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• The Doll Island of Dr. Moreau

  I know that this is an innocent service to those with dolls that are injured broken. But this photo is just plain creepy. It brings up too many memories of Chuckie movies. To paraphrase the great Bart Simpson -- can't sleep... doll will eat me... I mean, look at this picture. (full image after the jump) Read More... Posted Jun 10 2008, 03:00 PM by Brett Singer with | with no comments Filed under: doll, toys, guns, girls, toy, boys, photos, dolls, weird, creepy, photo, Brett Singer, dolls by diane, fix, fixing, chuckie, repair, swords

• Down Syndrome Dolls Freaky (But Not Because of THAT)

  Concept: Dolls with Down syndrome. Reason: Foster a better understanding of kids with chromosomal disorders; give kids toys that are a reflection of themselves/their families. Useful?: Very, especially for families of kids with Down syndrome and providers of services to kids with special needs. Result: Freak show. No, no, not because the doll makers created 16" plastic dolls with typical facial features of a child with Down syndrome. Some of the dolls have slightly protruding tongues, all have eyes with the upward and outward slant and epicanthal fold. The problem is ...   Read More... Posted Jun 09 2008, 11:29 AM by Madeline Holler with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: dolls, cabbage patch dolls, families with speical needs, down syndrome dolls, ugly dolls, speical needs dolls

• RetroFitted: Glamour Gals Were, Like, Way Better Than Bratz

  All the attention on the epic battle between Bratz and Barbie got me thinking about some dolls -- stylish action figures, really -- I loved as a kid: Glamour Gals. Four-inch-tall ladies who tooled around town in Firebirds, wore sparkly outfits and had names like Loni and Jessie, the Glamour Gals were similar to Bratz except: a. not as slutty; b. they appeared to have much less collagen in their lips; and c. their heads were not 85 times larger than their bodies. Best of all, they could be carted around in a sweet carrying case, as demonstrated by this commercial: Read More... Posted Jun 05 2008, 11:03 AM by Jen Chaney with | with no comments Filed under: toys, girls, bratz, dolls, RetroFitted, Glamour Gals, Carrie Bradshaw, Kenner

• Where is the "Two Mommys" Family?

  Despite the date, this is not an April Fools joke.  Which is what people always say when they're staging an April Fools joke -- but I swear this really isn't one.  Really.   Read More... Posted Apr 01 2008, 03:30 PM by Adrienne Martini with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, crocs, boing boing, dolls, asian, Ethnic

• Your Girls Can Be "Bimbos" Online!

  Sometimes you see stuff and think, "Is this fer real?" When I read about the Miss Bimbo game, I kept thinking, "Oh, in a minute they'll say the game is for adults." But no, in fact the majority of the 200,000 players are between the ages of 7 and 17. But let me back up: There's a virtual "fashion" game for girls where they get a "Bimbo" and have to navigate her through boob jobs and diets and so on to make her the coolest bimbo of all. Girls can dress their dolls in sexy outfits for clubbing, and are encouraged to keep them waif thin through diet pills and plastic surgery. Niiiice. Most of the accounts I read focused on the weight and cosmetic horrors of the game, but I personally was more disturbed by the fact that... Read More... Posted Mar 25 2008, 07:02 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: health, teens, internet, girls, diet, daughters, online, self-esteem, plastic surgery, eating disorders, weight, sexism, virtual reality, body image, boob job, dolls, computer games, misogyny, sugar daddy, self image

• Blow Out the Candles, Barbie

  Barbie celebrates her 49th birthday today. No doubt she has retreated to the Barbie Dream Cottage for a weekend of relaxation, away from the harsh glare of the media spotlight. Like many women, I feel a little conflicted about Barbie. On one hand, with her vapid smile, teeny-tiny waist and frequent fixation on living the glamorous life, she sends the message to little girls that shallowness is swell.On the other, she symbolizes female empowerment by pursuing various career tracks, from doctor to WNBA player, paleontologist to President of the United States. Read More... Posted Mar 09 2008, 03:43 PM by Jen Chaney with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, barbie, dolls

• Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats

  This is a strange turn of events. After all, I imagine many talking Elmo dolls have had to listen to muttered death threats from parents weary of that cloying little giggle, that high-pitched voice with the mechanized edge. In fact, I sort of imagine the Elmo dolls sneak out at night and meet at a bar somewhere to drown their sorrows and share stories of the creepy things parents say to them when the kid leaves them wedged between the couch cushions and the parent accidentally sits on Elmo, causing Elmo to say "Elmo loves you" and the parent to say...well, stuff we can't reprint here. But clearly one Elmo has had enough, and fully lost it. A mom is reporting that her son's Elmo Knows Your Name doll says in a sing-song voice, "Kill James." Raise... Read More... Posted Feb 22 2008, 05:33 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, elmo, mothers, recall, moms, violence, names, children and divorce, dolls, elmo knows your name doll, death threats

• "Reborns," Dolls That Satisfy That Maternal Urge. Ew.

