Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Bratz Dolls by MGA Entertainment--A Guest Overview!

Bratz dolls were introduced in 2001 by MGA Entertainment (makers of Lalaloopsy, BFC Ink dolls, Novi Stars, Mooshka, and of course the Bratzillaz).  The Bratz brand has suffered considerable controversy over the last decade, including multiple criticisms of the dolls' image, and a drawn-out copyright lawsuit with Mattel.  Recently, an announcement was made that MGA will suspend Bratz production during 2014 in order to re-style the brand and improve quality.  The dolls are slated for a 2015 re-release, and I have to say that even though I have never been a huge fan of Bratz dolls myself, I am curious to see what MGA has planned.

This is a great opportunity to look back and see what Bratz dolls have been like up until this point.  However, since I know so little about this brand, I can't offer a very interesting perspective.  As it turns out, I was extremely fortunate to be contacted by a collecting friend in England who was willing to share the opinions and experiences of a Bratz super-fan.  I am thrilled to turn the rest of this post over to "Samehch," who will start things off with the portrait of a lovely custom Jade.  This doll has been re-rooted with yarn in the same pale aquamarine blue as her factory hair (which you can see here):

Custom "Chic Mystique Jade."
Hey there! I’m Samehch (of course that’s not my real name!) and I’m here typing this post (thanks to Emily for letting me!) to let you know more about Bratz dolls.  In this post, I will be overviewing seven different Bratz dolls--some from 2013 and some from 2001!  To see more of my photos, please visit my Flickr account.

So, a lot of you will know who the Bratz are.  Bratz are fashion dolls that appeared in 2001 and raised 2 billion dollars within their first 5 years.  There are a lot more Bratz girls than you might think (over 100 apparently!). Here's a list of who they are.  So, of course half of the girls in that list have only been seen once, but they're part of the #BratzPack (the original name of the Bratz website launched in 2001) and have come and gone, some with makeovers, over the past 14 years.

Now...why wait--let’s get started!  I apologize in advance if some of the pictures are a bit blurred.

The first doll I’ll be looking at is fall 2013 "Twisty Style Yasmin."  I should say up front that all hairstyles pictured here are re-created, as I like to take down and ‘fix’ almost all dolls' hair that is up in a particular style.  I got Yasmin from the United States Amazon.  I live in the United Kingdom, and this doll was never released here.  She’s around $17 in stores in the US, and is one of the ‘basic’ dolls for the fall (although, she’s more than a basic doll if I’m honest).

Twisty Style Yasmin.
Yasmin is on a 2013 body that’s 2 inches taller than the usual Bratz body has been since 2001.  Her hair is rooted light-brown--the second usual tone for Yasmin hair.  Most of the other Yasmin dolls have a darker brown.  She has a middle part with her hair in pigtails.  She has bangs, and colored strands on each side of her head- one a kinda maroon colour, the other a purple!  The brown is much better quality than the streaks, although it's all nylon hair.  As you can see, she came with a brown/pink yarn hair extension.  She actually came with two of these--they’re the theme of the line!


Here's a closer view of one of the hair extensions:

Emily says: these remind me of Cutie Pops hair!
The Twisty Style line featured all-new face-ups...and look at how gorgeous this one is!  Yasmin's eyes are a lot more detailed than usual. Her lashes are crazy and her eyebrows a lot thicker.  Her lips are smaller, and are a lighter, more “frosty” shade of pink than usual.  Her earrings are light pink.  Here's a closer look:


I don’t know where to begin with her top--look how crazy-detailed it is!  It’s real knit with holes, perfect stitching and mixed colours, with a purple paisley-patterned satin corset and a blue snakeskin belt.  Now, these pieces are all attached, but you can easily reverse the corset behind the jumper to make it seem like it’s not there.  


