At School, Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic's Optional, but Shopping 101's Compulsory!
Written: Nov 25 '03 (Updated Nov 25 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Nicely dressed with an interesting hairdo.
Cons: Dressed more like 'Back to the Shopping Mall' Madison than 'Back to School' Madison.
The Bottom Line: Madison's hair and clothes make for a visually stunning doll
|
|
|
| indigospot's Full Review: Mattel My Scene Madison Wave 3 Doll |
I sometimes long for the dolls and action figures of my youth. In those days, toy companies weren't yet entirely obsessed with assigning their characters with pre-determined personality traits. I could decide whether my Fisher Price Joey doll would be a brave, fearless leader, or if he had to step aside and let his friend Audrey take charge that day. I often deployed my sisters' Barbies and similar dolls as giants in my army of Strawberry Shortcake, Star Wars, GI Joes, and Master of the Universe figures as they fought the forces of evil (you can imagine I staged some rather interesting campaigns). Those characters were essentially blank slates, upon which I imprinted whatever my imagination could conjure up.
Needless to say, times have changed in Toyland. I read the reverse side of boxes containing the newest generation of dolls--Bratz, My Scene, Diva Starz, Get Real Girl, and most recently, Zodiac Girlz--and discover that the biographies of all these folk have already been written, their personalities conjured up by some planning committee back at company headquarters. Is there still room for the child to contribute her own imagination to her dolls?
If you've visited Mattel's promotional site for the My Scene line--myscene.com--you likely already know that Madison is the fashionista shopaholic of the group (which includes Barbie, Chelsea, Nolee, and newest addition Delancey). Of course, theres also the reminder on the reverse of Back to School Madison:
"Everyone says I'm a shoe-in for Best Dressed at school this year. But that's the thing about style: you always have to outdo yourself! So I think I'm gonna have to take an extra class. It's called shopping."
I know, it's a bit too much to expect Madison to get excited about academic achievement, but the theme's supposed to be "Back to School(hereafter BTS)," isn't it? BTS is the third collection of My Scene dolls, following a spring/summer lineup offered earlier this year and their debut line late last year.
Mattel's My Scene as a whole represents the company's third attempt to attract "tweeners," girls from about 8 up their early teens, back to Barbie dolls (the previous two efforts being the now discontinued "Generation Girl" and "Mystery Squad" lines). But the immediate impetus for "My Scene" was the unexpected success of MGA Entertaiment's Bratz dolls, which debuted in 2001. Apparently the Bratz' combination of brashness and street-influenced fashion (which has gotten more out-there with each new release), and oversized heads drew away enough of Barbie's traditional customers, to send Mattel into panic mode. My Scene proves that imitation truly is the most sincere form of flattery. Of course, there are some distinctions between My Scene and Bratz that I note below, but I'm sure no one doubts that My Scene owes its existence to Bratz.
Now, what about Wave 3/BTS Madison in particular? I originally assumed Madison is Black/African American; however, according to some Mattel press material quoted in a recent issue of Barbie Bazaar, Madison and friend's ethnic identity has been left vague and a matter to be decided upon by the child (although Barbie might be a tad problematic in this regard). Also, Madison was inspired in part by a real-life friend of Lili Martinez, My Scene's creator and chief designer. But for my purposes, a Black Madison is fine with me!
I'm not sure whether Madison's outfit is appropriate for a school setting, although it's not specified on the package whether she's in college or high school. Depending on how you coordinate her wardrobe, Madison's either overdressed or underdressed for school. As packaged, she wears a sleeveless tank top; a knee-lengh skirt bearing a floral print and an interesting hem edged with three diamond-shaped godets; a velour coat; and platform "crushed look" boots.
BTS' alternate wardrobe comprise a sporty theme: striped sleeved tank top, VERY SHORT denim shorts; and athletic shoes. Of course the child is free to mix and match BTS' clothes in whichever way she or he pleases. Madison's pieces are predominantly deep green and brown color, enabling easy color coordination with different looks.
I'm sure you've noticed that as with the Bratz, all of the My Scene girls share the same face mold, with variations in skin, eye and makeup color for each character. Madison's usually wavy brown and highlighted tresses are topped, in this instance, with three tiny buns or topknots. (Interestingly enough, BTS Nolee--who I consider the best of this collection--wears a double set of identical buns atop her straight jet black hair.) Perhaps they risk loosening under very aggressive play. Accordingly, BTS comes with a long-toothed comb instead of the usual comb.
Madison's brown purse is the same style as that of BTS Barbie, but features green trim as opposed to the latter's blue accent.
I love the exaggerated design of Madison's footwear--particularly the boots--with their cartoon-like oversized proportions. This innovation was "borrowed" from the Bratz. I always found the Bratz'"snap-on" shoes a rather strange feature; since they have no feet, the Bratz look like amputees without them. Madison and the other My Scene dolls share the same body as their counterparts in the regular Barbie line, so she can also wear regular sized-footwear.
Madison comes with a green doll stand, but it places her just slightly off the ground. You may have to pull her footwear down a tad bit to make contact with the base.
Because of small accessories, BTS should be kept away from very young children.
Although I don't think BTS Madison's outfit is entirely appropriate for its theme, I still recommend her. She's easily the most strikingly dressed of the bunch. Nolee's the most modestly clothed (except for her miniskirt), while Barbie and Chelsea could use better color coordination. But overall, Madison's a stunner!
As of this writing, My Scene Wave 3/Back to School Madison is still readily available, particularly at KB (at reduced price), kbtoys.com, and toysrus.com. For reasons unknown to me, I had difficulty locating one until last month! But I strongly suggest purchasing one now, as the holiday shopping season is already upon us! Enjoy!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8.99
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
indigospot
|
|
Location: Oakland, CA
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Artist, avid reader, comic book fan, toy collector, and obsessed Barbie doll collector since 1998
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.