A new Dora the Explora? (yes I know it isn’t spelled like that!!!)
****CHECK OUT the lengthy discussion this post generated at DEVIANTART.COM****
A couple weeks ago Nick and Mattel released this teaser for a new, ‘tweenaged Dora….
…and parents FREAKED OUT!!!!!
“NEW YORK – When toy maker Mattel, working with Nickelodeon, announced earlier this month that a “tween” version of Nick’s beloved “Dora the Explorer“ cartoon character would be unveiled in the fall, the response was overwhelming … overwhelmingly negative.
Dora the streetwalker. A sexed-up version of a children’s icon. A poor example for kids.
Those were just some of the terms tossed around the blogosphere after Mattel released a silhouette of the “new” Dora, whose image was drastically changed from the endearing tomboy look Dora fans grew to love, with her bowl-cut hairdo, T-shirt and red shorts. This new Dora appeared to have long flowing hair, and was wearing what seemed a scanty skirt, emphasizing her long, shapely legs.”
Well, everyone freaked out so bad, Mattel and Nickelodeon decided to un-tease their teaser—- “No no!! She’s not wearing a short skirt, she has on leggings! She’s modest! She’s wholesome!! She’s…”
….BORING!!!!
I’m sad that things out in the world for girls either have to be incredibly negative:
…or so goody two shoes, there is no room for inspiration or self expression. It’s the same sort of thinking that turned this:
…a unique and recognizable icon, into…
…this.
I mean, what is this?? Honestly, I was born too late for the original Holly Hobby, and I can’t tell you what she was supposed to be, but that drawing, that bonnet, that signature silhouette was a strong ICON that became a recognizable, repeatable GRAPHIC that did nothing more than attract little girls’ eyes…. successfully. Hello Kitty is that way today.
Why is all that is available to girls either horrendously negative, or so homogenized and wholesome it’s boring beyond belief? If you gotta make Dora a ‘tween, why does she have to have a neutral, boring expression? A slight, gentle smile and wide open eyes—- with nothing behind them. Why can’t she have a strong personality? She sure doesn’t LOOK like an explorer, she just looks like…. a girl. A plain,”nice” girl.
Is it true that all Mom’s want for their daughters is to be vapidly, evenly NICE?? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for niceness– I like to think I’m a nice person, but I also like to think that you can be nice and have a PERSONALITY. What does Dora and Holly Hobby do when they’re bullied at school? What if Diego won’t stay out of her room and stop messing with her stuff? Does she joke around with her friends? Oh wait… I forgot. Girls aren’t funny! And they certainly aren’t cool.
What do you think??? Post your thoughts!
Rant done for now. Stay tuned— I have way too many opinions and there will most definitely be more posts tagged “Doll Wars!!”
Over and out,
Mother Earth
**UPDATE**
Someone pointed this awesomeness out:
Rainbow Brite as of 1-09—- look for her in stores this Christmas. Can’t wait…..
Will the world PLEASE stop destroying my childhood?? PLEASE?? Why not this fantastic take on Rainbow Brite from Stef Choi?
Over and out….
March 16th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I always though this was the new Dora.
March 17th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
The problem is probably that most of these designs are drawn by MEN. I get so jealous when I hear a guy complaining about struggling with his latest “girl gig” that I would KILL for! Sometimes the gender role dynamic does apply to characters. Therefore, a woman artist should be sought out for designs on a girl product. She would be able to act for the character and would be much happier working on Holly Hobby as opposed to Grand Theft Auto!
Thanks for the rant Mother Earth.
March 17th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
When I first read this, I was so scared of what the ‘tween’ Dora would look like. But when I saw the picture, I was like…UGH. You’re totally right – she looks like a boring, typical girl. SHe ain’t no explorer anymore – what the heck!
And Bratz…I hate them. Holly Hobby? Her original looks so cute! She looks like a blonde Strawberry Shortcake >_>
As for Rainbow Brite, she was WAAAAAAAAY CUTER when Stef Choi drew her!
