When the first announcement for the baby molly pocket friends series dropped, I was skeptical. Genuinely. We've seen plush keychains before. We've seen vinyl keychains. But a hybrid? A soft, squishy body with a classic, hard vinyl MOLLY head? My first thought was, "How is that going to work?" My second thought, as a seller, was, "How are these going to hold up?"
The concept is adorable, I'll give POP MART that. Kenny Wong's MOLLY has always had this pouty, curious charm, and shrinking her down into a "baby" form and sticking her in a fluffy onesie is a commercial bullseye. But for collectors, the people who actually spend the money and care about the details, "cute" isn't enough. We care about quality, longevity, and feel.
When our first shipment for PopNya arrived, I did what I always do: I bought a case for myself. For "research," of course. The box art is standard POP MART fare, clean, colorful, showing off the full lineup of 12 regular designs and one secret. The boxes themselves feel light, and there's no effective way to weigh or shake them to guess the contents. Don't even try; the vinyl heads are all roughly the same weight, and the plush bodies are negligible. You're going in blind, as it should be.
I pulled Little Star first. The immediate impression is… weird. In a good way. Your brain has to process two completely different textures at once. You have the smooth, cool, perfectly painted vinyl of the MOLLY head, which feels exactly like a standard 3-inch figure. The paint is crisp, the lines are clean, and her signature crown and blue eyes are perfect. Then you have the body, a super-soft, almost velour-like plush. It's a sensory mismatch that's actually quite satisfying.
This series is all about the onesies. You've got a Kitty Cat, a Dinosaur, a Bunny, a Little Bear, all the classic cute animal tropes. The designs are simple, but the execution is what matters. The embroidery on the tummy patches is tight and clean. The stitching on the seams is surprisingly robust. I gave the Dinosaur's arm a decent tug, and it felt solid. These aren't cheap carnival prizes; there's some real production quality here.
But let's get into the nitty-gritty. The stuff you won't read on the official product page.
The Good, The Bad, and The Dusty
The single best part of this series is the hardware. Thank goodness. For a product marketed as a molly keychain, the clip is everything. POP MART opted for a custom, color-matched metal carabiner-style clip. It's not the flimsy, cheap-feeling alloy you sometimes get on other merch. This one is weighty, has a strong spring, and the gate closes with a satisfying click. The color of the clip even matches the theme of the character, the Little Star one I have has a bright yellow clip. It's a premium touch that I honestly wasn't expecting.
Now for the vinyl head. It's beautiful, but it's also my biggest point of concern. The head is attached to the plush body via an internal post, and it swivels a full 360 degrees. It's fun to pose her little head, but it also creates a potential weak point. More importantly, this is a painted vinyl surface. If you actually use this as a keychain, rattling around in your pocket or bag with keys, coins, and who-knows-what-else, that paint is going to get scuffed. It's inevitable. I've seen it happen with countless other vinyl keychains. Within a week, you'll have a tiny black mark on her cheek or a scuff on her crown. For a casual user, no big deal. For a meticulous collector? It's a nightmare.
This leads me to my first major point: these are not keychains. Not really.
Think of them as "bag charms" or "portable decorations." They are too precious, too big, and too susceptible to damage to live in a pocket. The plush body, while soft and lovely, is a magnet for dust and lint. I left my Little Star sitting on my desk for two days, and it picked up an astonishing amount of dust. The white plush of the Bunny or Lamb designs? I can only imagine they'd look dingy after a week of real-world use. You'll be taking a lint roller to your molly pocket friend more often than you'd think.
Real Talk: Hype vs. Reality
So, are the Baby Molly Pocket Friends overhyped? Yes and no.
They absolutely deliver on the cuteness factor. They are incredibly photogenic and a fun, new format for MOLLY. If you're a MOLLY completist or just want a cute accessory for your tote bag that you baby, you'll love them. They make for fantastic desk buddies, and the clip makes it easy to hang them from a monitor stand or a pinboard.
However, if you're looking for a durable, everyday molly popmart keychain, this isn't it. The combination of easily-dirtied plush and easily-scuffed vinyl makes it a high-maintenance accessory. It's a collectible first, and a functional item a distant second.
From a seller's perspective, these have been flying off the shelves. The demand is real. The blind box thrill is a huge part of it. The secret for this series is Incubus Molly, a fantastic design with little horns and a devilish onesie. When these first dropped, I saw the secret going for over $120 on secondary markets. The price has settled a bit since then, but it still regularly fetches $70-$90, which is a significant markup from the ~$16 retail price of a single box. The demand for the pocket friends molly secret is a testament to the design's popularity.
A Collector's Secret: How to Actually Use and Display ThemOkay, so if you're not supposed to just toss it in your bag, what do you do with it? This is where my collector brain and my gear-nerd brain collide. You need to treat it like the tiny piece of art it is.
For a while now, I've been obsessed with using MOLLE systems to display my figures. It's a modular, tactical-style webbing that lets you attach pouches and gear. And it turns out, it's perfect for designer toys. That sturdy carabiner on the Baby Molly is practically made for it.
Instead of just letting it get lost inside your backpack, you can clip it securely to the outside. If you have a bag with MOLLE webbing, you can create a dedicated spot for it. It looks cool, keeps it from getting banged up, and shows it off. It's a practical solution that I've found works wonders, especially for people who love that techwear or tactical aesthetic. Honestly, I think Molle bags are a toy collector's secret weapon for exactly this reason.
What about at home? Don't just leave it on a dusty shelf. I've started mounting my keychain-style figures on a Rigid Molle Panel. You can get these panels in various sizes and mount them on your wall or stand them on your desk. Then you just clip your Baby Molly collection right onto the webbing. It creates this awesome, organized, and slightly industrial-looking display that's way more interesting than a standard shelf. It keeps them clean, safe, and easy to admire. It's a display method that really says you're serious about your collection, and I honestly think the MOLLE system is the best toy display you're not using.
And if you absolutely must carry it in a bag, protect it. I've found that a small pouch, like the Molle phone pouch, is the perfect size for one of these Pocket Friends. You can tuck it inside to protect the vinyl head from scratches and the plush body from dirt, then attach the whole pouch to your bag. It's an extra step, but if you pulled the secret Incubus, it's a step worth taking.
The Final Verdict
The Baby Molly Pocket Friends series is a fascinating experiment. It's a successful blend of two different worlds, the hard vinyl art toy and the soft plush accessory. The quality is higher than I expected, particularly the hardware and the detail on the plush.
But my honest advice is to know what you're buying. You are not buying a rugged keychain. You are buying a miniature, portable art object that requires care. It's for the collector who loves to curate their aesthetic, whether it's on a specialized backpack, a dedicated display panel, or hanging pristine in their car.
They are a delightful addition to the wider universe of MOLLY, and if you're a fan, you should absolutely try to get your hands on one or two. The fun of the blind box is half the experience. Just be prepared to give your new little friend a bit more TLC than your car keys. If you're looking to start your collection or find that one character you're missing, you can always browse MOLLY figures to see what's available. They're a truly unique entry in the ever-expanding world of designer toys.
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