Creators' Blog Guest Posts, Fan Art Features, Mission Atlantis Island, YouTubers

Old island makes a splash: Mission Atlantis on Haxe’s horizon 🎥🌊🐡

Hey Poptropicans, a classic island is making a comeback!

Poptropica recently dropped a new YouTube video offering a quick glimpse at something to come. It’s got bubbles and submarine pods — can you guess what it is? (Oops, the title of this post gave it away.)

If you’ve been around a while, you’ll probably recognize the beginnings of Mission Atlantis Island in this clip. Oddly, the original trailer video has disappeared, but you can watch the full clip in this old video from Thinknoodles, which also has Daily Pop sneak peeks:

Mission Atlantis originally released in 2014 and had three episodes, all of which disappeared in the transition to Haxe in 2020. (You can still play it on the Poptropica app, though.) In this island, players discover something amazing at the bottom of the sea… if only you can get inside and figure out how it works.

While Mission Atlantis may not have been as popular as other past islands, it’s nevertheless exciting to see that we’re getting closer to another classic returning to the Poptropica map! 🏝

Although the Haxe map currently contains only the first episode for other episodic adventures like Survival and Arabian Nights, we’re hoping that the rest of the story eventually comes along, too. And while we wait, join us in jamming to “Backspace,” our anthem for the old islands!


Also on the Creators’ Blog is another video from guest writer Invisible Ring, who picks up from her last post where she spotlighted Perfect Sky, a Poptropica fan movie creator on YouTube who is no longer active. This time, Ring shares how Poptropicans have been hoping for someone to continue Sky’s legacy, and how she could be that person.

So, inspired by Perfect Sky, Invisible Ring announces that she’s working on a “full-length movie,” and drops a trailer for her upcoming creation. “Poptropica: Battle Morale” tells the story of one little girl standing up to the winds of change in the Poptropica universe. Where others are pessimistic on Pop’s future, she’s optimistic, refusing to let naysayers have the final word. Watch it here:

The world of Poptropica could certainly use more hope, and “Poptropica: Battle Morale” might just be able to offer that light to the fandom. Best of luck on the movie, Ring!


Across the fandom, other stories are being told in still yet spectacular pictures. Just take a look at the latest fan art of haunting characters and places on Poptropica’s Instagram stories!


That’s a wrap for this update. Are you hyped for the return of Mission Atlantis? What about the upcoming fan-made movie? Have you started putting together your outfit for our Halloween costume contest? (It was retweeted by the Pop Creators!) Let us know what’s popping with you!

~🐠

PHB Specials, YouTubers

PHB Special: Backspace — “Blank Space” Taylor Swift Parody Music Video 🎵👩‍🎤

Hey, Poptropicans! We had a lot of fun watching your Poptropica Month videos this year — and even highlighted some of our favorites.

Of course, we didn’t want to feel left out of the fun, so we’ve been working on something too… Without further ado, we at the Poptropica Help Blog present our first hit single: “Backspace”!

A few months ago, Slanted Fish had the idea to write a Poptropica parody of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” for Poptropica Month 2021. While the original “Blank Space” satirizes media’s obsession with Swift’s love life, “Backspace” expresses fans’ grievances with modern-day Poptropica. The end product was a fun and (unfortunately) relatable glimpse into being a Poptropica fan in 2021.

Every lyrical masterpiece needs a singer, so imagine my surprise when Slanted Fish asked me to provide vocals! Why me? Well, it might have had something to do with me mentioning that I like to sing WAY back in my introduction to the PHB post. I wonder what 2018 me would have thought if she knew what including that little detail would lead to? Just don’t ask me to dance, though.

Recording audio was easier said than done. I own a Blue Snowball microphone, an omnidirectional microphone that picks up every little sound in the room. On top of that, it was difficult finding a good time and place to record amid conflicting work schedules, Florida’s summer storms, and noisy chickens. Don’t believe me on that last one? Here’s an exclusive behind-the-scenes listen at me dealing with four rambunctious roosters. 🐓🐓🐓🐓

Recording was only half the battle. For mixing, I used a free program called Audacity, which is also called Audiotonic in the Microsoft Store. After sorting through multiple takes and playing with the volume, I finally exported the track and sent it Fishy’s way. Finally, she created the accompanying music video using various Poptropica island trailers from over the years.

