Popples (1986 TV series)

Popples is a Saturday morning cartoon, based on the Popples toys, that aired in the United States from 1986 to 1987. The pilot was a live-action Shelley Duvall special, in which they were puppets and marionettes; after this was well-received, it was decided to make a cartoon series with the same characters. The cartoon was produced by DIC Entertainment and LBS Communications in association with The Maltese Companies.

Like the toys they're based on, the Popples resemble colorful teddy bears/rabbits with long, pompom-tipped tails, and they have pouches on their backs that can be everted so they resemble fuzzy balls. All the Popples stutter when they say words with the letter "P" in them. The name "Popple" is a reference to the popping sound they make when unfolding themselves from such a ball, or pulling objects from their pouches. In the cartoon Popples commonly pull large items from their pouches that couldn't possibly fit inside, which come from hammerspace; in "Popples Alley", one of the Popples' human friends looks inside one of their pouches and sees numerous objects floating in a void.

Nine of the Popples live with a human brother and sister, Billy and Bonnie Wagner. Billy and Bonnie think they are the only kids who have Popples until a neighbor family moves in and they have their own Popples — the Rock Stars, Pufflings, and Babies. The Popples tend to make the kids activities go out of hand, but with beneficial results by the end. The plot revolved around the children's efforts to hide the existence of the Popples from the adults around them, although their existence is found out by the Wagner parents in the pilot and not in the cartoons.

The Popples also had a comic book series from Star Comics (an imprint of Marvel Comics).

A new Netflix series based on the characters premiered in October 2015.^[1][2]

Characters

The humans

• Bonnie Wagner: Older sister of Billy, who tries to control the chaotic situations the Popples tend to cause.
• Billy Wagner: Younger brother of Bonnie, who doesn't seem bothered by the antics of the Popples.
• Mom: Bonnie and Billy's unnamed mother, who remains unaware of the Popples, except in the pilot episode.
• Mike: One of the siblings who moved next to the Wagners in the second season, along with their own Popples.
• Penny: Mike's sister.

Bonnie & Billy's Popples

• Party: Large pink Popple who is literally a party animal. She'll find a reason to party any time day or night and is always pulling party hats and confetti from her pouch. Party serves as the primary Popple, as she appears in 41 of the show's 46 episodes and on the Popples logo.
• PC (Pretty Cool): Large blue Popple, who serves as the co-leader of the bunch along with Party. Although he loves to have fun, he never lets things get too out of hand and is probably the most sensible member of the group. He also has a magic finger snap that can trigger all sorts of neat surprises. PC appeared in 40 episodes.
• Pancake: Large dark magenta (maroon) Popple who is very sweet and affectionate. She likes to tickle Billy and Bonnie with her tail and always knows just what to do to cheer someone up. Pancake had the fewest appearances of the original nine Popples, appearing in only 10 episodes.
• Prize: Hot Pink Popple who is very vain and takes great pride in her appearance. She has a small crush on PC, speaks in a Marilyn Monroe-esque voice and dreams of being a film star. Prize appeared in 15 episodes.
• Puffball: White Popple who loves to throw her voice around. She is very skilled at imitating voices to trick people and Popples alike. She also hates getting her white fur dirty and tries hard to stay clean. Puffball appeared in 15 episodes.
• Puzzle: Orange Popple who is more or less the bookworm of the bunch. He enjoys reading and is quite intelligent, but he still has a great sense of humor. Puzzle is also shown to be a good swimmer. Puzzle appeared in 15 episodes.
• Pretty Bit: Small purple Popple who almost always speaks in rhyme. She is more shy than most of the Popples, but is still very loyal to her friends. She enjoys poetry and is also an expert on manners and etiquette. Pretty Bit appeared in 11 episodes.
• Putter: Small green Popple who is somewhat hyperactive and has a tendency to do practical jokes but is very playful. Putter has a knack for fixing and inventing things, but they do not always work quite like he expects. Putter had the most appearances outside of the two lead Popples, appearing in 25 episodes. Putter also holds his tail to find something to do.
• Potato Chip: Small yellow Popple who loves to eat snacks. Sweet, sour or salty, Potato Chip loves them all and has quite an appetite for such a small Popple. She also has a talent for imitating sounds and sound effects. Potato Chip appeared in 18 episodes.

Mike & Penny's Popples

• Punkster: One of the punk-rockstar Popples. Punkster is blue, wears a pink and yellow cape and carries a guitar, and has a lightning bolt on his tummy. He is regarded as Papa Popple for the baby Popples. Always appears with Punkity and was featured in 15 episodes.
• Punkity: The other punk-rockstar Popple. Punkity is magenta, wears a green hair accessory and earrings and carries a microphone, and has a star on her tummy. She is regarded as Mama Popple for the baby Popples. Always appears with Punkster and was featured in 15 episodes.
• Bibsy: One of the Baby Popples. Bibsy is white and wears a purple and white bib, booties and bonnet with a star pattern. Featured in 14 episodes.
• Cribsy: The other Baby Popple. Cribsy is pink, and wears a striped white and blue hat with a matching bib and booties and even her eyelids are blue. Featured in 14 episodes.
• Pufflings: A sub-species of smaller Popples. Pufflings are unable to speak, but communicate with others with a high-pitched warbling sound. The Pufflings like to hop and bounce around and sometimes give out joke tags that one of the Popples will read out loud. The six Pufflings have white, blue, red, purple, pink and yellow fur.

