Hey Poptropicans! In this update, we’ve got Pop-arazzi snapshots, tweets, fan art features, an official vid, and more. Let’s pop right in!
First up, the Pop-arazzi are back with more Pop fashions inspired by real-life pop stars. This time we’ve got American alt-rock musical duo Twenty One Pilots and actress Zendaya featured on the Creators’ Blog!
These stylish icons aren’t the only celebs floating in the fandom this week. Over on Twitter, a fan asked Jeff Kinney, Poptropica’s founder, if there were plans to restore the Wimpy Kid islands to the mobile app. Jeff responded, “I don’t know! I miss all the islands!”
This marks the third time thisyear Jeff-senpai has publicly acknowledged the game he helped create. Although he’s not currently involved with Pop and doesn’t seem to have any say in its development these days, it’s great to see he still cares. And hopefully it’s one more mighty nudge for the current Creators (who retweeted Jeff’s tweet) to maybe, just maybe, bring the old islands back?
Poptropica’s been active on Twitter too this week. In response to sister site Coolmath Games (who hosts Pop among the games on their website) sharing that they’d added the updated maps, Poptropica thanked them for the “Coolmath Fame.”
While most of Poptropica’s classic islands seem untouched after Flash zapped them away, at least a few of them have survived into Haxe. One of them is 24 Carrot Island, which just recently got an official walkthrough video made and its tour page updated with a full written walkthrough.
As the Creators’ Blog explained, “24 Carrot was one of the few islands we didn’t have a complete walkthrough for, but now we’re one step closer to a complete Island walkthrough playlist.” But hey, you know where you can find a complete collection of Poptropica island walkthroughs in both video and written form, plus more extras like trivia and long-gone album photos? The PHB’s Island Guides!
Finally, the Baron’s Airship has set sail, but she’ll be back! Next time the Baron returns, we’ll get to pick up the winning designs from July’s costume contest (which ended this week) for free in her Cabin of Curiosities.
That wraps up this post! Plus, stay tuned for the Poppies voting round dropping later today. Thanks for popping by, and stay awesome, Poptropicans!
Hey, Poptropicans! This is Gentle Dolphin bringing the latest Poptropica news! Today’s post will discuss the newest store items, Instagram fan art features, and a very fashionable guest writer. Let’s dive in!
Six new furniture items are available for purchase in the clubhouse store. Everyone can decorate their clubhouses with the storage trunk, white dresser, selfie ring light, and skateboard. However, members can acquire the mobile phone and pineapple picture.
After some furniture shopping, why not treat yourself to some new clothes from Amelia’s Adventure Outfitters? Our current store lineup features familiar fashions, but there is also a brand new Galaxy Hoodie, which members can purchase for 150 credits.
Nothing at Amelia’s store suits your style? Don’t forget to hop onto the Red Baron’s airship for some exclusive items, including the winning entries of June’s costume contest! Act fast before the Red Baron sets off on another adventure and leaves these costumes lost to time.
While you’re buying clothes from either Amelia or the Red Baron, think about how you can mix and match pieces of your new duds to create a unique look for your popsona. Golden Wolf, the newest guest writer to grace the Creators’ Blog, made a post showcasing some custom-made outfits ranging from cozy to classy.
Golden Wolf was also happy to provide original art of her popsona! I love her cool street fashion in this picture, especially with her two colorful hair streaks. 💙💜
Last but not least, the Poptropica Creators shared more amazing fan art in their most recent Instagram stories. There’s fan art of classic Pop characters as well as some July costume contest submissions. The story also included our IG post advertising the PHB’s Poppies 2021 event! Thanks for the shoutout, Creators!
Hey Poptropicans, we’ve got some fun fashions in this post, with Pop-arazzi snapshots of celebs, and fan art features, including an epic comic full of villains. 😈 Take a peek! 👀
The Poptropica Creators’ Blog just put out a post serving up red carpet looks, apparently inspired by a recent sighting of an unnamed celebrity near Pop HQ. The Pop-arazzi have arrived to capture the looks of pop stars Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles, Poptropica style!
