pitfaltina's Full Review: Yummi Land Creme Soda Pop Girls Carrie Cherry Crem...
Santa Claus dropped Carrie Cherry Creme and Betsy Bubblegum Bunny under the tree last Christmas and my little girl was delighted to unwrap it on Christmas morning. Nearly a year later, we are distinctly less delighted with this toy.
The set consists of the Carrie Cherry doll, her pet Betsy Bubblegum Bunny, a cherry-shaped brush, a lip gloss in a fountain soda container, Carrie's dress and stole, Carrie's tiara, Betsy's necklace and bow, and two soda pop bottle-shaped storage containers for the doll and pet.
The doll itself is very cute. She measures about 5 inches tall and has painted-on shoes and panties. Her clothing, consisting of a sparkly maroon dress and a pink fur stole, is easy to remove but difficult to put back on. Try tying a bow that small with ribbon that narrow and you'll see what I mean! The tiara, which is shaped like a cherry pie, does not stay in the doll's hair. Perhaps if it had a clip of some kind to keep it anchored in place my little girl would be less frustrated with it. As it is now, the tiara is supposed to be held in place by a simple plastic headband that does not grip at all. My daughter usually throws it to the side when she plays with the doll.
The features of the doll resemble those of MGA Entertainment's other big doll line, the Bratz line, but seem less sleazy and more cutesy. I guess it's the conspicuous lack of troweled-on makeup! The doll has long dark red hair that reaches the doll's feet, and therein lies the biggest source of my daughter's frustration with this toy. The hair knots very easily and consequently always looks dull and matted. Mommy has spent many an hour with a tiny cherry-shaped hairbrush untangling the doll's hair, I can tell you. The hairbrush itself isn't much to write home about. The bristles are plastic like every doll brush out there and they don't bend easily, but the handle (a cherry stem) is so inadequate that it's hard to get a good grip on the brush.
The bunny comes with a necklace and a removable hair bow. The necklace snaps in place around the bunny's neck and it is very hard for my daughter's tiny little fingers to snap the clasp closed. That chore usually elicits a high-pitched "Mommeeeeeee!" The bow, which is attached to a post that inserts into the top of the bunny's head, is much easier to negotiate. The biggest problem with the bunny is that the ears detach. Not only is this a choking hazard for younger children, but it also makes the ears VERY easy to lose. Poor Betsy Bubblegum Bunny hopped around our house for a three-month period with only her left ear until Mommy located the right one under the couch during a fit of inspired housekeeping.
The bunny is made of vinyl, which is great, because a simple spritz with hair spray keeps the bunny clean very easily. (Try that trick sometime with your daughter's vinyl doll faces!) The bunny also features a bobblehead. I suppose MGA Entertainment is trying to take on the Hasbro Littlest Pet Shop juggernaut here. They're failing miserably, as the quality doesn't begin to approach Hasbro's.
The storage containers are clear soda pop bottles with screw-on caps and screw-on bottoms. The bottoms get mixed up with all the other Soda Pop doll bottle bottoms, and as they aren't very calibrated, it's easy to put all the dolls away and then spend fifteen minutes trying to get the bottoms to screw onto the bottles and failing spectacularly. I solved that little problem by throwing away the bottles entirely and dumping all the dolls into a plastic storage box.
The doll's bottle cap has a paper that peels away to reveal a secret code phrase, which when entered online, will give you access to exclusive web content consisting of a joke, a kid-friendly recipe, and a beauty tip. It's a nice idea, but the web content is so limited (and unavailable for two dolls, Bonnie Bluebella and Chelsea Cherry Lynn) that it's pretty much pointless. Perhaps if MGA Entertainment beefed up the web content with an exclusive game or activity, my daughter would be more excited about this feature.
Both the pet and the doll are scented (cherry and bubblegum, just like the names imply). The problem with this is that the more delicate scents fade or get completely overtaken by the stronger scents (like the blueberry doll or the lily doll).
Finally, the lip gloss, while cute, is impossible to reach after you use the first half-inch. Unless you're willing to spend time digging it out of the container with a toothpick, you might as well just throw it away at that point.
All in all, it's a cute toy that has some bugs. I hope MGA Entertainment works on those bugs for the next generation of Yummi-land dolls or they won't be seeing any more of my money.
PRICE PAID: $7 at KMart (on sale)
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 7.00 Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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