American Girl (company)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American Girl (formerly Pleasant Company), a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., is a direct marketer, children's publisher, and experiential retailer that provides an array of premium-quality books, dolls, clothes, toys, and accessories for girls ages 3 and up.
The company's flagship line is a collection of historical characters that come to life through books, 18-inch dolls, and accessories. The fictional heroines--who each start their series around the age of nine and turn ten in the middle--live during important times in America's past, providing "girl-sized" views of significant events that helped shape the United States. In addition to the historical collection, the company also offers a wide range of contemporary 18-inch dolls and accessories, called Just Like You (formerly American Girl of Today), as well as the Bitty Baby line of soft, huggable baby dolls and related toys that encourage nurturing behavior.
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[edit] History
In 1983, educator, writer and entrepreneur, Pleasant T. Rowland was looking for special Christmas gifts for her young nieces, dolls specifically. As it turns out, she was disappointed with her options. She knew she couldn't be the only woman looking for an attractive, high-quality doll that said something about what it meant to be a girl growing up in America and something that girls could treasure for years to come. That shopping experience, coupled with a visit to Colonial Williamsburg, inspired the historical line of books and dolls that would bring history alive and provide girls with role models.
To achieve her goal, Rowland basically broke most of today's standard "marketing rules." She had no experience in the business she was about to tackle, she invested her entire life savings in the idea, she had no money for advertising, and she conducted no focus groups. Not suprisingly, she hit brick walls when she proposed her idea to bankers and investors and very few people at the time believed her idea would come to fruition. But Rowland's belief in the product line--along with her determination, persistence, and courage--paid off. And, a little over 10 years later, she had an immensely profitable--and very real--doll, clothing, and publishing empire. The first dolls were designed by Göetz in Germany; older dolls have tags that say "Made in West Germany." In the 1990s production was moved to Hungary for a year and then to China.
In 1986 the first catalogs were sent out. They contained the first three dolls in the line: Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, and Molly McIntire. These catalogs featured only the first three stories of each character's eventual six-book series, as well as their pajamas, beds and trunks. These dolls established the original format of the collections. Historical details were scrupulously observed.
During the years 1986-1998, the company expanded, adding three more historical characters (Felicity Merriman, Addy Walker, and Josefina Montoya), as well as a contemporary magazine called "American Girl", followed by a line of contemporary 18-inch 'American Girl Today' dolls and the 'Bitty Baby' collection for younger girls.
In 1998 Mattel, Inc. acquired Pleasant Company. This raised concerns by some consumers since the American Girl brand was seen as an alternative to Barbie. However, Rowland believed and spoke emphatically about the two brands being able to co-exist happily together, as they meet the various needs of girls at different times in their development.
As announced at the time of the acquisition, Rowland retired as president of American Girl in 2000. In 2004, the name of the company changed from 'Pleasant Company' to 'American Girl,' to better reflect how consumers were naturally identifying with the company.
Like any business that is continually growing and evolving, American Girl has made changes to the way it does business over the past 20 years. For instance, the creative presentation of the catalog now focuses on expressing American Girl as a lifestyle brand, to better reflect the "realness" of how girls genuinely interact with the brand and to illustrate the total experience for girls and their moms. American Girl also places great importance on evaluating product mix and managing forecasts to best meet the needs of its customers. As in any business, items that have low consumer appeal may not be re-introduced to the line. In most cases, items are labeled "currently sold out" vs. "retired" since there is always the possibility the company may re-introduce items at some point (this is especially true within the historical collection). The only exception is with products that are available only for a specified time or while supplies last. There have also been several rounds of layoffs at the company as well.
In 2000 Kit Kittredge was added to the historical line. Evidence of the company's new management became apparent, as the layout of the catalogs no longer featured individual doll poses and parchment background schemes. In addition, new products were added more frequently, particularly in the 'American Girl of Today' lines. The company began a line of Limited Edition modern dolls, which are produced for only one year. An eighth historical doll, Kaya, was added in 2002.