Look at those shorts! They’re real denim, and are detailed and hemmed to look as if they have a zipper, and have been cut by Yas herself!  Even more so, they feature actual pockets hanging down!  Although you can’t get into them, they definitely could hold something small like a mini phone!  How cool?  Also, see how detailed the jumper is in that shot! 


She also wears some thigh-length socks (stockings?) that are black-and-white striped. Her shoes are a simple boot with some studs, straps and they’re painted with gold studs at the top.  

For anyone wondering, here’s what Yas looks like on my Flickr Photostream usually, as my model Teagan!


So that’s it for this Yas! 

My next mini-review will be on "Totally Polished Sasha!" She is also from 2013 (spring) and also from Amazon US.  I believe she also retailed for $17, and was one of the bigger lines for Spring 2013.

Totally Polished Sasha.
Her hair is rooted in saran with a side-part.  This is one of the best hair qualities you can get.  It's an orangey colour (not exactly red/ginger, but it’s not brown..it’s a mixture).  This colour isn’t usually seen on Sasha, although has been seen twice previously (Spring/Fall 2012 basic lines).  She also wears a black and white striped (with some orange in there) bandana-hat-like-thing! 


Her face is quite a normal screening, and there’s nothing really special about it.  It is very pretty though, with the soft pink lip, mute eye and the bold green eyes! 


She wears this flowy top with a sort-of tribal design to it.  It bunches up at the bust and forms into an over-sized, almost dress-like, bottom.  It’s a really nice piece of clothing, and is very soft and good quality! 


She also wears floor-length white denim bell-bottoms under that.  Nothing to say about these really, they’re good quality and seem quite durable!  Under those she wears some white strap heels!



One of the main features of the Totally Polished line is that they come with a set of 12 child-sized adhesive nails for you!  Each set is designed to match the doll’s outfit, which is quite obvious in pretty much each set!


Actually, I couldn’t find Jade’s set for this picture, and my Fianna was reduced in price due to the fact she didn’t have the nails in the box, but here are the others I have:

Left to right: Meygan, Yasmin, Sasha, Cloe.
The next doll I’ll be looking at is one of the most memorable lines from Bratz (well, for me)-- "Featherageous Jade!"  She's from spring 2012.  Each girl in this line has floor-length saran hair with brightly colored streaks and a styling tool.  The styling tool is meant to be used with a styling booklet that has directions for 3 different styles (included, but not photographed).  Honestly, I’d love to see this line get a second wave in the future, featuring more of the girls, because the original 4 (Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin...) were the only girls in this line--but imagine a Meygan! Imagine the floor length red saran hair!  I'm getting excited thinking about it!  [Emily says: me, too! :D]

Featherageous Jade.
(Featherageous Jade is NOT Articulated, but is on a replacement body for photography purposes on my Flickr!) 

Jade’s outfit is (personally) one of the best from the line.  It’s a maxi dress made of a soft stretch material, and features a little pleather corset at the waist with shoulder straps.  Quite simple, but for a doll line focused on hair play, I wouldn’t want a big poofy dress to distract from her hair.  Her shoes are simple ankle boots with the little studs at the top.


 Now, let’s look at her main feature.. her hair! 


Look at how long it is!  It’s amazing quality, the blue streaks are gorgeous and it goes past her foot pegs!  There’s no complaining as it’s rooted extremely thick, too!  This is why it’s one of the best lines for me--I LOVE hair play dolls with really good hair that you can actually do something with!


She also came with 2 pink extensions with printed feather-designs on them (like Toralei’s hair stripes) but they’re both extremely frizzy bad quality nylon so I decided not to include them. 

Next doll!  

From probably one of the lowest points of Bratz quality, here's a doll from 2011 (the Bratz 10th
 Anniversary).  This is "X-Press It Jade!"
 
