Were my predictions about Mattel right?

In August 2018 I wrote a post titled 8 Things I Want to See from Mattel in 2019 . In this post, I've put together a sort of wish list of things that myself and other Barbie collectors would like to wear off the assembly line. It's April 2021, so I think it's fair to look back and see if Mattel has taken anything off the list.

I just want to point out that I started writing this post before the Monster High reboot was announced, so I left it as a draft and started working on this post. Then I forgot about it for a couple of weeks and since I didn't have anything else planned for the blog I thought it was a good time to finish it.

The text of the original post is in italics. I've skipped a few parts that aren't very relevant, but you can always go back to the original post and read the full text. But let's stop ruminating and start posting. 

Designed to move Ken with rooted hair and at least 4 different skin tones. (...] Obviously I'd like to see Kane's large, slim body in an MTM version as well, but we're putting it off for 2020.

Well, we have Ken Made To Move dolls but in 2020. Unfortunately they were part of an assembly line (BMR 1959) and were not part of a toy line and therefore cost more. They have hairy roots, at least 2 and the other has loose hair. We don't have a Ken Made To Move that is wide or narrow yet and to be honest I don't think that will ever happen. And if so, it will most likely be a very expensive and collectible thing.

Small and long objects move . It's now Mattel! Yes, I am aware that waving is more common on newer bodies, but our small, long wrists need two working elbows. But please don't make it hard to find or easy to maintain.

Well it happened. Unfortunately, Mattel has made some questionable choices here. They developed a large animated puppet (basketball player) with an unusual skin color. The Made To Move dolls from the toy line seemed to disappear for several years, only to return as collectors (BMR1959 dolls). They made a large doll (long hair with pink cape) and a small doll (orange dress with striped jacket). A new set of MTM dolls has been announced for the toy line, but there don't appear to be any big or small dolls.

Here's my problem with this: manufacturing a new body type requires some investment as you need to create a 3D model and make a new mold in order to produce it. Doing all that work to create a doll with such a physique doesn't seem very smart. Maybe I'm crazy, but if they sell more dolls with that body type, they'll get their investment back faster. That's what people want to buy, Mattel doesn't want to ... make money?

A perfectly curved line of 3 or 4 different skin tones. Being the most popular of the new leotards, I'm sure it will be a hit.

It didn't happen. I think MTM has 4 curvy bodies: dancer, floral yoga pants, BMR1959 and one from the new breed line. And while it's not bad, I think they could do more. I bet if they made more MTM zigzag dolls they would sell them.

Luxurious fashionable women combine with agile bodies and modern dresses of decent quality. They can also get excited about topics like "Spring", "Back to School" and "Come Out at Night" ... (...)

Well, it happened, but not in the way I expected or expected. I think the new additional Barbies can be considered a kind of "luxury". They have fun and colorful dresses but I can't comment on the quality as I don't have them. They are not quite my style and nowhere near what I had in mind, but they are definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully Mattel will continue to expand this line and add similar lines instead of having a successful launch or two and then cancel them.

Create new! Remember the Fashion Avenue era? That was great! The quality was excellent and they had a theme from time to time. He also had clothes for Chelsea (later Kelly). You can also adapt it to the current theme of the Fashionistas line that I mentioned earlier.

Oh God! When something goes out of style! Most of the dresses I see are shapeless and baggy with no print on the back. They've made some good suits, like Puma's or now Billabong's, but this is the exception and it's still not as good as it used to be. Also, most of the ones I've seen are shoeless, which makes the packaging less valuable in my opinion.

No more "one size fits all"! Because it's really like "one size fits all". I would love to see unique models for every body type. You can always put a small line to test the water and enlarge it if successful.

It's been a hot time since I bought the Barbie Fashion Pack, but I feel like they're still making clothes that don't fit me. I haven't seen a fitted fashion collection in years and I don't think Mattel will ever do that. The only hope I have is that they make a line with different characters with different body types and create costume sets for those characters (like they did with Generation Girls ).

More complex layouts in general. I'm sure Mattel has the ability to surprise us, but sometimes they play it safe. In the 90s the games were great and there was nothing to get mad about. There was even a mail game!

In recent years Mattel has done great things that can be considered "complicated" or at least interesting. Well, I think the 1959 BMR line was a little complex, but that wasn't quite what I had in mind. The variety in the clothing line is great, with vitiligo dolls, prosthetic legs, etc. It can be considered interesting. However, with the exception of these single dolls, most of the dolls in this line look like "rag dolls". I haven't seen a game that hit me lately. I would say that this has been achieved, but only in part. They have done some good things, but there is still room for improvement. 

Start listening to your fans. There are many bloggers and collectors who are happy to share their honest opinions and suggestions with you. And to be honest, most collectors ask for pretty simple things like decent quality of their products and more obvious dolls.

The thing about Mattel is that they seem to listen for a minute and give consumers what they want, but then they take two steps back and leave consumers confused. Since the stylist was so praised by vitiligo, they decided to release the second, which means they listened. On the other hand, buyers requested more Made to Move dolls and decided not to release any for another year. When they finally returned, they were collectors. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it could be a smart move to give your customers what they really want. I'm crazy?

Hope you enjoyed this post. This is a little different from my usual posts, but it was interesting to see what I was hoping for from Mattel in 2018. My next post won't be available until early May and it will be a series of photos. I've been busy with a few blogs lately, trying to shoot for Instagram, as well as real stuff like job hunting and internships until I got a job. I always want to post on this blog, but I also don't want to force myself to post so much that I end up getting tired. But you can expect at least one job a month until you get a job or life gets in the way.

Also, I must warn everyone who subscribes to this blog via email that they will no longer receive these emails in July 2021. It is out of my control, but Feedburner has decided to stop offering this service. I'm trying to figure out how to export all contacts subscribed to the email but with no success. I don't think you have a lot of email subscribers, maybe 1 or 2 (if you have them), but I think you should tell them about it. In the meantime, if you want to keep up with this blog, you can start using some sort of blog reader or RSS feed.

What do you think of my predictions? What would you like to see from Mattel?

Until we meet again

create monsters.

note . I've started using larger fonts in my posts, so let me know if you're easier to read or prefer a smaller font.