Livin’ in a Bratz World: The International Distribution of MGA’s Bratz Dolls

[@Boonies]

The anti blackness towards Sasha was just sad and revolting 😪

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Definitely, it was tough enough to find Sasha dolls in US. I can't imagine how hard it was to find a Sasha doll abroad, given how stores order their dolls.

[@soarixchannel5265]

I'm not surprised. Black women aren't the beauty standard in Asia so it makes sense.

[@CodenameSailorEarth]

It was also a racist statement they made too. "Black dolls don't sell" what a crock!

[@soarixchannel5265]

@@CodenameSailorEarth agreed. If retailers don't order black dolls as much to sell in their stores in the US I can only imagine how much they aren't selling in asian based markets.

[@yuhselm1425]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls it’s because target and Walmart stopped stocking her.

[@jacquelinelugo5518]

So many people don't understand what the Bratz dolls did for us little girls in the early 2000s. I was 10 when they came out with Bratz. I was exactly the demographic they were targeting. Bratz gave us what Barbie didn't at the time. Uniqueness and individuality. For once those of us that weren't white felt seen and not just a carbon copy of the original doll. They each had their own style and at the time. Bratz were ahead of the curve with that.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

I agree, there was something for everyone with the Bratz. It's truly a testament to the brand's designers/creatives (Carter Bryant, etc.) that fans are still so invested despite the brand's highs and lows.

[@alejandromolinac]

Bullshit….. there have been non White Barbie dolls since the late 70’s….. you are just making shit up

[@virginiamontaldo440]

They all had the same face and body just in different colors...and they were all made up like cheap hookers. I too was born in the '90s. What I admire about the Bratz brand is the attention to detail in clothing and fashion. What I don't like is everything else. Their 'diversity' is superficial and boils down to 'all girls can be ~thotz~'. I think Bratz overall had a negative influence on tweener girls from that period because I have seen it firsthand in girls I knew.

[@Iroh12345]

I've collected Bratz dolls for years and I only own one Sasha doll. It's ridiculous how she was treated by retailers. Let's just hope the 2021 dolls even hit the (digital) shelves here. Awesome video!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you!! I hope the same!

[@buttercupdabaddieutonium9257]

The 2nd hand market is MUCH worse. Bratzpartypack did a full detailed video of scalpers charging well over $200-$700 for Sasha and Felicia in any condition while selling Chloe for $40-$100 and justified as “rare” and “hard to find” these Sasha would be a HOT MESS and used and had a nerve to sell for $180.😒I personally asked a scalper why exactly was she selling he selling these Sasha and Chloe dolls from the same collection (bratz magic hair) at different prices. his claim was “because she’s harder to find.” Chloe was $93 while Sasha was $599 😵

[@MeaganGTV_]

@tali the 20th anniversary dolls are down here where I live

[@QueenOfFandoms]

I struggled so much with getting Sasha dolls too! I remember I was SO happy when I got my first one (the Formal Funk Sasha) because she was gorgeous! It was so nice having such diverse ethnicities for the dolls but having Sasha being the most difficult to find in shops said a lot about the suppliers... I'm a white woman and I never saw anything different about the girls' skin colour, I just saw them all as beautiful fashion icons and it always frustrated me when I wanted to complete a collection but was always either missing Sasha or the obscurely named "extra" character who was only in that one line of dolls.

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

I think a lot of people seem to get the legal dispute issue twisted. MGA sued Mattel FIRST over similarities to Myscene. I believe that if MGA had not even given Mattel a breath of air, Bratz would still be kicking, with the original team, to this day.

[@chickpea]

This is so ironic due to Dream Ella now existing

[@topselenator5208]

Bratz had a huge impact because little girls could actually see themselves in them. Here in latin america Yasmin was the fan favorite. Most girls here have brown hair, brown eyes and our skin color is usually not as pale. I remember i had been gifted barbies and I always wanted one that looked like me, because i wasn't a blonde girl with blue eyes. I would play with myscene's Chelsea but even she had green eyes and I couldn't relate to her. But meeting Yasmin as a little girl made me realize how beautiful I was because I looked like her. I was like "the doll has pretty brown eyes like me" representation is really important, so glad mga gave us that 💗✨💗

[@Nina_dollinista]

Great video 👏🏾 I love anything about Bratz history. I think it’s always such a shame when Sasha gets left out of anything. It’s always due to racism! Also a reason why I feel Bratz didn’t do so good in Asia is because they prefer their dolls to be blonde and white with cutesy youthful fashions.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thanks!! Sasha definitely deserved a lot better, and I'm hoping MGA will rectify the distribution mistakes they made in the past with this relaunch (still skeptical though). Definitely agree with you that the Bratz aesthetic was a bit drastic from what Asian consumers were used to back then. Even Barbie had to be "softened up" in Asia.

