When it comes to Mattel franchises, we all know the big ones, like Barbie and Hot Wheels. One franchise that I think tends to get overlooked is Polly Pocket, especially the 2018 series of the same name. It’s a bit of a shame since I think that the 2018 series is pretty good, especially season 5, where the first half came out in spring and the second half in the summer. I want to go over my 5 favorite episodes of the season, but before that, let me go over what the show is about.
Polly Pocket 2018 (which technically came out in the US in 2019, but debuted in Canada in 2018) is of course based on the Polly Pocket brand. It’s developed by Shea Fontana (who developed DC Superhero Girls 2015 and Monster High 2022, among others), and is a collaboration between Mattel Television and Wildbrain (though you know the latter by their former name, DHX Media, from their work with Hasbro on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic). The show focuses on a young girl named Polly Pocket (voiced by Emily Tennant), who gets a special locket that used to belong to her grandmother Penelope Pocket (voiced by Ellen Kennedy) that contains pockite, allowing her to grow and shrink anything and anyone. She would then go on all sorts of adventures. Initially, the only ones who knew about the locket were her friends Shani Smith (voiced by Kazumi Evans from seasons 1-2, and Cherlanda Estrada from season 3 onwards), Lila Draper (voiced by Shannon Chan Kent), Nicolas Wells (voiced by Vincent Tong), season 2 newcomer and initial antagonist Bella Bigowski (voiced by Rhona Rees), and her baby brother Paxton (voiced by Maryke Hendriske). Of course, from the end of season 3 onwards, the rest of her family would find out, those being her parents Pamela and Peter (voiced by Maryke Hendriske and Ian Hanlin), older brother Pierce (voiced by David A. Kaye), and (albeit in season 4) her grandfather Richard (voiced by Terry Klassen in season 2 and Dhrindea from season 3 onwards). Episodes in season 1 were 22 minutes while season 2 onwards would switch to 11 minute episodes, albeit with some specials.
When it comes to the reception behind the show from season 2 onwards, it seems to be more love it or hate it. This mainly stems from how season 1 had the antagonists Griselle Grande and her granddaughter Gwen Grande (voiced by Patricia Drake and Rhona Rees) wanting to desperately steal Polly’s locket for some bigger plan, but they would disappear from season 2 onwards with no explanation. All that’s known is that this wasn’t Shea Fontana’s decision. Some people think that the show isn’t as good as it used to be without this sense of stakes, or even that it’s flat out bad. I can understand that the unexplained changes can turn people off, but I feel that it also dismisses the many good things that the later seasons do. I think there’s plenty of things to like about the later seasons. For example, I like how Bella was initially introduced as an antagonistic jock like character in season 2, and only became this way because of how Lila inadvertently kept showing her up. While she was a fun antagonist, she’s much more fun and endearing to watch from the season 2 finale onward where they highlight her physical strength, yet her dorkiness and loyalty to others adds to this, and makes her quite sweet. I like how each season from season 2 onwards has a mini arc where the characters stay in one location (such as Cosmopolitan City in seasons 2 & 5, or Rainbow Funland in season 3) or take on some idea that’s better watched in one go (like the Littleton Games in season 4). I like how the season 4 finale, The Mermaid Kingdom, introduces the idea of more kinds of pockite and their various abilities. It’s expanded upon in Polly Pocket: Sparkle Cove Adventure, a tournament style movie that eventually ends with Polly giving orange pockite to Lila (allowing her to transform), red pockite to Shani (allowing her to talk to animals), yellow gold pockite to Pamela (allowing her to freeze time), and blue pockite to Paxton (allowing him to make shields). There’s also the idea of pocket worlds, which are mini worlds that can only be accessed with special pockite. Everything is so fun to watch, and the characters play off each other well. I don’t even mind the fact that things are this different.
Okay, now that you’re caught up on the specifics, let me count down my 5 favorite episodes of the season. Admittedly, my thoughts will mainly be brief, but they’re still worth talking about. Let’s begin.
5. Double Duchess
At number 5, we have the episode “Double Duchess”, which is written by Monica Doville and directed by Alex Garcia Munoz and Desirae Salmark. The episode has Bella being asked by Pierce to tell him everything she knows about her home country, Belldovia. The problem is that she doesn’t know much about it. The season 3 episode “The Big Ball” showed that Bella was royalty, and it’s nice to see another episode focusing on that. There’s a very solid conflict here about Bella trying to come across as more knowledgeable about her home country then she actually is. It ultimately ends with a well told message about how she’s still learning more about herself, and that it’s okay. Even if you know that she shouldn’t lie, they also make her really likable. They highlight how she hasn’t been to Belldovia since she was a baby. This helps elevate her conflict as she feels that she’s not in tune with her culture enough because of how she basically missed out on it her whole life. What also helps is with how her attempts to try to come across as smarter about her culture is done in a way where she’s trying too hard yet also doesn’t try to act egotistical. The way she tries too hard is what makes her enjoyable to watch because of the emphasis on not wanting to let anyone down. The ending helps elevate this when her cousin Prince Alistair (voiced by Paul Dobson) comes by to visit. He’s shown to be pretty friendly, and doesn’t mind when Bella doesn’t know enough about Belldovia since he doesn’t know enough about American culture. It’s a small moment, but that ending helps elevate this into a good episode.
