Fishing and Other Fun in The Barbie World

This certainly has been a busy summer for Barbie. First the epic battle with rivals The Bratz, then the battle with a record-sized catfish in North Carolina, and Barbie has come out shining like a star every time. Barbie has also been reaching out to her fan base with the cloyingly cute site BarbieGirls.com. MSN calls it one of Web 2.0’s Most Ridiculous Sites for a good reason. Just click on the link to BarbieGirls. I challenge you. If you are over the age of 11 and that ceaseless music (with no mute button) doesn’t drive you completely mad in about 5 minutes, congratulations, you are probably in line to be the next Gandhi.

I have to admit that I am stunned that toys like the plastic Barbie fishing rods are so durable, yet I am also encouraged by that durability–and the fact that Barbie has outdoor gear for girls, even if all the products are only available in shades of Pepto pink. And I just found out that there are Barbie learning toys that actually teach numbers and math, so it seems like Barbie is slowly getting a little more substance beneath all that fluffy style. But don’t worry, there will always be plenty of fabulous Barbie dress-up games, too.

However, I worry for the future of Barbie and The Diamond Castle-related merchandise. Princess Barbie’s pink gown is in a shade very similar to Disney Princess Aurora’s gown; I’d hate to see Barbie on the receiving end of an intellectual property smack down like the one Mattel laid on The Bratz. Especially when they two worked so well together on the Disney Princess Barbies!

Related posts:

1. Barbie Takes Down the Bratz
2. More Barbie Versus Bratz Drama
3. Barbie vs. Bratz : The Battle Continues
4. Strawberry Shortcake Meets Dr. 90210
5. Another Blow for The Bratz

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