[@Deeviiouss]

As a black child during the golden age of the Bratz, I’ve never seen any Sasha!

[@CodenameSailorEarth]

I do have some suggestions for future videos: 1. Sailor Moon dolls 2. The 90s Rainbow Brite dolls 3. Dreamglow dolls 4. Moon Dreamer dolls 5. Gene dolls 6. Madam Alaxander dolls 7. Bild Lilli 8. Skipper and Stacie dolls 9. Crissy and Velvet dolls 10. Dawn dolls from the 90s and the 60s/70s 11. Blythe Dolls 12. Diva Starz 13. Cardcaptor Sakura dolls 14. Pretty Cure dolls 15. Licca and Jenny dolls 16. American Girl 17. Magic Room dolls 18. 90s "baby" dolls like Sticker surprise 19. Barbie's lost siblings like Tutti, Todd, Krissy and Kelly/Shelley

[@CodenameSailorEarth]

I also think a second video on Bratz boys is a good idea. Was anyone else put off by how they looked so much older than the girls? Also, Bratz kidz and babyz.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

What a great list! There’s definitely a lot of overlap with the videos I plan to make for the rest of this year plus some other cool lines

[@CodenameSailorEarth]

I'll definitely be watching, I loved your Shani video the most!

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

I would like one on Jem too...Love this!

[@HaydenWilliams]

Love this!! Your videos are always so well researched and informative. Forever grateful to have collaborated with such an iconic brand that means so much to me and to so many others around the world. Thank you for including me in this ❤️

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you so much, Hayden!! I still remember seeing your letter and designs in Bratz Magazine. The brand wouldn't have the longevity that it has had without talented fans like you! 💕

[@HaydenWilliams]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls Thank you so much! I still have the magazine from 2006! It was my first ever official association with the brand. Little did I know that teenage me back then would end up designing my own collection 12 years later. There’s so many talented people in this community ❤️

[@irieb28]

I bought most of the Sasha dolls I could find on the shelves when I was younger. I recently started collecting Bratz dolls again because I wanted to have more Sasha dolls... if it wasn’t for the Bratz comeback I probably wouldn’t be able to find her for a reasonable price!! That’s ridiculous!!

[@fernandanascimento5712]

Here in Brazil the dolls were not that promoted a lot in TV at the beginning but they still made a lot of fans because of the cartoons and magazines.

[@segantoycollector7735]

tinha comerciais de Bratz (Funk N Glow, Movie, Girlz Rerally Rocks, Sun Kissed, Big Babyz e acho que Magic Hair), mas só passava na TV fechada.

[@naadeiashie6053]

I had the Bratz Forever Diamondz Sasha doll as a kid My dad gave that one away along with my Bratz Genie Chloe doll. I have very fond memories of countless hours of playtime

[@bugieric97]

The Bratz have been promote like almost anywhere in the world, except my country, lol. I am a Barbie fan myself, but I also would like to see how the Bratz doll are gonna sell in Vietnam. Their design will cause the controversial, but is will also make the doll market more interesting. Since you ask about the video idea, I hope you could do this one: Barbie Shanghai. Is will be an interesting topic to discuss.

[@osalima]

2 years late but omg I need a barbie Shanghai video

[@britneyvinyl]

Can you please do a video on POPSTARS with their respective dolls. Examples: Britney’s doll, the Spice Girls dolls and Fifth Harmony’s Barbie dolls. I know every celebrity most likely has a doll, but Popstars/Musicians could be one specific video. I’m noticing they aren’t really making musicians into dolls as much as they did back in the late 90’s/early 00’s during the Britney/Spice Girls peak. The last I can remember is Fifth Harmony’s Barbie dolls. I love Britney, Spice Girls and 5H so much and knowing more about their dolls and the history behind how it all started would be AMAZING. I enjoy your videos so much! Thank you so much for making them 💗 I was looking for Flavas one day to show my boyfriend they actually existed and I BINGED your channel yesterday. Subscribed & liked instantly. 💗

[@bbsdollsandtvarchive]

Love this video! You should do one on Moxie Teenz!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Definitely on my list!