In 2003 American Girl teamed up with Red Om films and Julia Roberts to create the first American Girl movie. The first "Best Friends" doll, Nellie O'Malley, was added to the historical collection as a movie tie-in. This new product line would continue in 2005 with a redesigned Felicity collection, second "Best Friend" doll (Elizabeth Cole) and movie, "Felicity: An American Girl Adventure", and Molly's English Friend Emily and the movie "Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front" in 2006.
In 2005, the "American Girl Today" line was renamed to the "Just Like You" series.
2006 is the 20th anniversary of American Girl. The website features stories about the company, including one from the woman who was the model for the Kirsten doll. [1]
[edit] American Girl Collection dolls
The American Girls Collection is a brand of dolls and other items catered to girls' interest. The American Girl line includes eight cloth-bodied dolls, each character representing a particular period and region of U.S. history and dressed in clothing representative of the time, place and social background of the character.
Although the books are written for the eight-to-twelve-year-old market, they are not afraid to write about challenging issues. The books cover child labor, child abuse, poverty, racism, slavery and war, among other topics; the tone is gentle so as to appeal to a middle class school age girl. The books are historically accurate and focus on teaching their readers lessons about self-reliance and 'doing good for others.' In the back of every book is a "Looking Back" section that talks about the historical setting the characters live in, each tied into the theme of the book (the introductory book introduces the time in history, the birthday stories talks about childhood and growing up, etc.)
Short stories in small hardback books were published starting in 1999 that gave more insight into the characters, set either during or after the events of the six central books. Some of these were published in American Girl Magazine before coming out in book form. Different "Looking Back" sections pertaining to the story were given (e.g., Addy's Summer Place talks about Cape Island in 1864; Kit's Home Run discusses baseball in 1934.) The six characters at the time each got a single story with each collection. In Set Four, a story for Kit was added, upping the number in a set to seven; in the last offered set, a story about Kaya replaced Felicity. The last group of stories were published in 2003 and the single books were discontinued early in 2006 by the company, but are being released in a collection form. Each book has five stories; to make everyone's set an even five for each, Kit, Kaya, and Felicity are having new stories published in these. [2]
The first dolls in the American Girl/Historical line — Samantha, Kirsten, Molly — all share the same face mold. New face molds are noted with the individual dolls. Originally, the dolls were created with white muslin bodies. This was changed in 1991, in response to the low necklines of Felicity's gowns. Thus, earlier dolls are easily recognized and considered more collectible.
Each of the historical characters is given a historical year ending in 4, even though their stories roughly cover about two years each. The series more accurately spans a time from xxx4 to xxx6 (such as Felicity's covering 1774 to 1776); thus, two of the Best Friends books have different years on their books while being part of the same series. The "Best Friend" line of dolls - companions to the historical dolls - are set either during or after the events of her companion's series. Each of their books - one per doll - cover a different situation of the time that pertains to their story.
[edit] Kaya, 1764
Kaya (pronounced KY-yah) is a Native American girl of the Nez Perce tribe. Kaya's full name is Kaya'aton'my', or "she who arranges rocks." Her story takes place in America's Northwest in 1764, before white settlers disturbed the Native American way of life in the west.
Kaya was introduced in 2002, the same time Felicity left the catalog. American Girl worked closely with the Nez Perce Indians to create Kaya. She is the only doll that does not smile with her mouth open, as baring one's teeth is considered offensive in Nez Perce people; no other doll shares her face mold. Her collection and books do not follow the trends set down by previous dolls, more accurately reflecting the history of life in the tribe. There are many Nez Perce words and phrases in her books, and a glossary in the back to define the words used. These words are spelled phonetically in the story to ease in pronunciation.
