Category — Kids' Trends

It seems like Strawberry Shortcake’s makeover has inspired the folks at Hasbro to give the My Little Pony fillies some superstar styling updates. While not as dramatic and heart wrenching as the Strawberry Shortcake debacle, this is still a bit unsettling to me, mainly based on the celebrities that have been chosen to design the new My Little Pony toys. James Spader, William Shatner and Danny Aiello are on the list, and I can’t help wondering how and why. I mean, I can understand LeeAnn Rimes and Deborah Gibson doing designs. They probably played with My Little Pony toys themselves and have some sentimental relationship with the figures. I can even understand the selection of artists like Junko Mizuno and Catalina Estrada since their whimsical styles seem like they would really compliment the My Little Pony aesthetic.

But what does William Shatner know about My Little Pony? Or Danny Aiello for that matter? And since James Spader tends to play somewhat creepy characters that weird me out, I don’t even want to think about his My Little Pony. Anyway…

Hasbro is also having a My Little Pony design contest that has categories for both kids and adults. There are some great prizes, so check it out. Entries must be submitted by June 30th- the countdown is on!

A word of warning in advance: the PBS Kids’ Word World website is a bit chatty, so adjust your speakers accordingly before you visit. That said, Word World a great educational site that complements the PBS Kids show of the same name. There is also a very cool line of Word World toys for ambitious toddlers. Learning toys like Word World’s awesome dump truck are so fun kids won’t even realize that they are *gasp* educational.

You can call them Barbies and Bratz dolls and fight about the distinctions between the two if you’d like, but I prefer to call them “The First Serious Knock to a Developing Girl’s Self Esteem.” First of all, there is the body type which is biologically impossible to possess without extreme plastic surgery. If Barbie were human, she’d look like a Vegas stripper, and the Bratz’ lollipop heads and stick bodies absolutely scream “severe eating disorder”. Already, these dolls are creating an impossible goal for young girls to aspire to, but the dolls don’t stop at catalyzing body dysmorphic disorder and self esteem issues.

The doll pushers take it a step further and add hooker clothes and matching make-up to the dolls, as if to obliterate any connection to the “reality” of the female body. These dolls are designed for the male fantasy as much as Playboy is, even though they are intended for little girls. I have to admit, though, that Barbie comes across as more of a high-end escort, while the Bratz seem more like the less wealthy but equally slutty friends of Paris Hilton.

I intended this to be more of an informative post than a rant, but obviously I have some unresolved Barbie issues that need to be addressed before an informative post on these dolls can happen. So, more later…

The Cars phenomenon is even better than the Power Rangers for providing child-focused entertainment that adults can tolerate. The movie was nominated for 2 Oscars and actually won a Golden Globe and is packed with memorable celebrity voices like John Ratzenberger and Cheech Marin, which add to the humor of the talking cars. Cars also has amazing animation that somehow hypnotizes children into stillness while the movie is on, then transforms this hypnotic state into a residual post-film Cars obsession. Not content to rest on the laurels of $1 billion + in merchandise related retail sales that Cars has already accumulated, the Disney/Pixar crew is already busy working on a sequel, due in 2012.

This is actually good news for people who have kids in their lives. It means that Cars themed merchandise and parties will continue to be relevant and “cool” with kids for years to come. Some of the cooler Cars items:

The Disney Cars Twin Bed - an update of the classic Silver Spoons race car bed.

Cars Video Games - Mater National Championship is the most recent, but Cars: The Videogame is also a lot of fun.

And of course, there are plenty of Cars toy cars!

For decades, kids have loved the Power Rangers. I have to admit, even as an adult, I really like the wacky Power Rangers costumes and the ridiculous villains and battles, so I find the Power Rangers less annoying than most other kid trends. The Power Rangers also inspire a lot of devotion and loyalty among people who have grown up watching their spandex wearing majesty.

The Power Rangers are teenagers, but I think that is only to lend slightly more plausibility to the story lines. It doesn’t add much plausibility, but at least it is more reasonable than trying to accept children spending all of their time fighting alien monsters without adult supervision. Also, I would imagine there are some laws regarding what kinds of stunts kids can perform for TV shows, and obviously there is no way those stunt doubles would pass for children. Their chronology not withstanding, the Power Rangers otherwise act like smart kids. They are very innocent and noble in their intentions and seem generally uninterested in normal teenage concerns beyond school and fighting aliens. So my overall recommendation is to stock up on some Power Rangers DVDs the next time you babysit and then relax. The kids will be entertained, and you’ll be amused by the sheer camp appeal.

