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Bratz

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Bratz is a popular children's and teens doll franchise produced by MGA Entertainment. The 254mm (10 inch) dolls are characterized by large heads with wide eyes, full lips, very small noses, short torsos, and shoes that can be snapped on and off. The popularity of the four primary dolls - Cloe, Sasha, Jade and Yasmin - eventually encouraged development of additional friends, spin offs, feature films, games, and music albums.

History

Bratz was created by toy designer Carter Bryant. In 2000, he met with Isaac Larian the CEO of Micro-Games America Entertainment (MGA Entertainment).[1] There, Mr. Bryant presented his pictures to Mr. Larian, who found that the concept sketches enthralled his daughter, Jasmin, who was visiting the office at the time.

In June 1 2001, the first four Bratz dolls, Yasmin, Cloe, Jade, and Sasha, were released to market, each attired in urban-styled fashions. The Bratz quickly gained strong popularity, becoming the number one doll brand in several countries like France, Spain, Israel and Italy, and the number two doll in the United Kingdom. The dolls won Family Fun's Toy of the Year award and TIA People's Choice Toy of the Year Award for 2001.


2004

In January 2004, Lil Bratz took over the #1 spot of mini-dolls by Polly Pocket in the United Kingdom.[2]

In August 2004, a straight-to-video animated movie, Bratz: Starrin & Stylin', was released.

In fall 2004, Bratz dolls outsold their rival, Barbie dolls, and became #1 in the United Kingdom.[3]

2005

In 2005, the Bratz' fashion style moved away from urban themes and towards more everyday styles. This was the year the Play Sportz line debuted, in which each Bratz girl was dressed for a different sporting activity, with coordinating accessories. Other collections included I-Candyz, Live In Concert/ Space Angelz Pop Stars , Treasures!, DynaMite Rock It! (boys only), Step Out! (celebrating the Bratz 5th anniversary), Step Off!, Birthday Bash (80s inspired), Campfire (warm winter camping gear and furry boots), Midnight Dance (a goth-esque collection with capes and detailed masks), (Hollywood Style Pheobe ,Cloe,Yasmin,and Dana dressed for a Hollywood premiere in repeat Bratz formal fashions), Wild Wild West, and Rock Angelz (70s rocker style), which was the Bratz flagship collection for that year.

Cloe, Sasha, Jade, Yasmin, Roxxi,Meygan as the Rock Angelz, were dressed in 70s inspired rock attire. Each girl except Meygan, their #1 fan club president, had a guitar and a mini CD single including 2 songs. Many tie-in products were also released, including boomboxes, CD towers, guitars, fashion accessories, the CD, the single "So Good", the UK bestselling, and 2005's #1 girl-targeted videogame[4] published by THQ and the DVD, which showcased the Bratz in a computer-animated adventure as they started up their own fashion magazine.

At the end of 2005, MGA Entertainment entered the lucrative mobile phone market by introducing Bratz Mobile. The lone offering for Bratz Mobile was a Sony Ericsson T290a candybar style mobile phone pre-loaded with exclusive Bratz-themed wallpapers, ringtones, games, and screensavers.

2006

Following the success of the Bratz Rock Angelz collection, MGA Entertainment released their flagship collection for 2006, Bratz Genie Magic. The collection included Cloe, Sasha, Jade, Meygan, and Yasmin dressed in extravagant and elaborate Moroccan/Egyptian/Bohemian-style fashions. Also included in the Bratz Genie Magic collection is Katia, who was released with a Genie Magic bottle playset that converted itself into a late night lounge, and like Rock Angelz, Genie Magic had accompanying tie-in lifestyle products. Genie Magic would prove to be one of the biggest selling Bratz collections in the company's history. Highlighting the release of the Bratz Genie Magic collection was the release of the Bratz Genie Magic DVD and CD in April 2006, which also won the Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award.

In May 2006, MGA Entertainment announced that legal issues forced the company to remove Kiana, introduced in the Wild Wild West collection, from the Bratz Pack, because Mattel, Inc. claimed that they owned a trademark to the name "Kianna" with their Teen Trends doll line and that MGA Entertainment's Wild Wild West Kiana doll infringed upon their trademark. MGA Entertainment thus ceased further usage of the name "Kiana" and will not produce any more Bratz dolls bearing the name. This would be the first of several cancellations for MGA in 2006; plans to release Leah and Meygan in a second wave of the Midnight Dance collection were scrapped, as were plans for Nevra and Jade for the Play Sportz collection. To date, no reason has been given for the cancellations.

