Author: Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone! My name is Gentle Dolphin, and I have been a long-time fan of Poptropica. I like drawing, baking, and being an overall dork. In real life, I'm pretty much the same except for the fact that my hair is brown instead of pink. You can befriend me on Poptropica if you'd like. My username is "magicalyre".
Bonus Items, Fan Art Features, Member Gifts, Membership, Social Media

Folklore figures: wear ’em, draw ’em, join ’em

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! We hope you’ve recovered from the flash of shock we gave earlier this month and are ready to dive into what else April has in store.

The April member gifts promise a blast to the past with three costumes based on some famous historical figures: Cleopatra, Sire Lancelot, and Pocahontas.

Speaking of the last costume, it looks oddly familiar. The Pocahontas costume bears a striking resemblance to Sacagawea in Time Tangled Island.

TimeTangled_Sacagawea

And what’s more, she’s fully customizable, even for non-members! So even if you’re not a member this month, you can get at least one of the member gifts. 😉 Just head on over to 1805 A.D. (the Lewis and Clark expedition) on Time Tangled Island, and you’ve got your two-for-one Native American look.

sacagawea customizable

(Creators, next time maybe don’t imply that distinct iconic characters of shared ancestry, yet different time periods, are interchangeable by their appearance?)

On Instagram, Poptropica challenged artists to draw Ned Noodlehead in their style and to share the drawings with the hashtag #NedNoodlehead. Interesting that they chose Ned, the comic shop kid from Super Power Island—one of the old school islands that have disappeared from the map.

Within a day, creative fans got to work, and Poptropica featured some of the Ned Noodlehead art on their Instagram story. Check out these magnificent Noodlehead doodles! Think you could give it a try, too?

Recently, Poptropica has been promoting Timmy Failure Island on various channels—social media, the Creators’ Blog, and even the Home Island billboard. (Did you know that Timmy Failure has its own Disney+ movie now?)

But something odd has happened: Timmy Failure Island, which was formerly free for all, is now only available to members. Unlike with previously member-locked islands, this time non-members won’t even get to play a demo before hitting the paywall message. (Thanks for the tip, Perfect Fish.)

Strangely, the message refers to “early access” for Timmy Failure Island being for members only, even though the island came out in 2015. Did they just forget to change the wording, or are they working on revamping Timmy Failure for the Javascript (post-Flash) project and letting members beta test it first? Whatever the case, let’s hope it isn’t a failure.

Thoughts on this month’s member gifts and the fate of Timmy Failure Island? Want to share a Noodlehead doodle with us? Drop them in the comments!

Also, check out the other stuff we’ve got going on in the posts below! Join us for Community Creations (current theme: “stay at home”), take the 2020 PHB readers’ survey, and get some ideas for passing the time in quarantine with some good old Poptropica.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Advertisements, Photo Booth, Social Media

Going on tour with the dogs! Where’s my camera?

Gentle Dolphin

Hi, everyone! We hope you’re all staying safe during this pandemic. With many businesses being affected, Poptropica could be taking a hit as well. Still, the Creators managed to give us some minor yet meaningful updates.

There is a new ad campaign for the upcoming Dreamworks movie Trolls World Tour. Many concert stadiums have popped up on various islands, so you can rock out no matter which island you’re on.

TrollsWT_island

When you’re ready, go inside and talk to Poppy. She will ask for your help to stop the rock trolls, and you agree to lend your epic guitar skills. This mini-game is like Guitar Hero, and the objective is to click the jewels when they reach the bottom. Keep doing this to fill the gauge on the bottom left.

TrollsWT_game2

Though it would be cool if you won an electric guitar, you still get two prizes that are pretty interesting. The first prize is the Tiny Diamond Follower, which gives you the power to splash gold glitter onto the screen.

The second prize is the Rainbow Glitter Barf power (yup). Equipping this power gives you sweet troll hair*! (*Side effects include headaches, nausea, and vomitting sparkly rainbows.)

This colorful prize is so unique that Poptropica promoted it across social media. They even posted a video about it to the official Poptropica Youtube channel, making this their first Youtube video since the Greek Sea Odyssey walkthrough from February 26, 2018!

This Trolls campaign doesn’t stop with concerts and sparkles. You can express your love of music by decorating your clubhouse with four posters for Trolls World Tour! Open your furniture inventory to put up those posters.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated the long-awaited return of the Photo Booth. However, some players told us that they couldn’t see it. When I logged in to check, sure enough, the Photo Booth was nowhere to be seen on Home Island!

missingphotobooth

This is strange. Why would the Photo Booth disappear as soon as it came? Did they need to remove a nasty glitch? Maybe they wanted to add more content to the sticker menu? What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments.

On a lighter note, the Poptropica Creators made a post on Instagram on March 23 for National Puppy Day. This may not seem like much, but this is their first social media post since last February. Maybe this is a sign that things are returning to normal at Pop HQ? Or perhaps the post was scheduled ahead of time? It would nice to hear an official statement from them regarding recent events, but in the meantime, we hope they’re well.

How are you guys faring during this pandemic? If you haven’t already, check out our previous post about how you can enjoy Poptropica during the quarantine. Maybe you can watch Trolls World Tour on April 10? I hear the movie will have an early digital release for fellow social distancers.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬

Advertisements, Member Gifts, Membership, Photo Booth

Big hair, big waves, and big comebacks

Gentle Dolphin

Hi, everyone! This is Gentle Dolphin here with the latest Pop news. Let’s start off with something pretty big from earlier this month: March member gifts.

