TheToyZone is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more!

6 Fictional Homes Reimagined as Polly Pockets

Header NO TEXT Pop Culture Polly Pockets
G.John Cole
Written by
G.John Cole
Written by
G.John Cole
John is one of our senior writers here at TheToyZone. He is a filmmaker and author, and dad to one tiny (but super cute!) villain – so, all in all, he spends much of his time in a world of make-believe.
James Booth
Edited by
James Booth
Edited by
James Booth
Managing Editor
James loved anything Star Wars related as a kid! These days he uses the force to make sure TheToyZone is consistently publishing articles our readers will trust and find real value in. On his off days, you'll find him in the woods searching for Ewoks.
Why you can trust us

More info

TheToyZone is an independent publication with no ties with companies mentioned on the site. We don’t accept free products in exchange for glowing reviews. Instead, we report our own findings to help you make an informed decision.

Polly Pocket has made giant leaps and bounds since super-dad Chris Wiggs first built a tiny dollhouse in a powder compact for his daughter, Kate, in 1983.

Since Polly Pocket was born, the concept has been bought up first by Bluebird Toys, and then Mattel. It has been relaunched, redesigned, and publicized with spin-off shows and a trilogy of movies.

But while the miniature dollhouse has charmed generations of small-things-lovers, TheToyZone reckons Mattel is missing a trick. Why shouldn’t Polly Pocket ‘do a LEGO’ and absorb a popular franchise or two? Where’s our teeny-weeny Polly Pocket: Death Star Edition?

Well, we didn’t feel like taking on Disney – but we did decide to create six new lines of Polly Pocket to match some of our favorite screen franchises. We worked with CGI artist Jan Koudela to create ultra-real-looking Polly Pockets from the fictional worlds of Stranger Things, Lord of the Rings and more.

And here they are: six unlikely ways to have a Polly day ???? Make sure to click on the images so you can explore all the little details!

1. The Byers residence (Stranger Things)

The hinges of the Stranger Things Polly Pocket are more than an opening mechanism. They represent a portal between Joyce Byers’ home and the Upside Down that lurks beneath Hawkins, Indiana.

Stranger Things is the perfect 1980s throwback, and it wouldn’t be surprising for an early Polly Pocket commercial to show up on Will and Jonathan’s TV. Will you have sleepless nights knowing there’s a tiny Upside Down in your toy chest?

More? You might enjoy our list of the best Stranger Things toys that you can buy in 2021.

2. Monica’s apartment (Friends)

Monica Geller has long coveted a dollhouse, but she was imagining something a bit bigger than this. Still, the unofficial Friends Polly Pocket will be a lot easier to keep spotlessly clean than her ‘real’ West Village apartment, or Aunt Sylvia’s vintage doll mansion.

Friends Polly Pocket

All Monica’s Polly Pocket is missing is a Bachelor Pad Pocket across the hallway. Oh yeah, and a giant dog to pee on the roof. Could Monica’s apartment be any cuter?

3. The Simpsons residence (The Simpsons)

The Simpsons series dropped the same year as the first mass-produced Polly Pocket toys, and the two properties are united by a color scheme that screams “1989.” For The Simpsons Polly Pocket we gave 742 Evergreen Terrace the pocket treatment, and it seems like a match made in heaven.

The Simpsons Polly Pocket

In fact, aren’t we overdue a Polly Pocketified Simpsons episode? We’ve had 3D Homer, a LEGO episode, and bits and bobs of Claymation. Bring on Powder Compact of Horror XXXII!

Be sure you to also check out our what think are the best Simpsons toys on the market as of 2021.

4. Hobbit house (The Lord of the Rings)

Everyone wants a Hobbit-hole (at least as a holiday home). If you don’t have the wherewithal to build your own just now, you can enjoy the ultra-cozy appeal of our pocket-sized offering instead.

LOTR Polly Pocket

The compact structure lends itself perfectly to the Hobbit house’s familiar curves and circular doors and windows. You even have a patch of Shire outside to enjoy. But even Bilbo Baggins would struggle not to bang his head entering this tiny piece of LOTR real estate.

5. The Overlook Hotel (The Shining)

Hey, Mattel! How about a Stephen King-inspired line of Polly Pockets? Much like the Tenenbaum’s house below, every room in the Overlook Hotel has a double-meaning. Only here, things get much, much darker.

The Shining Polly Pocket

You’ll need a tiny trike to fully enjoy that endless corridor, and a warm, tiny coat to survive the maze (which appears in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, but not the book or mini-series). And if you see the elevator doors begin to open, make sure to snap shut your Polly Pocket quick sharp!

6. The Tenenbaums residence (The Royal Tenenbaums)

Wes Anderson’s aesthetic has often been compared to Polly Pocket. Everything just fits so neatly! The Royal Tenenbaums is the movie where Anderson’s signature look really took hold, and the Tenenbaum’s home functions like an architectural psychoanalysis of the family’s respective hang-ups.

The Royal Tenenbaums Polly Pocket

It would be great if someone commissioned Wes Anderson to make a line of Polly Pockets. While waiting for that to happen, we created The Royal Tenenbaums Polly Pocket, giving Anderson’s ultimate dysfunctional family their own pocket mansion. We even included the tent.

Within Every Polly Pocket, A Smaller Polly Pocket

If there’s one thing better than a pop culture artifact that you know and love, it’s taking two pop culture properties and smashing them together. Whether it’s pop hits on toy instruments, Doctor Who-themed Christmas Tree ornaments, or Polly Pocket-sized fictional homes, TheToyZone says: the smaller the better!

Wondering how we made these Polly Pockets?

We teamed up with CGI artist Jan Koudela after we had already shortlisted the fictional homes we want to ‘Polly Pocketify’. From that moment, our art director Povilas worked with Jan to compile a scrapbook of images and videos from our chosen movies, identifying the features that make each one iconic.

After making his first sketches, Jan began 3D modelling using a piece of software called Cinema4D. The key challenge was to find a virtual texture that looks like plastic and to work on a tiny scale without losing the detail of the source material. Povilas and Jan knew that we had to be careful to recreate the movie environments using the ‘language’ of Polly Pocket: stickers as background, trap doors, plexiglass windows, etc. For the last step, Jan used Photoshop to make sure the signature colors of each fictional world were just right. And the rest is history…

CC BY SA

More from TheToyZone