More random dolls that I don't need but like

What can I say, I like doing posts like these.  They keep the blog alive and hopefully keep y'all entertained while I wait to hear from my doctor.  Nope, still haven't heard back from him.  He said he was sending my X-ray to "someone else," presumably for a second opinion, but I haven't heard anything yet.  That said, today's dolls will largely be baby dolls, and most of the images will be screenshots from YouTube because I don't own most of these.  Apologies.

BABY THIS 'N' THAT

COMPANY:  Remco
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1976, 1990

Baby This 'n' That!  Baby This 'n' That!  She does a lot of this and she does a lot of that!  I think I've told this story before, but one time while my great-grandfather was playing with one of the family babies it apparently loaded its pants, and Great-Grandpa hollered "One of y'all better get in here!  This baby's done a lot of that!"  I guess he was too good to change diapers himself.  Baby This 'n' That doesn't load her pants like some baby dolls do, though.  Rather, she holds items in her hands, items like a rattle and a toy telephone, and she moves her arms when you squeeze her goofy-looking little toes.  She also can move her mouth, which I didn't remember her doing, and I just think she's cute.  The family joke helps my opinion of her a bit too, of course.

Now here's where my head spun a little bit.  In 1990 Baby This 'n' That got a revival and an update.

I didn't know this doll existed.  I didn't know Remco was even still in business in 1990.  Awww, phooey, there's plenty that I don't know, about dolls and about a lot of other things I like.  Sweet Baby This 'n' That didn't do everything that her seventies self did, but she did brush her hair, sip on a straw, and blow kisses, so that's something.  Again, she's cute, and she appears to be...kinda obscure.  eBay has PLENTY of the older Baby This 'n' That, but the 1990 version...not so much.  Challenge accepted.

MAKE ME BETTER BABY

COMPANY:  Geoffrey, Inc.
YEAR:  1998

Make Me Better Baby was strictly a Toys R Us thing, but otherwise she was your average little sickie.  She'd cough, get red glowing cheeks, and run a fever, or she'd develop a red glowing ear and moan in pain, but either way the remedy was the same.  Cough syrup for the cough, ear drops for the ear, and she'd announce "All better!"  This doll-child appealed to me because I've always been attracted to sick dolls, and because she had short, low-maintenance hair, but I didn't like her enuff to want her or ask for her.  I was able to find a used one on eBay though, and guess what?  The white version has violet eyes!  I always like that.  Oh, and surprise, surprise, Baby Alive has/had a doll with the same name and the same gimmick.

Her cheeks even light up!  Poor love could also receive a shot, which makes me cringe because I hate the thought of babies getting stuck with sharp things.  I'm pro-vax, mind y'all, and a lot of those shots prevent very, very bad things from happening to innocent little kids, but no one in their right mind likes hurting small children...or small pets either, for that matter.  My animals always ran a fever when they got their first round of shots, but it kept my dogs from getting parvo so it was worth it.  A more recent Baby Alive with the same name trades the shot for a tissue box...or maybe those are baby wipes.  This one does load her pants, after all.

I'm willing to bet there are other Make Me Better Babies out there, but the one from Toys R Us kinda started it all.

POTTY DOTTY

COMPANY:  Playmates Toys
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1998

I hated this doll when she was in production, and I'm willing to bet other kids did too, because this pet is pretty obscure.  The picture is pretty self-explanatory; Dotty is a drink and wet doll, though she didn't actually drink because she's mechanical.  She'd react to her bottle, then she'd announce to her "mommy" that she has to go potty, and then when you put her on her little potty she...makes a sound like she's taking a leak.  But there's a catch!  If you don't get her panties off fast enuff she makes the tinkling sound anyway and then she says "Uh-oh, I'm sorry, Mommy!"  Believe me, Dotty, sciatica does a number of fun things to one's body that I wasn't originally aware of, so I understand accidents.  The human nervous system is so weird; kidney stones make one throw up, and sciatic nerve problems screw around with a lot more than just one's ability to walk.  Anyway, what really bugged me about Potty Dotty growing up were her huge, wide-set eyes.  She's just a funny-lookin' little goober...kinda like Baby Alive, now that I think of it.  She was innocent enuff, though.  Indeed, I'd rather have a doll that makes a tinkling sound than one that craps slime.