March 17th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Ashanti— I try to hold my tongue ’cause it’s sexist, but I GENERALLY agree with you—- although I must admit I know at least a couple of dudes that would be great for girl properties— but they have a healthy respect, dare I say—- a sincere appreciation for the uber girly!!
I think the other thing that causes this blandness is over-protective and over idealistic parents. Any negative trait or flaw—- which is what makes a character relatable, memorable and interesting— is seen as a “bad message.” Thus overly perfect characters are born, and are terrible boring. I think the new Tinkerbell is a good example of that influence. In Peter Pan she was vain, jealous and actaully tried to KILL Wendy— but that characterization is what made people love her, and what made her more memorable and likable than goody-goody Wendy.
March 18th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Oh, poor Rainbow Brite! She looks like an off model fan art or something. She was far more iconic in her old design and ironically it was animated in Japan so you’d think they’d leave good enough alone if they’re going for “anime” like characters. And the same with Holly and Strawberry…the older costumes made them pop and not they look like 90’s kids fashion rejects. I don’t like the Dora one either and always hated Bratz…they looked trashy and their show/movies were terrible.
When I write my female characters I give them small flaws that play off of each other because no one is that good or bad. It’s sad the way the industry vanillifies everything. =\ It’s why I’m not that interested in much of what comes out anymore.
March 18th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I first heard about the new Dora last Friday, and my sentiments are right in line with yours. I don’t understand how we got here from the late 90s/early 2000s, when “Girl Power” became not just something positive, but something represented in a positive way. I mean, it’s okay for Dora to be into shopping and jewelry (which, apparently, is the tween Dora’s thing now…), but is that really all she has to be interested in? That’s a terrible message to send to girls, that the only positive image of us that’s out there involves young women being completely stripped of any personality or humanizing qualities whatsoever.
That said, I really, REALLY hope you have some modicum of success with getting MWGG more into the mainstream this year. The world is long overdue for girl figures that aren’t either soulless zombies or junior hookers.
March 18th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Oh no! Not another ‘tweenaged’ girl!! When I first saw the NEW Holly Hobby, I was really appalled, same with Strawberry Shortcake! My little sister got a free strawberry shortcake dvd and we were watching it and it was very borrriiinnng: “Oh Huckleberry Pie, Pupcake and Apple Dumpling lets go and have some fun! Lets go pick some berries for our very berry CAKE!” and the ads for the NEW Holly Hobby were even worse: “Can Holly Hobby and her best friends get to the Surprise Party for her mom in time? Buy the DVD and find out!”
So only guys get to have all the fun, right? It is really destroying our generation of 9 years olds. Girls are sugar, spice and everything nice right? All these shows need are that accidental dose of chemical X! Girls all have their own personalities and are not only shopping addicts, they might be smart, funny, athletic, artistic… who knows! Not any of these NEW girls.
March 18th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Ok, now I’m just spamming you, but I had to share this with you – on this teenage girl’s blog (a friend of mine, I swear I’m not a creepy person), she wrote this after expressing anticipation about being taught how to “walk like a lady” for a relative’s wedding:
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to pull off walking like a lady. I only know how to walk like me.”
It put a smile on my face.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Wow you’re very passionate about this.
Very passionate, and very right though.
March 20th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I’ve never gotten into Dora, so I don’t really have an opinion concerning her growing up. I personally think the older Dora is cute, but that may just be me. Ugh, can’t stand the Bratz though. Their name in itself seems to make being a “brat” cool not to mention I never liked how they looked or their clothes, they promote bad attitudes and being sexy, even at a young age. *eyeroll* Aw, I loved Holly Hobbie! My very first non-crib bed sheets were Holly Hobbie sheets (I still have them, too). I remember being a bit disgusted at seeing the new “Holly Hobbie”, it would have been better to just create a whole new character than mess with the one we grew up with. And wow, Rainbow Brite, I liked her too in the ’80s, and I can’t believe how much they’re messing with her now too! Why can’t they leave our childhood alone?? =(
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
the new Dora is not just boring- but totally unecessary. Is she still going to repeat everything she says? or is she now going to repeat everything her friends say? lets explore the make-up counter at the mall! observe all the wildlife in the foodcourt! and what about that god-awful Boots? is she still going to have time for him? or is he going to be stuck at the Monkey table at school while she sits with Angelica Pickles at the popular girls table?
and what the heck with Rainbow Brite? the only reason I can think of for them to make that change is so teh dolls are less likely to topple over from the weight of their heads. I’m glad I got mine when I did, because this new one will just be another dressed up skipper doll.