[@CodenameSailorEarth]

I second this!

[@Deeviiouss]

Yess

[@Mister_Dollz]

I've always felt that Mattel suing MGA was stupid, because unless there was a contract which Carter Bryant signed, which stated that any ideas show to Mattel even if they were rejected were property of Mattel, then Mattel had no right suing for something they didn't own.

[@4everbratz]

Fantastic video! Since I’m a massive fan of the Bratz, I would’ve love to see how the international market thought of them. It’s a shame that Sasha was given the boot in Hong Kong solely because she was black, which is incredibly disgusting because that’s the polar opposite of what your brand stands for; diversity. 🤦 Otherwise, keep up the good work! ✨

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Exactly, for as "diverse" of a brand as Bratz is, there was an undercurrent of racism with the Sasha doll's distribution, internationally and domestically. It's sad that fans have to pressure MGA even to this day to release more dolls with darker skin tones and make them widely available...

[@segantoycollector7735]

In Brazil Bratz were released in 2003 by Gulliver, Gulliver released Fashion packs, Beach Party and Xpress it at the same time (First edition was not released). But Bratz were more expensive than Barbie (and Barbie was expensive to most people), you couldn't find them in every toy store. Bratz became popular when the live action movie was released in 2007, but it wasn't enough for the dolls to really sell well, but the dolls from that era are much easier to find nowadays. Bratz returned to the market in 2012 by Yellow, however Yellow only launched a few lines of Bratz dolls and the first wave of Bratzillaz, the last line of Bratz to be launched in Brazil was crystalicious.

[@maffieduran]

Not a well known fact, but in central america, Hasbro distributed Bratz. I am surprised it was not mentioned, considering MGA teamed up with Tiger Electronics, a Hasbro subsidiary, for a Bratz edition Bop it in 2003/2004

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thanks for pointing that out, Maffie! I'm sure there are other distributors I've missed out on, given that not much of this information isn't easily accessible. I actually had the Bratz Twister game from Hasbro/Milton Bradley and remember playing the Passion for Fashion board game.

[@maffieduran]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls the Bratz twister is a classic!

[@eatglue1207]

This was so interesting! You should do one on Monster High in the future :D

[@Deeviiouss]

Can you do Polly Pocket, especially the Golden age aka early 2000s. Winx Club dolls in America! I’ve never seen them in stores

[@4everbratz]

I remember when the Jakks Pacific dolls were released here, I had some of them. But my favorites have always been the Mattel dolls.

[@diorhawn5079]

the fact that they couldve literally just gave up on bratz scares me. bratz made such an amazing impact on my childhood and even now since im a collector.

[@andieamigu5214]

As someone who grew on my scene, I can't help to see the similarities with monster high. Which is kinda ironic because they basically tried to destroy MGA... Isn't Mattel like the Disney of dolls? That would explain why both companies don't have the Best history making deals with each other 🤣. Also that protective actitude of their signature character even if the rest of their character end up ruined... But this is a Bratz video after all, I'm glad that they're back, also they have THE Boa promoting them in Japan but they failed anyway... Wow... I'm curious what will happen now that both countries soft power is almost equal at this point.

[@LookinBratz]

Thank you so much for the shoutout!!! This was a great and informative video, I love your channel!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Omg thank you!! I absolutely love Lookin' Bratz - it's everything you could ever want in a Bratz database!

[@kaylaemory685]

I would do Jem and the Holograms as your next video since they were a big competition against Barbie in the 80s

[@meepMepp]

It's so weird to hear how well bratz were doing in europe. I'm from germany and a 2000s kid and i don't remember them making any waves here at all. I clearly remember my scene and cali girl barbies cause i thought they were cool and my friends had them (i was more of a regular barbie kid), but i go to fleamarkets quite often and i have seen maybe 3 bratz dolls at them in total over 10 years. This is so weird Also, i have a suggestion! I think it would be cool if you could make a video about moxie girls. I think they're very cute, but they're so overshadowed by bratz that i don't see a lot of people talk about them

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

That explains a lot on why I didn’t find much info about Bratz in Germany - other than they were distributed by Bandai. And I agree, Moxie Girls and Teens deserve some spotlight!

