There’s so much written about Barbie’s body…and the impact it has on girls. I thought it would be useful to compare her body (from the Barbie and the Three Musketeers theme) to that of the new Liv dolls (Spinmaster) and the Moxie Girlz (MGA Entertainment).
First we took a look at their feet.
From left to right: Moxie, Liv and Barbie
As you can see Moxie has pretty big flat feet. Good for standing on but pretty clumsy looking. Liv also has flat feet and can actually stand in her sneakers (our testers loved this aspect). Liv also has articulated toes–a very nice touch. Barbie has….Barbie feet–she can’t stand in her bare feet–but then again she gets to wear purple boots. I acknowledge my obsession with these particular boots.
Dolls sans Clothing
If you’ve every played with these fashion dolls and little kids, you know they usually end up without their clothes. In part, kids are curious about what’s underneath –and because preschoolers now play with these dolls–they don’t have the fine-motor skills to put the clothes back on. In fact, the dolls often end up without heads. I didn’t feel the need to do that here, but it happens.
From left to right: Barbie, Moxie Girlz, Liv
Size: You’ll note that Moxie (in the middle) is far smaller than either Barbie or Liv.
Age: Moxie Girlz clearly looks more like a middle schooler -rather than an older teen. She is, as they named her much more girl like.
Limberness: Liv is the most limber– she has arms and legs that are jointed at the elbows and the knees. Her head, hands, hips and feet also move. Barbie has one arm permanently at an angle. Only her arms, legs and head move (but not at the knees or elbows). Barbie’s feet are in a frozen in a “yes, you may try the glass slipper pose”). Moxie Girlz– has both arms in a permanent straight position–they only move from her arm pits. Her legs from the hip — and you can move her head and big feet.
From Behind
From left to right: Moxie Girlz, Barbie, Liv
Realistic…not really unless you model for J.Crew. Our testers liked the underwear on the Moxie Girlz. Looking at this now–Barbie looks a little hippy…amazing.
Liv’s Head
Just so there are no surprise, Liv’s hair piece comes off and you’re left with a doll that has sculpted short hair. We were a little taken aback by it, but our testers loved putting the hair on and off–she has a hole at the crown of her head.
Spinmaster's Liv Doll
Barbie has a LCD screen in her back and will plug into both PCs and MACs. I do think watching the world from Barbie’s point of view could be fun and kids will probably enjoy the $50 video camera interacting with their other dolls. I just wish I could have been a fly on the wall when they came up with this one and the Glitterizer. It does almost seem as if it’s an episode of Seinfeld…where one of them would suggest an outrageous idea – and some unsuspecting executive would say “yes!!”