SHOP 'N' BOP BABY

COMPANY:  Playmates Toys
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1998

Now I know why this doll's commercial was always shown immediately after Potty Dotty's!  Both Playmates dolls, both a little strange.  Shop 'n' Bop's gimmick was admittedly stranger than Potty Dotty's was, but then again I loved shopping carts when I was little.  I loved riding in them, I loved riding under them (that was possible at one of the grocery stores in Malden), and I loved helping push them "like a big girl."  I was never allowed to ride on the front of the cart, like Shop 'n' Bop did here.

Mama and Daddy thought it wasn't safe to hang onto the front, and indeed some of the stores had signs up warning parents not to let their kids ride the carts like that.  Some little brats did it anyway, and I saw at least one kid get injured that way.  I don't think Shop 'n' Bop sold well either, by the way, as pickin's on eBay are pretty slim.

BOUNCY BABY

COMPANY:  MGA Entertainment
Year of production:  1996-1997

MGA Entertainment's first doll is a far cry from the dolls that followed her!  Indeed, when someone brings up MGA in conversation the first dolls I think of are usually Bratz, L.O.L. Surprises, or Rainbow High.  I thought Bouncy Baby was cute, but like other dolls I've seen she was more of a toy than collector fodder, so I never got nor really wanted this one.  Bouncy's gimmick is another simple one:  squeeze one wrist and she'll sing one song, squeeze her other wrist and she'll sing another, press her tummy and she giggles.  Despite what the commercial suggests, one apparently does not have to bounce this doll to get her to sing.  She has a soft body with simple clothes and hair that's easy to take care of, and those look like rainbow highlights in that lousy screenshot, but they're actually streamers on her hair bow.  I love that.  Everything's better with a hair bow.

In 1998 Bouncy Baby spawned a spinoff, one that was around until 2000 or so.  She was Bathtime Bouncy Baby.

This version of Bouncy Baby could be played with in the tub or in the pool, though I don't think getting her fully submerged was a smart idea.  According to an archived Reddit post this doll was capable of singing and vocalizing at the tiniest little movement, and taking out the batteries did no good.  My sister thus would've HATED this doll!  Still would, probably!  Anyway, I didn't find this doll's commercial anywhere near as catchy, but I liked her a lot better than the original Bouncy Baby because of her brightly colored swimsuit.  I also got to hold a friend's Bathtime Bouncy Baby, and her vinyl felt nice.  I liked this doll quite a bit.

BABY GO BOOM

COMPANY:  GC Toys
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  2001

Oh, I remember this one!  She did and said a number of things that I did and said when I was small, and thus I thought she was really cute.  Baby Go Boom did pratfalls, kicked her legs, and talked and giggled.  She also reacted when you tickled her, which I think is cute despite the fact that I loathe being tickled myself.  I think it's interesting, by the way, that when you're an adult and you do a pratfall it can do some serious damage; indeed, that's part of the reason why my sciatica is so bad.  But when you're a little kid you're lighter and have a diaper covering your tushie, and falling down isn't as big a deal.  Indeed, Baby Go Boom makes a big joke of falling down and going "boom," rather than crying about falling like some children do.  So this doll is a cute doll, but...well, she's mechanical.  Y'all know I've got an aversion to mechanical dolls, even though I seem to have plenty of 'em, LOL.