[edit] Felicity Merriman, 1774
Felicity Merriman was the first doll added to the American Girls Collection following the initial introduction of Kirsten, Samantha and Molly in 1986. Felicity is a colonial girl living in Williamsburg, Virginia who is stuck between Patriot and Loyalist viewpoints at the beginning of the American Revolution.
In 2002 American Girl started to take steps that pointed to the removal of Felicity from the American Girl collection. Felicity was taken out of new print catalogs. The last catalog to feature her included the note: "Attention Felicity fans! This is the last time you'll see Felicity in our catalog--from now on, she'll be featured exclusively at americangirl.com." As one collector put it: "Attention fans. We at Mattel don't think Felicity is hip and trendy enough to be very marketable. We are banning her to the back burner, to the depths of our website, as if she never existed." [3] In addition, about half of her existing product line was discontinued, including many accessories and outfits.
However, directly contradicting this theory, Felicity was re-launched in October 2005 with the release of her movie; many discontinued items were reintroduced, while other items were replaced with redesigned accessories. One such change is her so-called 'Meet dress.' Originally a rose print, it has been replaced with her former 'Traveling Gown'. The original Meet dress is now available separately while the Traveling Gown is now only available with the doll. Felicity's hair was originally a carrot-red, but has been changed to a more auburn shade.
In connection to these changes, as well as the introduction of the Elizabeth Cole doll, Felicity's books have been reillustrated.
A new TV Movie entitled Felicity: An American Girl Adventure was broadcast on the WB in November 2005.
[edit] Elizabeth Cole, 1775
Elizabeth is Felicity's best friend, the daughter of a Loyalist during the American Revolution. She was introduced Summer 2005. Her character is featured in the Felicity film.
Originally, Elizabeth was illustrated as having brown hair and brown eyes. However, due to concerns that the dolls would resemble each other too much (also that the young actresses in the movie would look too much alike), she was created with blonde hair and blue eyes. The books have been reillustrated for the change.
She uses Josefina's face mold and is the first doll to have removable earrings. She has her own line of clothing and accessories that complement Felicity's line. Elizabeth has only one book called "Very Funny, Elizabeth" set in 1775; her Looking Back Section is about marriage.
[edit] Josefina Montoya, 1824
Josefina Montoya lives in the New Mexico area during Spanish control. She and her sisters must face a new way of life after the death of their mother, which happens before the events in the stories. Josefina's family speaks Spanish, and so there are many Spanish words and phrases in her books and a glossary in the back to define the words used in the story. Her books have also been translated into Spanish.
Josefina was the last doll introduced before the Mattel takeover. Josefina was the second of three dolls to have a cultural panel to assist her creation, the first being Addy and the third being Kaya. The Josefina doll was the first to use her face mold; Nellie, Elizabeth, and Marisol have shared her face mold.
[edit] Kirsten Larson, 1854
Kirsten Larson is a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up on the Minnesota plains. She is an immigrant from Sweden who lives in the Minnesota Territory and faces the hardships of adjusting to a new and unfamiliar country.
Kirsten is one of the first three dolls produced by American Girl. Only a few of her items have been redesigned since their introduction, and such redesigns have been small. Like with all the dolls, some items have been retired; however, the majority of these items have been special-edition items to begin with.
Unlike many of the dolls, Kirsten's books have maintained their original illustrations (with the exception of the covers.) Her doll and books are especially popular in the Midwest, where her stories are set.
[edit] Addy Walker, 1864
Addy Walker is a fugitive slave who escapes with her mother, from North Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War, after her master split up her family by selling her father and older brother to another plantation owner.
An African American, Addy was the fifth doll to be added to the collection. She was the first non-white doll to be added to the historical line and was the first doll to have earrings. A new mold was created for this doll to give Addy African features.
The Addy Walker books were written by Connie Porter and originally illustrated by Melodye Rosales, but were redrawn by Bradford Brown and Dahl Taylor.
