Regardless of whether or not Barbie gets a sequel, the Mattel Cinematic Universe will continue to expand. The next doll-to-screen adaptation? Polly Pocket.
Under the bright pink haze of Barbiemania, you might not have realized that a film on the tiny toy has already been in the works since 2021, with Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) attached to star and Girls’ creator Lena Dunham set to write and direct. And with 45 Mattel movies reportedly planned, this likely won’t be the last time we see one of our childhood playthings on the big screen.
Here’s what we know about the Polly Pocket movie so far.
What will it be about?
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie tackled the impossible expectations placed upon women, the relationship between mothers and daughters, patriarchy, and the complexity of the human experience (yes, really!). Daniel Kaluuya’s Barney film, also based on Mattel IP, will be a “surrealistic” take on the purple dinosaur. What kind of spin can we expect from Dunham’s dolls?
When the film was announced in 2021, Variety reported the basics, that the film “will center on a young girl and a pocket-sized woman who form a friendship.” Dunham also hinted that she’s aiming for a “smart playful” film that speaks to young women “without condescension.” She told the outlet in a statement:
“Polly Pocket was responsible for countless hours of childhood escapism for me–Polly gave me a tiny world of magic and autonomy to narrate, so it’s pretty poetic to be tackling these same ideas now as a director collaborating with the brilliant Lily Collins, Robbie Brenner, Mattel and MGM. I’m so thrilled to bring to bear both my love of this historic property and also my deep-seated belief that young women need smart playful films that speak to them without condescension.”
In October 2022, Dunham was finishing up the second draft of the script when she shared some more hints with The Hollywood Reporter: “We have a lot of fun with the idea of what happens when a small person encounters a big world.”
She added that Collins’ Polly will be really small in the film, as in “the original teensy tiny ’90s size...they made her a little bigger now, which I support, because of choking hazards. But I’m writing ’90s tiny.”
Who’s in the cast?
Collins is the only actor attached to the film so far, and she will also produce. “As a child who was obsessed with Polly Pocket, this is a real dream come true and I can’t wait to bring these tiny toys to the big screen,” she told Variety in 2021.
Other producers include: Robbie Brenner and Kevin McKeon of Mattel Films, Sandino Moya-Smith and Winnie Carrillo of MGM, and Liz Watson and Michael P. Cohen of Dunham’s company Good Thing Going, who are executive producers.
When will it be released?
That’s still unclear. There’s no word yet on when filming will commence, plus Hollywood continues to be on pause as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are still in place.
As of July 26, the film has a script, which is “great,” Mattel Films producer Robbie Brenner told Variety. But production plans are still up in the air. “Hopefully, we’ll be making that at some point in the future,” she said.
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
