Popples is a children's animated television series based on the Popples toy line produced by Saban Brands, Method Animation and Zagtoon, in co-production with Nexus Factory and Umedia, with the participation of TiJi, Gulli, and DQ Entertainment International, and in association with SOFITVCINE 2 and UFund. The series portrays the adventures of the comedic pals Bubbles, Sunny, Lulu, Izzy, and Yikes. The series was commissioned by Netflix and was promoted as an original series for the platform. The last Popples television adaptation to air was a 1986 animated series.
Contents
Premise
Popples are depicted as an amazing species of creatures that can pop into and out of a ball. The story is driven by the optimistic comedic enthusiasm of the BPP's (Best Popple Pals): Bubbles, Sunny, Lulu, Izzy and Yikes. Always wanting to help their friends, neighbors and each other, their efforts often backfire in hilarious ways and they must spend the rest of the episode trying to unwind the mayhem they have caused. Luckily they always manage to save the day in their own POP-tastic way.
Characters
Main characters
Bubbles (voiced by Cassandra Morris)
Lulu (voiced by Cindy Robinson)
Sunny (voiced by Wendee Lee in the first season and Erin Fitzgerald in the final two seasons)
Izzy (voiced by Cindy Robinson)
Yikes (voiced by Grant George)
Supporting characters
Mike Mine (voiced by Ben Diskin)
Gruffman (voiced by Ezra Weisz)
Penny & Polly Popplar (both voiced by Reba Buhr)
Miss Shush (voiced by Karen Strassman)
Mayor Maynot (voiced by Various)
Babapop (voiced by Various)
Coach Loudly (voiced by Christopher Corey Smith)
Mrs. Snooply (voiced by Various)
HELP-R (voiced by Various)
Guest star
Squeaky Pop (voiced by Megan Nicole)
Development
In 2012, Saban Brands acquired the Popples interlectual property from American Greetings' AG Properties. The relaunch was first shown off at Brand Licensing Europe in the same year.
In 2014, the series was picked up by Netflix. As a co-production between Saban Brands and ZAG Entertainment, the series premiered at the end of 2015.
After the series ended, in May 2018, Saban Brands sold all its properties, including Popples, to Hasbro.
Broadcast
The series made its linear debut in the United States on Discovery Family on July 1, 2019. It aired there until November 2021.
The series left Netflix in July 2023 due to licensing agreements that made it unavailable on the ad-supported plan.
Episode list
Season 1
10 episodes were planned for the first season; each episode runs for 22 minutes and consists of two segments. The episodes were released on October 30, 2015.
Season 2
The second season of Popples was released on Netflix on March 11, 2016.
Season 3
The third season of Popples was released on Netflix on July 24, 2016.
Merchandise
Saban Brands had exclusive rights to the Popples characters and had distributed a toy line through Spin Master from 2016 to 2018. Much like their earlier incarnations of the 1980s, the toys can be rolled into a ball and "popped" back out.