Granted, this was a basic collection.
Jade’s hair is middle-part rooted in really bad nylon (it’s not basic Meygana Broomstix bad, but it’s pretty bad) that’s styled into two twisted buns on top.  I tried my best to re-create those


Her rooting is kinda…dramatic:
  
Emily says: Ahhhhhhhhh!!!
It’s like this on both sides!  She has hair around her head and down the centre, but that’s it!  Not the best MGA, not the best...especially for your brand’s 10th anniversary./. hm.  

The hair is quite long and nylon isn’t too hard to fix in this state, so that’s something.

So, this is her outfit!  


I don’t feel the top and the shorts are bad in quality, but they’re ok I guess?  The stitching on the inside of both pieces is pretty all over the place.

Her leg warmers are soft and are a nice colour so that’s ok...not sure about the shoe colour though.


Here’s her hair down and kinda sorted out!  It is very pretty so that makes up for some of her bad qualities I guess...


For the next doll, I’ll be looking at one of the most memorable lines of all time throughout Bratz fans--the "Movie Starz!"

(Despite me having two pairs of her shoes somehow, I can’t find any.  So she’ll be footless for this part, sorry!)

Here's Movie Starz Yasmin:

Emily says: it's surprising how short she looks without her feet!  Whoa!
As you can see, one of the main memorable parts of this line is the joints!  These were the first articulated Bratz to be released, and the joints are still (honestly) some of the best jointed dolls to date IMO!  Of course Monster High articulation is a bit better but this was about 3 years before, so.  

Rooted lashes, side-part brown saran hair with lighter streaks and long gold glittery maxi-dresses were also a good thing for this line--as well as the fur coats and working cameras!


Here’s a better look at the joints! They can really do a lot, although I’m not sure how to explain them! 

Emily says: the arm joints remind me of a Pullip doll,
with that rotating section of the upper arm.
They separate at each joint, too:


That’s it really for her, so let’s go onto our second-last doll, "Genie Magic Jade!"

Genie Magic Jade.
I got her on eBay over New Years, and I’m happy to say she came with almost her full original outfit, without a haircut and no scratches (well, just a small one on her lip aha).


Her face is gorgeous!  Her screening is one of my all-time favourites for Bratz.  Her hair is side parted black floor length saran, and whilst it looks frizzy/poofy in these pics, that’s because I recently waved her hair for a photo on Flickr.  Anyway!  Her top is a pink crop-top with gold dots all over.


Her skirt is also floor-length (almost) it’s a satin material with a slight paisley design to it, and her shoes are desert sandals. Her arms did originally have henna on them, but as I don’t use the non-articulated bodies they’re all in storage and this is all I had. 

Let’s hop onto our last doll now which will be a very quick facial review, as I don’t really know what line she’s from or anything really.  x)

This is a Cloe, who I believe is from 2001 or 2002, when they had their old style of facial screenings- metallic lips, huge eyes and grey eyeliner.  Her hair is a side-part saran and she originally had some thatched bangs which I simply removed.  She’s very pretty and I’m glad to have someone as unique as her in my collection!

Emily asks: could this be the original 2002 X-Press It Cloe?


Now, I'm not an absolute expert so sorry if I do get some things wrong- but here's a quick "sum up" of each year that the Bratz have been around!

