A Review of the Lalaloopsy Marina Anchors Doll by MGA Entertainment

I feel like I have been talking about MGA Entertainment a lot lately.  This is the company that produces BFC Ink dolls, Bratz, Moxie Teenz and Lalaloopsy.  I have spent a fair amount of time over the last year pacing the toy aisle in front of the Lalaloopsy display, eyeing these adorable candy-colored dolls and their enticingly decorated boxes and trying to figure out why they are so popular.  Until recently, the $26.99 price tag was enough to scare me off an actual purchase, but a recent sale gave me an opportunity to get my hands on one.

Lalaloopsy dolls were introduced in 2010 under a different name.  They were originally (and briefly) called Bitty Buttons dolls.  I like the name Lalaloopsy much more--it is memorable, and a bit like a tongue twister.  When I first saw these dolls at Toys R Us, I assumed that they were plastic versions of cloth characters from a hit TV show--a show that featured animated rag dolls with cool toy background scenes (in my head, it was sort-of like The Wombles).  I made this assumption because I didn't understand why else there would be a rag doll made out of plastic.  I have since learned that, in reality, Lalaloopsy characters are stand-alone dolls, and aren't based on a TV show at all.

The concept behind the Lalaloopsy dolls is that they are animated cloth dolls who take on a personality determined by the type of fabric they are made out of.  Oh, and they magically come to life when the last stitch is put in.  I guess I have a fundamental problem with a character whose entire personality is based on cloth, and who is brought to life with thread, but who is actually made completely out of plastic.  I'm guessing that the younger, more open-minded members of the population might be able to look past this glaring inconsistency and appreciate the cuteness of the Lalaloopsy dolls...because they are pretty cute:

Marina Anchors Lalaloopsy.

A Review of BFC Ink Pen Pal Doll "Britt" by MGA Entertainment

I have paused in my shopping to look at the BFC (Best Friends Club) Ink dolls on a number of occasions.  I even bought one of the extra outfits to see if it would fit my Lorifina doll (it did...kind-of). It wasn't until I started thinking about the charitable doll series of posts (here and here) that I considered reviewing one of the BFC Ink dolls.  Pondering the questions surrounding how charitable donations might impact a doll's price and quality made me brainstorm a list of 14"-22" play dolls that don't have an association with a charity to use as an outgroup in my investigation.  BFC Ink dolls made this list and appeal to me in particular because of their high level of articulation. The original BFC Ink dolls cost about $30, which would have been comparable to the Hearts 4 Hearts dolls, but I was happy to discover a newer and less expensive version of these dolls to examine.

The Pen Pal line of BFC Ink dolls were released late last year.  These dolls retail for $19.99.  In theory, they can be found at Target, Walmart, K-Mart and Toys R Us, however, as far as I can tell all BFC Ink dolls have disappeared from Toys R Us.  I actually haven't seen any of the Pen Pal dolls at my local Target or Walmart, either, but they can be purchased at Target.com (where they are called "Moxie Pen Pals" for some reason).  *Update 8/26/13: these dolls have been discontinued.

The Pen Pal dolls each represent a different country.  These dolls are meant to be the pen pals of the original club dolls.  There are 5 Pen Pal dolls: Britt (England), Carmen (Mexico), Nicolette (France), Elsa (Sweden) and Lily (South Africa).  I like Britt's combination of dark hair and blue eyes, so I ordered her.

BFC Ink Pen Pal Britt.

Moxie Teenz by MGA Entertainment

MGA Entertainment is responsible for producing a lot of today's hot dolls like Bratz, Moxie Girlz, BFC Ink and Lalaloopsy.  I am feeling the pull towards purchasing a Lalaloopsy doll, and if I do I'll let you know, but for now, the only MGA dolls in the house are Moxie Teenz.  Moxie Teenz are 14" articulated play dolls with inset eyes and changeable wigs.  Sound familiar?

First things first: "MGA" stands for Micro-Games America.  I did not know that.  I guess in my head I had MGA confused with MGM, which is Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is a Hollywood movie-making studio.  MGA is a toy manufacturer.  Now that we have that straight, MGA released the Moxie Teenz line in the summer of 2010.  This was after the Liv release and at the same time as the Monster High debut.  In retrospect, MGA might have chosen different timing.

In any case, I was drawn to this line mostly because I was so smitten with Liv dolls.  Moxie Teenz, with their inset eyes and changeable wigs, seemed to me like fairly blatant Liv mimics.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  Back in 2010, I had not yet fallen prey to Monster High dolls, and so there was plenty of room on my shelves for a teenage big sister to the Liv crew.  Also, FYI, I live in Maine, so I am legally required to have an inherent affinity for all things Moxie.

I am going to show you those original 2010 Moxie Teenz dolls in this post, but I'll also fast forward to the present and de-box the newest Moxie Teenz "Tristen" for you so that we can see what's up with the Moxie Teenz these days.

Got her on an awesome sale!