KINDER GARDEN BABIES

COMPANY:  Up Up and Away, Marvel Entertainment, Toy Biz, Playmates Toys
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1997-2005

I really loved these!  Kinder Garden Babies were small baby dolls that resided in fabric flowers, and the flowers in turn converted into carriers for the doll.  They were scented like the flower that they replicated, and oh my, were there a LOT of flowers!  The two pictured above are a blueberry and a raspberry, but because they're from the Playmates era I don't know if they had names or not.  Up Up and Away's blueberry doll was named Briget, and Toy Biz named their blueberry Brenda, so the names varied anyway.  Perri Pussywillow, from Toy Biz, and Betsy Beehive, from Up Up and Away are my two favorites.  Perri is both a wildflower and a cat, and she shares a name with a Little Golden Book that I once loved.  Betsy is...well, bee-themed!  I love bees.

There was also a spinoff of the regular Kinder Garden Babies called Water Lilies, and like Bathtime Bouncy Baby they could be put in the water.  Their hovel converted into a shower, and I have a hazy recollection of the hovels floating as well, but I may be mistaken there.  When I was a child I liked these the best since I loved to play in the water.  These seem to be a bit more obscure than the regular Kinder Garden Babies, but I liked 'em enuff to ask for one.  Alas, there were none to be found in podunk Malden or anywhere close, so I never got one.  These also remind me a little of the Shining Stars, which I discussed in the past; both are small baby dolls, both have cute carriers that appealed to my fantasy-flavored imagination, and I need both of 'em like I need a hole in my head.

BABY AH-CHOO

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  2007-2009

This one's cute, and like Make Me Better Baby she's a doll that I actually would've played with as a kid (I loved to doctor and baby my stuffed animals).  Baby Ah-Choo's gimmick is self-explanatory:  she's got a cold and her owner has to get her through it.  Squeeze her tummy and the poor love sneezes, coughs, asks for help blowing her nose, and reacts to her thermometer and her medicine spoon.  She also asks to be held and occasionally will sigh "make it go away."  Poor dolly, I think we all know what that's like.  Indeed, I remember being sick during my sophomore year of college.  I had a simple cold like Baby Ah-Choo does, but my throat tickled so bad that I couldn't stop coughing, and in the middle of the night I wailed "MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!"  Of course the tickle DIDN'T stop no matter what I did, and I scared the bejesus out of my roommate when I yelled, LOL.  That was the night I mixed sleeping pills with cough syrup, so desperate was I to MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOP, and y'all can probably predict how that went.  Arguably the dumbest thing I ever did.  Anyway, during that same illness I also desperately wanted to be held, even though I was a full twenty-two years old!  So I can relate with this doll.  As an aside, Baby Ah-Choo is kinda different from the sickies I grew up with, in that she came in Caucasian, Latina, and Afro-American variations.  By 2009 this was commonplace.  

Since I'm here on the subject of sick dolls, Li'l Sniffles is also worthy of mention.  She's a little older than Baby Ah-Choo is; I remember her from my high school days, but though I've searched her commercial is not on YouTube.  Li'l Sniffles does many of the same things that Baby Ah-Choo does, but she also sings when she feels well, and her manners are a tad better than Baby Ah-Choo's are.  When she asks for her soup or her meds she says "please," and after she's received what she's asked for she says "Thanks, Mommy."  I don't know how popular either doll was, but I was able to find both of them on eBay for reasonable prices.  With Lulu Achoo, Hedda Get Bedda, and Bless You Baby Tender Love hanging around, I doubt I need more sick dolls.

PRINTEMPS

COMPANY:  Sekiguchi
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1970s

I found this image on Pinterest, so if this is your doll, please let me know and I'll either credit you or take the picture down, your choice.  I offer my compliments to your collection; I can't tell if those are Smart Dolls or Dollfie Dreams in the background, but this is a beautiful trio.  Printemps actually did go on my wish list...for about five minutes!  At minute six I saw their prices on eBay and that was the end of it.  $375 for one of these???  Forget it!  If I'm gonna cough up multiple Benjamins for a doll I want it to be a Smart Doll or a super-nice Simon and Halbig.  Printemps is an interesting little creature, though.  She's got the aesthetic common to both dolls of the seventies and to Japanese dolls of any decade, complete with huge, hypnotic eyes.  The eyes have a catch:  they initially look dark, but they glow bright blue when the light hits them just right.  I love the creepy factor!  I also love their otherwise mild faces.