[edit] Samantha Parkington, 1904
Samantha is a wealthy orphan being raised by her grandmother in 1904 Mount Bedford, New York. Samantha learns the realities of her Victorian world - from her life of luxury to the prejudices and difficulties faced by the lower classes.
One of the original three dolls, Samantha is the most popular. Her books have been authored by various writers, unlike most of the other books in the collection.
Samantha was the first doll to have a TV movie made about her. The movie was called, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, and it debuted during Thanksgiving in 2004.
(Queen Victoria died in 1901, thus ending the Victorian era and making it the Edwardian era named after her son, Edward VII, who was the ruler of the United Kingdom in 1904, but the doll is marketed as Victorian.)
[edit] Nellie O'Malley, 1906
Nellie is a poor Irish girl who has worked in factories and as a servant. After losing her parents to a flu epidemic, Nellie and her two sisters Bridget and Jenny are adopted by Samantha and her kind aunt and uncle.
Nellie's character was introduced in Samantha's original books, and was the first of the 'Best Friends' dolls to be introduced. While a prominent part of Samantha's books, her own book is set in 1906.
Nellie starred in "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday" on Thanksgiving 2004.
Nellie has her own line of clothing and accessories. She shares Josefina's face mold. Nellie has only one book, called "Nellie's Promise" set in 1906; her looking back section is about adoption.
[edit] Kit Kittredge, 1934
Kit Kittredge is growing up in the early years of the Great Depression in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her family struggles to adjust to the realities of the economy after Kit's father loses his job. Although referred to as 'Kit' in almost all books and promotional material, Kit's full name is Margaret Mildred Kittredge.
Kit was the first doll to have short hair and freckles. Kit also has the classic, original American Girl doll face mold. She debuted in 2000 as the seventh American Girl historical doll.
Kit will be featured in an upcoming movie, produced by Julia Roberts and Walden Media and written by Ann Peacock. The tentative title of Kit's movie is 'Kit: An American Girl in the Great Depression.' [citation needed]
[edit] Ruthie Smithens, 1934
Ruthie Smithens grew up in the early years of the Great Depression with her best friend, Kit Kittredge. Unlike Kit, Ruthie's family is not heavily affected by the Great Depression as her father keeps his job. With Kit's movie coming to theatres in 2007, it is speculated that a Ruthie doll will be produced to accompany her. While the name has been trademarked by American Girl, this does not confirm that she will be produced.
[edit] Molly McIntire, 1944
Molly's story is set during World War II. Her father is off caring for wounded soldiers in England. Molly is left with her mother and three siblings in Jefferson, Illinois, where she helps her family and loved ones to stay cheery during the war.
Molly was one of the original three dolls offered and remains a favorite to both children and collectors alike. She is especially popular with older fans who were born or grew up in her era (The 1940s). She is the only American Girl doll to wear glasses so far. Molly's hair is a dark brown and comes in long braids.
In anticipation of the Movie starring Maya Ritter as Molly and Tory Green as Emily, many of Molly's items are in the process of being retired and will possibly be rereleased.
[edit] Emily Bennett, 1944
Emily Bennett is an English girl who is sent to stay with the McIntires for two weeks in the story "Happy Birthday, Molly!" with the promise to be a brave soldier for England. At first Molly thinks Emily is snobby, but slowly their bond begins to strengthen as they share their love for the English princesses and the movies!
She is the third doll in the "Best Friends" collection and was released September 5, 2006 along with her collection. Emily and Molly are the stars of the next movie which will premiere Fall 2006.
Her book is set during Molly's series in 1944. The Looking Back section covers children of the war, who were sent outside of Europe. [4]
[edit] Just Like You
Formerly known as the "American Girl of Today" line, this style of doll was introduced in 1995. In December of 2005, the name of the line was changed.
