What are Bratz Dolls?
In 2001, MGA (Micro-Games-America) Entertainment released a 10½ inch doll line called Bratz. The dolls had large heads, a lot of makeup, and most of all, huge lips.
The body was very slim, and the dolls had something commonly called “peg-leg,” as the legs had a plastic or rubber ball at the end of the leg, and a hole in the shoe, so the shoe clicks into place.
The outfits were what “teen pop stars” wore in the late 90s (the dolls were still in design back then) and early 2000s. They were often very skimpy.
The Bratz slogan was “The girls with a passion for fashion!”
Bratz vs. My Scene
In 2002, a year after Bratz were introduced, Mattel saw that these popular dolls were massively appealing to tweens, and they stopped playing with Barbies at a younger age.
To remedy this, and to get back their customers, Mattel released My Scene, a doll line that had large heads, a lot of makeup, and huge lips. Sound familiar?
But unlike the Bratz, My Scene had the regular Barbie body, so she could still wear other Barbie clothes.
The shoes had a tiny opening for Barbie’s miniscule feet, but they were huge, giving the appearance of a large footed doll.
Little did Mattel know that this doll would cost them…
Secret and Blind Dates
In 2004, MGA released a new Bratz line called Secret Date. The idea was that (let's use Cloe) the rest of the Bratz friends (or friendz?!) set Cloe up on a blind date with one of their guy friends, and they would go to the movies or something.
Parents took the innocence of the line and threw it out the window.
They said it seemed like Cloe was sneaking out of the house to go to a night club and drink with a strange man she'd never met. They said that three of her accessories (two fancy cups with umbrellas and a bottle of… juice? Soda? Water?!) looked like they were drinking Vodka.
AND, if that wasn't enough, the commercial has a young girl in a really skimpy dress and wearing a ton of makeup. In the dark.
Luckily, MGA quickly changed the name to Blind Date. And made it more clear what Cloe was doing on that date.
Shortly before the doll line was released, there was a Secret Date game. And you could have up to 4 players, which MGA stated as “Competitive Dating, up to 4 players!”
“No, that's MY boyfriend!!”
“No, he's MINE!!!” Haha.
The only girls with a passion for suing Mattel!
In 2005, MGA started getting annoyed with My Scene.
That's the nice way to put it.
To set themselves apart, they changed the slogan from “The girls with a passion for fashion” to “The only girls with a passion for fashion,”
And sued Mattel. Mattel's response? Suing MGA and saying that they had the rights to the dolls because the guy who came up with Bratz broke his contract with Mattel and took his idea to MGA. It's kinda Mattel's fault, because they rejected his idea. And this is coming from a “loyal” Barbie fan.
In 2009, MGA Entertainment won the battle and Mattel had to stop selling My Scene dolls in America (they were discontinued everywhere else in 2013). And they owed MGA $5,000,000 in repairs.
The Bratzillaz
In 2012 MGA released a new Bratz doll line called Bratzillaz.
They were marketed like this:
“Meet the Bratzillaz, the Witchy Wicked Glam cousins of the Bratz!”
They were 11 inch dolls with inset eyes, rooted hair, and highly articulated bodies, similar to Liv, minus the double knee joints.
The Bratzillaz had actual feet, instead of peg-leg. They could not share clothes with Bratz or Barbie, as their bodies were in between the two sizes.
The dolls were witches and went to Magix Academy for Fashion. The backstories were awful, but the dolls themselves were really cool.
The dolls were the rough equivalent of the regular Bratz, such as Yasmina for Yasmin, Meygana for Meygan, Sashabella Sasha, Cloetta Cloe, and Jade kept her regular Bratz name.
They had exaggerated features of the original dolls (Aah! Dolls even crazier than the Bratz?!) like fire-truck red hair instead of Meygan’s original dark red hair. Although they looked different, they were noticeable as Bratz. Or at least as Bratz look-a-likes.
Although the main Bratz suffered, the Bratzillaz had an amazing run. At least until 2014.
The new Bratz
After winning, the Bratz suffered horribly. People stopped buying, and quality dropped drastically.
In 2013, MGA announced that there would be no new Bratz dolls in 2014, because the line would be on a hiatus so that they could reimagine and fix the line.
In 2015, the Bratz were back, but were they better? The dolls were re-launched with the “Hello, My Name is…” line.
Also, with these new dolls, the Bratzillaz were no longer in production.
The “Hello, My Name is…” dolls sold very poorly and so the Bratz were put on hold again for 2017. The dolls are slated to return again sometime in 2018. It is unknown if the dolls will regain the popularity they once had in 2001, or if Barbie will keep her throne at the top of the toy industry.
I personally prefer the “brattier” look of the 1st wave dolls, but some prefer the 2015 dolls’ kinder look.
I really hope that MGA pulls their act together and makes a doll that we won't forget. Or else…
What do you guys think of Bratz dolls? Hate 'em? Love 'em? Meh 'em??? I personally like them, but not everyone does.
'til Next Time! - JCole, who's laughing to death over the competitive dating