[@dollsm4339]

I can confirm this, I honestly think it very much depends on what area of Germany you live cause I don‘t remember seeing any Bratz dolls here in the south west at all (I was also really young) and I barely see them sold from that area on second hand sites either. But I know that Bratz had to have been in stores in Germany cause there were german ads and when you look at how common some doll lines are here, say passion 4 fashion 2nd edition, hair style, magic hair, genie magic etc (with the exception of Sasha of course… :/ ) and a bunch of really early ones til ca 2003, those probably weren‘t bought online. But yeah, Germany was very much my scene territory

[@meepMepp]

@@dollsm4339 that's really funny, cause i live north east! So exactly opposite, and still no bratz :') so weird how that works

[@meepMepp]

@samy laid yeah, them not being in stores sucks hard, i really wanted the full set of 20th anniversary bratz. Since LOL and RH are in shops and also mga brands i have no idea why they wouldn't sell the bratz here :| maybe they're scared those won't catch on here either or smth, but it sucks for us german doll collectors

[@meepMepp]

@samy laid i have never seen a bratz doll in a thrift store, but with the inflated ebay prices i think i'll pass on bratz for the time being.... Imma stick with lol and rh. I just wanted the anniversary dolls cause they'd be a cool set to have for a reasonable price

[@LoveKanye-yz7ly]

Yessss!!! While I was waiting for the video to drop I was also doing trying to do research & the information is like somewhat hard to find lol, thank you for making this video!!!!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thanks for watching! Researching for this video was a challenge, especially since some of these sources were behind paywalls or were not in English. I can't tell you how many times I thought I was done researching, when I found a new foreign commercial or partnership! 😂 But I'm sure there are some deals not covered in this video, such as in parts of SEA

[@idkjshssbvVs]

you should do a video on winx dolls! I think it could make for a really nice video considering the MANY types of winx dolls

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

I would love to cover Winx at some point! May have to divide it up by error though

[@allieneureither5637]

I would love to hear you talk about the Pleasant Company from opening to when they were purchased by Mattel! Thanks for all your well researched videos, they have been so fun to watch!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Great suggestion!!

[@allieneureither5637]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls I'm not sure if you consider American girl fashion dolls or not though 😅 love the channel BTW! Such interesting content 😊

[@jazypattt]

Do Polly Pocket & Betti Spaghetti Next!!

[@Jhud69]

I wasn't a fan of Bratz, I had one or two but it wasn't my favorite doll, was more of a MyScene person. But I appreciate how diverse both they and their fashions were and what they did for the doll history. Barbie needs to be kept on her toes sometimes.

[@mahlikelly5399]

i remember going to MYER and getting my Bratz dolls, and currently waiting for the new NEW reboot to release

[@LourdesIsHungry]

You should do a video about Liv Dolls, I was a huge fan and i was really sad when they got discontinued :c

[@whititah]

Thanktou . I want more bratz info movies like this!

[@kayceecassidy1097]

I love my Bratz 💕

[@NOT.NEREIDE]

10:16 sooo it's not racism, it's just racism

[@ranclouds3335]

This is so interesting, I love learning about doll history

[@darrellwallace4182]

This was completely FASCINATING! PLEASE do a review of the high fashion doll MDVANII created by the artist BILLY BOY* who worked with Mattel on the Barbie doll in the 1980s. I think fashion doll collector's would love to know about mdvanii as she was the beginning of fashion dolls created especially for adults as an adult collectors item, not a child's toy.

[@Deeviiouss]

I think Bratz will do well in South Korea

[@UncleMarco]

Ur videos always hit!!!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you!!

[@mycrazydollyworld6203]

Secret Central have you heard?

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Hoping to get a Secret Central related video out this year. Stay tuned!

[@strawberryyuriroselia3480]

Omg i didint know Boa was in a Brats music video😳

[@stevenallen9992]

Part 3

[@mohammedalenzi6347]

Could you make a video on fulla dolls

[@kelsey606]

Omg please do about the history of barbie in India

[@zallmir3459]

Can you make a video about Takara Jenny dolls? I know that you already put the topics on the "Barbie history in japan" but i think you should make a more detailed jenny dolls video. BTW i love your video, it's awesome👍

[@dotdotdotdotdotdotdottod]

