CPSC, Playskool Announce Recall of Additional 170,000 Busy Poppin’ Pals Toys
Kids’ product recall 01-050. Announced by CPSC on Dec 8, 2000.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Dec 8, 2000. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
Small springs inside these toys can break loose, posing a choking and laceration hazard to young children.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should take these toys away from young children immediately, and contact Playskool to get information about how to receive a free redesigned replacement toy.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- How to reach the firm: Consumers may contact Playskool at (800) 752-9755 anytime or visit the firm’s website at www.hasbro.com
Which ones are recalled?
Playskool’s Sesame Street Busy Poppin’ Pals toy is a 13-inch long white plastic toy with blue, yellow and green buttons, levers and knobs of various shapes that, when activated, make Sesame Street characters pop up from under the toy’s base. The characters -- Elmo, Ernie, Big Bird, Bert, and Cookie Monster -- are hidden under corresponding blue, yellow or green lids that have the numbers one through five imprinted on top. The toy has a white carry handle and features the Playskool and Sesame Street logos on the front. The model number, “5446,” “MADE IN CHINA” and “C-023B” are imprinted on the bottom of the toy. Busy Poppin’ Pals toys with model 6205 have different springs and are not part of this recall. Any Busy Poppin’ Pals toys that have “Made in Mexico” imprinted on the toy’s bottom are not part of this recall.
170,000 units, as CPSC gives them.
Sesame Street Busy Poppin’ Pals toys.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 1 photo on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Imported by Playskool, Pawtucket, R.I.
- Mass merchandise stores and toy stores sold these toys (Playskool model 5446 made in China) nationwide, from November 1994 through 1996, for about $10.
- Made in China, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
Playskool has received eight reports relating to the springs in its Sesame Street Busy Poppin’ Pals toys, including one report that a child put the broken spring in his mouth. No injuries were reported. Playskool received 16 reports of springs breaking in the Busy Poppin’ Pals toy recalled earlier. This resulted in five children putting the broken springs in their mouths, and two of these children suffering lacerations.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.