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Bratz is the name of a line of 10 inch Doll s produced by '''MGA Entertainment''' starting at the end of 2001 . They are created in both Genders , "Bratz Boyz" having followed Bratz "girls" shortly after the girl dolls entered the Toy Market . HISTORY Bratz dolls are characterized by an oversized head, with wide eyes and lips, a small body and shoes that snap 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 have joined the "Bratz Pack," most of whom were introduced either with playsets or as collector's edition dolls. Three sets of " Twiins " Roxxi and Phoebe, Tess and Nona, and Oriana and Valentina, 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 only produced once, as a special collector doll wearing a Kimono as part of the Tokyo-A-Go-Go collection. New members of the Bratzpack to debut in 2006 include Lilee (the 2006 Sweet Heart), Leah (Midnight Dance wave 2 and Spring Break), Wicked Twiins Ciara and Diona, 4th edition Twiins Krysta and Lela, and Sisterz Kiani, (NOT to be confused with the aforementioned 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, and London in the Punkz (boys only) and Pretty n' Punk line, 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. Punks 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, bra tops, miniskirts, 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 owner. 2005 collections include Sportz (each Bratz girl dressed for her favorite sport, with coordinating accessories), I-Candy (neon, candy colored outfits and matching painted legs), Live In Concert/ Space Angelz Pop Stars (out-of-this-world space suits, headsets, anime eyes and wild matching make-up; included with the dolls was the CD single "Bein' Who We Are"), Treasures! ("Rogue Vogue" pirate style, complete with a treasure chest), DynaMite (vinyl catsuits and stiletto boots reminiscent of The Matrix or Charlie's Angels), Rock It! (boys only), Step Out! (celebrating the Bratz 5th anniversary and included a silicone bracelet; proceeds helped benefit the Step Out 2 Help Out foundation), Step Off! (the Boyz dressed in repeat Funk Out! fashions), Birthday Bash (80's inspired party dresses and leggings, plus a doll-sized gift bag/box), Campfire (warm winter camping gear and furry boots), Midnight Dance (a goth-esque collection with capes and detailed masks), Hollywood Style (dressed for a Hollywood premiere in repeat Bratz formal fashions), Wild Wild West (which included cowboy boots, cowboy hats, denim and suede, and big belt buckles), and Rock Angelz (70's rocker style). A special collector's edition called Big Bratz features 2 foot tall versions of the Bratz. Introduced in 2003 with Yasmin and adding a member of the Bratzpack annually, the limited edition dolls come with a certificate of authenticity and are dressed in fall/winter fashions showcasing the girl's passion for fashion. To date, Yasmin, Cloe, and Meygan have been made as Big Bratz. In addition to the dolls, the Bratz line includes playsets, vehicles, accessories, , was released. During fall 2005, MGA released their flagship collection, Bratz Rock Angelz. Bratz Cloe, Yasmin, Jade, Sasha, and Roxxi (sold exclusively with the Rock Angelz Concert Stage) were dressed in 70's inspired rock attire, and each girl had a guitar and a mini CD single including 2 songs (one character exclusive song and the other 'So Good' the lead single). Many tie-in products were also released, including boomboxes, CD towers, guitars, and fashion accessories. The CD, '' Rock Angelz '', reached #79 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in 2005 , credited to Bratz Rock Angelz. The album has debuted #1 on Billboard's Children's Chart. The single "So Good" reached #14 on the Australia n ARIAnet Singles Chart and #23 on the UK Singles Chart the same year. The videogame of the same name was released on various gaming platforms ( Nintendo GameCube , PlayStation 2 , Game Boy Advance , and PC). The third person adventure game allowed the player to customize one of the Bratz girls while following them around the world to investigate stories for Bratz Magazine. The DVD, Rock Angelz, was released in September 2005 and showcased the Bratz in a computer-animated adventure as they started up their own fashion magazine. MEMBERS A list of past and current Bratz doll names: Bratz Girlz
Bratz Boyz
Awards The Bratz have won numerous Awards: 2006:
2005:
2004:
2003:
2002:
2001:
Retailer Awards:
