Little People (toys)

"Safety School Bus" 1959

Little People started in 1950 with the "Looky Fire Truck" and three round-headed fire men (attached permanently to the toy).[5][6] Following the success of this toy, Between 1952 and 1953, Fisher-Price developed the "Super-Jet" and "Racing Rowboat".[5]

Another early Little People precursor, the #959 "Safety School Bus", was introduced in 1959.[1][7] The set included a school bus together with six independent figures made out of tall slimmer pegs of cardboard tubes wrapped in lithographs simulating clothes. The toy gained instant popularity and other sets soon came out.

"Snorky the Fire Engine" 1960

In 1960, Fisher-Price introduced two additional toys with removable figures; "Snorky the Fire Engine" and the "Nifty Station Wagon."[8] The Nifty Station Wagon came with two adult figures and one child figure, thus the first "Play Family" was born. In 1985, Fisher-Price trademarked "Little People" and formally changed the name of the brand.[1] Today, Little People are known and sold throughout the world. A Nifty Station Wagon in mint condition, in the box, could command up to $1,000,000 among toy collectors.

"Original Little People" figures

The original Little People went through six major styles of body (base) configurations, and even within each major classification there may be one or more minor style variations. By 1961, the figures were produced with wood; plastic was used for their vehicles and buildings. A few years later, the typical smiley face of the traditional Little People introduced in a "straight-body" format. All of the people had a basic cylinder body with the female figures only identifiable by the addition of slanted, oval eyes and eyelashes. By 1965, the Little People consisted of a small cylindrical base and a wider cylinder shape for boys and men and a conical upper shape for the girls. Adult women had a kind of hourglass-shaped upper body. The bottom portions of the bodies were indented slightly (allowing for placement in the corresponding holes in other furniture, cars and other vehicles, in which the figures were able to "sit").

In 1968, Fisher-Price introduced the first Little People playset, the famous Play Family Barn with barn doors that made a "moo" sound when opened. Also at this time, the figures were made with plastic bodies instead of wood. The Play Family dollhouse was introduced in 1969, with other playsets to follow, including a firehouse, an airport and a service station. Eventually, the toys encompassed a wide range of playsets, furniture packs, and accessory packs.

In the mid-1970s, Fisher-Price produced the Sesame Street town, with different Sesame Street stores, a bridge with stop lights and Sesame Street characters such as Bert, Ernie, and the first Little People toys modeled after non-celebrities: Loretta Long (Susan), Roscoe Orman (Gordon), and Will Lee (Mr. Hooper). Soon after, the Little People Discovery Airport, a hospital, and a school would also be released. Little People characters had by then been also produced with plastic products exclusively.

During the late 2010s, a line of celebrity Little People was launched with playsets including Kiss Little People[9] and The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" Little People.

In 1988, Marvel Productions made an animated series of six Little People videos such as Favorite Songs, 3 Favorite Stories, A Visit to the Farm, Fun With Words, Jokes, Riddles and Rhymes, and Christmas Fun, which were released by New World Video, which the deal was signed in August 1987.[10] This video series centered around two children named Timmy and Penny and their Baby Sister, their parents, Cousin Marvin and their dog Lucky. In 1991, the Original Little People figures were redesigned for children. They were made "chunkier", were more bright and colorful, and were designed so that they could activate motion within the play sets. Most people believe that these figures were developed as a replacement for the original Little People due to the increasing concerns and pressures from parents and consumer-advocacy groups for safer toy designs. After Fisher-Price was bought by Mattel in the 1990s, Little People reappeared on the markets, their figure significantly larger in size from the original Little People characters due to revised toy safety guidelines. These figures are called "chunky" by collectors.

In 1997, the figures underwent a drastic redesign, from simple lathe-turned shapes to sculpted bodies. Little People became much more detailed and smaller in overall size – in fact, closer in size to the original Little People. For the first time, the Little People figures had arms, hands, more detailed clothing, molded hair, and facial features.

In 1999, Little People celebrated their 40th anniversary with the return of the first Little People toy ever: Little People School Bus and characters. The play sets include the school bus, circus train, construction vehicles, and other play sets.

In 2000, the Little People line introduced electronic sounds and movements. The Little People characters were given distinct personalities and voices in a stop motion, animated series with Phil Craig, known for starring in The Time Traveller's Wife, Cinderella Man, and Spider; and Aaron Neville singing the theme song. The series was produced by Denmark-based Egmont Imagination and Canadian Cuppa Coffee Studios between 1999 and 2005.

• Eddie (voiced by Susan Roman) is a boy who is Sarah Lynn's twin brother. He has a pet frog named Freddie (vocal effects provided by the late Robert Smith).
• Michael (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is an African-American boy.
• Sarah Lynn (voiced by Susan Roman) is a girl who is Eddie's twin sister.
• Maggie (voiced by Karen Bernstein) is a cute girl who wears glasses all the time.
• Sonya Lee (voiced by Caroly Larson) is an Asian-American girl. According to her verse of the theme song, Sonya Lee is very gentle, true, and kind to people and animals.

Since 1999, 138 individual episodes and six music videos have been produced for the Little People franchise. They have been collected into around 30 volumes and released for home media on VHS and over 15 DVDs with some being distributed by Lions Gate Home Entertainment through Artisan Entertainment as part of its Family Home Entertainment sub-label.

In 2007, Fisher-Price produced the Little People A to Z Learning Zoo. This production introduced animals to the Little People family. The A to Z learning zoo includes 26 animals that each begin with a different letter of the alphabet. This interactive play mat allows children to learn the alphabet, recognize letters, and learn facts about animals. This was a significant step for the company, as education is now infused in their product.

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