MAKE ME UP DARLINGS

COMPANY:  Hasbro
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1989-1990

This entry is a little ill-timed, as I recently brought Cookin' Cathy home, and she's popped into the blog a couple'a times already.

Make Me Up Darlings are a last-minute addition to this post (I wanted an even ten), but they're still pretty interesting, and I didn't discuss them in depth the last two times Cathy popped into the blog, so yeah.  These small dolls were scented, and they also had faces that would change with warm or cold water, like so.  Even their eye color could change, though I can't yet test this with Cathy.  Hot water issues, y'know.  The Make Me Up Darlings also came with outfits and accessories that fit their theme.  Mary Mermaid, seen above, came with a tailfin that would allow her to do the Ariel thing without giving up her voice.  Cookin' Cathy's wardrobe change is less drastic; she's got an overskirt that doubles as an apron, plus an oven mitt.

According to Ghost of the Doll there were two waves with six dolls each, and three playsets with one doll and extra accessories, but the gimmick remained the same.  The dolls could be dressed as animals, as fantasy beings, or as everyday occupations; my favorite of them all is Chessie Cheerleader, because she shares a name with one of my cats, AND with my favorite railroad mascot, after whom my cat is named.  I like Annie Artist too, with her bright outfit and hot pink hair.  The dolls are a little cartoonish, but then a lot of dolls are.  They'd fit right in with my Strawberry Shortcake/Cherry Merry Muffin bunch.

As usual, dear readers, your input is welcomed.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

Dolls with comical expressions

WARNING:  the Moon Girl is about to fangirl.  I have to do so to set up the reason for this post.  Pop in the eyedrops.  

"The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" is NOT a shining moment for our dear time lord; indeed, WhoCulture listed it as the Eleventh Doctor's worst episode...and a legion of Whovians VOTED it as such so I'll take their word for it.  I admit that the episode left me shaking my head more than once, but the scene where Number Eleven's hijinks catch up to him made it worth it.  Watch the scene and you'll know what I mean; Doctor Matt hit the floor so hard I'm surprised he didn't regenerate right then and there.  

RIGHT!!!  That particular scene is also significant for me as a doll collector.  During his breakneck rundown of the children's' room, somewhere between the selection of torches and an enthusiastic endorsement of Cluedo, Number Eleven refers to "dolls with comical expressions," and the camera pans in on three of the little dolls he's referring to.  The catch is, when the camera panned in on said dolls, they were NOT the most comical in the world.  They were cute enuff, but they were generic, probably what the prop team could grub up without having to spend a lot of time and coinage.  It's rare when I'll say that I can do something better than the Doctor could, but I watched that scene, saw the dolls utilized in the scene, and I retorted "Awww, I can do better than that!"  So because I love fluff posts, here's another of those.  I'll be avoiding dolls that are deliberately made to look creepy (like my Living Dead Dolls) and dolls that are done in someone's likeness (like Beetlejuice and Pee Wee Herman).  Some of these dolls are mine and some aren't, and fair warning, some of 'em are more creepy than comical, even though they weren't MEANT to be creepy.  Also keep in mind that "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" was largely set in 1941, and thus most (all?) of the dolls I'm sharing wouldn't have been in the Doctor's lineup.  Or...maybe they would've.  The Doctor IS a time lord, after all, and if he wanted to drag a Cabbage Patch Kid back to 1941 he could've done so with ease.  Whatever, let's do this.

NAME:  Whimsies; the individual dolls had varying names.  Mine is Hedda Get Bedda.  Her review was last December.