2001- Launched, won the hearts of many kids and became a quick sell-out doll brand.
2002- Introduced Meygan, had the iconic "Funk 'n' Glow" line (re-made 3 times!), and continued to sell out!
2003- Several lines released, McDonald's toys produced and accessories and quality increase of each doll (eg, "Formal Funk!").
2004- Some iconic lines this year including "Treasures!", and the first Bratz twiins!
2005- A movie, video game, full album and another iconic line, "Rock Angelz," was released in this year!
2006- Some amazing dolls released this year, including movies and albums for both "Forever Diamondz" and, one of my personal favourite Bratz lines, "Genie Magic!"
2007- One of the biggest years for Bratz - Their first live-action movie was released, and along with that, a line of dolls called "Movie Starz," which introduced amazing posable arms and working cameras! This was the ONLY line with this articulation.
2008- "Passion 4 Fashion" started here-as did the lawsuit which caused their quality to decrease quite a lot.
2009- Not much happened- after the lawsuit and all. I believe it was like this year, 2014, where they tried to re-create the brand.
2010-  The Bratz big, 10th year, comeback! Featuring a new posable body (with knee joints and a bust joint) although it didn't work the best in the arms compared to the movie dolls, it was still a good year-despite the "makeover"- fish lips and nylon hair..
2011- The official 10th anniversary, they came in with a line featuring 10 NEW girls- despite how great this is, they still had the fish lips and even WORSE nylon hair. The quality wasn't so great this year.
2012- Another "rebuild" of the brand, a new face-up (without the fish lip!) better quality and several amazing lines (I believe almost all lines had saran this year!) One of my favourite years from Bratz.
2013- Yet another rebuild--not as greatly appreciated, with a whole new body that's 2 inches taller, not many people loved it as much as thought (I loved it, but I did miss the short bodies). Pretty good quality start of the year, slumped a bit with (I believe?) all fall lines with nylon (although some nylon, such as Cloe and Yasmin in Costume Bash, was amazing quality, almost better than saran!).
2014- This year Bratz have taken the year off completely (despite 2 lines being released overseas) to re-create a comeback for 2015.

Bratz Phoebe, from Samehch's Flickr Photostream.
And that’s it!  That’s a quick run-down of the highs, lows, changes and improvement of Bratz over the years.  So why did I want to do this?  I wanted to make a post showing how good Bratz actually are.  I hope people reading this will consider looking at the Bratz in the stores next time and buy one for themselves!  That is, if you can find them. Why do I say that?  They’ve taken the ENTIRE year (and a half) of 2014 off to re-build the brand from bad sales, for a big comeback during the summer of 2015! And of course, when this does happen, I want those of you reading this to consider going to a store, looking at the new Bratz in stock and considering if you want to try them out!  Trust me, I really disliked them for so long, then, during the New Years of 2012, I saved up for my first Cloe.  Even though she was a bad quality $5 Black Friday 2011 Cloe, I immediately fell in love with the brand and now am pretty much addicted!  I am excited for 2015!  Of course we don’t know what any of the dolls will look like, although trademarks have been filed for old characters such as Felicia to be brought back, and the 2013 slogan dropped--pretty much saying we’ll be getting shorter Bratz again. 

So, let me know in the comments below: will you be buying Bratz in 2015?  Will you go to a store to see if they have any left over?  Also, will you check out Amazon for any Bratz on sale?  Trust me--it’s worth it!  Thank you for reading, and thank you for Emily for letting me take this amazing opportunity to write to you all and ask that you give Bratz a second look next year!

39 comments:

  1. Wow the way have a bratz have evolution is insane and yet so amazing and I really like this review thank you for doing it I enjoyed it

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow that was a lot to take in nice review

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice review, I don't understand why they would make their tenth anniversary dolls with some of the worst doll hair out there. ( It's crazy ) I'm looking forward to the new bratz dolls , maybe then I won't be blinded by pink ( cough cough barbie cough cough)
    Sorry for any: Grammar and/or spelling errors. ;D

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought they looked cool when I was a kid, but my mom would never let me get one. She always said "they're not dressed for their age" because of their skimpy clothing. I currently collect American girl, Monster high, and Ever after high, so I've got enough to collect. Cool post though, I learned so much!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I loved, your comments very successful, thanks to Emily for allowing others to share their love of dolls, the Bratz were innovative in their time cut dolls with pink barbie doll and showed a cool

