Barbie Takes Bratz To Court

Apparently, the originator of the wildly successful Bratz doll line was still under contract with Mattel when Barbie's controversial rival was created. Naturally, with so much at stake, the claim is going to court:

"The tiny, fake fur was flying as the Barbie-Bratz court battle wrapped up Thursday, with toy industry giant Mattel Inc. and upstart MGA Entertainment Inc. both claiming ownership of the hugely successful Bratz line of dolls.

MGA, which seven years ago debuted the saucy Bratz doll, has maintained from the May 27 start of the trial that Mattel was trying to unfairly stomp out competition to its faltering Barbie empire.

"For 40 years Barbie was the only doll in town," Tom Nolan, lawyer for Van Nuys-based MGA, said in his closing argument. "And then Bratz came in and knocked her off her pedestal."

Mattel, headquartered in El Segundo, sued in 2004, claiming that Bratz -- known for hip-hugging outfits and bare midriffs that have given some parents fits -- were secretly created by one of its own Barbie designers, Carter Bryant, even though he had an exclusivity contract with the company."

Read the rest of David Colker's LA Times article here.

Toy OTD: Spumco Three Stooges Dolls (1997)

When Ren & Stimpy was riding high, Spumco had the clout to make toys. That meant, for a brief time, many Spumco characters and staff favorites took vinyl form. And that meant - Three Stooges toys, that appear to have been designed by John Kricfalusi himself!

As you might expect, these toys were done in the classic manner of the late fifties/early sixties, (I'm assuming) John's favorite period of merchandising. This line consisted of three variants - a large trio (sold individually), a smaller version (sold as a packaged set), and another small set with the guys dressed in harem outfits, and as golfers. I'm assuming that the costumes references to one of the shorts or films.

These toys are pretty fancy - fully clothed in tiny outfits, rooted hair, soft-sculpture hands (in poses yet!), and nicely sculpted/painted vinyl heads. The caricatures are really pushed and fun, but still recognizable as the iconic comedy team. The scale of the suit cloth (even on the smaller dolls) is quite good, but there is a little awkwardness in the fit due to the Velcro fasteners. both sizes are fine, but I prefer the small dolls, both in their proportions and shelf economy. The major difference between them is that the larger dolls have vinyl shoes, while the smaller versions have plush ones.

I bought this set some time after it was released, at Golden Apple Comics for about forty dollars. I'm sure they're long sold out in stores, but you can get the small golfer set for about that much on eBay, the small plainclothes set is up for auction (currently $18 + shipping), and a large Curly doll is starting at $5.00 + shipping. Keep your eyes open for the version you want - good luck!