This month, members will get to rock that “Big Hair, Don’t Care” attitude with three humongous hairstyles: Big Afro, Big Dreadlocks, and Big Ponytail. Speaking of big, we want to give a big thank you to Shiny Bird for these pics.

If you are an active member, these colossal coiffures will be added to your inventory upon logging in to Poptropica this month. Act fast and snatch these weaves before they disappear for good!

Moving along, we have a new ad starring 2020’s American Girl of the Year: Joss Kendrick. It’s a basic billboard ad showing Joss and her dog Murph surfing across the ocean waves, which will make many northern players long for the arrival of summer.

joss_billboard

All you need to do is watch a short video to win two prizes: Joss’s Cheer Outfit and the Murph Follower. I could make a witty American Girl joke here, but I’m pretty sure you guys know more about American Girl dolls that I do. 😜

Next time you visit Home Island, make sure to walk past the Pet Barn. You will discover that, after being gone for almost six months, the Photo Booth is back in business! If you’re feeling especially photogenic, step inside and get ready to take some amazing photographs.

photoboothreturn

Inside, you will find that nothing has changed since the Photo Booth last appeared. You still have the classic backgrounds and characters, as well as plentiful props and effects. Even though the options aren’t new, that shouldn’t stop you from getting creative! Have fun making all kinds of silly scenarios and epic battles!

When you are done with your photo, click the green check mark button to save it to the Photo Board on your player profile. Unfortunately, your picture will not be saved to your device like before. The best you can do for now is take a screenshot on your phone or computer.

That’s all for now. Feel free to comment below what your favorite hairstyle is, or what you plan on creating in the Photo Booth—or even share your creations! Or at least some American Girl facts, perhaps?

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬

Advertisements, Member Gifts, Social Media

Onward, Pufferfish King!

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, Poptropicans! Today, we will be looking at some news that even a king would find amusing. Now then, let us move onward to our first story!

We have a new set of ads for Pixar’s upcoming fantasy film “Onward.” When exploring the magical lands of Poptropica, you will never be too far from Ian and Barley’s quaint mushroom house. You are welcome to go inside and embark on a little quest of your own in between adventures.

If you decide to go inside, talk to Barley. He will let you know that the neighborhood has been invaded by pesky trash-eating unicorns and give you a magic staff to use. Press the spacebar to fire magic rays and shrink the unicorns, and click the mouse to jump over trash cans in your path.

For completing your quest, you will be handsomely rewarded with the Wizard Staff and the Blazey Follower. Now you have the power to shrink your enemies and feed them to your mighty pet dragon! Okay, maybe you shouldn’t do that.

The magic doesn’t end at minigames and prizes, though. Go to your clubhouse and open your inventory to find five special “Onward” posters! Here’s what they look like in the clubhouse:

onwardposters

A few days ago, Poptropica put the spotlight on a player named Invisible Ghost, who is rocking a unique aesthetic to say the least.

The first picture of the gallery shows Ghost in his clubhouse. Inside, the tree is adorned with many pufferfish, and Ghost himself is wearing a pufferfish costume along with a peg leg and a leopard cheetah hat (this was one of the member gifts from September 2019).

The last three pictures show Ghost jumping on Home Island, with each picture zooming in progressively closer to the smug-looking cheetah. And the Creators’ Blog, which also showcased his style, commended the player’s “dedication to The Aesthetic.”

I wonder what he’s thinking at the moment? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬

Advertisements, Social Media, Store

Celebrating Valentine’s Day at lightning speed

Gentle Dolphin

Happy Valentine’s Day, Poptropicans! We hope you and your loved ones are having a great day. Today, we have some news that you’re sure to love (or like, at least). Let’s get started with a shocking store update.

The winner of Poptropica’s 2020 costume design contest (“Lightning Wielder” by Instagram user @bianca_donka) is finally in the game! Visit the store and get this electrifying costume for free, but hurry before it goes away in a flash.

The “Lightning Wielder” doesn’t come with any space bar actions, despite the ideas put forth by its designer. But the lightning arm does come with an animating dazzle!

Along with the “Lightning Wielder” costume, there are plenty of Valentine’s Day-themed goodies available for purchase in the store this month.

Make this Valentine’s Day special by going to the cinema and watching the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie. Speaking of Sonic, you can spot some billboards advertising his movie around Poptropica. Unlike normal island ads, this one doesn’t include any games, videos, or prizes. Clicking the billboard just directs you to the movie’s website.

An ad with no games to play or videos to watch seems kind of underwhelming. However, take a step back and you’ll notice that the game screen has been changed from the normal blue to a bird’s eye view of a city at night. Take a look:

Also, Frozen 2 ads have returned to advertise the film’s digital and home media release. Like the original ad, you have to watch a short video in order to win two prizes: the familiar Olaf Follower and the new Wind Spirit power.

To use the Wind Spirit power, equip the red leaf then press the spacebar to be lifted into the air by a flurry of leaves. Pretty neat!

frozen2home_windgif

Earlier this week, Blue Tooth took to social media to let people know that February 10 is National Pizza Day. 🍕 She posted a video of her Poptropican and her rabbit Dorf waiting for lunch at the diner on 24 Carrot Island, and mentioned that they were waiting for quite a while. The owners were probably preoccupied with the threat of global domination at the time…

That’s about it for now. What are your thoughts on the “Lightning Wielder” costume? Are you going to watch the Sonic movie when it hits theaters? Have you seen “Frozen 2,” and do you plan on re-watching it? Are you craving pizza right now? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Thank you for reading, and have a happy Valentine’s Day! 💘

—Gentle Dolphin🐬