Sports Popples

This was a group of six sports-themed Popples who appeared in only two episodes: "Decatha-Pop-A-Lon Popples" (in which all six appeared) and "Popple Cheer" (in which all but Cuester appeared). The only previously established character they ever make contact with is Bonnie, in the latter cartoon, where they explain they're "new in the neighbourhood".

The Sports Popples each specialize in one sport, wears an outfit based on that sport, and folds into an appropriate type of ball. Even their tails are shaped like sports balls:

• Big Kick is a soccer player who turns into a soccerball.
• Cuester is a pool player who turns into an 8-ball.
• Dunker is a long-limbed basketball player who turns into a basketball.
• Net Set is a tennis player who turns into a tennis ball.
• Pitcher is a baseball player who turns into a baseball.
• T.D. (Touchdown) is a player of American football who turns into a football.

Voice Cast

Popples episodes

Popples broadcast 47 episodes, including the pilot, with two segments contained in each half-hour show. Both of the season's intros and endings are different.

Season 1 (1986–87)

1. "Popples: The Movie" (two-reel, live-action) – September 6, 1986
2. "Popples Panic at the Library" – September 13, 1986
3. "Cookin' Up a Storm" – September 20, 1986
4. "Molars and Bicuspids and Popples" – September 27, 1986
5. "The Treasure of Popple Beach" – October 4, 1986
6. "Popping at the Car Wash" – October 11, 1986
7. "Springtime's a Poppin" – October 18, 1986
8. "Popples Play Pee Wee Golf" – October 25, 1986
9. "Popples Flood the Fluff n' Fold" – November 1, 1986
10. "Clean Sweep of Things" – November 8, 1986
11. "Poppin' Wheelies" – November 15, 1986
12. "Bonnie's Popple Party" – November 22, 1986
13. "Aisles of Trouble" – November 29, 1986
14. "Popples Paint Party" – December 6, 1986
15. "Pop-Paring For Bed" – December 13, 1986
16. "Poppolympics" – December 20, 1986
17. "Sports Shop Pop" – December 27, 1986
18. "Takin' Out the Trash" – January 3, 1987
19. "A Hair-Raising Experience" – January 10, 1987
20. "Pop Goes the Radio" – January 17, 1987
21. "Poppin' Pillow Talk" – January 24, 1987
22. "Popples Alley" – Sometime between January 24–31 1987
23. "Where the Pop Flies" – January 31, 1987
24. "Hooray For Hollywood Popples" – February 7, 1987
25. "Backyard Bigtop" – February 14, 1987
26. "Backyard Adventure" – February 21, 1987
27. "Poppin' at the Drive-In" – February 28, 1987

Season 2 (1987)

1. "Popplin' Around the Block" – March 7, 1987
2. "Moving Day" – March 14, 1987
3. "Tree House Capers" – March 21, 1987
4. "No Bizness Like Popple Bizness" – March 28, 1987
5. "Museum Peace" – April 4, 1987
6. "Lemonade Stand-Off" – April 11, 1987
7. "Popple Post Office" – April 18, 1987
8. "Funhouse Folly" – April 25, 1987
9. "Fixer-Upper Popples" – May 2, 1987
10. "Rock Around the Popples" – May 9, 1987
11. "The College of Popple Knowledge" – May 16, 1987
12. "Popple Cheer" – May 23, 1987
13. "Barn Hoopla" – May 30, 1987
14. "The Jellybean Jamboree" – June 6, 1987
15. "Private Eye Popples" – June 13, 1987
16. "The Repair Shop" – June 20, 1987
17. "Decatha-Pop-A-Lon Popples" – June 27, 1987
18. "Cuckoo Choo Choo" – July 4, 1987
19. "The Popple Fashion Parade" – July 11, 1987
20. "Poppin' at the Zoo" – July 18, 1987

Availability

Popples Volume One included several episodes: Popples Panic at the Library, The College of Popple Knowledge, Molars and Bicuspids and Popples, The Treasure of Popple Beach, Poppin' at the Car Wash, Springtime's a Poppin, Popples Play Pee Wee Golf, Popples Flood, The Fluff 'N' Fold, Clean Sweep of Things

See also

• Care Bears
• The Wuzzles

References

External links

• Popples at the Internet Movie Database
• Popples at TV.com
• Popples at the Big Cartoon DataBase