    ReplyDelete
  6. I will definitely be looking for Bratz in 2015! I remember giving my best friend the Movie Starz Yasmin doll for her birthday. She was really surprised at how poseable she was.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I grew up with the first lines of Bratz dolls saw my friends have bratz dolls, till just now that I'm old enough to earn my own money and I can afford to buy me dolls, bratz including this ... whenever I walk into a toy store Seeking Nearby these dolls which I like especially Cloe and Meygan
    The arrival of Bratzillaz liking me because in spite of the ups and downs of the L-line are very nice that did not include things that bothered me about the Bratz line (including removable feet and little articulation)
    Now I look forward to the return of Bratz and Bratzillaz thanks to Emily reviews now have at home "Meygana back to magic" and "Meygana midnight beach" and are my favorite
    Since they do not I can always buy dolls New, also bought dolls resale in bazaars often topándome with bratz dolls but these rarely wear clothes or feet only a few times and seen some with clothes and feet but bad luck has not been a character to my liking as I like to have a Cloe or Yasmin
    excellent Post
    And sorry for the bad English is bad google traducctor

    ReplyDelete
  8. I started collecting Bratz dolls in 2003 aged 10 and in the space of 3 years accumulated 31 dolls!
    All my dolls are earlier than the ones featured in this review (2001 - 2006) and I have a wide variety of boys and girls. I have the Twinz and also the Sisterz (featuring a new taller body mould for that time) from 2006!

    I love the fact someone has done a review on some of the past dolls, I'd love to be able to share some of my past Bratz dolls as some of the themes were really enjoyable (my favourites being the Tokyo-A-Go-Go range from 2004 and the 2006 Princess line!)
    Zoe x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Provided that Emily is okay with it, I'd be interested in reading an article about Bratz dolls from that time period from you.

      Delete
  9. Never liked the dolls, but their clothing has interested me to the point that I've bought some dolls on extreme sale, taken the clothes and pitched the dolls. So i guess I'm not happy that they went 2 inches taller, which might also have hurt them in clothes compatibility with other lines.. I know I am avoiding dolls that are new sizes as having them on the same scale expands possibilities for me in clothing, furniture, whatever things.It's going to be a tough go for them with all of the like dolls now out there and even more extreme than the Bratz look. They were pretty much the only mainline game in town for a while. I never thought the gave Barbie much trouble as the news keeps reporting, but they did beat Mattel to the draw in this concept.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you threw away the Bratz dolls, may I ask what dolls did you put their clothing on? I haven't had much luck fitting anyone, other than even smaller-scaled dolls, into Bratz clothing, so, I'd be interested in hearing who you used their garments on.

      Delete
    2. I'm not sure who Cath dressed up, but I used some of the older Bratz clothing for the younger/adolescent bodied Obitsu/Dollfie bodies. I'm pretty sure they'd work for Monster High too, since I tried a couple of shirts on my Venus McFlytrap, before finding something that I felt looked good on her. I haven't yet tried changing my Pinkie Pie's clothes, but I'm betting they would work for her too. It didn't work as well for Pinkie Cooper though... she has narrow shoulders. For that reason, I'm also uncertain about Ever After High Dolls. I think Bratz clothes would probably fit the Juku Couture line, but I loved Jun's clothes so much that I never bothered trying anything else out. They might possibly fit the Only Hearts Club? There are a lot of random, small dolls out there, though they have somewhat different proportions. :P :)

      Perhaps ironically, I also bought a few big busted Obitsu bodies, and the Bratz boy clothes were the right size for them (the shirts fit and the pants were a good length.) Barbie clothes didn't quite fit, as I remember it, but it's been awhile since I've dressed any of those.

      Delete
  10. Great Review! I'm also a bratz fan, and I'm not sure but I think Bratz weren't selling well until Funk n' Glow. The only reason they came back in 2002 was because MGA was a small company and bratz was its only product