In August 2006, MGA Entertainment released the kid version of Bratz Kidz and its platinum vintage Bratz collection, Bratz Forever Diamondz, which is one of the most expensive Bratz doll collections ever released with only one fashion. The characters featured in the Forever Diamondz collection are Jade, Cloe, Sasha, Yasmin, and a new character named Sharidan. Included with each doll in the Forever Diamondz collection is a diamond gem with a certificate of authentication. Also included with the Bratz Forever Diamondz collection is a "Fashion Show On The Go" rolling runway playset, a Fashion Design Kit Studio, the RC Cruiser, and Funky Fashion Makeover styling heads. Vinessa were later releases in the Forever Diamondz collection; they retailed for $19.99 each and were packaged not with a real diamond, but with a coordinating T-shirt and denim skirt and an array of simulated gems with which to decorate the second outfit.

Even before the formal release of Bratz Forever Diamondz, the collection had apparently already won the Australian Girls Toy of the Year award. On September 26, 2006, a new DVD released with the same title. The CD with the same name released on September 19, 2006. THQ released a videogame on September 18, 2006. THQ hopes for the same or greater success for Bratz Forever Diamondz, just like the same success that they achieved with the Ratz Sock DEmons video game, which has failed horribly and is worst selling video game in the world.

MGA, along with Canadian based fashion designer Marie Saint Pierre, teamed up to create an exclusive line of French-Canadian Bratz called 'Ohh laa laa' featuring three new exclusive characters. The line debuted in Sensation Mode, part of Montreal Fashion Week on October 16, 2006. The line is exclusive to Wal-Mart in Canada and only 30,000 were made.[5]

2007

In 2007, MGA presented Bratz Adventure Girlz (hip camouflaged camping clothes and gear), Fashion Pixiez (fairy themed dolls with glitter and wings with a direct-to-DVD and a music CD), and second waves of the Passion 4 Fashion and Birthday collections. Other collections included Pampered Pupz (stylized dolls with matching dogs and dog outfits), and Magic Hair (5-in-1 hairstyling 10 inch dolls with real memory hair).

MGA Entertainment, Avi Arad Productions and Crystal Sky Pictures announced that they were to jointly produce a Bratz live action movie to be released on August 3, 2007.[6].

On February 6, 2007 according to NPD Group, the Bratz became the #1 fashion themed dolls in the USA in the fourth Quarter of 2006.[7][8]

The Bratz also had a live concert tour with the title Passion 4 Fashion World Tour from March 30 - April 25 exclusively in the UK.[9]

The Australian distributor of Bratz dolls held a design competition across multiple age groups with the task to design outfits for various categories. The entries closed at the end of July 2007.

Bratz Linez

Lil' Bratz

Lil' Bratz (2002–present): The miniature versions, were originally created for a cheaper solution to buying Bratz. They were very popular to begin with, simply being miniature versions of the original four characters. But, in 2005, the four characters were given new names and slightly different appearances (eye colour, etc.) Only a few lines were created. A final attempt to keep the brand was made. The line Funk House was popular because the dolls were designed to look more like their cartoon counterparts. The line was dropped shortly after the release of Funk House. Lil' Bratz also featured Lil' Boyz who were sold briefly as original and new characters like the girls. In 2007, they released a clothing line called Lil' Bratz Couture. They are coming out with an interactive dvd of Lil Bratz this spring 2008.

Bratz Boyz

Bratz Boyz (2002–present): These are the male counterparts of the Bratz. They are less popular than the girls and have only a third of the amount of characters. The original Bratz Boyz were Cameron and Dylan, who became popular after the release and even attracted male fans. More characters were added which only made them more popular. But with the recent lack of new characters, the popularity of these dolls has declined. New releases were less frequent in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2006 leading to an impression that the Boyz were no longer being designed. The first Quarter of 2007 is showing increased activity from MGAE with the long-awaited release of the Bratz Boyz Twiins, all-new character Wayne as part of the Rodeo line, a new Adventure Boyz Cameron, Bryce as part of the Hot Summer Dayz line, and Cade (now a blonde) as part of the Play Sportz line. More recently, Eitan was released as part of the Winter line, Bryce in the Movie line, and Cameron in the Play Sportz line.

Bratz Babyz

Bratz Babyz (2004–present): The Babyz were originally released with molded hair, one outfit and infant accessories (bottle, blanket, soft toy and other items) At first the Bratz Babyz were not popular because of their "disproportioned heads (compared to normal Bratz) and especially the molded hair. They became more popular as fans warmed to them. When Bratz Babyz with long, "real" hair (Hair Flair) were released, the popularity grew. More characters from the regular Bratz are being added to The Bratz Babyz line making the Bratz Babyz grow in popularity to this day.

