Upon reflection, I decided I better get it all out now, let it go, and then quit griping about Felicity. If anyone else would like to join me in this, please do - we can get all our negativity and bad feelings out in one place on the board.
What is happening with Felicity is disappointing. I realize that Mattel must make certain decisions with marketing and practicality in mind.
But I also wish they would acknowledge the collectors who would pay top dollar for quality items. I would be willing to pay $35 or so for a real, wood guitar for Felicity. Probably in the same range for items like the Ark. I just want some quality playthings/collector items, not high priced Barbie items.
Felicity is not the same girl as she was one month ago before the re-launch started. I understand that they are trying to make her more marketable, but I feel as though an old friend is being stolen from me. I guess that isn't entirely true, since I have my old Lissie and a few of her things. But it breaks my heart for the girls now, who will have a totally different perception of Felicity than we do.
American Girl is a different company. Things will never be the same as they once were. That said, there are still so many wonderful things about American Girl.
But darn it, the Felcity makeover sticks in my craw. Revisionist history or something :-P . . .
You know what, I was JUST going to post something aobut this, but I decided to read this first...happy I did.
I am too upset about Felicity's makeover...fatter face and more wavier hair...it's not fair to us who got her a year ago...because frankly I would prefer a chubbier face with wavier hair...unlike my Felicity now who has stick straight hair.
Oy vay...what do I do? [img]graemlins/whatever.gif[/img]
I'm disappointed in the plastic accessories for Felicity from the standpoint that plastic wasn't even invented yet so there would be no way they would be historically accurate. Actually, the only one who would come close to plastic would be Molly, and I think plastics were just debuting after the War.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Good point! I concur! [img]wink.gif[/img]I'm disappointed in the plastic accessories for Felicity from the standpoint that plastic wasn't even invented yet so there would be no way they would be historically accurate.
I understand the anger over their getting cheap with products and whatnot but how exactly are girls going to get a different view of Felicity than say I did when she was first released. So they've changed the merchandise, they haven't changed the stories: she's still the spritely, free spirit, independent girl she was when she was introduced. So she'll wear a different dress or two, that doesn't bother me.
I think that the reason why Pleasant Company dolls were educational tools was the fact that the toys were made just the way they were in the doll's time period. It is so hard now for us to imagine toys not made of plastic, and I think that this, in itself, is a valuable lesson for young girls. The American Girl items are really expensive compared to other similar 18" doll clothes, but I am willing to pay the difference for high quality items with historical significance. I'm so upset with the trends I see in the quality and authenticity of the the newer accessories.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It's not that she has a new face mold...my PS told me simply that her face was chubbier and her hair was wavier. She's "revised"...Originally posted by Ashley'sGrammy:
I am too upset about Felicity's makeover...fatter face and more wavier hair...it's not fair to us who got her a year ago...because frankly I would prefer a chubbier face with wavier hair...unlike my Felicity now who has stick straight hair.
I hadn't heard that Felicity has a new face mold and wig! Is it possible that she has redder hair too? Some of the pics make her hair look very red, and others look dark brown.
[img]graemlins/grrr.gif[/img]
I'm going to respond to just about everything already said, lol.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't know what Felicity dolls you're looking at but she looks exactly the same to me. The pictures that were just posted today show Felicity looking exactly like the Felicity I purchased in Summer of last year. Her face is no chubbier, and her hair is the same color, and the same straight/wavyness. I think some PS even confirmed that her hair is the exact same color.You know what, I was JUST going to post something aobut this, but I decided to read this first...happy I did.
I am too upset about Felicity's makeover...fatter face and more wavier hair...it's not fair to us who got her a year ago...because frankly I would prefer a chubbier face with wavier hair...unlike my Felicity now who has stick straight hair.
I could be wrong, but Felicity's face and hair look EXACTLY the same. Her hair deffinitly doesn't look wavier in the pics. And her face looks the same. Can someone point out a pic where she looks AT ALL different?
Now, if they do decide to change her hair color to a more red color, I will be sending my doll to the hospital, and they will give her a new head for free, because I will be very angry.