Whoever thought up Bratz should be ashamed of themselves, but not nearly as ashamed as the parents who buy them for their precious little girls. What part of that concept needs to be encouraged?
I could be wrong, as I have never seen the show, but I thought I read somewhere when the new HH first came out, that she is a relative of the old one. I thought the original HH was supposed to be her grandmother or great-aunt or something. So she is actually a new generation of Hobbie, not just a revamped HH for the newer generation. I guess this detail makes it bug me a little less.
And if they try to Grow-Up my precious PowerPuff Girls I will beat them like my cousins 5th b-day MoJo JoJo pinata!
March 26th, 2009 at 9:27 am
ha ha. I had a mojojojo pinata on my fifth bday too. And we beat the heck out of it! Oh and Jesi, I heard that about Holly Hobbie too. I think I was watching some sort of commercial for her show and her mom was pulling out a hood (the cute cloak that the real Hobbie wears) and she wrapped around Holly and said, “this used to belong to your grandmother, and now it is yours” and then Holly blandly said with a blank stare in her average eye, “thanks mom, I’ll keep it Forever!” Her not being the real holly hobbie still doesn’t make up for the fact that she’s just another boring old tween who solves little problems in the neighborhood like, can Holly and her friends clean up the backyard in time for their super duper sleepover? Buy the HH DVD and find out!”
April 8th, 2009 at 11:48 am
(Way OT, but are we going to see you at SDCC this year?)
April 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Yeah, is the comic con part of your busy-life schedule this summer?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Unfortunately, CosmicCon is still up in the air at the moment. I planning to go, but I may have to cancel. Crappy economy and job issues may make it impossible for this year— but I don’t know for sure yet.
Whether or not dolls will be available in stores this year will be a big factor in the decision— and I don’t know if that’s going to happen yet. Fingers crossed!!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Wow, some people really are ignorant. There’s nothing wrong with the doll or the new image unless getting older is over sexual. I can understand some stuff like Bratz (although I like them) but the Dora thing is just stupid. It’s like telling girls that simply getting taller is a sin and is wrong.
July 21st, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Holly hoby , rainbow bright whats next? Raggedy anne? and let me quess what they would do to her dress her in pink and have her go to the mall 3 times a day.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
i am only 12, yet looking at what they have done to my mom’s childhood memories1 who are these peoples!
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:22 pm
many girls dress like dora today. Would you wrather have dora be wearing a tank top and short-shorts, I think not. and for all you be out there calling dora a tramp stop, because girls dress like that & that’s the only thing that’s going to hurt them.I think dora looks nice!!!
She shows many girls that they grow up to be beautiful young women.Dora is a great example for girls. Do you want your daughter to dress like the tween dora or the Bratz doll you decide.And just because dora looks good dosen’t mean she a tramp, how do you people going to say dora completely changed ,it didn’t even come out yet!! and where did you guys get Fashion from, fashion is Hannah Montana or True Jackson VP and their are no complaints about them.And no one bothers to ask tween girls what we think of her and that’s what she’s for,Do yourself a faver print out the picture of the tween Dora and ask your daughter if she thinks she’s pretty.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
i think bratz are ok i just wish the small parts were easyer to find i only just found my bratz little mobile phone in one of the hand bags which wasnt there before :/ and the earings are hard to keep together! the new dora is just the same but a smaller head and taller and thiner.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I can see what your trying to say shanaynay, but knowing that people change what was memories into something really different, is kinda of hard too see.
July 14th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
[...] curls. I have no idea what Holly Hobbie’s schtick was, but I agree with Lauren Faust of The Solar Sisterhood Blog that her silhouette and that bonnet created a recognizable icon. Holly was only the first in a line [...]