I should've predicted this flack when I first saw these dolls, but I didn't. American Girl recently announced a line of new dolls that were historical-themed, but not honest-to-God historical. For the uninitiated, these are the dolls at the epicenter of it all and what they look like.
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A lot of the backlash is coming from members of my generation, who are up in arms over the new dolls being different from the original ones. The main critiques I've seen are as follows:
*Some say that these dolls are yet another way of cheapening up the brand. I kinda see that. These new dolls are probably all-vinyl, and while I like my all-vinyl crew they are very clearly toys, not items for both kid and collector.
*Reddit has a lot of skinny-shamers. They say that the new dolls look like they're on Ozempic. Uh, these dolls look healthy enuff to me! The eyes are another point of contention, with some Redditors saying they look vacant. I'll give 'em that; Kirsten is the biggest culprit there.
*Some of my fellow millennials are upset that these dolls are sooooo different from what they grew up with. They want their daughters to have the same experience that they had. Again, I get that, but it's also not the nineties anymore. Little girls of today might relate to these new dolls better.
*Kaya, Kit, Nanea, Melody, and Julie were left out. I personally take umbrage to this, as those characters are still in active rotation on AG's site.
*Some folks just think they're ugly!
As for me, I think the dolls are cute. Felicity and Josefina are my favorites, and I particularly love that Felicity got the pants that her historical self so desperately wanted. Shocker of all shockers, I like the Samantha doll too. Y'all might remember that I'm not Samantha's biggest fan. I do kinda wish though that they'd just made a series of outfits for the eighteen-inch models, or the fourteen-inchers, either one. That way AG could've paid tribute to the historical roots of their dolls and still modern it up for today's kids. And we wouldn't have had to buy a whole new doll just for a new look! The timing of the release of these smaller dolls also makes me lift an eyebrow, as the AG Sisters just got released. It's just...well, weird timing!
I read a couple'a days ago that Mattel's stock fell significantly after Barbie didn't sell well during the holiday season. Perhaps they're releasing these modernized dolls as a desperate way to make a quick buck? I dunno. Time will tell. But what do my American Girl fans think of these new dolls? Yay or nay?
Love,
RagingMoon1987
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