Princess Jasmine first debuted in Disney’s Aladdin, but she since has become a key member of the Disney Princess crew. According to Wikipedia, “Jasmine holds the record for appearing in more media than any of the other Disney princesses, as well as being the first Disney princess not of European descent, plus not to marry a prince (suggesting that’s she is a liittle (sic) less materialistic than the first five).” Talk about raising the bar! Jasmine is a triple threat! Even Jennifer Lopez wants to be Jasmine!

Much like other Disney Princesses, Jasmine’s mother is absent and her father is a dominant, controlling figure in her life. Jasmine is like Ariel in that she chooses to rebel from her father’s attempt to choose her husband. ( Hmmm, another flash of insight…I wonder if there is a link between the headstrong temper tantrums of some little princesses and the headstrong nature of the Disney Princesses…something to ponder…because my nieces can throw some crazy tantrums…) But, at least Jasmine’s demonstrating independent thinking.

Like all Disney Princess toys and accessories, anything emblazoned with Jasmine’s image is bound to be a big success with little girls.

Since my last post on Dora the Explorer, I came across a great Dora article on NPR. I love that it mentions that “Some parents might also find her a little annoying — when she encourages kids to yell, for instance.” That seems to be big secret to successful kids products: if adults find it annoying, it will be a huge success. Adults may have to suck up the annoyance factor, though, because Dora-themed shows and products do the double duty of entertaining while educating. However, here are a few annoyance-free Dora products for the little explorers in your life:

• Dora the Explorer toothbrushes, which make kids actually want to brush their teeth
• Pampers Splashers Swim Pants featuring Dora the Explorer
• Dora the Explorer Folding Potty Seat - I don’t know what to make of this, but it sort of fascinates me.
• Dora Bedding - because sweet dreams are usually quiet.

My littlest niece has become a die-hard fan of the LeapFrog Fridge DJ. She’s a very active 15-month old but the Fridge DJ helps to keep her entertained, preoccupied and learning. Her mom emphatically states it’s the best toy purchase they have made for her so far, and she’s not the only mom raving about the Fridge DJ, either. My biggest concern was the noise factor, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue for the parents, so I guess it is not that annoying (or less annoying than having a screaming, crying child.)

Like most other Leap Frog toys, the Fridge DJ is durable and reasonably priced, making it a great gift for parents of busy toddlers.

Aurora is better known by the title of her film, Sleeping Beauty. People who remember Aurora from Sleeping Beauty will remember that she mainly wears a blue dress in the film, but for some reason, upon her incorporation into the Disney Princess team, her primary clothing color changed to pink. Not just any pink. Pepto Bismol pink. And that same vile shade of pink is used not only on Aurora’s clothes, but also on most Princess-related merchandise. This particular shade of pink is my main problem with Princess Aurora. This shade of pink is also a big reason little girls LOVE the Disney Princesses. I am not sure if Aurora is as popular as Belle and Ariel, but I have a feeling girls’ dresses in that shade of pink are really, really popular.

Ok, I am a bit cranky today and don’t feel like turning this post into a rant about awful shades of pink, so I will leave a few links for your enjoyment and post more on Aurora later.

• Princess Aurora stationary and games for Princess Parties
• Sleeping Beauty Castle paper model
• Grown-up girls may like Royal Doulton’s Sleeping Beauty Figurines
• Sleeping Beauty postage stamps from Grenada
• Sleeping Beauty Platinum Edition Blu-ray disc will be released in Fall 2008, just in time for Christmas!

2. Princess Belle: My niece’s Disney Princess obsession quickly grew to include Belle from Beauty & the Beast, so she’s the next Disney Princess up for discussion. Like Ariel, Belle is smart and independent, has a very complicated relationship with her father and an absent mother. (Whoa, it didn’t occur to me until I typed that just how Freudian Disney heroines can be. Anyway…) Unlike Ariel, who needs to rebel against her domineering, larger-than-life father, Belle has the responsibility of basically managing her sweet but eccentric and relatively clueless father’s life. He goes missing one day, she takes off to find him, which leads her into meeting the beast, etc. The best part about the entire film is the underlying message that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, even though that message is somewhat dampened by the fact that the beast eventually turns back into a pretty hot cartoon guy. Regardless, Princess Belle toys tend to be a big hit with little girls.

Here are some great Disney Belle gift ideas:

• Disney Princess Tea Time With Me Little Belle
• Disney Princess Belle Deluxe Red Velvet dress
• Disney Princess Belle Snowglobe
• Disney Princess Glowing Beauty girls pajamas