4. Dance Machine
At number 4, we have the episode “Dance Machine”, which is written by Ian Rickett and directed by Alex Garcia Munoz and Desirae Salmark. It’s about Shani trying to get more kids to sign up for her robotics club. She then reprograms her robot Bombo Bot (voiced by Sabrina Pitre) to do other things beyond her initial programming, dancing, in order to get more people to sign up. This episode goes for a message about how you shouldn’t push others to do what you want for the sake of getting attention. I think it works well with Shani’s character. She was mainly known for her nervousness in the first 3 seasons when given the spotlight. While this hasn’t gone away, there’s more focus on her being confident with herself, which I think is a good move. Her dorkiness is allowed to shine even more given this confidence boost. In this case, even if she is going too far in trying to get the approval of others, and her robot goes out of control, she’s also putting a good deal of initiative to make her presence known. This makes her fun to watch. I do want to comment a bit on some new characters, those being Falleehah (voiced by Regua Rashidan) and Cynthia (also voiced by Sabrina Pitre). Even though Falleehah doesn’t know about the locket, she’s still shown to be a good friend with how she tries to steer Shani straight while showing support. As for Cynthia, I don’t have much to say about her, but she fills the role well of someone who’s not super interested in robotics, but is still generally friendly. The ending works pretty well in how Shani apologizes for making a mess, turns Bombo Bot back to normal after she questions her existence, and everyone likes robots. That’s pretty good to me.
3. About Time
At number 3, we have the episode “About Time”, which is written by Rosemary Contreras and directed by Alex Garcia Munoz and Desirae Salmark. This episode has Littleton putting on a play about Polly’s super great grandmother Prudence Pocket (voiced by Rhona Rees), who has appeared in flashbacks before, and she’s asked to play her. Since she doesn’t think she can play the role well, she, Shani, and Nic go back in time to see what she was like via a mini time machine. Unfortunately, they alter time by accidentally scaring her horse away, with said horse being central to the town’s founding. That is quite a lot to pack into 11 minutes, but they make it work thanks to a good message about always trying your best and Polly’s determination to make things right. What really helps her character is her genuine love of her family life. There’s good focus on how she wants to honor what she stands for and not let down her legacy. This fits with how she’s someone who always tries to do what’s right, but can often focus too much on ambition or let her feelings get in the way. She’s definitely like Prudence with how she shows the same willingness and compassion to do what’s right. You can see this with how she does at least try to put some thought into how she makes things right. This helps make the ending work, where she follows what Prudence does, but without trying to copy her. It’s a short, but sweet story.
2. The Lulufoofoo Switcheroo-roo
At number 2, we have the episode “The Lulufoofoo Switcheroo-roo” , which is written by Nick “Rocket” Rodriguez and directed by Thom McKenna. That’s quite a mouthful of a title. The episode is part of the show’s second Cosmopolitan City arc. With the class having a day off to do whatever they want, Lila decides to check out an event hosted by her idol Madame Lulufoofoo (voiced by Emmanuelle Vaugier). Thinking that she needs to be like her in order to get her designs across to others, she uses her pockite to become her. We have an episode with a solid message about embracing your unique style and not letting how others see you dictate what you do. It works pretty well with how Lila gets the focus here. She’s someone who fully embraces being both a fashionista and an athlete. This is the kind of outfit that she made, something fashionable yet comfortable for more physical activities. You can definitely understand why she does this given how much pride she puts into showing off what makes her special. The episode does a good job showing off Madame Lulufoofoo as being demanding, but not outright unreasonable. They mainly show off how she’s confident in herself. There’s some fun hijinks in trying and failing to be like her idol given the mixup the two of them unknowingly make contradicting decisions about what outfits to show off. The ending helps sell this as Lila stands up for her designs, and Madama Lulufoofoo actually likes how she stands up for what she wants. That’s definitely a good way to end an episode like this.
1. Adventures In Dragon Sitting
At number 1, we have the 2 part season 5 finale, “Adventures In Dragon Sitting”, which is written by Ian Rickett, Mike Carrier, and Taylor Cox, and directed by Brent Bouchard and Thom McKenna. This episode has Polly, her family, and Lila and Shani open up a pet daycare. Things go awry when Polly gets a mysterious package containing a dragon bunny egg that she names Confetti, and she insists on doing everything herself. So this episode has an obvious, but solid message about how you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help from others. It works well here. Before I gush about the episode, I have to address one complaint that I have.
Okay, let’s cut to about 2/3 of the way through the episode, where everyone is chasing Confetti through the mall. At one point, Polly meets up with Griselle and Gwen, with the former begrudgingly saying how she’s not doing anything bad now. So their first appearance since the season 1 finale is in a cameo that has no point to the story at hand. I’s just randomly thrown into the episode without any setup (they didn’t send the package or anything like that), and it’s never brought up again after it’s over given how Polly doesn’t bring them up again when she’s writing in her journal.
Despite the one flaw, this episode is still pretty good. The plot is pretty simple, as is the message, but the character writing helps make it great. It mainly comes down to how Polly is characterized. She’s definitely taking on a lot more responsibility then she can handle. I mean, she’s trying to set everything up and take care of Confetti, who can fly and breathe ice. It fits with her characterization in wanting to have some kind of control over everything that happens, especially unexpected. What helps elevate her behavior are some of the small moments. One example comes from how she’s at least willing to go for some kind of compromise when Pamela says that she can take up more responsibilities if she first finishes the ones that she gave her. Another comes from how she wants to care for Confetti without asking her parents when seeing that they’re busy with their own matters at the moment. It’s small, but it helps show that she is someone worth rooting for. We then get plenty of fun moments and little character beats as everyone tries catching Confetti. The ending definitely helps seal this. Polly’s solution for where Confetti should stay is to ultimately have her stay with Chip (voiced by Annie Chen), a girl introduced earlier in the season who loves in a candy filled pocket world at the mall. That’s pretty smart since she can handle Confetti’s more out of control tendencies. We then have Polly and the group using pockite to turn the pet daycare into an interdimensional pet daycare and help out all kinds of animals. Now that’s brilliant.
And that’s all I have. What do you think?
