Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring, showing us another one of her realms. The Realm code is w3r7v. Enjoy!
What time is it? …ADVENTURE TIME!! There’s no better time or place for adventure than this!
Why “Adventure Time”, you ask? Well, why not? There used to be Adventure Time items and costume outfits in Poptropica, as well as an “Adventure Time Pop” website.
Now, I originally designed this realm based on the “Candy Land” board game, but after watching the Adventure Time Candy Kingdom on TV this morning, I decided I just HAD to suit up and crank this realm adventure up a notch!
Crank it up I did. Cake the Cat and I have just finished a special mission from the Cookie Patrol: To venture across the kingdom, find the stolen treasure of the Giant Gummy Bear, and bring it back to the gingerbread village!
Did we find it? YEAH! It was a total CAKEWALK! No pun intended, kitty…
Howdy, Poptropicanos! Welcome to a Poptropica Portfolio, where we feature the work of a former Poptropica staff member. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at the contributions of Todd Heard, who worked as a sponsored game level designer in 2009 and 2010.
Todd is the founder of Treefox Cartoons, a studio dedicated to cartoon animation and illustration which has been around for a while. He further honed his skills in traditional animation studying with the renowned Don Bluth. Yes, that Don Bluth! How awesome is that? 😄 Now, let’s get into the Poptropica stuff.
During his brief tenure at Poptropica, Todd developed several game levels for the game’s sponsors, which included both the exterior and interior visuals. Here, you can see two outdoor scenes from the Despicable Me and Honey Nut Cheerios advertisements from June 2010. (The images, along with the rest featured in this post, are sourced from the Game Design Page of Heard’s website.)
Next up, we have a variety of interior/world scenes, featuring the aforementioned Despicable Me ad, in addition to LEGO Hero Factory, Monster High, and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, all from the year 2010. I feel that each environment really captures the essence of what it draws inspiration from, don’t you? 🙂
Lastly, here are some creative costume designs. One is from the Lego Hero Factory ad and is modeled after the character Preston Stormer. The other designs include two cave person outfits, a costume made from paper bags, a stone gladiator suit (which, to me, resembles some of the imagery from Poptropolis Games Island), and a vibrant hippie ensemble. ☮️
Other than the factory suit, I don’t recall seeing any of these actually make it into the game (please correct me if I’m wrong), but I think they’re quite cool. I definitely would’ve loved to snag some of these items, especially that caveman club! My guess is that they were intended to be purchasable costumes in the store rather than characters we would meet on an island or in an ad game, but who can say for sure? 🤔
As I wrap up my thoughts, I realize that not everyone probably paid much attention to the ads on Poptropica. However, having played quite a few of them as a kid to later covering them frequently here on the PHB, I’ve always appreciated the effort that went into making them immersive and fun. Thank you, Todd, for your role in creating some of the magic (albeit underrated) that made Poptropica memorable, even if it was just for a short time. After all, 2009 and 2010 were truly some of the best times for Poptropica! 🙌
Now with that, we come to the end of this spotlight. I hope you appreciated this insight into the work of one of Poptropica’s lesser-known artists. Everybody deserves their flowers. I’ll talk to you guys soon. Pop on! 🍀
Hey Poptropicans! Welcome to another installment of Pop Fan Artist Spotlights. This feature is extra special because it’s not just art, but art you can buy and hold in your hands… it’s the first and currently only Poptropica fan-made merch store on the market! ✨
Alex/Kaitlyn from DizzyLeopardShop runs a very special online store (available on their website, Etsy, and TikTok) which offers colorful knickknacks like pins and keychains inspired by various franchises. Check out their super cool “Popflopita” goodies!
A few of us from the PHC have bought some of their stuff in the past few months and can attest to their quality and charm! HPuterpop snagged their Popflopita map shaker keychain (now out of stock), while Gentle Dolphin and I got the little Shark Boy pin, plus I added on the Mythology Island stickers as well. Very cute!