CONTROVERSY Loose morals & focus on image Some parents have criticized the Bratz for being "unrealistic" and claim they promote Materialism and Consumerism . They also criticize the commercials for showing 11-year-olds wearing revealing clothes and lots of makeup. The Bratz are said to be partially responsible, or emblematic of, the moral decay and superficiality of today's youth. ("Remember BE BEAUTIFUL!", for example, is a line found on the website, and the words "Don't theorize, accessorize!" are heard in the voiceover in a television commercial). Others have claimed that each of the Bratz seem to have very shallow personalities of their own, with only superficial things such as clothes differentiating one from another. {Link without Title} . The parental group Dads And Daughters was outraged by the release of the Bratz Secret Date collection. The dolls were packaged with a Bratz girl in the right half of the box (Cloe, Yasmin, Jade, Meygan or Nevra) and matched with a mystery Boyz doll behind the door on the left. A window showing the doll's feet would provide a clue to which Boyz doll it was, especially important in the quest for the rare Bryce doll, available in only 1 of every 24 boxes. The group complained that the dolls sent a negative message, "forcing" young girls to grow up too soon, and allegedly promoting the idea of sneaking out of the house to go on blind dates with complete strangers. They also took issue with accessories that appeared to be champagne bottles and glasses, and called for MGA to remove the dolls from the market. MGA held fast, and the Secret Date collection (later renamed Blind Date) continued to sell. The Bratz Babyz have also been the target of complaints, especially the "Babyz Night Out" fashion pack, the "Brattoo Parlor" playset, and the fact that the Big Babyz wear something under their skirts that looks like a Thong . In actuality, the fabric piece under the Bratz Babyz' skirts (as well as those of the regular and Lil' Bratz) is merely functional, preventing the skirts from riding up over the hips of the doll. Some have praised the Bratz for breaking down female stereotypes reinforced by many other dolls, such as the fairy-tale princess or bride. Others still are just glad to see their older children still finding dolls relevant in their lives; some parents even enjoy collecting Bratz themselves. Bratz fans appreciate that the dolls feature characters of many ethnicities, and that each is given her own name and set of clothing and accessories, instead of the long-time practice of doll manufacturers making their blonde and African-American dolls variants of the same character. In response, MGA has created a new line of dolls called the "Bratz Kidz" (from the press release): "The 6-inch Kidz dolls are shorter than the Bratz dolls and will have a more conservative, child-like appearance. In contrast to the short skirts and flirty, mid-riff baring tops that Bratz wear, Kidz will be dressed in long, flowing skirts and embellished jeans. While Bratz dolls, which children often identify as being 16 to 19 years old, are about "fantasy," Larian said Kidz are about reality and producing a doll that resembles Bratz's core consumer -- an 8 or 9 year old girl." Racial stereotyping May Lin sparked a bit of controversy because her name is Chinese, yet the doll was portrayed as Japanese. On top of that, her name is misspelled; a more appropriate spelling would have been something like "Meilin" or "Mei-lin." This made it appear that the design team had not properly researched appropriate names for the doll (as they had for Kumi, who was introduced as a kimono doll) and merely picked a name that would be perceived to be Japanese by the general public (and thereby perpetuating misconceptions about the Chinese and Japanese cultures being one and the same), which did not sit well with more cognizant collectors. As of this writing, May Lin has yet to appear in another Bratz collection, and is probably unlikely to be produced ever again. Other issues include Jade from the Style It collection, whose alternate shirt featured a Chinese take-out box with a Japanese flag on it; Sasha, a dark-skinned character, was said on early boxes to be interested in Hip-hop music, potentially supporting a stereotype of African-Americans . Other issues When the first set of Twiins was released, Phoebe was presented as the "Good Girl" and Roxxi was the "Lil' Devil", reflecting the somewhat hackneyed theme of good twin/evil twin. The subsequent Twiins releases