Bratz Big Babyz (2005–present): As its name says: a bigger version of the Bratz Babyz.

Bratz Lil' Angelz (2007) are the newborn, collectable version of Bratz Babyz. They are smaller than regular Bratz Babyz and come with their own newborn pets.

Main article: Bratz Babyz

Bratz Petz

Bratz Petz (discontinued, 2004–2006): Bratz Petz are the plush toys that resemble foxes, cats and dogs. They were not for the dolls, they were the size of an average teddy bear, making them awkward in the Bratz universe. They came with bags, clothes and other accessories which made them fit into the Bratz fashion theme. They were not popular, and disappeared totally from the market in 2006. Bratz Petz have been re-released recently in Australia and the UK as completely different toys. They are plastic and come with bobble heads, and are sized to fit with the Big Bratz Babys. Each Petz comes with several accessories that are more appropriate than the old Bratz Petz. This new form of Bratz Petz are popular in Australia and the UK, months after their initial release.

Bratz Kidz

Bratz Kidz (2006–present): Bratz Kidz are the child equivalent to the popular Bratz doll line. The dolls are 6 inches tall and are proportioned to be shorter than the normal Bratz. In the Fall 2007 season, Bratz Boyz Kidz were introduced, featuring the four main Boyz.Their first movie was released in July 2007 based on the sleepover adventure line.Their second movie is to be released in February and it has a fairy-tale storyline. No dolls have been released with the same theme.

Be-Bratz

Be-Bratz (2007–present): Be-Bratz dolls are similar to regular Bratz dolls, but without their own individual names, as they are designed for the owner to name and customise themselves. They also come with a mini metallic pink USB mouse, a Be-Bratz mousepad, a Be-Bratz USB Key necklace, and a mini-pet. When the USB key is inserted into the PC, the owner can then take their Be-Bratz doll online, name it, and create an online social homepage for it. Games can be played with your Be-Bratz account to win more points, which can then be spent on clothing, furniture, and food for your online Be-Bratz doll.

Criticisms and controversies

Labor conditions

On December 21, 2006, the National Labor Committee announced that the factory workers in China, who make Bratz dolls, labor for 94½ hours a week, while the factory pays only 17 cents an hour, $4.13 a day- much less than the Bratz dolls actually cost (from $20 to $30).

The allegations in the report describe practices found at many Chinese factories producing name-brand products for export. They include required overtime exceeding the legal maximum of 36 hours a month, forcing workers to stay on the job to meet stringent production quotas and the denial of paid sick leave and other benefits.[10] The report shows copies of what it says are "cheat sheets" distributed to workers before auditors from Wal-Mart or other customers arrive to make sure the factory passes inspections intended to ensure the supplier meets labor standards. It said workers at the factory intended to go on strike soon on January 2007 to protest plans by factory managers to put all employees on temporary contracts, denying them legal protection required for long-term employees.[11]

After the announcement, the CEO of MGA Entertainment, Isaac Larian sent a statement on 12/24/06 via e-mail to a fan site of the doll line, Bratz World, and another two days later to Playthings Magazine stating that the information is false and the company is not familiar with the company named in the report and MGA uses first rate factories in "the orient" to make its goods, like Mattel and Hasbro do. Larian said that he never heard about the news or of 'the organization who is behind this negative and false campaign immediately prior to the last holiday shopping weekend.'"[12]

Verified full text of statement:[13]

MGA is not familiar with the company named in the report.

MGA uses first rate factories in the orient to make its goods. The same factories make products for the world's biggest toy manufacturers including Mattel and Hasbro.

I personally have not seen this alleged video in regards to the circumstances, as well as ever heard of the organization who behind this negative and false campaign immediately prior to the last holiday shopping weekend.

— Isaac Larian, CEO, MGA Entertainment, e-mail to Bratz World

APA Task Force on the Genderization of Girls

Fresh concerns over the body image and lifestyle the Bratz dolls allegedly promote were raised by the American Psychological Association when they established their "Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls" in February, 2007. In the report that was published in accompaniment to the Task Force's founding they cited concern over sexuality the Bratz dolls allegedly portray.[14]

Bratz dolls come dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas. Although these dolls may present no more sexualization of girls or women than is seen in MTV videos, it is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for 4- to 8-year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality

— APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls[14]

Bratz were not the only dolls to be criticized in this report,[14] which highlighted not only toys but also other products and the wider media; including the Bratz animated series.[14] In the United Kingdom a spokesman for Bratz defended the toyline by saying that Bratz are purchased by over-eights and are directed to the preteen and teen market,[15] and that the focus on the dolls while on looks was not on sexualization and that friendship was also a key focus of Bratz dolls.[15]

The Bratz brand, which has remained number one in the UK market for 23 consecutive months focuses core values on friendship, hair play and a 'passion for fashion'.