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the pre-2010 Bratz and have collected over 100 of them! They were groundbreaking with their core four characters (3 different skintones) instead of a blonde lead doll, constant new facial screenings, the high quality of the clothes and the fact that the clothes looked like real life wear - lots of jeans, lots of details!
    They then released some very edgy collections (for playline, at the time) with punks and goths and "Harajuku" wear long before the world knew of the trend.
    Thankyou for this review! I had no idea the 10/10 girls hair was so bad!
    I think that without Bratz "breaking the doll mold", we would never have got the exciting new edgy playline priced dolls in multiple skintones like Monster High.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saffy, you pointed out something really interesting: before Bratz the only ones dolls were baby dolls, dolls despicting little children and Barbies. Nothing more, absolutely nothing. Then Bratz appeared and were a success. I know about the critics against Bratz, people saying what a bad influence they are, and theories saying Bratz were successful because girls plying with them were in a rebel phase... I thing they're wrong. The sucess of Bratz was because their cartoony design mixed with visually attractive clothes and accesories. If we compare the head/body proportions of Bratz, it is the same of Mickey Mouse, The Powerpuff Girls, the Oddfairy Parents and many more.
      And Bratz opened the path to other cartoony dolls like Monster High, Moxie Girls, Lalaloopsy, Ever After High, etc. Also Polly Pocket design changed to be more cartoon/anime like. Sudednly, toy manufacturers noticed that many girls prefer fantasy than pretending to be a mother or a housewife.
      Personally I don't like Bratz (those fish lips!!!) but they are interesting to analyze and see if they can compete against fantasy dolls that didn't exist in early-mid 2000s.

      Delete
  12. This is a great guest review! One of my favorites I'd say! I hated Bratz for the longest time (Barbie Girl for life), but Bratz dolls have been looking prettier and prettier to me lately. I finally bought my first Winter Magic Meygan last year and definitely want to try to get more in the future if I have the money to spare. I'll definitely be looking out for Bratz in 2015 and might buy some if they look great. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. It's nice to see that this line has someone who genuinely loves the look and the dolls. I personally hate bratz faces. (Personal opinion... not trying to bash or anything. I am glad these appeal to you. I love lots of dolls other people dislike and it doesn't bother me at all. So I hope my opinion doesn't offend.)

    I've always found them to be a hot mess style-wise. Clothes that individually are great pieces, but don't match. I recently bought a bratz doll for her clothes. The outfit had a nice top and adorable pants but did not match in any way. And I like a funky eclectic look. And I dislike the deliberately skimpy clothes. (Something I dislike in other lines. Most of mine love in other stuff.) I now realize this is also cost based. The companies save money on micro minis.

    I never thought about their quality. Nice that it is generally a quality doll. Great overview.! Very interesting. Will be excited to see what comes out.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I mostly know Bratz from scoring their old clothes for my Dal dolls to wear, because they're pretty much a perfect fit. But they always seemed that bit more interesting than Barbie, back when I wasn't really "a doll person" quite yet. Monster High probably owes something to the detailling and modernness of the Bratz line.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great guest review, I always like to hear other opinions about different doll lines. I am not really a Bratz fan but I do love Bratzillaz and I hope they are around for 2015. I am constantly on the hunt for them.
    A treat as always, Tina

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for sharing your perspective. I am one who has never really come around to Bratz. The name and general attitude of the line just sort of rub me the wrong way. That, and I don't care for this style of face. Still, in recent years I have observed them in the toy aisle out of curiousity. I did notice that the facial screening on the Twisty Style dolls was pretty elaborate, making an interesting effect. It's still not an aesthetic that appeals to me, but I do give the developers credit for the effort that obviously went into the screening. Occasionally I will buy Bratz on clearance and give their clothes to my Dal, so I can say that the quality of the clothing is sometimes nice. I do like that they tend to use more natural fabrics than other doll lines. I guess I just can't get into that sort of hip, urban thing they have going on. I like my dolls to be kawaii and/or impossibly magical. Anyhow, all that aside, I enjoyed hearing your take on the Bratz. I will certainly give the new 2015 release a good looking over once they come out.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Bratz are not and probably never will be my thing. I've bought a grand total of one ever, a Yasmin (I think) dressed as a mermaid, so I could give her clothes to my Bratzillaz Fianna. Speaking of- I may not like the look of Bratz, but I do have some appreciation for their witchy cousins and own four of them. I will have to check them out in 2015.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ah, nice review Samehch! So glad you did it, I've been a Bratz fan myself since they came out when I was younger. I still have all my old dolls and even a slightly weathered salon that came with a Fianna doll (I think - I noticed it came in a bunch of different colours, mine was yellow). I just recently bought one of the newer dolls during a toy sale, I'm keen to try out the articulation when she gets here!

