Popples (2015 TV series)
A Netflix original series based on the Popples toy line.
Popples is a children's animated television series based on the Popples toy line. The show follows the adventures of five comedic pals named Bubbles, Sunny, Lulu, Izzy, and Yikes. These creatures are an amazing species that can pop into and out of a ball. The story is driven by the optimistic enthusiasm of the Best Popple Pals, who always want to help their friends and neighbors. Their efforts often backfire in hilarious ways, and they must spend each episode trying to fix the chaos they have caused, eventually saving the day in their own POP-tastic way.
The series was produced by Saban Brands, Method Animation, and Zagtoon, in co-production with Nexus Factory and Umedia, with participation from TiJi, Gulli, and DQ Entertainment International, and in association with SOFITVCINE 2 and UFund. Netflix commissioned the series and promoted it as an original for the platform. It is the most recent Popples television adaptation, following a 1986 animated series.
The main characters include 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), and Yikes (voiced by Grant George). Supporting characters include Mike Mine (voiced by Ben Diskin), Gruffman (voiced by Ezra Weisz), Penny and 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), and guest star Squeaky Pop (voiced by Megan Nicole).
In 2012, Saban Brands acquired the Popples intellectual property from American Greetings' AG Properties. The relaunch was first shown at Brand Licensing Europe that year. In 2014, Netflix picked up the series. 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.
The series made its linear debut in the United States on Discovery Family on July 1, 2019, airing there until November 2021. It left Netflix in July 2023 due to licensing agreements that made it unavailable on the ad-supported plan.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 22 minutes
- Director
- Olivier Derynck / Ram Ganapati Rao
- Based On
- the toyline and TV franchise by TCFC
- Starring
- Erin Fitzgerald / Grant George / Wendee Lee / Cassandra Morris / Cindy Robinson / Reba Buhr / Ben Diskin / Ezra Weisz / Karen Strassman / Christopher Corey Smith
- Country
- United States / France / Belgium
- Executive Producer
- Jeremy Zag / Jared Wolfson / Aton Soumache / Cédric Pilot / Brian Casentini / Tapaas Chakravarti
- Producer
- John Hardman / Phil Harnage / Elie Dekel / J.D. Smith / Sylvain Goldberg / Serge de Poucques / Adrian Politowski / Gilles Waterkeyn
- Company
- Saban Brands / Method Animation / Zagtoon / Nexus Factory / Umedia / DQ Entertainment International
- Network
- Netflix
- First Aired
- 2015-10-30
- Last Aired
- 2016-07-24
- Num Episodes
- 26 (52 segments)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
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.
In 2012, Saban Brands acquired the Popples intellectual 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.
The series made its linear debut in the United States on Discovery Family on July 1, 2019, and 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.
Reader's Guide
The 2015 Popples series represents a modern revival of the 1980s toy line, brought to television by Saban Brands after acquiring the property from American Greetings. It was produced as a co-production with ZAG Entertainment and other partners, and was commissioned by Netflix as an original series, premiering in late 2015. The series ran for three seasons, with episodes released on Netflix in 2015 and 2016. Its linear television debut came later on Discovery Family, airing from 2019 to 2021. The series left Netflix in 2023 due to licensing changes. The show's legacy includes a toy line distributed by Spin Master from 2016 to 2018, which, like the original 1980s toys, could be rolled into a ball and popped back out. After the series ended, Saban Brands sold all its properties, including Popples, to Hasbro in 2018.
Did You Know?
- The series was commissioned by Netflix and promoted as an original series for the platform.
- The last Popples television adaptation before this was a 1986 animated series.
More in Television Series by Allspark 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced