The Blueberry Muffin Retrospective--Part 2!

It's spring break here in Maine and there is visible (kinda green?) grass, a scattering of brave flowers, and a fair amount of sunshine.  It's pretty great.  Also, I am walking in normal shoes again for the first time since January, which is pretty amazing, too.  The walking came in handy this past week because my family spent the break looking at colleges for my eldest son...which is an exhilarating and terrifying experience, let me tell you.  Now we are back at home and I have finally found some time to finish the second part of my Blueberry Muffin marathon review.

In the first installment of this post, I looked at the debut Blueberry Muffin doll by Kenner, and also the Toy Head Quarters (THQ) and Bandai versions of the character.  Today I will review the Playmates, Hasbro and Bridge Direct dolls.  Hasbro has controlled the Strawberry Shortcake license for as long as I have been a blogger, so I've grown very accustomed to seeing those dolls in the store.  For this half of the review, I was eager to discover whether or not I like the newest Bridge Direct version of Blueberry Muffin as much as I like the familiar Hasbro doll.

I have also been looking forward to seeing the original Kenner Blueberry alongside her modern counterpart, which we can do right now to start things off:

Blueberry Muffin dolls from Kenner (left) and The Bridge Direct (right).

Pinkie Cooper Jet Set Pets: Li'l Pinkie and Saltine

I have really been enjoying my Pinkie Cooper dolls.  I was impressed during my first encounter with Pinkie in July, and since that review, my feelings have solidified.  Pinkie is friendly and cute, the fashion packs add some great new outfits and hair colors, and Pinkie's friend Pepper is just as delightful out of the box as I hoped she'd be.  I adore almost everything about these dolls except for those silly click knee joints and rubbery legs.  I'd be happier if Pinkie could stand up on her own and bend her knees more, but otherwise I am totally hooked.

Many of you contributed to a clearer understanding of what is going on with the headband variation in the Runway series.  Thank you!  I was able to see this for myself at my local Target last week.  Here's a summary of the three confirmed versions of the Runway dolls:

United Kingdom: doll with a headband but no brush.

United States: doll with a brush but no headband.

Target (US): doll with a headband AND a brush.

Anyway, I have been eagerly waiting to de-box Pinkie's pet dog to see if she is as charming as her owner.  When Kitty asked in the comments section when I might do this review, I jumped at the suggestion!  Thank you, Kitty--it was a perfect weekend for playing with puppies.

The Jet Set Pets: Pinkie Cooper's dog, "Li'l Pinkie" and Pepper Parson's dog, "Saltine."

Pinkie Cooper by The Bridge Direct

Pinkie Cooper is a line of new 9-inch fashion dolls invented by Carter Bryant and his sister Anjanette Abell.  The line is distributed by The Bridge Direct.  Mr. Bryant is also the designer of the popular Bratz line, so the release of these dolls has been highly anticipated.  I first heard about Pinkie from my friend Lily back in February.  She sent me pictures of the Toy Fair display and I was intrigued.  The thing about Pinkie and her friends is that they have dog heads.  Not only that--they have English toy spaniel heads.  The English toy spaniel is a dog breed that can look ridiculously adorable, but also quite grouchy.  Turning this breed into a cute, friendly-looking fashion doll can not have been an easy task.  I think Mr. Bryant and Ms. Abell rose to the challenge, though.

Meet Pinkie Cooper:

Pinkie Cooper by The Bridge Direct.