History of the Kodak Kolorkins

Kodak Kolorkins were stuffed animals created by the Eastman Kodak Company and offered as promotions in a number of countries starting in 1988. Often they were offered for free with UPCs from Kodak products, but sometimes they could purchased without a purchase of film. Over 20 million Kolorkins were sold around the world, including 750 000 in Canada. These colorful fantasy creatures came to Earth from the planet Koloron in search of colors that didn't exist on their own planet.

The first series of four 9" Kolorkins was offered by Kodak Canada in 1988, featuring names that started with "K" with no English meaning for Canada's bilingual market. Many generations of Kolorkins followed around the world until at least 2000, usually featuring photography-related names. In terms of unique combinations of color and body shape, there are at least twenty unique 9" Kolorkins, seven unique 4.5" Kolorkids, and nine unique 4.5" bean bag Kolorkins. Spain had a series of officially-licensed Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympic Kolorkins that featured 9" Kolorkins wearing sports uniforms. At least seven of the 9" Kolorkins were available as 4.5" finger puppets, usually called "Kolorkids". At least seven of the 9" Kolorkins were available as 6" Kolorkids. At least ten of the 9" Kolorkins were available as 24" giant Kolorkins. At least five of the 4.5" bean bag Kolorkins were available as 36" giant Kolorkins. Kolorkins have been produced in fifteen different colors: white, pink, fuchsia, red, orange, gold, yellow, light green, dark green, cyan, dark blue, light purple, dark purple, silver, and black.

The Original 7

Kodak offered a series of four 9" Kolorkins in almost every country. Most countries received American Kolorkins with untranslated tags (though the tags were translated in Japan). Canada and the US had a second series that expanded the number of 9" Kolorkins to seven. Some countries (Belgium?) had 6" Kolorkids versions of these original seven. At least Chromy and Resty were also re-released as a plush instead of a finger puppet. Most countries also had 4.5" Kolorkids finger puppet versions of all seven. Canada had 24" giant versions of at least the first four, and probably all seven. The Netherlands also had 24" giant versions.



The Argentina 2

Like most countries, Kodak had a second series of Kolorkins in Argentina that included the first four Kolorkins, but they formed a set of 6 instead of the usual 7. This set of 6 included two new Kolorkins that were unique to Argentina: Fling and Speed.

The Olympic/Pastel 10

A series of five 4.5" non-finger puppet Kolorkids was offered in the Netherlands in the colors of the Olympic rings in 1992, and was soon expanded to ten by adding a pastel version of each of the original five. (The light purple equivalent of Goldy has only been found without a tag, so name is unknown.) All ten were offered in Australia, usually with different names. It appears that all ten from this series were available as 9" Kolorkins in Sweden.

4.5" Kolorkids sports finger puppets

There was a series of at least seven unique finger puppet Kolorkids with sports equipment. The tags include no address or subsidiary name, but are bilingual Dutch/French, suggested that they were offered in Belgium or BENELUX countries.

The Canada 3

Canada released a third series of 9" Kolorkins in 1994 based on the Olympic/Pastel 10 series, adding a unique orange Kolorkin with the body of Blacky/Focus and Blushy. There were also 24" giant versions of the three Canadian Kolorkins.

4.5" Beanies

A series of five bean bag Kolorkins was offered in 1999 to mark the centennial of Kodak Canada, one of which (Check) was only available from Kodak Image Check stores. They were also offered in 36" giant versions. A sixth bean bag Kolorkin was offered in Canada, probably in 2000. Meanwhile, three bean bag Kolorkins were offered in the United States wearing US Ski Team and US Snowboard Team uniforms for the upcoming 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.