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

Monday, May 21, 2007

Winx Club


Bloom: Bloom is the main character of the series. A blue-eyed, red-haired fairy, she grew up and lived an ordinary life on Earth until the age of 16, when she discovered her dormant magical powers, after coming to the aid of another fairy, Stella. The show mainly focuses on Bloom's past, the development of her powers, and the trials she encounters as she discovers who she is. All of the main villains are the enemies of her home planet, Domino ("Sparks" in the 4Kids version), which was destroyed by the Three Ancient Witches. Bloom mostly wears blue and yellow. She has the power of the Dragon's Flame ("Dragon Fire" in the 4Kids version).

Stella: Stella is the light-hearted, fashion-loving fairy. She has long blonde hair with hazel eyes and has a great sense of style. As princess of the planet Solaria, her name means "star". She is a talkative student who often gets average grades, but always pulls through with help from her friends. She is often spontaneous, and doesn't like to plan things out. Stella is also infamous amongst the Alfea fairies for blowing up a laboratory and being kept back a grade, thus is a year older than all the other Winx Club fairies. Stella mostly wears orange, pink and green. She has the power of the Sun and the Moon.

Musa: Musa loves all forms of music, and in spite of putting up a tough front, isolating herself and often being pessimistic, Musa is a loyal friend with a tragic past, which is her reason for putting up a tough front. In spite of her sloppy nature, Musa has the best grades of the entire Winx Club except Tecna. She is pale, Asian in appearance, with blue-black pigtails and blue eyes. Musa mostly wears red, blue, pink and orange, usually together. She has the power of Music, and she gets her energy from all kinds of music. She comes from the planet Melody.

Flora: Flora is kind-hearted and sensitive, who has a passion for nature and life in general. Girlish, introverted and sensitive, she is always a sweet, loyal friend, and doesn't believe in hurting others or the environment. She has many plant-based hobbies, and as a result, her room resembles a greenhouse. She mainly wears floral patterns of pink and green. She has the power of Nature, which allows her to use plants in her attacks and natural predators to exterminate pests. She comes from the planet Linphea.

Tecna: Tecna is always logical, rational and planned, and has trouble expressing her emotions. She always speaks in a technical and unemotional manner. She enjoys playing video games and pulling apart hardware, as she is extremely intelligent and strong in technology and mathematics. She can act cold and rational at times but always tries to do what's right. She mostly wears purple although her favourite colors are pink and green. She has the power of Technology and over everything provided by Technology. She comes from the planet Zenith.

Layla : Layla is the Princess of "Tides".She has a restless, rebellious, tomboyish nature, due to her strict upbringing on Andros. Layla is a good athlete, fighter, dancer and wind-raider rider. She is also a feminist, and thus opposes Riven, a chauvinist. She mostly wears green, khaki and purple. She has the power of Fluids, and has the ability to manipulate a fluid called "Morfix" to take on any form she chooses.She joins the winx club in seson two

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi


Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi is an American animated television series produced by Renegade Animation for the Cartoon Network, which was created by Sam Register, who also serves as the series' executive producer. According to Register, the target audience of the show is boys and girls from six to 16 years old. However, the show also has a following of fans of the real-life Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura who make up the J-pop duo PUFFY, known as "Puffy AmiYumi" in North America. Register, a fan of the band, wished to spread its fame to other parts of the world and thus produced the cartoon. The series features the adventures of animated versions of the band. The duo have been immensely popular in Japan since making their debut in 1996. They now have several U.S. albums to their credit, including a 2004 companion album to this program and were known to viewers of Cartoon Network in the USA for performing the theme to the animated series of Teen Titans comics. According to the crew's blog on October 2, 2006, Cartoon Network canceled the show and took it off the air. In Japan, all 39 produced episodes have been televised. It is unclear if the remaining five unseen episodes will be seen in the U.S. or if there will be any more external support for the series, such as additional DVD releases. The US Cartoon Network website has removed all mention of the show, though the UK Cartoon Network website has not removed any material.