Are you batting your Eilishes at these Grande ol’ Styles? Fancy looks are definitely in season, because here on the PHB, we’re getting ready to host our annual Poptropica fan awards show, the Poppies! Stay tuned for the deets on our fashionably fun month-long event. 🔥🏆
Anyway, besides Ariana, this isn’t the first time these famous people have inspired Poptropican looks! You might recall that earlier this year, the Creators featured a fan drawing of Billie Eilish as a Poptropican. And if we go way back to One Direction’s peak in 2012, you can find an old PHB Pop-over of the British boy band, including Harry Styles in all his wild hairstyling. Still looking beautiful after all these years.
One Direction (photo: J-14)
Billie Eilish (photo: The Guardian)
On Instagram, the Pop Creators have shared another batch of recent fan art, featuring high-energy villains and OCs! Enjoy the looks:
Be sure to catch the full “He is a villain” comic by adventurersnhunters on the original Instagram post, as it contains more fantastic panels of the Poptropica villain gang than the ones highlighted by the Pop Creators!
Poptropica released a brilliant, clever parody of itself and larger forces in game design and management with Mocktropica Island in 2013.
Idea Generator: Spin to win. Try your luck.
But then, as players have witnessed, it became Mocktropica in many ways. This week, former Poptropica publisher Jess Brallier revealed some of the details surrounding the game’s paradigm shifts in a blog post titled “The end of the Poptropica I knew.”
Operating System: When technology meets talent, anything is possible.
The saga picks up with the Pearson CEO’s sale of Poptropica. Specifics aren’t mentioned, but we know that Poptropica was sold to Sandbox, a London-based “edutainment” company, in 2015. (Sandbox still owns Poptropica, along with other brands like Coolmath Games.) But it was more than the sale itself that changed things for Jess.
With Poptropica, sure, I was not always going to see eye-to-eye with the new owner regarding priorities, investments, staffing, technology, growth strategy, and so on and so on. Yet decisions had to be made and they were no longer mine to make. Those were up to the new owner. I got that. Such is life.
But what I could not stand, and what I refused to further witness, was the dismissal of the team who smartly and lovingly built Poptropica.
Jess Brallier
Usual Suspects: This is where you line up for your turn.
Now, who was this new management who undermined the very people who had created so many Poptropica masterpieces? We’re not entirely sure, but we can piece together some details…
We know it was the then-new Pearson CEO, John Fallon, who didn’t see value in Poptropica and decided to sell it. He retired from Pearson in 2020. But Jess previously wrote that they only ever had one meeting about Pop, so it seems unlikely that Fallon would have been managing it.
New management invades Mocktropica. And Poptropica.
And Poptropica was sold in 2015, so current Pop CEO Abhi Arya would not have been involved, as he only began heading up Poptropica in 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. Perhaps in between Fallon’s arrival as Pearson CEO and the sale, new management was assigned to Poptropica whom we don’t know about.
Whoever they were (or are?), they were allegedly undervaluing the rest of the Poptropica team as early as 2013, the year Fallon became CEO of Pearson, and the same year Mocktropica was created and released. This revelation sure brings a new light to this classic island — it wasn’t just a mockery or a prediction, it was already unfolding.
Some of the beloved crew after launch of Wimpy Boardwalk
Drones: Replaceable parts. Cogs in the machine.
From the team pic (left), we recognize Jeff Kinney (top center) and artist Abe Tena (bottom center).
They developed content and an experience that kids actually loved. For the user/reader/viewer it was an emotional connection unlike I had ever, or since, witnessed. Yet I wasn’t surprised, because the team’s hearts were deep into the work.
They were ready to address the challenges and make Poptropica bigger and better than ever. If only they had been allowed to.
It was an ugly thing to watch.
Jess Brallier
Again, specifics aren’t given here, but we can gather that Jess had a lot of respect for his team that the new management didn’t. So he made the difficult decision to resign on July 14, 2015, right around when Timmy Failure Island was in the works. And he never looked back — literally, he never clicked on Poptropica.com or its apps ever again.
For me, personally, it was over when its remarkable team was torn apart. They built Poptropica out of heart and smarts. They resolved every business challenge. When they were gone, Poptropica was like a treasured childhood house with a loving family no longer in it.
Jess Brallier
In Pop We Trust: The genuine article. Accept no substitutions.