The "Just Like You" line of dolls has twenty-five options (three have been retired), each with a unique combination of face mold, skin, hair and eye color. Many of the dolls use the original mold used for the American Girl/Historical line; some use the molds designed for Addy and Josefina, and one doll has a unique East Asian face. (There are currently no Just Like You dolls with Kaya's face mold.) This allows the owner to choose a combination that best resembles herself; dolls are not uniquely customized by the company. The doll comes dressed in a modern outfit and includes a book with a music CD that promotes selfconfidence. Many modern accessories are available for these dolls, from ever-changing clothing to beds to furniture and even wheelchairs. The dolls are the same size and style as the historical line. Many collectors use these dolls to create their own historical dolls and characters.
Beginning in 2001, American Girl introduced limited edition Girl of Today dolls, which feature smaller, specific collections and individual storybooks, similar to the historical doll's "Meet" book. Although each collection is specific to the doll's character, each features accessories based on the book's plotline, and each doll has an animal companion. Each of these dolls was only available for a year after being released. The line is now known as the Girls of the Year.
[edit] Girls of the Year
2001 - 2002: Lindsey Bergman
Lindsey is a ten-year-old Jewish girl who is eager to help. But sometimes, her help creates more problems than solutions.
This was the first of the "Girls of the Year" series. She used the original face mold.
2004: Kailey Hopkins
Kailey is a devout environmentalist who faces a test when she needs to save her beach from developers.
Introduced during the Christmas season of 2003, Kailey was retired December 2004. She used the same mold as the original historical characters and Lindsey.
2005: Marisol Luna
A dancer from Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, Marisol is devastated when her parents move away from her close-knit community...and leave her without a place to dance!
Introduced during the Christmas season of 2004, Marisol was retired December 2005. Her collection sold out in early December, 2005. Marisol uses Josefina's face mold.
2006: Jess Akiko McConnell
Jess, along with her parents, goes to Belize to explore Mayan ruins and makes some important discoveries of her own.
Introduced in December 2005, following the early sell-out of Marisol's collection, Jess has a unique face shape shared by no other American Girl doll. This is the first specifically bi-racial doll introduced by the company (her father is Irish-American and her mother is Japanese-American). She is also the first L.E. doll to be given a middle name.
2007: Nicki Fleming
Nicki is confirmed to be the Doll of the Year in 2007.
Nicki is an animal lover who has a natural knack of handling them. But when she volunteers to train a service dog, she finds that responsibility isn't all fun.
Nicki will also have a second book, which continues her story as she faces the problems of becoming a big sister, dealing with being in the middle with her friends, and letting Sprocket, the service dog, go.
Nicki will use the classic face mold and have long, curly brown hair and blue eyes with freckles. She is the first doll to have two books, Nicki and Thanks to Nicki.
[edit] American Girl Place
American Girl Places are limited stores where American Girl dolls and acessories can be picked up directly. Each store has, in addition to displays for the dolls, a café (with planned meals), a doll hair salon, a drop off Doll Hospital, and a theater. Many acessories are picked out with small cards and taken up to the register for purchase. The first store debuted in Chicago, followed by the New York store. The most recent store opened in Los Angeles in 2006.
There have been rumors of American Girl Boutique and Bistros opening in other locations in the United States. These boutiques will be smaller and, notably, lack the theatre.
[edit] Other product lines of note
[edit] Bitty Baby Collection and Bitty Twins
Bitty Baby, a baby doll, comes in several different styles (African American, Asian American, Blond Caucasian, Brunette Caucasian, and Hispanic). She is 15 inches tall. She comes wearing a sleeper and with her own Bitty Bear (a small, 5 inch tall teddy bear).
This collection was originally introduced in 1990 as 'Our New Baby,' with a complete line of very realistic accessories for the doll as well as matching ones for real infants. However, this collection underwent a drastic change and was re-aimed at the toddler set, with the accessories becoming less realistic. In addition, the clothing line was revamped to be sized for toddlers and preschool aged girls.
