If you were a child of the late-1980s or 1990s, there's no doubt you're familiar with the bright, fun-sized world of Polly Pocket. Second in popularity only to the Queen of Toys herself, Barbie, Polly Pocket took toy aisles by storm and sparked a pocket-sized revolution.
But how did pint-sized Polly become
such a global juggernaut, and what is that childhood collection of yours worth
today?
It's a fascinating story that you're
not going to want to miss. Keep reading as we explore the history of Polly
Pockets!
It
All Started With a Makeup Compact
The history of Polly Pockets begins
much like the story of many children's toys: With a parent's need to keep their
child entertained.
In the early 1980s, Chris Wiggs' daughter,
Kate, had a fun obsession with dolls. Wiggs wanted to create something special
just for Kate, so he took a spare makeup compact and hand-crafted a dollhouse
out of wood, alongside a petite Polly prototype.
Kate absolutely loved it!
Bluebird
Toys and Mattel
Before he knew it, Wiggs found
himself pitching to Bluebird Toys, a small upstart based in the United Kingdom.
At the time, Bluebird was experimenting in what they dubbed 'container houses',
which worked similarly to Chris' hand-crafted dollhouse.
Suffice to say, Bluebird ate up the
pitch, and a partnership was formed.
Within a few years, Polly Pockets
were selling like hotcakes in the UK. So naturally, a few major corporations
had an interest in Polly's profits.
Chief among them was Mattel, one of the world's leading
manufacturers of children's toys. Mattel was experiencing huge success thanks
to properties like Hot Wheels and Masters of the Universe, so a distribution
deal seemed like a match made in heaven.
Unfortunately, that agreement turned
sour after several attempts at a hostile takeover, which eventually led to
Mattel purchasing the rights to Polly Pocket altogether.
Polly
Pockets in the Modern Era
Though the heyday of Polly Pocket
was certainly the 90s, rest assured that Polly and her pals are still around.
In fact, you could argue that Polly's world is bigger than ever!
These days, there are plenty of
additional characters in the Polly Pocket universe. Her friends include an
assortment of characters that wouldn't feel out of place in an Archie comic.
What's more, these characters have
tons of backstory thanks to Mattel pushing Polly Pocket into the world of
multimedia.
These days, kids can turn on Netflix
and watch multiple seasons of "Polly Pocket," a series based on the
doll's adventures. In addition, Mattel published several straight-to-video
movies in the mid-2000s and even gave Polly her own web series.
As for adults? There are plenty of
people who grew up with Polly that continue to cultivate a collection. Certain
old-school sets can sell for as much as $5000, with other rare sets fetching an asking price of several
hundred dollars.
From
a Small Start to a Giant Success
It's great that parents can still
share their love of Polly Pockets with a whole new generation. Rest assured, it
doesn't seem like Polly is going anywhere.
Did you enjoy this little piece of toy history? If so, make sure to check out the rest of our great content!
