Everyone, it seems, loves Mattel’s Little Kiddles made in the 1960s. Shown here are Peter Paniddle, his foam shadow, and a miniature Barbie doll with wings to represent Tinker Bell. This set was issued in 1966 as part of the Storybook Kiddles series. It commands several hundred dollars when found mint in box.
By A. Glenn Mandeville
Little did Walt Disney know when he bought the rights to J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” in 1939 that it would become a huge animated hit for Disney Studios. The stage play had been delighting theatregoers since 1904. After Disney’s success with “Snow White” and other animated films, Disney began production on “Peter Pan,” which was released to theaters in February 1953.
It took more than 100 artists and 500,000 separate drawings to create the film, which required 900 painted backgrounds — a record for a feature-length cartoon at the time. Collectors might recognize Kathryn Beaumont as the voice of Wendy. She is best known as the voice of Alice in Walt Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” animated feature.
All of this led to licensed products galore! Many items have been made over the years, as the film has enjoyed numerous television and theatrical releases as well as the video of “Peter Pan,” which has delighted generations for years. Naturally, dolls were part of the licensed tie-ins; below are some of the highlights!
I have barely scratched the surface of “Peter Pan” collectibles. Every re-release of the movie brings with it more licensed products, to collectors’ continued enjoyment.
Dolls and licensed products are from the collection of Sherry and Ron Springsteen. Technical assistance by Richard Chapman.
Also available was a set of unmarked 3-inch dolls depicting Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. They appear to date from the late 1950s or early 1960s and might be found today at a reasonable price.
Ideal also released a jointed composition Peter Pan doll licensed by Walt Disney, complete with wrist tag. He has sleep eyes and a cloth body. He’s not shown in the Ideal catalogs, so it’s hard to name a specific year, but most likely he was released either pre-movie or slightly after, as composition as a medium for dolls was pretty much discontinued by the early 1950s. A value might be in the $200 range.
Who could resist this Peter Pan made by the Ideal Toy Corporation in the early 1960s? He’s about 18 inches tall with “Walt Disney Productions” stamped on his back. Peter Pan is all cloth with a vinyl head and arms, and stationary eyes. The doll is valued at around $100 but is seldom seen by collectors today.
This 10-inch Peter Pan was made by Sun Rubber in the 1950s. It’s seldom seen today, but if found in good condition would bring about $25 — more if in the original box. He can be recognized by the Disney mark on his back.
These detailed Duchess Company dolls were jointed at the neck and shoulders. The licensed Peter Pan and Tinker Bell set was made in Jackson Heights, New York. They are 8 inches tall with sleep eyes. The Duchess Company made hundreds of inexpensive dolls during the 1950s. Most are found in the original box. Because of the movie tie-in, a value might be around $60.
Disneykings miniature figures are not technically dolls, but collectors have loved them since the late 1950s. This group, like all Disneykings, are hand-painted and were made by The Marx Toy Corporation. Note that Captain Hook’s box says “Disneykings” on it. Most individual Disneykings are inexpensive and they remain popular with today’s collectors.
Part of the Small World collection, these Walt Disney Golden Fantasy dolls are hand-painted, with movable heads. The 8-inch figures were made by A.D. Sutton and Sons Inc. of New York. The set of Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Tinker Bell was issued in the mid-1960s and has a value of around $100 dollars to the right collector.
A. Glenn Mandeville is the author of numerous books on dolls and doll collecting and writes his Curious Collector column for each issue of DOLLS magazine.
