The Grand and Glorious History of Little People

      Those special guys and gals (and doggies, too) that are referred to by Fisher Price as "Little People" take many shapes and forms.  Certainly one of the most successful and well-recognized toy lines ever created, the Little People name lives on even to this day (1999), although it must be admitted that the current line of figures bear only a passing resemblance to their ancestors.   Be that as it may, the origins and history of the Little People products is not only interesting, but surely ranks as a classic American success story, and certainly exemplifies the true spirit and character of the company logo "Our Work is Child's Play".

    For convenience sake, the figures referred to as Little People can be broken down into four main categories and eras.  Further details on each of these eras can be found further below.

• The Pre-Little People.........although not considered as Little People at all, these are the figures used on  many different toys in the pre-1959 years that show the first design and style elements in human figures that would eventually carry over into, and become, the most widely recognized and longest-lived line of toys in modern history.....the Fisher Price Little People.
• The "Original" Little People characters, introduced in 1959 and ending in 1990.  Although there are several different styles of these figures that were produced during this period, they are all similar enough to be classified as the "Original" version, and in fact, this is how most collectors and experts refer to them as a group.
• The "Chunky" people.  Although still called Little People by Fisher Price, these figures took on a significantly enlarged appearance (about twice the overall width of the originals) beginning in 1991 and lasting until 1996.  Although these figures are not really any taller than the Original line, they are much wider, thus allowing for an extra measure of child play safety (i.e. they can't be swallowed).   Chunky People (as most people refer to them) are bright and colorful and have an increased level of facial detail and features compared to their predecessors.   They certainly represent a recognizable evolution from the original figures, thus keeping the Little People toy line "theme" consistent.   Many of the playsets, in fact, were restyled versions of the original playsets.