Have you seen these Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus toys? Ben's been intrigued by the commercials. The Barbie dolls have a "fashion transformation feature" (rotate the dress for a new look?), and I wasn't really paying attention but it's possible the alternate dress is a wedding gown. Barbie is marrying Pegasus, or Pegasus is introducing Barbie to eligible bachelors? It's not clear to me. The mini version is now a Happy Meal toy, and I bet Ben would love to have one. Sparkly! And pink!
There is a frightening customer review at Amazon: "My daughter loves this doll! She was a huge fan of the Princess and the Pauper dolls last year, but I just bought her this one and she loves it even more. The dress is gorgeous and the fact that it comes with two dresses in one is great! She can't wait for the Magic of Pegasus movie now, and she wants the entire line - I guess I know what I'm getting her for Christmas. At least I feel like this line helps keep my daughter young and dreaming about what's possible - and those Barbie movies are great for teaching her about morals and the arts (unlike those Bratz dolls!)."
Yeah. Right. The Magic of Pegasus is all about achieving what's possible. And the arts education in those Barbie movies—splendid! (Not like I've watched one. They could be truly great. I'm just being bitchy and skeptical about the feminist bona fides of the latest Barbie craze.)
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6 comments:
Exuberance, yes. Barbie overload, yes, again.
But I agree in the premise.
My son is almost 8. I asked him yesterday what a flying horse is called. He told me Pegasus. Then he quibbled over whether all flying horses were called Pegasus or whether it was the name for one in particular.
We got into a discussion of whether it was like a unicorn, but I told him think there was only one theoretical Pegasus unlike the many unicorns.
As a multi-disciplinary freak, I'll take small doses of Greek literature and Humanities where ever I can. He knew the concept of Pegasus from the movie, Hercules, which he saw when he was about 3. No, not gospel Greek, but effective to some degree.
(I think I've posted here before. If I haven't, Hi.)
Actually, barbies suck, but the movies are decent. My daughter gets all this shit from grandma, but both son and daughter like the movies, I would not call them moral, they are just not as horrendously sexist as I was expecting. But what a nutcase, gushing about a doll.
When I first looked at the link, I also thought Barbie and Pegasus, you know, get it on, especially since I remembered Pegasus to be a boy horse. So I had to read further, and found out that in this movie, Pegasus is actually "Glam Princess Brietta," Annika/Barbie's sister (Barbie plays the role of Annika.) (Not that the fact that they are sisters precludes them from getting it on, but I doubt that mom who reviewed it would have applauded its morals in that case.) Anyway, according to the description, Annika and Glam Brietta team up to defeat a wizard. So in a weird, sparkly way I guess you could say it has some feminist chops. But I did enjoy the kids' comments, especially:
"You SNOT, August 30, 2005
A Kid's Review I am 12 and I think this doll is pretty.You are the most inmature 9 year old on this planet.I just got this doll it is very pretty,just like the pictures,so far so good."
Which I think was in response to:
"Barbie begins to be old,and what`s happining to her????????????, August 16, 2005
A Kid's Review This doll is not so beautiful,but the movie seems better than the dolls.I think that Barbie begins to be ugly...I don`t think that this doll is so beautiful,but she has a hair just like me."
Kids are scary.
Can mothers of daughters stand in opposition of the tide of toys that teach girls from toddler age that flowing hair and wedding dresses are their life's work--holy crap...Okay, so the hair thing, I can buy, if you have great hair, go with it...but it's no wonder women tragically grope for wedding bouquets as though they were being thrown water in New Orleans...
Ok, I got distracted by the big green "proper grammar and usage" after I opened this comment box, and read that post so now I don't remember what I was going to say. Barbie = sexist, stupid crap.
Actually, the movies are decent. I wasn't fond of Barbie and the Nutcracker necessarily, but the story itself is flawed so it's not Barbie's fault entirely.
My niece has them all, including some of the dolls, and I've watched them with her. Barbie Fairytopia had Barbie - a non-flying fairy - saving Fairytopia all by herself. She didn't fall down weeping, didn't cry out in despair and most importantly, didn't give up.
The Princess and the Pauper was interesing because the original tale is the Prince and the Pauper - both were males. Of course both of these Barbies sing and want to get that guy, but it still taught adversity I think.
It will be interesting what this Peagusus story brings. So far though, Barbie movie creators have stayed way closer to the original story than Disney ever has.
While I'm not a big fan of any dolls, you should let Ben watch the movies. My son loves them and will even sing lines from The Princess and the Pauper.
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