unreleased – 🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HPuterpop. Enjoy!

Hey fellow Poptropicans!

I’ve got a real head-scratcher for you today, one that takes us all the way back to the golden age of Poptropica merchandise. You might even call it a Kanji Secret. We all remember the awesome official plush toys that were released alongside the action figures, and super-fans may recall the unreleased early prototype plush toys that never saw store shelves… but there’s another plush toy waiting to be discovered, calling out to us from the past…

I wish we could go there!

Red Dragon Island marked the 19th island addition to Poptropica, a collaboration with the Magic Tree House series. Adapted from Dragon of the Red Dawn (Book 37 in Mary Pope Osborne’s series), the island transported players into Edo-period Japan. Among its memorable characters was Yokozuna, the towering sumo wrestler who served as one of the game’s most iconic boss battles. Players had to outmaneuver his charges and stomps until his own rage caused him to fall out of the ring. His design drew from authentic Japanese culture: his very name signifies the highest rank in sumo wrestling. Some fans even speculate that his look may have been inspired by WWE’s “Yokozuna”, Rodney Agatupu Anoa’i. Beyond the fight itself, the character was given nuance — fierce yet deeply adored by his fans.

Recently, a Yokozuna plush toy surfaced in an eBay listing, and it’s quite an anomaly. Yokozuna, remember, is the formidable sumo champion from Red Dragon Island, released back in 2011.

This sent me down a rabbit hole. I scoured the Poptropica Creators’ Blog archives, dug through old press releases from 2011-2014 (when the toys were hitting shelves), and searched for any promotional material. The result? Nothing. There is absolutely no official record of a Yokozuna plush ever being announced, promoted, or sold.

Now, you might be thinking, “This (exorbitantly priced) plush toy was probably a fan creation.” But after getting my hands on it, I can confirm that the build quality is nearly identical to the official Poptropica plush toys from back in the day. It has the same distinctive felt details for the hair and clothing, the same fabric used for the eyes, and the overall professional construction that marked the official line of merchandise. A fan-made plush of this quality, especially for a less-mainstream character like Yokozuna, seems highly unlikely.

It all begins to make sense once the context is fully considered: Red Dragon Island launched in May 2011 for members (and June for everyone else), while Jazwares’ physical Poptropica toys hit Toys “R” Us shelves just a few months later, in August. The plush I found matches the official line’s quality but lacks retail tags: a hallmark of pre-production samples. And considering Yokozuna’s prominence as one of the Red Dragon Island’s bosses, it’s logical that the character would’ve been considered for a plush toy.

Sure enough, when I asked the eBay seller sweetsweet, they replied with exactly the information I was expecting:

(Shoutout to sweetsweet for the friendly and fast reply! Their store is a treasure trove of rare memorabilia, so check them out if you’re a collector.)

I’m really fortunate to own this rare piece of Poptropica (and Magic Tree House) history. The Yokozuna looks right at home along with the rest of his plush friends and The Dragon of the Red Dawn, the pages in which he first came to life.

Case closed… or at least, mostly.

– HPuterpop

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HPuterpop. If you did, you might also enjoy reading more about his upcoming Poptropica-inspired game in development, Poptropica: Legends.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you!

Shark Boy may have been alienated from Poptropica, but his alter ego (otherwise known as Nate Greenwall, Poptropica’s lead graphic artist) is still out and about, churning out some really cool (and even unreleased) Poptropica imagery. They’re available for viewing on his portfolio website (scroll down for more info!). Here’s a look at some graphics of interest (as usual, click to enlarge):

Wow, did you catch all that?! Anyway, Nate has several pages on his portfolio site dedicated to various works he’s created for Poptropica (not all of which are posted above, but some may be familiar). If you’re interested, you can browse through them by clicking the links below:

Advertisements – designs for Poptropica ad buildings & characters
Dr. Hare’s Lair – LEGO Cuusoo – includes unreleased designs for a Dr. Hare minifigure
Papercrafts – from the LEGO Cuusoo campaign
Character design & animation – various Poptropica character designs (if you look closely, you’ll see the Sultan to be encountered on Arabian Nights Island!)
Posters & wallpapers – a selection of Poptropica wallpapers/posters
In-game illustrations – some full views of areas in the game, including the area by the sea in Ghost Story and even a palace for the upcoming Arabian Nights Island
Merchandise – among various things, the most noteworthy of all are the iTunes music CD covers and kids’ tattoos/face paint designs, both of which it looks like Poptropica is planning on releasing one day! (you can listen to Poptropica’s music at the PHB’s Behind the Scenes page too)
Logos, web, mobile design – graphics relating to Poptropica’s user interface (UI), including an array of buttons and icons, some of which have never been released

There’s a lot of creative work that goes into making Poptropica what it is and what it will be, and the artistic geniuses at Poptropica give us beautiful results. Enjoy the Nate Greenwall collection! 🙂