— Bratz spokesman, The Daily Telegraph[15]

The spokesman quoted Dr Bryan Young of Exeter University as saying "parents may feel awkward but I don't think children see the dolls as sexy. They just think they're pretty".[15] Isaac Larian, in comments given to the BBC, voiced the opinion that the report was a "bunch of garbage" and that the people who wrote it were acting irresponsibly.[16]

Dr.Phil stated on the Late Show that the Bratz dolls looked like hookers. He expressed concern since many young girls dressed up as Bratz for trick or treat.

The Bratz doll line not only has been accused of sexualizing young girls but also babies. The "Bratz Babies" line of toys depicts infants wearing heavy eye makeup, puckering their lips, and sporting crop tops.

Language

In Christmas of 2006, a father in Florida insisted that the Bratz Big Babyz singing doll that he had bought for his daughter spouted "fuck" several times. MGA countered by saying that the story had no merit and posted the lyrics to the song, which were profanity-free, in question on its website.[citation needed]

Bratz versus Barbie

In June 2001, MGA Entertainment launched the Bratz range of dolls, a move that would give Barbie her first serious competition in the fashion doll market. In 2004, sales figures showed that Bratz dolls were outselling Barbie dolls in the United Kingdom, although Mattel maintained that in terms of the number of dolls, clothes and accessories sold, Barbie remained the leading brand.[17] In 2005, figures showed that sales of Barbie dolls had fallen by 30% in the United States, and by 18% worldwide, with much of the drop being attributed to the popularity of Bratz dolls.[18]

In April 2005, MGA Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Mattel, claiming that the My Scene range of Barbie dolls had copied the doe-eyed look of Bratz dolls. The lawsuit is currently pending in the court system of California.[19]

Mattel is also suing MGA Entertainment and Carter Bryant, a former doll designer for Mattel, claiming that company secrets were stolen by MGA.[20]

Lawsuit by Mattel

Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $500 million alleging that Bryant came up with the idea of developing Bratz dolls, when he was working for Mattel. [21]

See also

Bratz Theatrical Releases

Bratz Movies

Bratz Music Albums

Bratz Video Games

Bratz Interactive DVD

  • 2006 :Livin it up with the Bratz
  • 2007 :Bratz Glitz n Glamour
  • 2008 :Lil Bratz Party Time

References

  1. ^ "Little Hotties", The New Yorker, December 4, 2006
  2. ^ "LIL’ BRATZ OVERTAKE POLLY POCKET AS THE #1 SELLING MINI DOLL IN THE UK IN JANUARY", MGA Entertainment, 4 March 2004.
  3. ^ >"Bratz topple Barbie from top spot". BBC News. September 9, 2004. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "THQ ships Bratz Forever Diamondz". THQ.com. September 18, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Ratz World Ratz Dolls - Interview with Marie Saint Pierre". Ratz World. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  6. ^ "New Motion Picture Based on the Billion Dollar Toy Franchise" (PDF). MGA Entertainment. May 19, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Bratz becomes #1 Fashion themed Dolls and Accessories in the USA" (PDF). MGA Entertainment. February 6, 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Bratz beat Barbie in Q4". Playthings Magazine. February 6, 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Bratz - Live in Concert" (SWF). SCS Create. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  10. ^ "Activist Criticize China Toy Factory". ABC News. December 22, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Made in China: The Sweatshop behind the Bratz". National Labor Committee. December 21, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "MGA refutes Bratz sweatshop story". Playthings Magazine. December 26, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Bratz World message 72175, Yahoo Groups
  14. ^ a b c d American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007). "Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls" (HTML, PDF). 1. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2007-02-20. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ^ a b c d Womack, Susan (2007-02-20), "The generation of 'damaged' girls", The Daily Telegraph, p. 1 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  16. ^ BBC News (2007), Are Kids Exposed to Sex too Soon? (HTML), 1, BBC News, retrieved 2007-02-21
  17. ^ BBC NEWS | Business | Bratz topple Barbie from top spot
  18. ^ BBC NEWS | Business | Barbie blues for toy-maker Mattel
  19. ^ Bratz Doll Maker Files Lawsuit Against Mattel
  20. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/10/wdoll10.xml
  21. ^ "Barbie takes on the Bratz for $500m". Telegraph. November 12, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

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