White Tootsie and the United Kingdom Myth
Let me begin with a very important statement of fact.
This version of Tootsie was never sold in the
United Kingdom.
I think this is important to get across, because there are
still some people who insist on calling her UK Tootsie. This is
in part because some white Tootsies were sold on cards in a UK
style, making people believe she was sold here. But mostly it's
simply a throwback to a time when we didn't know as much about
My Little Pony.
In fact, White Tootsie (made in Hong Kong) had a sequence of
releases which will probably make heads spin. Remember that I
said 1986 was chaos? Here is a good example. In Sweden, and
probably Norway, White Tootsie was sold in 1986 on a UK style
card in English, featuring the ponies from the 1985 Groom & Style ponies. Yeah,
the one that has green Tootsie on the back. In the Netherlands,
and possibly also Belgium and Luxembourg, she was sold on a US
style card (translated into French and Dutch), also from 1985,
and also featuring the same set (including green Tootsie). White
Tootsie (made in Italy) was featured on yet another card, this
time sold in France and Germany. This card was similar in design
to the 1986 UK set's card
artwork, but with modifications. In this case, white Tootsie was
illustrated on the card. She also appeared on the French insert
for 1986, but it seems most likely this was also the Italian
version and not the one made in Hong Kong.
Just to make it even more fun, the white version of Tootsie was
sold in Denmark on a DANISH card. Unlike the version sold in
Sweden (on an English language card with UK art from 1985), the
Danish card used North American art from the Year 3 Unicorn and
Pegasus Pony set. The rainbow "My Little Pony" is in
English, but underneath is written "Min Lille Pony" (My Little
Pony, presumably, in Danish.) I have seen evidence of a regular
Groom & Style Tootsie being sold there on UK card, so
presumably both were available there. The accessories in Denmark
(for both versions) are the same as the pictured MOC ponies
shown above and below - pink moon and stars comb, yellow ribbon
and puffy sticker. It is not clear who else was released in this
set.
If you're still with me so far, well done. Have a cookie.
Although Tootsie is part of the European Earth
Pony set from 1986, I have included her
separately on the link frame because I am SO fed up with
people calling her UK White Tootsie. :P
Comparing MOC Versions: Parts of Scandinavia/South Africa vs
Netherlands/Benelux
MOC White Tootsie
(Scandinavia, with UK art style, 1986)
This comparison nicely highlights
the two different styles of packaging which were favoured by
different areas of Europe during the 1986 release of white
Tootsie. It should also be mentioned that Tootsie was not the
only pony to be sold in this style of release in either place
without being illustrated on the card. This was a fairly
normal thing in 1986 in Europe for some reason. I believe the
version on the left was also sold in South Africa.
Interestingly, despite the art style differences, Tootsie's
accessories were consistent between locations. Both mimicked
the accessories sold with the
Green
Tootsie from the year before in the UK, rather than in
North America. I am not sure if white Tootsie was sold with a
puffy sticker. Releases in the Netherlands/Benelux tended to
follow the North American trend of adopting flat stickers, not
puffy ones, in 1986. Scandinavian releases also pared down
their releases with stickers, but at a later point in 1987. In
either event, any sticker sold with either release would have
likely featured the green pony, as no white Tootsie sticker
exists to my knowledge.
(The MOC white Tootsie images on this page kindly donated by
Rosse and Shivhae)
MOC White Tootsie
(Benelux, with US art style, 1986)
Tootsie's Character
I am unsure if Tootsie had a specific personality in her
European release, but I would love to know!