    One thing I have to comment on with newer Bratz - their themes and clothing quality just don't seem to appeal to me like they used to. They did rockstars, prom, genies, princesses, masquerades and fairies, and I loved them all! The newer ones with mermaids, super heroes and the NEWER version of Masquerade just seem... Eh. Not much thought put into that. Regardless, I still want to start picking up any newer ones that appeal to me.

    Ooo also, their older special editions like the Japanese Jade and Holiday Cloe were GORGEOUS!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks its lovely to read positive reviews about Bratz. I have two dolls. My first was entry level Meygan. About a year later I got Yasmin as she was on sale and wears the 'tattoo' clothes. Yas is so pretty with her beauty mark.

    We often have Bratz dolls though only a few in store. I did not appreciate the taller dolls but presumed MGA had a reason.

    My favourite doll line is Liv-but only found Liv in 2013 so I hope the nw Bratz are poseable.

    ReplyDelete
  20. my favorite bratz were chic mystique and starz bratz, especially love the Sasha doll

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nice review!

    I used to play with Bratz dolls when I was a little kid and I liked them a lot back then. I had 3 dolls and I still have them. My first doll was a Beach Party Cloe and I thought she was really pretty. I even took her to the pool with me and laid her in the grass to sunbathe.
    The second one was a Funk and Glow Sasha and she still has her hairdo and I believe even her jacket works. She had lots of funny accesories. I kind of miss the new playline dolls not having extra clothes and accesories like the first Bratz dolls, that was really cool.
    The last doll I ever had was a Winter Wonder Jade. Her clothes were my favourites, and she still has her original hair, the braids were adorable.

    I have taken them out several times to look at them and see if I still like them, but I don't. Even though I like them back when I used to play with them, their faces just don't go with me. I completely lost my love for them.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wonderful to see an overview of multiple Bratz dolls like this!

    The Bratz girls were never quite to my taste, but I have a small collection of the boys (or Boyz, as they're branded) and have a fondness for the whole line.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I currently only own one Bratz doll, (Hot Summer Dayz Jade), some loose cats (the black Kool Kat that came with Big Babyz Jade, and a smaller, purple version of the same sculpt), and a Ziploc bag full of Bratz clothing that I picked up for a buck at one of the local thrift stores (I've been eyeing a Meygan in their doll display case for several weeks now, but, I haven't succumbed . . . yet). I collect toys in many different sizes, so, Bratz dolls' smaller stature, compared to say, Barbie or Liv, doesn't bother me much, although it is a bit of a bummer that their clothing is generally too small/tight to fit most other popular play doll lines in the 11-12" scale.

    I found your information about the Movie Starz dolls particularly noteworthy--I wasn't even aware that MGA had ever made better articulated Bratz dolls (other than the spinoff Bratzillaz). Their lack of mobility, just like "classic" Barbies, is the only aspect of Bratz dolls I generally find disappointing. I'll definitely have to take a closer look at the Bratz girls' arms when I'm inspecting them in thrift stores from now on.

    I also really liked Mattel's My Scene Barbies, which were a deliberate attempt to ape the Bratz style (no matter how much Mattel would like everyone to believe otherwise). Madison was my favorite My Scene girl.

