Who’s the cuddly stuffed animal that can be rolled up into a furry ball like a pair of socks? Popples! The widely popular plush toy from the 80s that still keeps coming back, decade after decade.

First concepted in 1985 by (you’ll never guess it), American Greetings. Actually, a division of the card company, Those Characters from Cleveland. They soon after partnered with Mattel in 1986 and manufactured the Popples plush toy for a good two years.

The initial rollout included nine main characters, each with a special characteristic. Like a party-girl, or a sports enthusiast. However, I did not know this growing up. To me, I just had a purple colored Popple. Which after doing some research, is the character… Pancake? The sleepy, food loving Popple. I also had a Popples backpack, and my grandmother had a Popples piggy bank. I can vaguely remember this piggy bank being used during Canasta or Bridge games amongst her and her card-playing friends. Just sitting there collecting the buy-ins.

Sold as a holiday must-have in 1986, the Popples franchise expanded to include accessories, playsets, backpacks, comic books and story books. Remember book narration on record or tape?! “At the sound of the chime, turn the page.”

And let’s not forget about the accompanying television show and animated series. For instance, there was a live action series from Executive Producer, Shelley Duvall.

Yes, that Shelley Duvall. Mrs. Torrance from The Shining. The pilot episode of It’s Popple Time! aired in September of 1986.

Simultaneous to all of this was the animated series, Popples, also airing in 1986. The animated series acted more like a marketing tactic for the product. Bringing life to the very plush toy kids of the 80s must have. In reality, just smart, cost-effective marketing.

The toys and the series pretty much remained dormant from 1988 to 2001. In both 2001 and 2007, Popples made a comeback. Shortly after this return to the scene, Netflix released a new series in 2015. And finally, a new toy line launched in 2025. It’s pretty cool that they keep making a comeback for future generations. But as for me, I’ll be sticking to the nostalgia of the OG Popples.