We hope you all liked our little pop song! Will we make another music video like this in the future? Eh, we’ll see… Anyway, be sure to also check out the Poptropica Month 2021 playlist for more awesome Pop-related videos. It’s a fun way to celebrate Poptropica’s birthday— err, funeral as the Dimension Bros would say.

Thank you for listening, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

YouTubers

PHB’s Picks: Poptropica Month 2021 🎥⭐️

Hey Poptropicans! This September has been a birthday blast with cake costumes, Hoptropica and its 8-bit followers, TikToks, fan art, and of course, fan videos for the fan-run Poptropica Month on YouTube.

As we wrap up the month, we’re taking a dive into some of our favorite clips from the 2021 playlist. Sit back, pop the corn, and enjoy! 🍿🎬

Our first feature comes from our Pop Month hosts, the Dimension Bros. As an analogy for the state of Poptropica in 2021, this 3-minute skit tells the story of a hungry diner customer waiting for his Old Island order, only to be fed excuses instead of dinner. 🍽 The whole act is performed solo by Isaac, and the tale is highly resonant. Props! 👏

The next feature comes from the other half of the Dimension Bros — in this one, Theo sits down with his mother and has her guess the names of various Poptropica characters. She’s pretty inventive — doesn’t “Teresa Moonbeam” sound just like a classic Poptropica moniker? 😜🌙

Invisible Ring appears to be the biggest participant of the Pop Month playlist, with many of her videos being ones we’ve shared for her dream island, Megatropolis. But among her other videos is a mini movie filmed in-game in the style of Perfect Sky, a Pop pirate adventure just in time for Talk Like a Pirate Day. So many islands to explore! 🏴‍☠️

A different take on Poptropica explorers, this epic cinematic trailer from LostLucas dramatizes his Popsona, Lone Clown, by juxtaposing shots of gameplay with sensational narration about this never-smiling character. Critics are wary — but we’re intrigued. 🤔

Speaking of cinematic, have you ever imagined adapting Poptropica islands into movies? CatfishFour does just that in this vlog, conjuring up ideas for potential audio, lighting, plot, genre, character development, and other considerations for the big screen. Picture Escape From Pelican Rock as a comedic, artistic Wes Anderson film — what a concept! 👮🎬


That wraps up the PHB’s picks for Poptropica Month 2021! You can find more in the Pop Month playlist, but keep in mind that some of its content is for ages 13+. For more kid-friendly choices, the Pop Creators’ Blog also featured a few fan vids this month.

We hope you enjoyed the clips above and all the other festivities for Poptropica’s 14th birthday this month! It’s amazing how creative the Pop community can be. Keep on popping on! 🥳

~the PHB 💙

Fan Art Features, Social Media, YouTubers

Real questions raised in Red October reel & September birthday feels 🎥🎉

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got fan art galore in this post with costume creations, memes, and more featured by the Pop Creators. Let’s go!

First up, Poptropica has posted the monthly compilation video of entries for the costume design contest. With the theme of Red October, you just might find your bones tingling from the early Halloween vibes.

UPDATE: A day after this PHB post, the Pop Creators quietly replaced the video with a new version (shown above), taking into account the concerns we addressed (shown below). While the old video is now unavailable, the new one credits IG artists and removes an offending username. They thought they could be sneaky in not announcing the change, but we noticed! Still, props for doing the right thing.

The PHB’s comments before the change: While the costumes are undoubtedly spooktacular, we did make a couple of chilling observations in the vid: 1) the questionable attribution of “via IG” for various entries from Instagram that do not properly credit their artists, and 2) the inclusion of a watermark from a username with profanity that the Pop Creators previously featured on their IG story.

From these observations, perhaps the Pop Creators only want to credit people by their Poptropican name (although they don’t mind keeping in any watermarks that appear on images, even the aforementioned iffy name). Still, not every IG user put a watermark on their pic, which means that some in the video have gone uncredited. (Tips for Pop: take the extra step to give credit where it’s due, even if it’s not a Pop name, and maybe not at all if it’s vulgar. It matters!)