Also part of this line are the "Bitty Twins", a set of boy/girl toddler dolls that come as a pair in either blond or brunette. They feature 'real' hair, unlike the molded hair of the Bitty Baby line. Originally the Bitty twins were marketed as babies and came in sleepers like Bitty Baby, but have since been aged up to roughly pre-school age (the girls were given longer hair).
[edit] Hopscotch Hill Collection
Based on the book series by Valerie Tripp, this was a set of four dolls aimed at school-aged children. They featured hard plastic bodies, unlike the other dolls by American Girl, and were multi-jointed. The first dolls to be introduced were Hallie, Skylar, and Logan. They were then joined by Gwen. Delany, Lindy, and Conner were characters that were given books but not dolls.
The line was removed from catalogs in 2005 and retired June 2006.
[edit] Girls of Many Lands
Premiering in 2002, this set of eight dolls and books was aimed at twelve-year-old and older girls. The dolls were each from a different, pivotal time in history, and were a large departure for the company, as only one of the dolls was American (Native Alaskan). The others were from France, England, China, India, Ethiopia, Turkey, and Ireland. They were also far more detailed and designed more for display, rather than play. The books were written by authors who shared the same heritage as the characters in their books. The books are as follows:
- Isabel: Taking Wing, England, 1592 by Annie Dalton
- Cecile: Gates of Gold, France, 1711 by Mary Casanova
- Leyla: The Black Tulip, Turkey, 1720 by Alev Lytle Croutier
- Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot, Ethiopia, 1846 by Jane Kurtz
- Minuk: Ashes in the Pathway, Yu'pik Alaska, 1892 by Kirkpatrick Hill
- Spring Pearl: The Last Flower, China, 1857 by Laurence Yep
- Kathleen: The Celtic Knot, Ireland, 1937 by Siobhan Parkinson
- Neela: Victory Song, Indian, 1939 by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni
Despite winning the Oppenheimer Toy Award in 2003, this line was retired in 2004.
[edit] Movies
[edit] Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004)
Samantha was the first American Girl movie to be broadcast on The WB, on 23 November 2004. During the movie, animated commercials for Tide, a brand of laundry detergent, were broadcast. One of the commercials included a scene where a girl received a Samantha doll for Christmas. The movie was broadcast again on November 25 (Thanksgiving Day U.S.). It drew six million viewers. The movie starred:
Annasophia Robb as Samantha Parkington
Kelsey Lewis as Nellie O'Malley
Mia Farrow as Grandmary
Jordan Bridges as Uncle Gard
Rebecca Mader as Cornelia
- The movie went to VHS and DVD quickly in time for Christmas 2004.
- Samantha's movie is one of the most successful TV movies of all time.
- AnnaSophia Robb was nominated for a Young Artist Award for the role of Samantha, but didn't win.
- Olivia Ballantyne won a Young Artist Award for her portrayal of Jenny O'Malley.
[edit] Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005)
Shailene Woodley as Felicity Merriman
Katie Henney as Elizabeth Cole
John Schneider as Edward Merriman
Marcia Gay Harden as Martha Merriman
Kevin Zegers as Ben Davidson
Eulala Scheel as Nan Merriman
- The movie went to VHS and DVD quickly in time for Christmas 2005.
- Shailene Woodley was nominated for a Young Artist Award.
[edit] Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front (2006)
The third movie is currently in production to be released this fall. It will air on Disney Channel on Sunday, November 26, 2006 at 7:00 PM Central Time.
The first two movies were broadcast on The WB; Molly's movie will be on Disney Channel since UPN is merging with the WB and both sides feel that the movie's content will not fit with the goals of the new network.
- Maya Ritter as Molly McIntire
- Tory Green as Emily
- Hannah Fleming as Susan
- Samantha Wilson as Linda
- Josette Halpert as Alison Hargate
- David Baker as Dr. James McIntire
- Molly Ringwald as Helen McIntire
- Genevieve Farrell as Jill McIntire
- Andrew Chalmers as Ricky McIntire
[edit] Kit: An American Girl in the Great Depression (2007)
Kit's movie was recently announced at ComingSoon.Net and Yahoo!, among other sites. It will be produced by Julia Roberts and Walden Media, written by Ann Peacock, and, unlike the three preceding American Girl movies, will appear in theatres.
