '' Polly Pocket: Lunar Eclipse'' (2004)
* '' Polly Pocket 2: Cool at the Pocket Plaza'' (2005)
* '' PollyWorld'' (2006)
* Untitled Live Action film (TBA)

Web series

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.

TV series

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+.

Polly Pocket: Adventures in Rio was released on Prime Video in the UK and the United States in September 2024.

Characters

* Polly Pocket: Originally with curly blonde/gold hair and a headband in different colors that usually matched her outfit, Polly Pocket was the mayor of Pollyville. Later, her design changed to feature a ponytail instead of the curly hair.

Below is the list of other recurring characters who appeared several early Polly Pocket playsets. This list does not include characters who only appear in one nor two playsets.

Bluebird Toys era (1989-1997)

* Tiny Tina: A doll with blonde pigtails.
* Wee Willie: A boy doll with a blond bowlcut.
* Midge: A strawberry blonde doll with a "Dutch boy" straight hair with bangs usually wearing overalls.
* Little Lulu: Straight brown hair parted in the middle, usually wearing a playsuit or swimsuit. She is named after a comic character.
* Pixie: Brown hair parted in the middle in flip style, usually wearing a long-sleeved top with a scoop neckline in different colors.
* Mr. Sprout: A farmer.
* Mr. Moneybags: A balding businessman.
* Mr. Skint: Pollyville's bank manager.
* Kate (aka Buttons): A girl doll with short straight blonde or orange hair.
* Diddy: A boy doll with a brown bowlcut.
* Titch: A boy doll with brown hair in a bowlcut, sometimes wears a hat.
* Minny: An Asian doll with a black bob with bangs.
* Mr. Fry: A chef.
* Dishy: A waitress.
* Mr Marks: A teacher.
* Matt: An African American boy doll with crew cut hair.
* Rosie: A girl doll with a blonde top bun.
* Daisy: A girl doll with shoulder-length blonde hair with bangs.
* Suki: A Japanese girl doll with black hair in a bun.
* Atsuko: A Japanese girl doll with black straight hair with bangs.
* Heidi: A girl doll with a blonde ponytail with a pink winter hat.
* Tammy: A girl doll with brown hair.
* Mrs. Chime: An older woman doll with long grey hair pulled back with magenta flowers.
* Mr. Time: An old man doll with a long beard and bald head.
* Santa: Included in the Holiday Toy Shop playset.
* Mrs. Claus: Included in the Holiday Toy Shop playset.
* Topper: A snowman.
* Bella: A girl doll with short brown hair.
* Fifi: A girl doll with brown straight hair, wears a floral hat.
* Yasmin: A princess with a headdress, later released with long red hair.
* Anna: A princess with a blonde bob.
* Gemma: A princess with a brown bob with bangs.
* Mia: A princess with straight blonde hair.
* Alice: A redhead from the Polly Pool Party playset.
* Lily: A girl doll with a brunette ponytail from the Polly Pool Party playset.
* Nancy (aka Cathy): A bride with a brown or red bob.
* Peter: A groom with a red bowlcut.
* Patty: A waitress from the Polly at the Burger Stand playset.
* Mrs. Kelly: An African-American female teacher with a low ponytail.
* Prince Caspar: A boy doll with short brown hair parted to the left and combed to the right.
* Mimi (aka Becky): A girl doll with light brown hair.
* Daria: A girl doll from the Holiday Toy Shop playlist.
* Chelsie (aka Laura): An African-American doll with straight hair with bangs.
* Tory (aka Meena): An African American girl doll with a short flip hairdo.
* Kelly (aka Bridget): A girl doll with reddish brown pigtails.
* Belinda (aka Josie): A female chef with brown (later red) hair, chef from Pizzaria playset.
* Tamsin: An African-American girl doll with pigtails.
* Emily: A girl doll with short brown hair with bangs.
* Jessica: A girl doll with an orange flip hairdo.
* Dixie (aka Maria): A girl doll with dark brown pigtails.
* Mitzi (aka Kim): An African American girl doll with straight hair.
* Ms. Lila (aka Ms. Penny): A female teacher with orange hair in a low ponytail.
* Alexia: A girl doll with straight brown hair.
* Fairy Ella: A girl fairy doll with strawberry blonde hair and a purple flower crown.
*Jenny: A girl doll with red pigtails.
*Tawny: A girl doll with straight brown hair.
*Sammie: A girl doll featured on the Skateboarding ring.
*Ben: A boy doll with curly brown hair from the Strollin’ Playset.
*Tom & Tessa: Baby dolls from the Strollin’ playset.
*Lucy,Alice and Toby: Baby dolls from the Babysittin’ Stamper playset.
*Bellman: A boy doll from the Hollywood star playset with light brown hair.
*Sunshine Midge: A girl doll with a blonde Dutch cut hairstyle.
*Mermaid Pearl: A girl mermaid doll with long red wavy hair.
*Mermaid Suzie: A girl mermaid doll with long blonde hair and a purple flower lei in her hair.
*Tiny Lily: A girl doll with red hair in ponytail held with white flowers, green grass skirt, white lei, barefoot, holding dark pink flower with green stem in left hand, tan base. From the Glitter Island playset.
*Laura: A girl doll with reddish brown hair. Princess version is from the Princess Palace storybook Playset.
*Emma: A girl doll with dark brown pigtails from the slumber party playset.
*Dana: A girl doll with brown pigtails from Starlight Dinner Party playset.

Mattel era (1998-present)

*Shani: an African-American doll with curly dark hair.
*Lila: a doll with brown pixie cut later red ponytail.

Pre-2018

*Todd: A boy with brown hair.
*Lea: a doll with long red hair.
*Ana/Crissy: Dark-haired doll with curly hair. In 2010, her ethnicity is Asian along her hair is long and jet black, but dyed with pink streaks.
*Rick: A boy with blond hair.

Other toylines

Bluebird released Disney Polly Pocket style playsets from 1995 to 1999. These were called the Disney “Tiny Collection” or “Mini collection”.

See also

* Mighty Max

References

{{Mattel

Doll brands
Transforming toys
1980s toys
1990s toys
Mattel franchises
Fashion dolls
American animated web series
Products introduced in 1989
Bluebird Toys