COMPANY:  American Character
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1960

LOL, I think that of all of the Whimsies I got the funniest one!  All of the Whimsies have goofy little smiles, but Hedda Get Bedda utilizes her sleepy face and her sick face as well.  Y'all have seen this already, but here's a rehash.

It should be noted that Whimsies were intended for an older mindset and not small children, but they're still goofy enuff that I included them here.  The vast majority of Whimsies look like Hedda's smiling face, with variations in the eyes.  Wheeler the Dealer and Samson the Strongman have hooded, mischievous-looking eyes, while Fanny the Fallen Angel has closed eyes altogether.  Fanny's face is different from Hedda's sleeping face, though.  Either way these are a fun bunch, if a bit (a lot?) homely.  

NAME:  Teenie Talk.  She has a "sister" named Baby Secrets who has the same face.

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1965

I think I've said in the past that Teenie is plotting my demise.  Teenie is one of Mattel's dolls that talks or has face gimmicks, and as such she's got a soft vinyl face that moves with the mechanism underneath.  Teenie can look a little goofy or a lot goofy depending on whether her mouth is open or closed; how it ends up after a phrase is a crapshoot.  For me it's the slant of the eyebrows that make Teenie look like she's about to tell me to pound sand.  Baby Secrets looks very much the same; her only aesthetic difference from Teenie is her red hair.

NAME:  Baby See 'n' Say, pet name "Elmyra"

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1965-1966

My Elmyra is a little funnier than other dolls of this type because she's got that lazy eye.  But even when both her eyes work Baby See 'n' Say is a funny little doll.  She's like Teenie Talk in many respects, the most obvious similarity being that her vinyl face moves as she speaks.  Ideally Elmyra's eyes would move too, but my doll needs a visit to a professional before that can be done.  Right now I'm just pretending that Elmyra needs an eyepatch for lazy eye, my usual explanation when my dolls have droopy or wonky eyes.  But under normal circumstances Elmyra's eyes would move as she talked.  Indeed, one of her phrases is "Can you move your eyes like this?"  LOL, yes, sweetie, I can!  And brave heart, because I too have a drifting eye.

NAME:  Baby Small Walk; pet name is "Carol."  I named this doll after Carol Burnett, thinking she was a redhead, but she's not.

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1967-1971
Baby Small Walk is just one of a number of small Mattel dolls from this era that had...either this face or one similar to it, one with a less open mouth.  Doll Reader had an article about them all one time, but I didn't pay much attention to it.  Not like I ever was gonna own any of those dolls, LOL.  The names that I remember are Baby Small Walk, Baby Small Talk, Baby Go Bye-Bye, and Valerie.  Valerie had "hair that grows and grows, right down to her toes."  How they got away with that without Ideal having kittens is anyone's guess, as that used to be Crissy's tagline.  Anyway, a lot of the Small Talk dolls were...well, basically the same doll, except for different eye and hair colors.  They had names like Goldilocks, Sister Small Talk, and Tiny Chatty Baby (no relation to Chatty Cathy and her blabbermouth bunch).  I like Tiny Chatty Baby because she's blonde and brown-eyed (Mama has made me a fan of that combo), but I digress.  Carol and the dolls with bigger mouths do have some angles from which they are...unflattering.  I don't recommend photographing Carol in half-profile, for example.  I think she looks kinda like a fish.

Otherwise this bunch is a cute bunch.  I particularly remember the Doll Reader article making special note of Baby Go Bye-Bye, because she had a car that she could "drive."  But even without the car she's cute.

NAME:  Tumbling Tomboy, pet name is "Jordyn."

COMPANY:  Remco
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1969

Tumbling Tomboy's gimmick didn't rely heavily on her face.  Indeed, I don't think the owner was supposed to look much at her face at all, as Tomboy is...well, a tumbler!  If you have her controls and some batteries you can plug her up and make her do cartwheels.  However, Jordyn doesn't have her controls.  I'm pretty sure I could find a set, but I'm not looking too hard right now.  I love Jordyn for her face:  her green eyes, her freckles, and especially that Harrison Ford smirk.  As I've said more times than I can count, I too have a lopsided smile, especially when I'm up to some sort of mischief or if I'm telling or hearing a particularly corny joke (I love corny jokes).  Thus anytime I can find a doll that smirks, I get it.