ANYWAY, to the OP, I think there's an issue on the board where people seem to argue BOTH that these are collectors items, and children's playthings. Depending on the situation, it can go either way. People really need to make up their minds. Either "they should bring back the LE outfits because these are for children, who want those outfits," "or they need to make things of better quality because they're for collectors." It's hard to go both ways.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would, too. But, I doubt very many mommies of 8 year olds would pay 35 dollars for a toy guitar for their kid's doll. I don't think I would as a parent. And I deffinitly wouldn't for the Noah's Ark set (all those little, losable pieces!!).I would be willing to pay $35 or so for a real, wood guitar for Felicity. Probably in the same range for items like the Ark. I just want some quality playthings/collector items, not high priced Barbie items.
These really aren't collector items, they're children's toys, and I think they drew a very nice line by making the items out of the cheaper material, charging a cheaper price for them, yet still making them look like nice quality wood pieces. I really don't see what the problem is, they don't look like dollar store pieces, they look like they're made of wood. Like I said in one of the other god knows how many posts about this, I really think they should have used plastic solely for the reason that a REAL guitar would NEVER be made of plastic, lol!
I do agree that AG has done something very, very strange with the Felicity collection. She has SO LITTLE right now, yet they keep retiring stuff. By the time everything's online Elizabeth is going to have about the same amount of "extra stuff" as Felicity. Which might be their main idea, really. To market Elizabeth. Which I think is sad. But, whatever.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm glad you said American Girl instead of Mattel. And I mostly agree with this statement. I don't really think AG is a "different compay," I get the same amount of joy out of these dolls and looking at new stuff as I did 10 years ago. Obviously, AG is doing things a little differently than PC did, but I really think that's ok. I'd rather have changes that were viewed as inferior than no change at all. Look at the PC dolls, everyone of them had long, straight hair. We're finally getting some diversity, deffinitly a plus! AG might be a bit more trendy than I'd like to see, but current 8 year olds are also a bit more trendy than I think they should be [img]wink.gif[/img]American Girl is a different company. Things will never be the same as they once were. That said, there are still so many wonderful things about American Girl.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree with this 100%! As long as little girls read the books, they'll know the Felicity we all know, FELICITY is not the doll, or the clothes, or the wood or not wood guitar. Felicity is how she felt when she ruined the guitar, and how her spontaneous actions made her forget about it at all. Felicity is about not caring about clothes. Felicity would never have cared about what she was wearing, she'd just go galloping through the mud (not noticing it was there, she'd be in far too much of a hurry!), without care of ruining whatever dress she was wearing. Most little girls are just now going to be introduced to Felicity, and I think most of them will come to love her, even with a plastic guitar.I understand the anger over their getting cheap with products and whatnot but how exactly are girls going to get a different view of Felicity than say I did when she was first released. So they've changed the merchandise, they haven't changed the stories: she's still the spritely, free spirit, independent girl she was when she was introduced. So she'll wear a different dress or two, that doesn't bother me.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't think too many little girls are going to be able to tell the difference between real wood and this really good plastic immitation they've used. If they can, they really don't need AG to teach them about this stuff, because they already know, lol. If girls are reading the books (which I hope they all are before they get any of the dolls), they're going to already realize that the time periods are very different from out own. I do agree with what you're saying, that the dolls are an educational toy.I think that the reason why Pleasant Company dolls were educational tools was the fact that the toys were made just the way they were in the doll's time period. It is so hard now for us to imagine toys not made of plastic, and I think that this, in itself, is a valuable lesson for young girls.
Sorry that was so long...
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Our modern hard plastics were introduced after WWII. There were plastics before that, like cellouite (sp?), which crushes easily, disentegrates fast and is highly flammable.Originally posted by balletmom:
I'm disappointed in the plastic accessories for Felicity from the standpoint that plastic wasn't even invented yet so there would be no way they would be historically accurate. Actually, the only one who would come close to plastic would be Molly, and I think plastics were just debuting after the War.
I'm new to AG collecting (about a year) so I'm just posting bits and pieces that I've gathered on these boards..
From what I understand, Pleasant Rowland (as most people do when they get to a certain point in life) wanted to retire. Rather than retire the company with her, she sold out to Mattel. I'm sure PM was better than what we have now, but we still have AG, right?
I'd also read that many of the Felicity accessories were retired because the 'real' stuff (wood, etc.) was more expensive to manufacture.
Again, this is just info I've gathered here. Please correct me if necessary.
I'd probably feel the same as most others here, had I began collecting years ago. I have a hard time with things changing too. However, I only know AG's as they are now, and am having so much fun collecting with DD. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
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