moved away from this theme (Nona is the center of attention while Tess is the free spirit who does things her way; Valentina is a stylish fashion designer and Oriana is an edgy rock musician), though both new sets recycled the angel and devil keychains first included with Phoebe and Roxxi, to the dismay of some collectors. ANIMATION Featuring the voices of Wendie Malick as the antagonist Burdine Maxwell, Tia Mowry as Sasha, Soleil Moon Frye as Jade, Olivia Hack as Cloe, Dionne Quan as Yasmin, Lacey Chabert as Kirstee, and Kaley Cuoco as Kaycee. Direct-to-DVD features Bratz - Starrin' & Stylin' ( 2004 ) This movie is the first Bratz movie that was ever released. The movie is presented in traditional 2-D animation and tells the story of Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade as they are preparing for their prom. The prom is the biggest event of the year for them, until suddenly their art class teacher Mr. Del Rio gives them a last-minute assignment on self-expression. The girls try to figure out how to use prom as their assignment and express themselves with a video about their prom prep. The movie is based on the Bratz Formal Funk collection. Bratz - Rock Angelz ( 2005 ) The first of the 3D Computer Animated Bratz movies. Jade gets a job as an intern of a magazine called Your Thing, it's editor Burdine Maxwell is the main antagonist. After Jade is fired from Your Thing she Yasmin, Cloe, and Sasha start their own magazine. Along the way, they travel to London and form a band. The animated TV series follows on from this movie. Bratz - Genie Magic ( 2006 ) The Bratz Genie Magic movie is the second computer animated movie that was released. Based on the Bratz Genie Magic collection, the movie introduced Bratz fans to the new character Katia. In the movie, Katia is a teenage genie who has magical powers and can grant wishes. However, Katia's ultimate wish is to be a regular teenage girl just like Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade. When a secret about Katia is revealed, the girls find themselves involved in an adventure full of mystery and intrigue, as they save Katia from the hands of evil villains. The movie includes the Bratz boy Bryce (Katia falls for him!). Due out April, 11th. Livin' It Up With The Bratz ( 2006 ) The first in two Bratz Interactive DVD movies this year. It is computer animated and everything looks a lot different than Rock Angelz and Genie Magic . It is a Movie / Game . It works for all DVD players, but you will need a DVD remote control. You first start off by selecting a Bratz character and follow her story throughout the movie. It gives you options of what you can choose in some of the movie. The second Movie/Game will be released fall/winter 2006. Glitz & Glamour ( 2006 ) The second in two Bratz Computer Animated and interactive DVD movies this year. This DVD will be based on the Bratzline, an advice section from the Livin' It Up With The Bratz DVD, where the Bratz characters Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade answer questions about real girls' problems. Bratz - Forever Diamondz ( 2006 ) Based on the new Bratz Forever Diamondz collection, the four girls, Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade are back with a new girl named Sheridan. This movie is scheduled to release in the Fall and the Bratz Forever Diamondz collection is scheduled to release on August 1, 2006, letting girls get a chance to own their own 1 carat diamond. Bratz - Television Series ( 2005 ) In September 2005 a Computer Animated series based on the Bratz line of dolls began airing on 4Kids TV . It also airs on Teletoon now. The show features Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade as the main characters. The series follows the Bratz through their adventures in high school while working on their magazine (the real Bratz Magazine hit newsstands as well) and fighting off Burdine Maxwell's interns, the twins Kirstee and Kaycee, who the Bratz refer to collectively as the "Tweevils" (according to Sasha, this is because they are "twins, and seriously evil"). The stories for each episode seem to be of the general variety seen in most shows targeting pre-teenage girls. BRATZ DOLL COLLECTIONS 2006 Bratz Doll Collections
Older And Previously Released Bratz Doll Collections (2001-2005) 2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Special Collector's Edition Bratz Dolls (2001-Present)
EXTERNAL LINKS
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