Beyond these oddities, they also haven’t yet announced the six winners promised whose costumes will be created for the game. While we wait, I figured I’d share some of my own personal picks:


Besides the costumes, fan artists have been busy making drawings and even videos for the fan-run Poptropica Month. The Pop Creators’ Blog recently featured several pieces starring Amelia, the Baron, and MVB:

In addition to these pics, they also featured a few videos, all of which were posted this month for the fan-hosted Poptropica Month 2021 playlist! Here’s one from iHateFridays (aka Magic Snowball) doodling while describing their personal experiences with Pop:

And here’s one from TheOrangeHelium taking various online quizzes to test her Poptropica knowledge. (Hey, look at Pop crediting fan creators by their non-Pop usernames on social media. It’s not that hard!)

Finally, the Pop Creators also highlighted a sneak peek of a storyline told in comics from Invisible Ring. For the record, you can read (and watch) all about her dream island, Megatropolis, here on the PHB!


That concludes this post! Stay tuned to find out which costumes the Baron will be bringing in her next visit, and enjoy the plentiful productions from both players and Pop Creators throughout the game’s birthday month. Keep on popping on, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠

Contests, Creators' Blog Guest Posts, Fan Art Features, YouTubers

Riding high on a Perfect Sky 🌤

Hey Poptropicans! The forecast for this post seems to be showing a perfect sky—oh, but wait, it’s looking spooky later on—and with a side of something sticky? Hmm… let’s just pop in and see what’s up!

Some Poptropicans may know Perfect Sky — a Poptropica fan movie creator on YouTube who later became a PHB staff writer. She’s no longer active in the fandom, but her legacy recently resurfaced on the Pop Creators’ Blog in a guest post from Invisible Ring.

As Ring mentions, Perfect Sky made all sorts of Poptropica TV shows and movies, while the Pop Creators themselves could only dream of it (thanks for the shout-out to the PHB’s interviews with the CEO and the PHC!). You can read more from Ring here and browse Perfect Sky’s YouTube channel here. And just for a taste, here’s a trailer for one of her movies released in 2016, “The Archives of Cypress Cove Press.” 🎥✨

All this Poptropica video conviviality is just perfect timing with the backdrop of Poptropica Month, the month-long fan-run event of creating videos inspired by the game. We’re a little under halfway through September and the Pop Month 2021 playlist already has tons of videos to enjoy. Take some time this weekend to check ’em out and maybe even make your own. The sky’s the limit!


While we’re looking up at the skies, don’t forget the Red Baron is looking around for entries to her Red October Halloween costume design contest! To get your spooky senses flowing, the Creators’ Blog featured several enchanting entries they’ve received so far:

Remember, the deadline for this month’s contest is the coming Tuesday, Sept 14 at 8 pm PST, and there will be not one, but SIX winners who’ll get their costumes in the game! Be sure to read all the details on the official blog and submit your creation(s) through Pop’s submissions portal. Poptropicans, dare to dream! 💭✏️


There’s more art to be inspired by over on Instagram! Poptropica’s latest stories include chaotic villain doodles, an infographic from a podcast about Hong Kong life (shoutout to my hometown!), and even a new TikTok about computer lab days (with a nostalgic Black Eyed Peas beat).

Speaking of TikTok, looks like Pop’s going viral — their latest video thanks viewers for 1,500+ followers, and at the time of this writing, they’re already up to 2,800+ followers. That’s a pretty huge leap from just two days ago when they were still at 700+ followers, and perhaps the big boost is owed to their recent TikTok about changing hair on 24 Carrot Island paired with a “good soup” line from Marvel. That video, which is currently their most played, was at 200K+ plays a couple days ago, and now the clip is at almost 500K. Well played, Poptropica! 👏👏


Wrapping up this post is a quick mention for another guest post on the Creators’ Blog from yours truly — a Poptropica sticker haul! (You might’ve seen it here on the PHB, too.) Wherever you prefer to read this little merch review, I hope the Poptropica joy sticks with you. ✨💙

Thanks for popping by, and stay awesome, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