  "I love babies. When you go out and push a pram everybody looks. You feel somebody when you've got a baby. I could walk down the street now and nobody looks at you but when you've got a baby loads of people will stop and talk to you." When is a baby not a baby? When it's a "reborn", a doll painstakingly tweaked to look, feel, and sound real. And women are falling over themselves on eBay or ordering custom jobs through professional reborners to get them, spending thousands of dollars on the cult of reborns (don't call them "dolls", please!), outfits, and accessories. And it all makes perfect sense, except... Read More... Posted Jan 07 2008, 02:04 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: dolls, reborners, fake babies, reborns

• 25 Years of Cabbage Patch Hell. Ugh.

  In the mulling-over pre-writing process about this post, I kept coming back to one thing: something about "25 Years" of those freaky Cabbage Patch Kids doesn't sit right with me. Because I remember seeing them for the first time. And I remember about how old I was then. And somehow the math doesn't work out. Let's see: 2007 minus 25 years is 1982. Except the creepy little things first came out in 1978. But either way it's time to celebrate! Read More... Posted Nov 28 2007, 07:56 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: toys, dolls, cabbage patch dolls

• Curious George, Toxic Monkey

  I love me some Curious George. The TV show is on in my area no fewer than five times a day. I'm not kidding. And since some nameless three year old in my house has developed a passion for George!, we are subjected to his whimsical humorous antics frequently. Oh yes, I love me some George.Except, not the toxic lead-laden doll version of Curious George, no thanks. The one selling at a store near you, like Toys 'R Us. Read More... Posted Oct 12 2007, 07:38 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: recalls, Curious George, dolls, lead toys, Toys 'R Us, Center for Environmental health

• Move Over Barbie: Salma Is a Muslim Alternative

  Sukmawati Suryaman used Barbie as the inspiration to create a more modest doll for Muslim children. Salma wears long-sleeved prayer dresses, abayas, and head scarves, "making Salma's conservative clothing more familiar to [Indonesian] children than the glittering, pop-star inspired outfits donned by dolls such as Barbie and Bratz." Of course, sequined hot pants, boas, stilettos and a bra top aren't exactly familiar to my kid, but that hasn't stopped Mattel. Maybe since Salma's whole body is covered, she can just get away with a bizarrely proportioned face or something. Suryaman hopes Salma will "inspire virtue in Muslim girls."  See, now there I take issue.   Read More... Posted Oct 10 2007, 05:03 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 10 comment(s) Filed under: barbie, bratz, body image, dolls, salma, muslim

• American Girl Dolls: Mama's Secret Plaything

  Last week an American Girl doll catalog mysteriously arrived in my mailbox and for some reason, I flipped though it. My son, who happens to love his baby doll (albeit named after a golfer icon), wasn't even around and to be honest, I really studied the catalog more than flipped through it. I've got to say, I was a bit entranced. It surprised even me. The little spectacles, flowing hair and customized skin tones (well, to a degree) gave me a little thrill. My inner Darcy doll lover emerged as I lingered over the tote bag that can carry two BFF American Girl dolls and the 1940s schoolgirl fashions. My disdain for the mother-daughter tourist pairs that clog the streets of downtown Chicago with their giant shopping bags from an American Girl store pilgrimage eased up. I got why girls love these dolls -- just as I would have if they'd been around when I was 17...I mean, 8. Read More... Posted Sep 16 2007, 12:09 PM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, dolls, diy life, american girl dolls

• Slightly Creepy Crafty Cuteness: The Aunt Sarah Doll

  When I first saw this crafty post about creating dolls out of fabric photos of your loved ones for your babies to see and, even better, snuggle, I thought they were just precious. What a great way to bring all those long-distance loved ones a little closer for your kids and what a sweet way to instill the concept of being close to someone even when they live in Cleveland (not to pick on Cleveland, but let's face it, lots of folks purposely steer live far, far away from Cleveland). But the more I looked at these dolls -- and I honestly had a hard time clicking away -- the more I started to see their resemblance to the mother-in-law voodoo doll I got at my bachelorette party. And that made me wonder how freakish dolls like this fashioned after my own family (by blood or marriage, take your pick) would be. Of course, I will need some supplies and clarifications for the frankendolls I would make: Read More... Posted Sep 13 2007, 11:34 AM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, DIY, dolls, crafty, aunt sarah dolls, angry chicken

• Baby Wee Wee: The Uncircumcised Peeing Doll for Kids

  My Uncles used to give me a hard time about my Ken doll not being anatomically correct. They should have seen this crap here. Watch this video: Read More... Posted Sep 07 2007, 10:07 AM by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: dolls, Baby Wee Wee

• Buy a Multicultural Doll at...Kmart?

