Mattel Popples

This page celebrates Mattel Popples: history, original popples, Popples names, Rock star, pufflings, sports and pocket Popples! See pictures of each character and type. See video of original commercials! Shop for Popples to start, or complete your collection! Stay here to learn everything about Popples by Mattel!

Susan Trentel, who worked for TCFC and had created the first prototypes on Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears, was the plush designer who invented the method for transforming the Popple. Supposedly, the idea came from rolling up socks. Trentel worked with art director Thomas Schneider on the creation of the first prototypes (Patent # 4614505).

The Popples plush toys were manufactured by Mattel. Produced in the 1980s, these toys resemble brightly colored teddy bears or rabbits (but with long tails with pom-poms on the tip), and have pouches on their backs that can be inverted, so they go into the pouches and resemble brightly colored balls. 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!

Large male Popple with blue fur, pink hair, and contrasting orange and yellow ears

large female Popple, with pink fur, hot pink hair, and contrasting lavender and pink ears

large female Popple with purple fur, orange hair, and contrasting blue and gray ears

medium-sized male Popple with orange fur, green hair, and contrasting blue and red ears

medium-sized female Popple with dark magenta fur, white hair, and contrasting green and pink ears

medium-sized female Popple with white fur, yellow hair, and contrasting blue and magenta ears

small female Popple with lavender fur, hot pink hair, and contrasting pink and blue ears

small female Popple with yellow fur, pink hair, and contrasting lavender and magenta ears

small male Popple with green fur, orange hair, and contrasting red and blue ears

The second launch brought the Rock Star Popples: Punkity (girl with microphone and star on her tummy) and Punkster (boy with guitar and lightning on his tummy). 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.

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.

A line extension brought about Pufflings, which looked like little Popple pets (they were basically a ball of fluff with a face and tiny paws and tail coming out, and could flip inside out to look a bit like an anemone) and carried riddles and jokes on tags inside them. There were 6 different colors of Pufflings: Red, yellow, sky blue, purple, white and magenta.

The Popples also had Sports Popples who turned into balls: Big Kick (soccer ball), Dunker (basketball), Touchdown (football), PC Pitcher (baseball), Net Set (tennis ball). The Sports Popples included Cuester, who turned into an 8-ball, but no known toy has been made of him. Similarly, no toy was made of the original Pitcher but PC was dressed in a baseball outfit to replace him.

There were numerous variants: Flower Popples (who would turn into flowers when you flipped them inside out), Pillow Popples (wearing pajamas and turned into sleeping bag), Fruit Popples (who turned into different fruits), and Special Editions with limited distribution (including an animal series with Popples that transformed into parrot, dog, and a rabbit), and Costume Popples who were wearing special clothes and turned into something related (example: a ballerina Popple that turns into a handbag).

Besides the stuffed animals, another successful Popple-themed line of merchandise was Pocket Popples. Based on same characters as the larger Popples they were scaled to fit in a pocket. They had PVC faces, articulated arms and legs, and fabric features of ears, tails and pocket (where they hid).

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