School’s In, and So Are Teddy Bear Backpacks : Shopping: Pocahontas is also popular among kids returning to classes, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are old news.

Pochacco the white mutt is in. Keroppi the frog is still popular, but no longer as hip. Batman? Two thumbs-up. The spirit of Pocahontas? This year’s darling. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Yawn.

As the start of school signals the annual back-to-school shopping rite, many students simply can’t go back to class without the essential, necessary, absolutely must haves.

Like beeper cases. Bright, colorful insulated lunch bags. Furry teddy bear backpacks.

“Oh, this is definitely in,” 15-year-old Christine Alvarez said assuredly at a boutique in the Westminster Mall as she slipped the $19 tan fuzzy bag onto her back. “It’s so cute and different and cool. It doesn’t look like your ordinary backpack.”

The zippered bear may be only big enough to hold a handful of pencils, but salespeople at various fashion and novelty stores say it’s the rage.

“People who buy them just want to be different from everyone else,” said Ericka Christensen, store manager of Imaginarium at MainPlace/Santa Ana. Although the backpack is $29.99, only one remained on the rack.

“They go fast,” Christensen said.

Another popular backpack with a new gimmick comes with a detachable lunch bag.

“Isn’t this great?” asked Kelly Faye, 35, as she stripped the dark green lunch bag from its Velcro straps. “Time sure has changed. My son, Tommy, will love this. I wish I had it in my time.”

Gadgets and novelties come and go, but some dependable things will always be around, like the simple Jansport backpack.

“I had one from before and it lasted three years,” said 12-year-old Renee Alvarado of Santa Ana, who went to Target with her mom last week to get a replacement. “I like it better than the other fancy bags.”

Other school essentials much in demand are insulated lunch bags. Sold for $6 to $10, these bright, thick nylon pouches are reusable and appealing to the environmentally conscious.

The square lunch boxes, round lunch pails and colorful pencils of yesteryear are still favorites, but only if they are graced by certain cartoon characters, such as Batman and Pocahontas, two of this summer’s hottest movie heroes.

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers also flew onto the big screen a couple of months ago. But, according to some in the younger set such as 7-year-old Nicholas Fisk, they’re just not in anymore. “They’re old,” the second-grader from Costa Mesa said with obvious disdain. “I like Batman.”

So, his mom took him to Target and got him notebooks, folders and a binder, all emblazoned with the Caped Crusader’s black bat insignia, and ranging from 99 cents to $3.

“On our budget and on today’s economy, I’ll buy what [Nicholas] wants if they’re affordable,” said Sara Fisk, 31. “I’ll only get what he needs, not anything frivolous. And it’s not important to Nicholas to have what everyone else has.”

But for many students, there are absolute must-haves, such as supplies and accessories decorated with Japanese cartoon characters and sold in Sanrio Surprises stores.

There’s Pochacco the dog. Keroppi the frog. Pippo Pippo the pig. Picke Bicke the mouse. Hello Kitty the cat. And a handful of others, whose names are a mouthful but glide easily from the tongues of young fans.

The characters, whose features are simple and clean-cut, adorn a gamut of supplies from beeper cases to T-shirts and stuffed animals.

“I love Pochacco because he’s cute and adorable,” said 10-year-old Vanessa Roche, who bought a $24.95 Pochacco folder kit.

Pochacco, who has been around more than two years, has just about caught up in popularity with Keroppi who has been hopping around for about six years now, according to Vanessa and other keepers of such tidbits.

What exactly is the appeal of these characters? “They’re just nice and aren’t ugly like dinosaurs and other normal things,” replied 11-year-old Stephanie Smith who left Sanrio with a bag full of Keroppi pencils and erasures.

Simply put, “they’re darn cute,” said Randall Patterson, vice president of sales for Sanrio. “Cute is the trend. Grunge is out. Adorability is in.”

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What’s Hot

Pochacco school supplies. Cost: Start at $2

Beeper cases. Cost: $3.50 and up

Teddy bear backpacks. Cost: $19 to $29.99

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Others:

Jansport backpacks. Cost: From $20

Backpacks with detachable lunch bags. Cost: Start at $15

Insulated lunch bags. Cost: $6 and up

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What’s Cold

Anything with Power Rangers is out, out, out.