    ReplyDelete
  24. could do a review of equestria girl rainbow rocks

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love Bratz and will forever and of course i'll buy them 2015! Thank you for your amazing and helpful posting!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have several (over 100) bratz dolls. I love that there are so many different looking ones in the line. I buy them whenever I find them at the thrift store (usually in very good condition). However, I prefer the ones from the first wave. Looking forward to the 2015 line.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I don't know much about Bratz dolls so I was interested to read this review - thanks! Because one of them is called Sasha, collectors of Sasha Morgenthaler dolls (like me) find them annoying because we have to put -bratz in the search box on eBay. But now I'll be looking out for the new line - not to buy though, but out of interest. - Jocelyn

    ReplyDelete
  28. I would love them if they were more articulated.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love Bratz but always hated the foot/shoe thing. Why did they make them like that? To this day I find Bratz at Goodwill or Salvation Army and they are always missing their shoes, which means they are missing their feet. Two "nubbies" do not make for a doll a little girl wants to take home and play with. Barbie never had this problem and I hope when my favourite girls come back next year, they will have feet. I've noticed Moxie Girlz have feet. Could it be a sign? Hmmm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Check flea markets to find shoe-feet for your thrift store finds-a flea market in my area has a doll vendor who sells extra.

      Delete
  30. I have several (albeit less than 10) Bratz dolls, most of them thrift store finds (they did come with their feet). My favorite, though, is 2012 Bratz Catz Meygan, who I got new in store in 2013 (she was on sale, being a year old). Silky bright red hair in a pouf vintage Snooki would be proud of, beautiful green-and-gold eyes, pink lips, articulated body, animal-print clothes, and she transforms from a girl to a werecat by changing the way she wears her clothes? What's not to love? I redressed her in Picnic in the Park (houndstooth jumpsuit with bodice ruffle and pink patent belt)-it goes great with her coloring!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thank you for your review. Is there an easy way to find out the year of manufacture/ release on second hand Bratz dolls purchased with no clothing?

    ReplyDelete
  32. I got rid of my Monster High collection last week because I never really liked the freaky flimsy little things and won a dozen of them in an eBay lot. So I woke up this morning feeling pretty determined: I was going to clean out the rest of my closet and get rid of my Bratz dolls too.

    Well.....

    NOPE! LOL.

    Sigh, the boxes are taking up so much space, I guess I have no choice. I'll just HAVE to open them. Besides, I will probably relapse this summer anyway when the new Bratz are on the shelves. So you see, this is really MGA's fault, not mine.

    *runs off with a pair of scissors to Ye Old Dollie Closet*

    ReplyDelete
  33. Seing X-Press It Jade's hair rooting is PAINFUL!! OMG! what a shame from MGA, such horrendous monstrousity should be forbidden, worse than a bootleg doll, much worse...

    ReplyDelete
  34. I bought the first Cloe ever made back in 2001 for my niece who was like 5 yrs old at the time.
    I thought they were fun and refreshing, my niece had lots of them even that colonnial looking mansion thay was very cool.
    I never got them for myself, something about how abstract their faces and bodies are didnt appeal to me. Too short ,too undefined.
    The clothes didnt appeal to me either, it was a bit too urban hip hoppy for me.
    I was into Barbie back then , when Barbie was still cute... ( what happenned to them? Ew)
    Have lots of Barbie stuff but Im bored of her and mattel is doing a lame job with her iconic persona.
    Right now Im more into fantasy dolls like the adorable Ever After High and I love the Star Darlings because of their hair and eyes but the articultion is bad.
    I had a Fashion Royalty phase that almost left me broke lol but Im over it.
    Im more into play line now. Cant invest all that money on the super luxury stuff like FR.
    I love the faces on the Project Mc2 dolls and have a couple , but the bodies are lame and the legs too skinny.
    I found a couple of Bratzillaz in cloearance like for 8 bucks and I think theyre really fun. Esp the inset eyes although hair is not good quality. I like that they are sorta magical and have actual feet unlike the Bratz .
    What turned me off about Bratz the most were the feet and that ghetto vibe.

    ReplyDelete