Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Bratz

Bratz dolls are characterized by over-sized heads; with big, wide eyes, full lips, a very small nose, short body, and shoes that can be snapped on and off. The original four characters were Yasmin (based on CEO Isaac Larian's own daughter, Jasmin), Sasha, Cloe and Jade. Over the course of the lines that followed, Meygan (who "moved away" for a while and then came back), Dana, Fianna, Nevra, Tiana, Kumi, Felicia, Katia, and Kiana (who has been officially discontinued, see below) have joined the "Bratz Pack," most of whom were introduced either with playsets or as collector's edition dolls. Four sets of "Twiins", Roxxi and Phoebe, Tess and Nona, Oriana and Valentina, and Krysta and Lela, have also joined the Bratz Pack. Oriana and Valentina were later joined by their identical triplet sister, Sierrna, in a special "Triiiplets" set. Character May Lin was produced once, as a special collector doll wearing a Kimono as part of the Tokyo-A-Go-Go collection, and subsequently discontinued due to the culturally offensive nature of her name. New members of the Bratzpack to debut in 2006 include Lilee (the 2006 Sweet Heart), Leah (Spring Break), Wicked Twiins Ciara and Diona, 4th edition Twiins Krysta and Lela, and Sisterz Kiani, (not to be confused with the aforementioned and officially discontinued Kiana) and Lilani.

Every year, the Bratz collections include a "basic" line, at least one or two budget collections, and at least two or three feature collections. The basic lines such as Flaunt It!, Xpress It!, Funk Out! and Step Out! feature the Bratz with two complete mix and matchable outfits. Each collection has brought in new shoe styles and accessories (Bratz with pierced ears began with the release of Funk Out! and the new "ring" accessory was introduced in the Step Out! line). Budget lines include I-Candy and Hollywood Style Sportz and Birthday Bash, which feature the Bratz in one outfit with minimal accessories. "Real" eyelashes first appeared in the Girls Nite Out collection, then again in the Wild Wild West collection and on Holiday Katia. Head molds that featured the girls with open-mouthed smiles were initially featured in the Formal Funk collection. The unique Head Gamez line moved the Bratz' snap-on feature one step further by allowing the consumer to customize their own Bratz by snapping the Bratz head on and off a specially designed body. A variety of Bratz Head Gamez fashion heads were sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, and a gift set complete with one body, four heads and four separate fashion looks was released to the general market. Collectible posters have been included with the Bratz since 2001, and collectible cards were introduced during 2004. Other dolls released through the years include collectible keychains, ornaments, collectible stickers/trading cards, and cosmetics.

The Bratz World concept has taken the dolls to Tokyo, in the Tokyo-A-Go-Go collection in 2004, and London in the Punkz (boys only) and Pretty n' Punk line in 2005, with themed fashions and playsets to match. Tokyo A-Go-Go Bratz had anime-style eyes, Tokyo-inspired fashions, wildly colored, micro-braided hair, and "cyberpet" companions. Punkz had the Bratz dressed in London punk-culture attire, including studded and buckled vinyl jackets, wild hair colors and styles, and dark makeup contrasting with paler skin tones. Each doll came with a pet; the girls each had a dog, and the boys each had a cat. Two lines which were not officially part of the Bratz World series, but carry on the Bratz World theme are Fabulous, a Las Vegas-inspired line, and Ooh La La, which is set in Paris. Fabulous saw the return of Tiana, and the wardrobe included fur coats, glittery tops, tassel pants, and snakeskin boots. Ooh La La featured the return of Kumi, and the dolls in the series were dressed in berets, houndstooth and floral prints, jewel tones, and painted-on gloves and stockings. The Ooh La La dolls also included a matching pot of lip gloss for the owne

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