Popples (TV series)

infobox television
show_name = Popples


caption = The Popples and the show's logo
format = Animation
runtime = 30 minutes
rating = TV-Y
creator = American Greetings
starring = Valri Bromfield,
Louise Vallance,
Sharon Noble,
Jeannie Elias,
Donna Christie,
Blake Hauser,
Danny Mann,
Maurice LaMarche
country = USA
network =
first_aired = September 13, 1986
last_aired = June 27, 1987
num_episodes = 42
imdb_id = 0174420
tv_com_id = 9204

"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 Shelly Duvall special called "It's Popple Time", in which they were puppets and marionettes; after being 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 or rabbits with long, pompom-tipped tails, and they have pouches on their backs that can be everted so they resemble fuzzy balls. The name "Popple" is a reference to the popping sound they make when unfolding themselves from such a ball. In the cartoon Popples commonly pull large items from their pouches that couldn't possibly fit inside, which come from hammerspace; in one episode, 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 come around and mess up whatever the kids are trying to do; e.g., if the kids are trying to brush their teeth, the Popples end up spilling water, toothpaste and soap all over the bathroom. If the kids are trying to clean their rooms, the Popples come along, mess up the room even worse and then help them get everything back to normal just in the nick of time. The plot revolved around the children's efforts to hide the existence of the Popples from the adults around them.

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

Characters

The humans

*Bonnie and Billy Wagner: These two kids often find themselves pulled into various misadventures by the Popples. Bonnie, the older sibling, tries to keep things from getting completely out of hand, while Billy tends to just enjoy the ride. In the pilot, their parents eventually find out about the Popples, but in the cartoon they never do.

*Mike and Penny: These two kids moved next door to the Wagners one day (in the second season), and brought their own Popples with them. At first the two pairs of kids resented the fact that someone else had Popples, but they soon got over it and became friends.

Bonnie & Billy's Popples

*Party: Large pink Popple who is literally a party animal. She'll try to find a reason to party no matter what time it is. She serves as the primary Popple, as she appears in most episodes and on the Popples logo.
*PC (Pretty Cool): Large blue Popple, who serves as the co-leader of the bunch along with Party. He often tries to keep things under control, and he has a magic snap that can trigger all sorts of neat surprises.
*Pancake: Large maroon (purple) Popple who is fairly sweet, although she has a tendency to tickle Billy and Bonnie from time to time with her tail.
*Prize: Magenta Popple who is fairly vain when it comes to her appearance.
*Puffball: White Popple who loves to throw her voice around, pretending to portray various voices. She hates getting her fur dirty.
*Puzzle: Orange Popple who is more or less the bookworm of the bunch. He enjoys reading, and is fairly smart.
*Pretty Bit: Small purple Popple who almost always speaks in rhyme. She is also an expert on manners and etiquette.
*Putter: Small green Popple who is fairly hyperactive and playful.
*Potato Chip: Small yellow Popple who loves to eat snacks. She even mimics sounds.

Mike & Penny's Popples

*Punkster and Punkity: Punk-rockstar duo of Popples, who love singing. Punkster is blue and carries a guitar, and has a lightning bolt on his tummy. He is describes as papa popple for baby popples. Punkity is magenta and carries a microphone, and has a star on her tummy. She is describes as mama popple for baby popples.
*Bibsy and Cribsy: Baby Popples. Bibsy is white and wears a bib and a bonnet with stars. Cribsy is pink, and wears a striped white and blue hat with a matching bib and even her eyelids are blue.
*Pufflings: A sub-species of smaller Popples. Pufflings are unable to speak, but communicate with others with a high-pitched warbling sound. Sometimes they give out joke tags. The Pufflings like to hop and bounce around. The six Pufflings come in white, dark blue, sky blue, red, purple and yellow.

ports Popples

This was a group of six sports-themed Popples who appeared in only the final two cartoons: "Decatha-Pop-A-Lon Popples" (in which all six appeared) and "Popple Cheer" (in which all but Cuester appeared). It should be noted that the only character they ever make contact with is Bonnie, in the latter cartoon.

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. Big Kick talks with an English accent.
* Cuester is a pool player who turns into an 8-ball. Cuester talks with a Brooklyn accent.
* Dunker is a long-limbed basketball player who turns into a basketball. Dunker talks with stereotypical Afro-American accent.
* Net Set is a tennis player who turns into a tennis ball.
* Pitcher is a baseball player who turns into a baseball. Pitcher talks with a Southern accent.
* T.D. (Touchdown) is a player of American football who turns into a football.

Cast

eason 1 (1986)

*Party/Prize/Puffball - Louise Vallance
*PC - Hadley Kay
*Pancake - Pauline Rennie
*Puzzle - Dan Hennessey
*Putter - Len Carlson
*Pretty Bit - Linda Sorenson
*Potato Chip - Jazmin Lausanne
*Billy - Noam Zylberman
*Bonnie - Barbara Redpath
*Mom - Diane Fabian

eason 2 (1987)

*Bonnie/Billy - Valri Bromfield
*Party/Prize/Puffball/Punkity - Louise Vallance
*Pancake - Sharon Noble
*Penny - Jeannie Elias
*Potato Chip - Donna Christie
*P.C. (Pretty Cool) - Blake Hauser
*Punkster/Putter - Danny Mann
*Puzzle - Maurice LaMarche

"Popples" episodes

"Popples" has 21 episodes (not counting the pilot), each containing two 12-minute cartoons. In two different seasons, the intros and endings (same as the intros) are different. The episodes from the first season were completed in 1986, the episodes from the second season were completed in 1987.

# "" (two-reel in live-action)
# "Popples Panic at the Library"
# "Cookin' Up a Storm"
# "Molars and Bicuspids, and Popples"
# "The Treasure of Popple Beach"
# "Popping at the Car Wash"
# "Springtime's a Poppin"
# "Popples Play Pee Wee Golf"
# "Popples Flood the Fluff n' Fold"
# "Clean Sweep of Things"
# "Poppin' Wheelies"
# "Bonnie's Popple Party"
# "Aisles of Trouble"
# "Popples Paint Party"
# "Pop-Paring For Bed"
# "Poppolympics"
# "Sports Shop Pop"
# "Takin' Out the Trash"
# "A Hair-Raising Experience"
# "Pop Goes the Radio"
# "Poppin' Pillow Talk"
# "Where the Pop Flies"
# "Hurray For Hollywood"
# "Backyard Bigtop"
# "Backyard Adventure"
# "Poppin' At the Drive-In"
# "Popplin' Around the Block"
# "Moving Day"
# "Tree House Capers"
# "No Bizness Like Popple Bizness"
# "Museum Peace"
# "Lemonade Stand-Off"
# "Popple Post Office"
# "Funhouse Folly"
# "Fixer-Upper Popples"
# "Rock Around the Popples"
# "The College of Popple Knowledge"
# "Popple Cheer"
# "Barn Hoopla"
# "The Jellybean Jamboree"
# "Private Eye Popples"
# "The Repair Shop"
# "Decatha-Pop-A-Lon Popples"

Trivia

* In 1994, "Popples" was released on VHS videocassette in the U.S., each cassette containing two or six cartoons.
* "Popples" was released on DVD on May 31, 2004 for sale and use in the UK only.
* Valri Bromfield was the voice of the older versions of Billy and Bonnie, and the newer character Mike in Season 2, although at that time of voice acting, Valri Bromfield was 37 to 38 years old.

ee also

*Trolls
*Care Bears
*The Wuzzles

External links

*imdb title|id=0174420|title=Popples
*tv.com show|id=9204|title=Popples