Too 'big' to be Barbie's friend?
Written: Jul 16 '00 (Updated Jul 17 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: the microphone, the clearance price
Cons: too big to wear Barbie's clothes, can't style hair, heavy
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| ned1's Full Review: Rosie O'Donnell Doll |
Whether or not I like Rosie isn't at issue here, I could care less of she's a size two or a size 20, I'm here to rate a toy and whether in my opinion it was worth the 19.99 they were charging for it.
I will preface this by saying that I don't watch her show (I did maybe 4 times in the past) and after having her cut in line in front of us at almost every ride in Disney World this past May she isn't at the top of my favorite celebrities list.
I bought this doll for one reason and one reason only - as a gag gift for my hubby - we both don't care for Rosie (not because of her size but for other reasons). We love to give each other toys and gag gifts, so when this came out and I actually saw it I knew I had to get it. I also got him the Velma doll from Scooby Doo and Daisy from the Dukes of Hazzard because they were so ugly they made me laugh.
The only thing that stopped me was that 20 dollar price tag, which seemed steep for a the laugh value it would get. Of course thanks to the after Christmas clearance at Target the price dropped and I had my gift.
We had both heard they were making a Rosie O'Donnell "Barbie" and both of us assumed it would be a regular Barbie with Rosie's head attached. Or worse yet they would attach some left over Kate Jackson head from the Charlie's Angels dolls and claim that it was Rosie.
I will admit it was shocking and refreshing to see that they actually made the Rosie doll in proportion to her actual size. She was not molded as a skinny unobtainable size two Barbie - in fact she was Barbie's first realistically sized friend. After being a Barbie fan since the 60s and hearing Mattel blowing hot air about making a realistic doll I was surprised they finally did it. I will also say that we have the Drew Carey and Mimi dolls and both of them are proportionally sized as well.
My husband enjoyed the gag gift and took Rosie out of her plastic and cardboard home and that's when the fun began.
My two and a half year old who has no idea who Rosie is, but can hear a Barbie box opened across our house comes running in and asks, where's the Barbie. We point to Rosie. She lifts an eyebrow - "that's no Barbie and why is that girl dressed like a boy?" I guess my child failed to appreciate the casual on-air outfit Rosie came in. I will admit with the suit, tie and short hair she was rather gender neutral.
Now came the next question, "can I see her?" We say ok, after all it is a toy. We give Rosie to Claire and all sorts of problems ensue. Because Rosie is made in a larger size she is too big to sleep on the standard Barbie bed, she doesn't fit in the car or on the bike, she's very frustrating for our daughter to play with.
I'm not saying my daughter didn't love the doll because she was bigger, but when you want to play with Barbie or another Mattel doll, they should all be able to fit on the accessories and furniture they sell. Rosie is sold in the Barbie aisle and is intended to be played with - she comes with a microphone and her box becomes a stage.
As far I can tell they want you to use Rosie as a toy, which brings me to the other major problem - Rosie is way too big to even attempt to squeeze into any other Barbie outfit, so you can't change her clothes.
If any of you have really watched what girls do when they play Barbie, the whole thing isn't about skin color, hair color, size, role playing or believing that you should grow up to be a size two bubble headed bleach blond - it's about dumping all the clothes you own into one big pile and becoming that 11 inch dolls hair stylist and wardrobe consultant. It's easy to do because Barbie and all her friends are the same size so they can swap clothes and everything fits. If only we as adults could have such a good best friend - someone our size with an awesome wardrobe willing to lend us clothes.
My older daughter who is 11 had no use for this doll. Rosie's hair is way too short to style and since she can't go for a costume change she's just no fun to play with. She's by no means saying larger dolls can't be fun, but in the context of the game she's playing it's hard to have one doll that isn't the same and can't do what the other dolls do. She gets bored not being able to find something new for Rosie to wear.
10 years ago I bought my oldest daughter a brand new line of fashion dolls called Happy to Be Me - they had flat chests, thick waists, full thighs and wide hips. I was so happy to be introducing her dolls that looked more like real women did, just as the Rosie doll does. The positive aspect of those dolls were that while being bigger, they could still fit into a Barbie car. You could also buy outfits for them so you could change the clothes.
My daughters still play with them today, even though they stopped making the dolls pretty soon after they started - again I feel it wasn't because people couldn't accept the size fo the doll, but rather that she couldn't wear all the Barbie clothes they had.
I understand that this is a "collectors item", but the doll is marketed to be played with - her box becomes a stage and she has a microphone. If any child attempts to bust Rosie out of her cardboard prison, they would rip the stage and ruin that "extra". Even if the stage is carefully put together, it is flimsy and easily destroyed.
This doll is not meant to be played with in the way every other Barbie is, or else Rosie would have additional outfits to buy. If you let your child be a TV addict and watch Rosie every day they may enjoy being able to act out what they see on TV, but since my kids aren't glued to the boob tube and talk shows, they don't have that experience to draw on.
Rosie is not compatible with the other dolls furniture, cars and clothing and even if Mattel didn't mean to make a big social statement with her, they sure did - Rosie doesn't fit into a skinny person's world.
About the only upside to the doll is the microphone which my daughter still covets. She runs around the house putting on concerts and having a blast.
I can't imagine that any child would want this as a gift and play with it on a regular basis. Frankly no child should be wasting time watching talk shows, when there are so many other things they can be doing. As a gift for a Rosie fan, it might be nice. In my house for how much it was played with versus the original price, I'll rate this a two. I would have rated her higher if she had extra clothes and my girls used her more.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ned1
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Member: Nancy
Location: in the Barbie aisle
Reviews written: 894
Trusted by: 347 members
About Me:
Off to Basel (1/21) - in search of Swiss Miss Barbie - back (1/26)
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