What Features Are Considered Barbie-like

Why did Mattel decide to make its more diverse lineup of Barbies now?

There has been an increasing demand by society as a whole for more diversity. Barbie as a brand has been losing ground over the years, and it's unlikely that the marketing folks at Mattel have missed the calls for more diversity in body type, in racial representation in media.Children want toys (and books and movies and TV shows) to feature characters who look like them. I do think Mattel is going to have to take this even further in the long run to continue to keep this toy line profitable.

What are Serbian women like?

Well, they go through phases:The teenage phase until the age of 25 or so is marked by them thinking that men might be better (due to extreme patriarchalism in the country) and they spend their time putting too much make up on, wearing skimpy clothing, chasing guys who have money cause they were told that's their only chance in life and overall being quite plasticky.From the age of 25 to 35, they tend to realise the world does not revolve around men and actually life is rather good if they earn their own money. At this stage they start feeling overly generous and often pay for their boyfriend's drinks.From the age of 35 onwards, they have had enough of men, have realised the patriarchal character of the country is rubbish and the only reason they need to smile at men is to get off paying a speeding ticket or get the mechanic to do a good job on their car. Since they've been taught to act like barbie dolls their entire lives, this comes naturally. In reality though, they end up being confident, realise their worth is judged by themselves and not by men and start to have very little patience for being patronised.Through all of this, their core values - to look good, be good mothers, be good friends, be successful in their careers - remain. However, the motivation changes. Whereas to begin with they are doing it for the approval of others, past the age of 35 they are doing it to personally feel good about themselves and be able to respect themselves regardless of the world.Serbian men fail to see these phases - what they want are barbie looking housewives who are very intelligent and successful in their business lives as well. In reality, that's what they get in the end, it's just that what they thought they wanted does not necessarily feel as good when they get it. Or to cite Spock:Great Star Trek Quote: Wanting and having

Does playing with pretty and perfect dolls, like a Barbie doll, negatively influence a girl’s body image?

I don’t think having pretty playthings damages a child’s self-esteem. I often think that today’s feminists have really gone overboard with the idea that if someone is attractive, they are automatically a bad role model for a child and that children must be shielded from societal perceptions of beauty. I believe beautiful dolls can inspire a young girl to try to look and be her best self.I think it’s more detrimental to a child to believe that ‘anything goes’. Do we really want our children to grow up with an overweight, sloppily dressed and unkempt woman as their ideal?We’ve grown to accept that people come in all shapes and sizes, and there are many different standards of beauty. We realize that carrying a few extra pounds isn’t always unhealthy, however, it very often is. We know that wearing the latest fashions isn’t necessary to look well groomed, but we also understand that, whatever you wear, it should be clean and in good repair. Regular bathing and self-care are an essential component of good health.Someone gave my six year old daughter one of those anatomically correct baby dolls as a gift. The thing actually looked like a real infant with wrinkly skin, a scrunched up face, no hair, and a protruding navel. When my daughter opened the box, she immediately started to cry. She said she didn’t want the doll, it was ugly and she hated it!

How was Pixar able to feature so many brand named toys in the Toy Story series, for instance Etch-a-Sketch, Mr. Potato Head, etc. Aren't these toys trademarked? If there was product placement, what process was involved?

There was no product placement anywhere in Toy Story with one exception: In the Japanese release, Panasonic paid to have their batteries appear in the baby monitor. Many brand-name toys were scripted in, and clearance had to be obtained for each one. We even wrote in a Federal Express truck at one point but, luckily, that was cut. (Buzz Lightyear was going to show up that way as a last-minute gift from Andy's dad.)Some flat turned us down. We couldn't get G.I. Joe, so had to invent Combat Carl. Mattel in those days didn't want Barbie (2020 movie) in any kind of animated film because they felt it was important for her to be neutral, allowing girls to imprint any personality they wanted. Obviously they later changed their minds. In this case it helped us make the story stronger. Barbie was going to show up driving her Corvette (brand) in Sid's house and tell Woody, "Come with me if you want to live." Yeah, a Sarah Connor reference. In the process of writing her out, John Lasseter (director) and the story team realized that she would have been deus ex machina and that Woody needed to be in charge. That's when the whole complicated "wind the frog" sequence was born.I can remember our producer, Ralph Guggenheim, updating us by saying, "I just got off the phone with Mr. Potatohead's lawyer." There really was (probably still is) a lawyer dedicated to Mr. Potatohead licensing. It was touch and go for a while, but we landed him. To the best of my recollection we didn't pay cash for any clearances, but did offer credit at the end of the film.By the time we made the sequels it was much, much easier to convince people it was a good idea to let their toys appear in the movie. In all fairness they had no particular reason to think so when we were making the first one.