  When my daughter Serena was a toddler she developed a fixation on some dolls in the kindergarten at her big brother's school. If I had been paying attention I would have noticed that the dolls she loved had one feature in common, but in my naivete I endeavored to make her a doll of her own. In skin and hair tones that matched hers. She hated the doll and let it drop, unwanted, to the floor after she unwrapped it. The Waldorfy doll that had taken me hours to make and that I was so proud to present to her, knowing how much she loved dolls. The problem? It didn't have the brown skin and black hair of the dolls she loved. (The next year I bought her one with brown skin and black hair, having learned my lesson, and she still loves it.) Read More... Posted Aug 21 2007, 01:31 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: kids, dolls, Kmart, multiculturalism, multicultural dolls, baby dolls

• Use Me: Playing With Kids For Their Toys

  There's a good post on mothertalkers about kids and the cool toys, and how some of us try and live vicariously through kids by getting them every lead-paint-riddled thing we ever wanted as a child. (I love the way this references the Seinfeld episode where Jerry lulled his girlfriend to sleep so he could play with her awesome toy collection.) I'm pretty sure my daughter's large haul of tiny little toys with a thousand little pieces has more to do with my freakish fascination with the miniature and the fact that we had few toys with li'l parts when we were growing up. Like, how many teensy weensy cupcake sets does one kid need? Read More... Posted Aug 15 2007, 08:29 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: toys, nostalgia, dolls, cupcakes

• Lots of Dolls With Disabilities

  Working at programs for college students with disabilities taught me two important things: One, you should never assume someone's disability is a good reason to pity them, and two, people with disabilities probably experience more discrimination than any other group. So I love this round-up of dolls with disabilities. Most of them come with accessories such as wheelchairs, arm braces, or darkened glasses, and some have things like prosthetic limbs or physical rehab equipment. A few are undergoing chemotherapy. They also come in a variety of ethnicities. While these dolls are designed to be a companion to the child with a disability so that he or she has a toy that looks like him or her, I think they'd be great for all kids. If discrimination poses the biggest limitations for folks, then helping all kids become comfortable with disabilities at an early age could go a long way. I know my child was highly jealous of my co-worker's wheelchair. And my Deaf colleagues jokingly referred to a hearing friend who didn't know sign language as "signing impaired," so there you go.   Posted Jul 11 2007, 09:23 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: disabilities, dolls, toys for kids

• Strollerderby Playdate: Loves Other Than Kids

  'Course we all adore our kids. But if you are what you love, then lets hope there's a couple more things out there that make you all warm and happy besides just home and family. For example, I love brand new running shoes, alone time, cake, Dexter, the smell of coconut, finding a new album that makes me feel like a teenager without all the angst, and geeky people. Hmmm, does that sound like my Playboy Bunny profile thingie? Let's just see what a quick cruise around the blogopolis tells us about love. Steenface!, like me, falls head over heels (haw) for shoes. But never crocs.  Sex...Love, Marriage and Kids...in the City loves her right boob, but doesn't want the left to know.   The Sarcastic Journalist's daughter loves her dolls. And SJ loves the doll names.   Rockstar Mommy loves Stevie Nicks. Or at least the concerts. Posted Jun 22 2007, 07:01 AM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: love, strollerderby playdate, dolls, stevie nicks

• Smile! You're On Doll Camera

  New art film: “My life as a dolly's belly button”. These odd little action figures live a double life as fully functional webcams. Perhaps “action figure” is a misnomer, since it looks like the only action they could take would be taking their freaky hair for a stroll and eating doughnuts, but the secret weapon on these babies is they can capture resolutions up to 1280x960 at 30fps. Be very what you say of do kids, cuz the dolly is always watching you. Even though this has shades of surveillance and reality television, I kind of like the idea of filming the kid through a toy for a day. Right now I'm reduced to tiptoeing up to her door and holding my breath if I want to hear the cute games she plays with her stuffed animals and dolls, and with these little space invaders I could capture the whole thing for posterity while simultaneously wasting time reading trashy gossip sites working. Though most likely my plan would be foiled he minute she dropped this thing in the bathtub, dressed it up in a camera-covering Groovy Girls tanktop (they don't all wear half shirts), or traded it to her friend for a poop-scooping Barbie. Posted Jun 18 2007, 03:03 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, toys, video, kid activities, dolls, webcam