A 'Polly Pocket' Movie Is Coming From Director Lena Dunham – Thanks, '90s Nostalgia

Increasingly, Hollywood seems to be reaching outside the realm of earlier films and TV shows when it comes to adapting recognizable intellectual property into new stories. Here's another example of a toy serving as the basis for a film: Lena Dunham (Girls, Tiny Furniture) is set to write and direct a Polly Pocket movie for Mattel Films and MGM, and the film will be based on the toy that became a phenomenon in the 1990s. Lily Collins (Mank) is set to star as the title character.

As you can see in this commercial from the early '90s, Polly Pocket began as a tiny toy character that "lived" in a tiny house about the size of a makeup compact. But the brand eventually expanded dramatically, putting Polly and her host of tiny friends into mansions, vehicles, water parks, and more. The success of these toys inspired the Mighty Max toy line, which was essentially the same concept, only marketed toward boys instead of girls.

Polly Pocket previously served as the basis for an animated television series and three direct-to-video movies.

According to THR, the new movie "will follow a young girl and a pocket-sized woman who form a friendship."

If you needed a perfect snapshot of the current state of Hollywood, Dunham refers to the Polly Pocket brand as a "historic property" in a statement accompanying this announcement. "I'm so thrilled to bring to bear both my love of this historic property and also my deep-seated belief that young women need smart playful films that speak to them without condescension," she said. Meanwhile, Collins, who remembers being "obsessed" with Polly Pocket when she was a kid, calls this opportunity "a real dream come true" and says she "can't wait to bring these tiny toys to the big screen."

Dunham was a significant cultural figure in the early 2010s, but has since found herself mired in several high-profile controversies and has generally fallen out of the limelight. Anecdotally, she seems to have alienated a portion of people who previously watched her on Girls. But it's not like she's vanished completely from Hollywood: she recently produced shows like Camping and Generation and directed multiple episodes of Industry.

Mattel Films also has several other movies based on toys that are in the works, including Hot Wheels, View-Master, Magic 8-Ball, Uno, Barbie, and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots.