Enchantimals by Mattel

Today I'm going to review Mattel's newest sensation, the six-inch tall, animal-like Enchantimals.  I came across these little dolls almost by accident a few weeks ago while I was researching the new Monster High Family line (which also includes several six-inch animal-like characters).

Instead of leaping right in and introducing the Enchantimals, I though maybe I'd change things up and try to describe what it's like here in my house as I type up these reviews.  First of all, there are animals everywhere.  I usually have my chronically flatulent mini poodle, Zelda, curled up on my right side and my mutt, Pants, cuddled as close as Zelda will let him get.  A parakeet cage sits immediately to my left, and this houses our two male birds: Bundy and Griffin.  Griffin is always very interested in what I'm doing.  His favorite activity is to "help" me type (in other words, to sit on the keyboard and pull up on the computer's keys with his beak...pooping on my track pad as he works) but when I don't let him do this, he sits in his cage and looks over my shoulder, offering helpful chirps (or squawks) when he feels they're necessary.

While all of this is going on, my youngest (now 17) is practicing the piano about ten feet away from me.  I say this like it's always happening...because it is.  In fact, a few of you might have noticed those sounds in the background of my WuvLuv videos.  I enjoy listening to the piano while I work, I do, but the problem is that my ancient dog, Padawan, imagines himself an excellent jazz singer.  So, he's often accompanying the music with his geriatric howl.  Better still, all three of the parakeets tend to sing (or squawk, depending on whether or not they like the song...) to the music as well.

So, basically, everything I do is set against a background of piano music, animal noises, and pet interference companionship.  This can be distracting some days, sure, but today--as I review an animal-themed doll line--it feels totally natural.  Speaking of nature, I'll start things off by showing you one of my Enchantimals (Felicity Fox) outside enjoying the brilliant colors of summer:

Enchantimals Felicity Fox by Mattel, $7.99.

Sunday Surprise: Family Corners by Mattel!

Some of my favorite Sunday Surprise dolls have been vintage items that are older than my kids.  The Jolly Dolly babies from Easter are a good example, as is one of my all-time favorite baby dolls: the Sweet e.Baby from 1999.  I like these older dolls because they offer secrets that have been hidden for decades, but also because they give a fascinating glimpse into the history of dolls in our society.

A few weeks ago I was talking about how Mattel has been making some modernizing changes to many of their doll lines.  Today I will go back in time and show you how this company was doing things in the early 90s.  The Family Corners dolls came out in 1994 and featured separately-sold male and female characters.  Kids could match up their favorite couple, stage a wedding, and then reveal a hidden baby doll.  I bought these dolls because of the secret baby (a fitting topic for Mother's Day...happy Mother's Day!) but what I actually find more interesting is how the presentation of this concept manages to be both socially restrictive...and also inspiringly open-minded.

Family Corners "Nicholas" and "Trista" dolls (1994).

Lori Dolls and Accessories from Our Generation

I got temporarily swallowed up by the pandemonium of school, but now life has begun to settle back into a familiar rhythm.  I did manage to make a few changes to the blog last week that you might have already noticed: there's a tab menu at the top of the site that has a few little additions.  In particular, I'd like to point out the "Photo Mission!" tab.  These photo requests will change from time to time, and I hope they'll provide an easy way for anyone to contribute to a review, add an opinion, or maybe even share a website link.  The first mission is for Ever After High pictures (of any kind!) and these will be published next week as part of a larger review.  Thank you to those who have already contributed!  It's so fun to get pictures in my inbox.

It's also fun to get new doll alerts in my inbox.  For example, I received an email from Nadine a week or so ago, telling me about a whole new line of dolls by Battat.  The line is called "Lori" and includes a variety of 6-inch dolls (formerly the Our Generation mini dolls) along with several outfits and accessories.  I was so excited to hear about these dolls because I'm a pretty big fan of the Our Generation minis...and of the Battat company in general.  The strange thing was, I had been to Target the very same day that Nadine emailed me, but hadn't seen any sign of the Lori dolls.  I made a few more trips to Target that week (three or four...) and was finally rewarded towards the end of last week when my Target stocked the new collection.  I think some of the items sold out quickly, but there were still about six different doll characters, a few outfits, four furniture sets, and even a two-room wooden dollhouse.

In this review I will show you one of the new Lori doll sets ("Bryn and Blaze") and also take a quick look at the "Loft to Love" Lori dollhouse.  I chose the Bryn doll because she has...wait for it...brilliant red hair:

Lori doll "Bryn" by Battat, $15.99.