Bratz Return With New Line After Hiatus

The girls with a passion for fashion have once again found themselves lining the shelves of the various retailers as of recent.

Over the last few years, Bratz dolls have had a rather interesting history for their fourteen yearlong lineage. The line first came to light in May of 2001 in a then market dominated by the likes of Barbie and Disney Princesses. The line had to struggle to come into its own in the market but by the time the holiday season rolled around Bratz found its place in hearts and on shelves.

During their still growing legacy, the brand has well over one-hundred different characters that are ever present not only in doll form, but in the various goods and fictional works.

Bratz is very different from their other rivals. Not only does Bratz have a rather different and even unorthodox art style with larger feet and very distinctive lips and eyes, but they also spent a lot of focus around fashion. The company took chances and were willing to change the rules of the game. In one line they could be decked out in punk-style, another in glitzy gowns – every line was a completely different style that matched the theme and girl. They were very willing to experiment and take risks that had not really been done before. Like everything else sometimes it worked out well and other times not as much.

As the hands of time advanced, Bratz grew greatly and expanded with more spin-off lines. A few explored different styles and sizing such as Lil’ Bratz, miniature versions of their taller counterparts. But most however placed the Bratz in different positions. From the Bratz Babyz range that baby-filed and chibi-filed the characters, to being in between tweens with Bratz Kids where some of the more notable spin-offs.

Yet the most popular spin-off would be chalked up to the Bratzillaz dolls. Released in 2012 and ran until the brand’s hiatus during 2014, as a new leg of Bratz after a nearly two-year long hiatus we seen the witch-y cousins of the core Bratz girls. Much like their cousins, they have a passion for fashion.  Unlike their kin that their names are close to, each of the ‘Zillazs was in fact a witch with a special power that they trained to use at the Bratzillaz Academy. In addition with the doll range, a series of webisodes was released.

That all is in the past. After taking another hiatus Bratz have returned once more with a new look and determination as girls of the current generation. Fans that recall the previous ranges from the iconic line are reunited once more with resident fashion designer and sport enthusiast  Jade, sweet and lovable Cloe, Yasmin the Earthy nature lover with a talent for writing, and starry-eyed dreamer of big things Sasha as they enter the modern era with current trends. Also new is the fifth member of the group; Raya, a goofball that loves to make her friends laugh.

Despite their return not even reaching one month’s time, the girls that now bare the logo ‘it’s good to be yourself, it’s good to be a bratz’ have been doing well in stores and have gained warm reception from fans new and old with both their dolls and play-sets, but also with their new series of YouTube videos created with the stop-motion format.

As it has said before, and I am certain that I will be saying again as it is still true. 2015 is the year of returns, with a very growing list it is a fact that is true. To me personally this is a very interesting instance, I remember when Bratz first came out and moreover when I actually got my first Bratz doll. Even though it has been a very, very long while since I have collected the dolls thinking back on it all and now seeing the return is an odd feeling with some nostalgia.

But things have changed a great deal since the very early 2000s. In the toy section alone there are a much wider range of choices than I recall from way back then. With power-house Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Princesses, Barbie, Equestria Girls, newer brands Disney’s Descendants and Project Mc2 just to name a few. Well, there are a lot of different options with their own themes so how Bratz is going to fare will be interesting to see and moreover grow.

Join the conversation; what is your stance on the newly modernized Bratz? Nay, yay?