Are Pillow Pets really just Popple offspring?

Everywhere I go - I see Pillow Pets! Generic and smaller ones have even hit the market to cash in on the craze. They are nothing more than a pillow with some eyes and enough detail to roughly resemble an animal or bug. But I wonder, are they really the offspring of the Popples? I remember how amazing and cool the Popples were in the 80's. I personally didn't have one of these magical little fellas, but my sister did! It was a purplish bear and it tucked into itself and formed a pillow like ball. They weren't sold as a "pillow", but they were still very pillowish. They were such a big deal that they even had their own cartoon! How did the Popples get forgotten? Did one of them do something bad? Maybe a brief stint in rehab, or a violent outburst that let fans down..... If by chance, a Popple were to fall in love with an average pillow, I'd bet the offspring would look an awful lot like a Pillow Pet.