I find it funny that they disclosed the Sasha for being black but added a white doll instead of creating another Asian character to better fit the Asian population.... But aslo just the fact they removed her as a character in general as if Asian children couldn't relate to her either. Mga dosent do this now with there lol surprise dolls as you can find the black versions of dolls here in Korea.I mean yes black representation matters. Buto so dose Asian representation. And honestly Asian dolls are far more under represented in dolls then there other conterparts. Especially in Asia. In Korea where the population is 98% Korean and the homeland and orgin of where koreans come from. Dolls here are very Eurocentric. Even the domesticated dolls like mimi have very Eurocentric features comparitive to that of what koreans actually look like. And while I understand the anime aesthetics that most koreans love. It's hard to ignore that most of these charters are based on white people. Mimi might be culturally Korean but she is still white. And barbie aslo fails to bring diversity into Korea where in the us and abrod diversity has been it's main focus. And barbie aslo fails to adapt herself culturally to the Korean market this why barbies popularity in Korea is very underground the only dolls I've seen push any sort of representation and have been popular is the lol omg dolls in Korea. The lol babies are very popular in Korea and not only that the dolls arnt focused on a single charter but a surprise factor in what charter you will receive. Not to mention these dolls are usually coloctable based so what ever the charters that are out in stock are the charters being sold (yes including the black ones) and it's something I've never seen done in Asia. But while this is a great way to show case diversity in dolls to children. My only problem is that there still is a lack in Asian dolls available to girls and boys in Asia who might want a doll that looks and represents themselves. Barbie could be that doll but knowing how mattle markets it's dolls internationally I don't see that happening anytime soon

[@jerramaurice7836]

How about Diva Starz

[@Mister_Dollz]

I think Funtastic LTD, suing MGA was absolutely moronic and shouldn't have happened, as MGA were being sued because they legally weren't able to give Funtastic new Bratz dolls.

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

MGA sued first because of the similarities to Myscene.

[@Zpdpn]

The it girls of 2000s

[@alejandromolinac]

I am an Old Lady….. there have been non White dolls for at least 40 years…. Mattel Included…. Don’t know why ya’ll act as if this is a remotely new concept…

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

It's one thing to manufacture dolls of color, it's another to distribute them and make sure that people can purchase them just like any other doll. Toy companies and stores have historically made a poor effort at distributing dolls of color: stores would request less shipments of "black" dolls based on preconceived ideas about "marketability", companies would typically oblige, and collectors would have to go out of their way to track down these dolls or buy them for obscene prices online even though they were recently released.

[@nateclipps]

Your not a old lady. Your a middle aged white man as seen from your profile picture. Why are you lying about your age?

[@boddouce]

It’s disappointing that you actually used footage from the Bratz cartoons but you didn’t even bother to mention them.

[@juliusmaloney]

MGA has a really, really spotty history with representation not helped by buyers both international & domestic. It’s still an issue today despite inroads in diversity & inclusivity across the industry. Not surprising then that the Sasha doll was excised from the line when rolled out into different markets. 🙄

[@BananaLungs]

video on mattel and all the dirty things they did to dethrone bratz

[@TN-ny1yg]

Bratz Chloe Sasha Jade. Yasmine. Magna Dana! Bratz kidz Megan Chole Yasmine Jade Dana! Sophia Maria Nettles.

[@oceanaquarius9415]

Have You Heard Monster High?

[@unluckycharm1340]

Im really disapoindet when they white wash some charecters

[@josephstoll8685]

Excellent, informative content as usual! I'm a 20 years+ Barbie collector, and purist. Despite that, I found this video so interesting! Thank you for your great work in telling doll history.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you so much! There were definitely quite a few parallels between Barbie and Bratz, in terms of international distribution.

[@josephstoll8685]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls Definitely agree! In fact your Japanese Barbie video was the first vid from your channel I discovered, now I’m hooked! 90s/early 00s Japanese Barbie is a major collection focus of mine.

[@somebodystopme4881]

when people don't understand how a majority works. you had a huge majority of whites living in European countries at the time( now there's a shit ton of refugees), course a black doll won't appeal to that majority cause they're not black, which means not a lot of sales for a black doll, which then means why waste the resources to produce things that won't sell in this market when we can use those same resources to make dolls that do

[@menezes8607]

tbh bratz flopped out of usa and uk but i like them

[@segantoycollector7735]

Yes, in my country you couldn't find them easily in toy stores, and they were way more expensive than Barbie.

[@silttecha7302]

💃🎪🎠🏇🎯🏹

[@alishasnecklace]

these videos are so great bc you think they’re about one thing that you might think no one wants to hear about but then it’s something people asked for in the previous video 😍 another video, another win bc you delivered !!!! ✨ thank you

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Haha, I know a lot of my viewers want Bratz content! I think there is so much to unpack about the brand's history

[@sexxxiipanda10]

Winkx? Winx? Dolls would be great Those like fairy ones