Over on their website, Dizzy Leopard drops some lore about their store, including, as you may have guessed, the Poptropica origin of their name. As for the shop, it began in the quarantine summer of 2020 and aims to bring joy through cute and nostalgic items. ♡ Have a browse!
Q&A with Dizzy Leopard
We reached out to Dizzy to hear more about their experiences with Poptropica and their shop. Here’s what they shared!
What are your favorite Poptropica memories?
My favorite Poptropica memory is sitting in my mom’s office while she was away working and I would be on her computer playing Poptropica. She would come in after I was playing for maybe 20 minutes and yell at me saying, “Dizzy, I know you’re playing that darn game again! The sale system only glitches like this when Adobe Flash is running.” I would frantically deny this while trying to save any game progress before closing the window of evidence.
What are the highlights & challenges of running a small business?
The highlights are being able to make art every day and then see the positive impact it can have on so many people. The hardest part is probably constantly questioning yourself and feeling like you need to be doing something new and different to be better. It is challenging for sure, but you can also never improve if you don’t take that little voice to heart every once in a while.
By the way, if you have a Poptropica item you’ve been dreaming of, you can even send in requests for a chance to get them made! 🙌
Besides DizzyLeopardShop, you can also get Poptropica merch through official channels such as Pop’s Zazzle shop. Check out our Poptropica Merchandise Guide for more deets about what’s out there! 🤩
Hiya guys! It’s been a hot second since the last part, hasn’t it? Well, I have returned from the grave with an additional 7 drawings of your Poptropicans! 😄
Hey, would you look at that? We’re almost halfway done with this challenge. 🥳 If you are considering to add your Poptropican to the queue, I urge you to do so (before all the good ones are gone 😉 ).
And if you’ve already had one drawn and have another Poptropica OC that you’d like to see in my style, this is your reminder to feel free to drop them in the comments!
Okey-dokey! Now get ready to check out…
ROUND 5!
Lucky Joker (H2)Speedy Catfish (Thinknoodles) (C9)Sleepy Biker (B6)Mias Elias (C8)Perfect Panda (F1)Silver Shadow (A7)Edgar (H4)
As usual, this batch was really fun to draw! I LOVE all these designs so much! Even though all these glasses are hard to draw haha. Seriously though, thank you for letting me draw all of you guys! 💖 (For anyone wondering, Edgar and Speedy Catfish/Thinknoodles did not reach out to get drawn — I just decided to do that unprompted so this post could continue the tradition of having 7 each time. Also because it’s fun! 😝)
How to get your Poptropican drawn next? Here’s what you need to do:
💬 COMMENTBELOW (on the most recent DYPAE post) a reference screenshot for your Poptropican (using a public image sharing site like Imgur), their name, AND which facial expression you would like them to have from the chart near the top of the post (for example, A2).
🙅♂️ When asking for an expression,please don’t ask for one that has already been claimed (either by someone in the comments before you, or one that has been crossed out or circled in the chart). First come, first served!
❗️ Please only comment ONE Poptropica character per person. BUT if you’ve already gotten one of yours drawn, you CAN comment ONE MORE character! 😝
⏳ After you comment, WAIT PATIENTLY. Everyone who comments and wants to have their Poptropican drawn will get added to a list, so no one gets missed. Each round I’ll only post a handful of them, so hang tight, yours will get drawn at some point. 😃
Please please PLEASE with a cherry and sprinkles on top, don’t be shy! There are still A TON of emoticons just waiting for someone to claim them. 🥺🙏
Alrighty, folks, that’s it from me! Have an epic week and stay cool! 😎
Howdy Poptropicanos! 🤟 It’s LJ popping in with Part 2 of the Readers’ Survey analysis. Today, I’ll be responding to some of the standout messages we received in the comment box at the end of our survey. I hope you guys enjoy!