- The movie will probably arrive in theatres in time for Thanksgiving 2007.
[edit] Awards
The company has earned many awards, most notably the Oppenheimer Toy Award (eight times).
[edit] Criticism
The company has been criticized on several fronts.
- The pricing of the American Girl products has been a consistent issue. Dolls themselves cost $87, and most outfits cost around $26, with furniture sometimes costing over $100. The quality of the clothing line is questionable, at best, with some of the dresses having raw fabric edges at the collar, sleeve, and jacket edges.
- A number of complaints from longtime fans have been about Mattel's management of the product line. In particular, there has been criticism about retirement of many quality items, and about replacements or new products deemed to be of lesser quality.
[edit] Girls, Inc.
In August 2005, one of the products offered by American Girl was the "I Can" band. The company web site stated that "American Girl will give 70 cents for every dollar of “I CAN” band sales, plus a $50,000 donation, to Girls, Inc., a national organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold."[5] The relationship to Girls, Inc. has been criticized by some conservative activists [6] who allege that Girls, Inc. promotes abortion rights and acceptance of homosexual orientation. American Girl states that these donations are earmarked to support the work of Girls, Inc. in the areas of intellectual development, leadership, and sports programs.
[edit] Marisol
In 2005 residents of Pilsen, a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, claimed the book Marisol portrayed their neighborhood as unsafe, because in a passage Marisol's mother explains that they are moving to the suburb of Des Plaines because Pilsen is "dangerous" and "there is no place to play." The Latin-American community decided to protest the book and doll.
Stephanie Spanos, senior public relations associate for American Girl, responded: “We feel that this brief passage has been taken out of context in the book...In the story you’ll see that Marisol’s parents want to have a house and a yard, and a place for her to play. As well as [those], there are some other reasons, too, that they are talking about moving.” [7]
[edit] De-emphasis on Educational Aspects
Many collectors and long-time fans of American Girl feel that the company has become too focused on materialism and not on the educational aspects of the characters themselves. When the company started, it was believed to be focused on teaching girls about history from the angle of children their own age. Also, many collectors feel that too many people use the dolls as nothing more than status symbols and ignore the educational aspects of the Historical Collection.
One well-known example of this is the change of the term for modern girls from "American Girl of Today" (which emphasized girls of the current era being part of history too) to "Just Like You." This is theorized as competition with the "My Twinn" doll company. Originally the dolls came with six books and a writing kit so that the owner could write creative stories about the character (in the pattern of the Historical characters);then in subsequant years with one book and a writing kit, then a scrapbook with places to write a short story and write experiences together; currently as of 2006 they come with a single book with a CD of music and are advertised as being stand-ins for the child herself.
[edit] Labor issues
- The American Girl Place store in New York City has recently been the center of a labor dispute with Actors Equity Association (AEA). The American Girl Theater runs 2 shows: a 1 hour 15 minute musical theater production with child actors performing the roles of the historical girl characters and adult actors performing supporting roles, and a shorter musical theater show for younger audiences in which adult actors portray the stuffed animal "Bitty" characters. The unions representing actors, dancers and musicians reviewed the store's practices and performances and felt that the actors were entitled to union representation, as they were performing (much as they would in a Broadway theater). On August 3, 2006, 14 of the 18 adult actors at the store went on strike. [8]
[edit] Sources
- Official American Girl web site
- American Girl Playthings: Documented American Girl Collecting Resource for most American Girl related products
- Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting
[edit] External links
News
- Archived Article about the uniqueness of the American Girls Doll.
- On-Set Pictures: Molly: An American Girl Victory
- Kit's Movie Headed For Theatres