NAME:  Baby Laugh-a-Lot

COMPANY:  Remco
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1971

Killecrankie, I think we need the Doctor's help dealing with this one!  In this doll's defense a LOT of Remco's larger dolls had personality galore (two of Tam's examples can be seen here and here), but I think this one's pushing it a bit.  Jordyn's cousin Baby Laugh-a-Lot is a modified rag doll with vinyl hands and a vinyl head, and a push-button mechanism to make her...well, laugh!  The laughter sounds maniacal enuff on its own, but this particular doll has a face that only a mother could love.  Granted, no one looks like a Victoria's Secret angel when they're having a good belly laugh, but this little gal is still pretty creepy.  Oh, and when this doll's batteries run low, she even SOUNDS creepy!  Hmmm...I did once love scaring the snot out of my sister with dolls like this...and like the next doll.

NAME:  Saucy, pet name is "Alana."

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEAR OF PRODUCTON:  1972-1973

Mattel certainly had their fair share of goofy-looking dolls during the late sixties and early seventies, didn't they???  And my list is nowhere near comprehensive!  This one has the potential to be creepy just like Baby Laugh-A-Lot does, but I think she's hilarious.  When Saucy's left arm is turned her face shifts expression, like so.  She's got a soft vinyl face like Teenie Talk, Baby Secrets, and Baby See 'n' Say, and as a result she can emote very well.  Here's some highlights. 

Mama hates the cross-eyed look.  I think it's a scream.

Does anyone else look at this doll and hear Alana Thompson saying "The dolla make me holla, honey boo-boo!"  Shudder...poor Honey Boo-Boo.  She can't help how she was raised, but I do hope she'll find a way to make something of herself.  Last I heard she was studying to be a nurse (I like nurses), but I heard that from Wikipedia so take that news with about eleven grains of salt.  Anyway, Saucy reminds me a lot of Honey Boo-Boo when the latter was young, but the future is...decidedly brighter for Saucy.  Tam discusses this doll further on her blog, and if y'all want a review of mine, say the word and I'll do it.  

LOL, I make that face myself when something mildly surprises or dismays me.  My sister is going to HATE this doll if she ever sees her, by the way.  Dolls give her the creeps as it is, thanks to yours truly.  My thirty-six-year-old self is not as evil as my eleven-year-old self, though; I'll try to keep Alana away from her.

NAME:  Bedsie Beans, one of the Baby Beans dolls.

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1970-1984

All of the Mattel's Beans were cute, but the eternally-yawning Bedsie is hilarious...or hideous, depending on who you ask.  I think he's adorable, but then again I also think Hedda Get Bedda is adorable and she's...well, I think she's adorable.  I've seen a few folks compare Bedsie's mouth to the grille of an Edsel, which admittedly does look like it's yawning...or doing something else.  Keep it PG, Moon Girl!  I may have to up that rating to PG-13 with the language I sometimes use.  Anyway, like I said above Bedsie is the most unusual of the Beans, as most of them are smiling or looking innocent or curious.  Giggling little Booful Beans also could be considered comical, but he's not as goofy-looking as Bedsie is. 

Hmmm...maybe he's charismatic more than comical.  But either way I love Booful!

NAME:  Cabbage Patch Kids; the ones I've got here are Idalia Gale, Kory Aryan, and Iris Evangeline.

COMPANY:  Various; Idalia is a Coleco Kid, while Kory and Iris are Jakks Pacific Kids.
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1983-present day

The Cabbies pictured are among the more extreme in my Patch, but there are Cabbies in this world with even goofier smiles (examples can be seen here and here).  In the early days their expressions were more sedate, like so.