I’m excited to see the results of this readers survey, considering it’s been 4 years since the last one, who knows how things might’ve changed! I keep coming back to Poptropica cause it’s not like the other internet games of its time, I used to play Moshi Monsters, Animal Jam sometimes Club Penguin, but they were all about the items and talking to people, the quests were always off to the side. But with Poptropica you get immersed in the story telling, the setting, the characters. There is really so much to explore, even today, having done all the islands multiple times. Which is where all the fan made stuff comes in, letting the Poptropica legacy live on, even though the game is in a state of limbo. That’s all I can think about adding, sorry for the ramble!
Hey, I appreciate your ramble! I also played several virtual worlds during my childhood, with Club Penguin and Poptropica being my top favorites. There is something uniquely appealing about Poptropica that has always made it special to me. 😊 I hope you found last week’s analysis engaging! Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another four years for a follow-up, haha.
Steamworks is the greatest island Poptropica ever came out with. It was the exact definition of Poptropica. People didn’t like it because they were isolated and had no one to talk to. You were allowed to make friends, or course, but, Poptropica was about using your brain to solve puzzles.
Ouch! I’ve been called out. In that case, you might want to pass on my 2010 ranking of the islands. Please don’t hate me. 😂
It always gets me down when I hear that Poptropica’s dead, or that the Pop Community is never gonna be big again. For so many years I never even knew such a community existed and it pains me to think that the entire train of fandom stopped before I even had the chance to start… But it lifts my spirit to see this website is still here, and that there are others like me who don’t want to give up on the spirit of Poptropica… So, I guess what I really want is to keep contributing to this site, and to see this website still standing for many more years to come.
I can’t deny my nostalgia for the era when both Poptropica and its online community were larger and more active. 🥺 However, a smaller group tends to lead to reduced chaos, which has been shown to be true. Let’s focus on the positive aspects and do our best to prevent the community and this site from fading away altogether. Long live the PHB! 🙌
The PHB’s Poptropica 17th Birthday Art Collab Collage
Note: My memory isn’t great, lol, but I think I have participated in every survey since 2016 and found the PHB in 2015 (or maybe earlier).
I come back to the PHB for several reasons. Most of all, probably nostalgia. Poptropica was my favorite game growing up, and even though there are no longer updates to the game, I like having a place where I can still enjoy Poptropica-related content in 2025. It is also nice to have a community of fellow Poptropicans that I can share my interest with. My favorite type of posts on the blog are probably news, theories/Popspiracies, interviews, games/puzzles (would love to see more of those – something to hold me over until the next Tribal Tournament, lol), and rankings/Pop 5’s. I love y’all, keep up the great work! Thank you for keeping this community alive.
Hey there old-timer! It seems we share several commonalities in our experiences with both the blog and the game. 🙂 I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying so much of what we do. I myself really like making rankings/Pop 5s and interactive games/puzzles (such as ImPOPtu! and Guess That Poptropican). You know what—I’ll try to keep them coming all year round!
I love the creativity here even when things aren’t coming out the stories of characters, player or in game npc’s the adventures themselves and in a decent sized community its fun to watch and take part in plus seeing a community for a game I’ve loved since the early 2010s makes me happy that there’s people who love it as much as I do!
I’ve taken a few breaks from the fandom here and there, but it’s so refreshing to come back and see everyone still enjoying each other’s company and discussing Poptropica. Whether it’s sharing memories from playing the game, coming up with theories for unanswered questions, expanding the Poptropica universe through stories and headcanons, or creating stunning visual art, the vibe has always been great. 😀
“The Villain Saga” fan fiction by Smart BubblesMagic Kid’s “Draw Your Poptropicans As Emoticons” SeriesInvisible Ring’s Grand Western Realm“Poptropica: Legends” fan game project by Hputerpop
The people keep me coming back. ❤
Same! Same! Same! The friendos! 💚 That, and my craving for writing and my tendency to get lost in nostalgia, haha.
Now that part 2 is complete, the analysis of the 2025 survey has officially come to an end! I really appreciate the passionate discussions and creativity within our small little community, and I’d also like to thank each of you for your continued support. Join in on more fun on the Poptropica Help Chat if you haven’t already and let’s keep the Poptropica spirit alive and flourishing together!
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 