Friday, March 22, 2013

March 22, 2013, new epier listing

small toddler doll metal trunk
http://www.epier.com/product.asp?2100018


I swear this case is backwards.  It seems like the picture of the lamb should be on the other side, and the  clasp facing toward you.  When you open the case "backwards" it opens up to how it should be, with the doll facing you and the clothes on the left.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Mattel movies and dolls

I don't know about anyone else, but I have decided I will never again refer to the post-2000 Mattel movies and their dolls as "Barbie."  They are only about 25 percent related to her.
If you've seen any of the movies, you'll notice that the main character (there have been at least 10 different roles) features a busty blonde young woman whose name has been, among others, Tori, Kristyn, Merliah and Corinne.  There is never any mention of Barbie in any of the movies, other than the name on the opening credits and on the boxes.
There have been dozens of these movie dolls made by Mattel.  Some of them are 11 1/2 inches tall, and they again say "Barbie" on the box, but this is a marketing term.  The dolls have nothing to do with the Barbie universe.  There are also dozens of other smaller dolls in association with the movies.
I saw one of the plays based on one of the animated movies.  Again, except in the title of the show, not once was Barbie ever mentioned.
Mattel, I believe, began running out of ideas of what to "do" with Barbie in the late 1990s in the various play lines.  So it began looking for other stories to adopt.  Some of them are well-known, such as "The Nutcracker" and "A Christmas Carol."  Others are brand-new stories.  They have "Barbie" written on the packaging, but that is the only connection to her world.
I wish Mattel, for promotional purposes, had simply called the dolls by their actual given names rather than Barbie/Merliah or Barbie/Tori, etc.

On a related note,
More evidence that Mattel has run out of ideas:
Since 2000, there have been several lines of Barbie dolls aimed at adult collectors:  Silkstone, Fashionistas, Modern Circle, My Scene, etc.  These dolls are a topic for another day.  But in the playline dolls, since the demise of Midge and the Happy Family, there have only been two lines aimed at little girls:  the aforementioned Fairytopia and movie dolls, and the swimsuit lines, new for each year.  There have been occasional special editions sold for both children and adults.
Actually, the dolls that are more reminiscent of what Barbie originally was has been Kelly/Chelsea.  Her outfits, activities and friends and her various incarnations all seem to have the "Barbie" feel of her first 50 years.

No wonder I stopped collecting!