A handful don't have much expression at all since they're sucking on binkies.

Or they don't show much expression since those binkies hide it.  They have nice little smiles when they're not sucking their binkies.

But I think Cabbies fall under the "comical" umbrella, for many of the same reasons that Whimsies do.  They're homely as sin, but they're also cute and they're pretty innocent (not all Whimsies are that innocent, LOL).  Cabbage Patch Kids didn't start life with mouths full of choppers, but as y'all can see more head molds were added and now a lot of 'em look like they're laughing out loud.  I love Cabbies like that, though as y'all have noticed I'm not too picky.  Idalia has her tongue lolled out and I welcomed her with open arms.  I was so determined to own a popcorn that Idalia could've had fangs if the price had been right.

NAME:  Baby Face; my particular doll is So Surprised Suzie, in the top center box.

COMPANY:  Galoob
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1990-1991

Suzie is a frequent flyer here on the blog, and admittedly she's not as comical as some of her friends.  My mama calls her "one of your funny-lookin' ones," LOL.

Hey, Saucy can make that face too!

Truthfully I haven't seen a Mel Birnkrant-designed doll that WASN'T a character, though some of Olivia Reese's character comes from her ability to climb things and hang upside down.

Marta Angela, on the other hand...I think she'd classify as comical.  I think she knows it, too!

But yeah, regarding the Baby Face dolls, I think the funniest one is the deliriously happy So Funny Natalie, though again, some fans think she's creepy.  Admittedly, she IS pretty toothy.  Teeth can be hard to do on dolls; they can look sharky or rabbitlike or just plain dumb.  Or they can look adorable, like the teeth on my beloved American Girls, or innocent like So Innocent Cynthia, or sultry/snarky like a Bratz doll.  In my eyes Natalie is pushing the boundary between funny and sharky.

NAME:  Rotten Kids; my particular doll's name is Lucy, though I still sometimes call her "Belka."  I've not yet rooted Lucy out of storage, so this is a reused picture.

COMPANY:  D'anton Jos, apparently a division of Berenguer
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  Sometime in the nineties, I presume; I still know very little about these dolls.

Believe it or not these ugly little goobers were meant to be collectors' items of some stripe!  Or I think they were, as that's the only way I can explain a price tag of sixty-five bucks for a lightweight doll that picks her nose and does nothing else.  Prices like that make a grown man holler (LOL).  To be perfectly honest I'm not sure if Lucy is one of the Rotten Kids or if she's just a D'anton Jos doll that looks a lot like the Rotten Kids.  Not all Danton dolls were Rotten Kids, you see, but the ones I've seen are still a riot.  As I said in Lucy's second post, she and her rotten brothers and sisters will never win any beauty contests, but I tip my hat to whoever sculpted these faces.  Capturing emotion is not easy without making the doll look stilted, and "stilted" is the last word I'd use to describe these dolls.  Plus, Lucy's lips have molded creases.  Such details are usually painted or left out.

Despite being homely as all get-out Lucy is a favorite of mine, both for her funny face and for the sentiment behind her (she was a gift).

I could also throw in Jumeau model 217, the one that's lolling her tongue out, but I couldn't find a picture that wasn't copyrighted.  But then again, that picture of Baby Laugh-a-Lot may be theft too.  Y'all if that's your picture and you want me to take it down, say the word and I'll do it.  Anyway, I don't know if Model 217 could be considered comical, crazy, or downright stupid, but there aren't many dolls in this world like her so she gets Honorable Mention.  I'll also give Honorable Mention to the Zwergnase bunch, particularly LOLing Kicky and sly, smirking Zwaantje.

My odds of owning a Zwergnase doll are about as long as Pete Townshend's nose, and I don't WANT to own Jumeau 217, so I'll end this by letting my kids ham it up a bit.  They're a happy bunch for the most part.

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987