Jess concludes the saga with a final hope that all the pain and pleasure of creating Poptropica was worth it:
I just hope, as we imagined from the beginning, that we inspired kids to care deeply about art and design, and storytelling.
And that as they grow older, they’ll play it forward, making a difference in the lives of a next generation of good and curious kids. That would somehow make it all worthwhile.
Fingers crossed.
Jess Brallier
On that front, all of us at the PHB can affirm that Poptropica did inspire us, and likely all of you Poptropicans reading this too. We see it all the time in this community! And as wegrowolder, we definitely hope to keep building that blessing, whether here on the PHB or onwards.
Captains Courageous: Learning to appreciate poetry, one explication at a time.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won…
Poem by Walt Whitman (as featured in Mocktropica Island)
Jess’s blog post has attracted a few comments, including one from PHB guest writer Dangerous Dragon, who wrote that “Poptropica isn’t fun anymore.” Another comment from Kory (probably Kory Merritt, illustrator of the Poptropica comics and graphic novels) brought up how #Poptropica was trending on Twitter earlier.
“Poptropica” was trending a few weeks ago on Twitter. It was a bunch of twenty-somethings reminiscing about how much they loved Poptropica when they were in elementary school. I remember it being very popular with 4-6th graders when I first started teaching (2008-09). It was especially cool to see one amazing artist who posted art of a character she’d created, and then Tweet about how the character actually started as her Poptropica alter-ego.
It definitely made an impact.
Kory (probably Kory Merritt)
Scene from Poptropica comic illustrated by Kory Merritt
The PHB also sent a couple of tweets to Jess in response to his post, firstly to thank him for sharing and to let him know that all the heart that went into making Poptropica did in fact have the impact he’d hoped for. He responded: “WONDERFUL!”
The Yearbook is amazing. Nicely done and many good memories. And thanks for interview invite, but I'll pass. As I said, it's gotta be history for me. I've moved on. Again, all you've done is so impressive! Wow! https://t.co/71ViUAtxBm
That wraps up this post, and perhaps all of what Jess Brallier will be saying on record about the universe of Poptropica that he and his team lovingly built for over a decade. It’s been good to hear from him. Catch up on the saga here, here, here, and of course, here in this post.
Jess Brallier was first a publisher (book and online), a role he held at Funbrain, Poptropica, Planet Dexter, and Family Education Network. He has also served on the executive team at Harcourt, Little Brown, and Abrams, and has written 40 books for kids and adults. You can read more about Jess on his website and his insights on his personal blog.
Fun fact: In Shrink Ray Island, the book in CJ’s bedroom which you push down to create a ramp for the toy car is Tess’s Tree, an actual book by Jess M. Brallier.
Hey Poptropicans! In this post: a shop update, fan art features, a fan comic, and surprise visitors. Let’s pop into it!
Another week means another rotation at Adventure Outfitters, and the hot new item is the Acidic Dinosaur costume for members. 🦖 Spring looks have also made a reappearance, including the Record Spinner and Spring Floral Dress. Plus, last week’s Pride costumes are still here! 🏳️🌈
Acidic Dinosaur
Spring Floral Dress
Record Spinner
Pride costumes
On Instagram, the Pop Creators have been sharing more batches of fan art on their stories, including a couple of Poptropica Bingo challenges from happyclonetrooper. You can add them to your own IG story and cross off islands according to the color key for an extra layer of fun. 💡 Check out the features below, and click to enlarge:
Over on the Pop Creators’ Blog, there’s a new guest post from Muddy Kid, also known as Pegs from our PHB and PHC community!
Pegs, who also writes as PegaKid Studios Official on the blog, shared the first part of her Poptropica webcomic, The Adventures of Ruby. You can read the whole thing on the Creators’ Blog, which includes captions for the text in the speech bubbles. 💬
To hear more from Pegs, you can find her on the PHC.
We also just found out that the Poptropica Creators were at our Pride Palooza this past weekend! 🌈 They dropped a comment on our Instagram post to say they “may or may not have popped in for a bit to play some arcade games.” Wow! Say hello next time, Creators — you can pop in on our Discord server, the PHC. We still have a special role for Pop Creators from when Skinny Moon would drop by.
That’s it for this update. Share your thoughts in the comments, catch up on more news below, and keep on popping on, Poptropicans!
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