Some observations on Christmas shopping for Kitten this year, deep within the bowels of Toys ‘R’ Us.
- If there is going to be gender-based name-branding on a toy, it will (for girls) probably be Barbie. If not Barbie, then Disney Princesses (which latter category seems to include any female protagonist in any Disney film, aspirations to royalty notwithstanding).
For boys, it will inevitably be Spider-Man. Not sure why, or how Marvel has managed that, but Spidey is ubiquitous for boy’s branded items.
- Given the preponderance of discount material, I gather that Kim Possible is On the way Out. A pity. On the other hand, it meant some great deals for Kitten gifts.
- Everything old is new again. If there was a theme toy you loved as a child 20-40 years ago (especially if you were a girl), it’s back again. Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Care Bears … yeesh.
- Amidst the plethora of Disney Princess toys are “baby princesses” — the various princesses as infants. Which is fine, except …
Why does Baby Princess Ariel have … um … legs?
I mean, isn’t she a mermaid? Wasn’t she a mermaid as an infant? Why would she have legs …
… unless, of course, Poseidon, longing for another daughter, spotted a human infant and cut an unholy deal with Ursula to turn her into a mermaid! Aha! Gives a whole new spin to the movie, doesn’t it?
- Of all the brand stamps out there, the least objectionable is probably Hello Kitty. It tends to be, compared to the others, much more subtle, much more design-oriented, much less incessantly in-your-face.
Aside from the execrable videos, it’s the one Girly Brand I could most easily live with.
- The big ticket items for Kitten this year were a bicycle and a Leapster.
The bike we ended up buying at Costco. A Disney Princesses bike (sigh). The DPs do have an advantage over a lot of other girly themes — they tend to be purple, as opposed to girly pink or Barbie’s particularly virulent pink.
Anyway, the bike is stashed away and will be dropped off by Santa “while” we are out of state.
The Leapster is the newest LeapFrog educational system, and it has a few advantages over her current “My First LeapPad.” Using an LCD screen, it’s more interactive. And it has a headphone jack. The latter is particularly nice on plane trips.
To that end, in fact, we’ll be giving her that gift before we go to Orlando.
(More Kitteny wish list goodness, for them as are interested, can be found here.)
More anon.
Longtime reader, first comment. The Disney Princess thing is all the more irksome b/c they include Tinkerbell in it at times. Obviously not a princess. But Alice In Wonderland, another non-princess, is impossible to find. IMO Alice merchandise should be as accessible as Winnie the Pooh, in classic and Disneyfied.
Tink never struck me as a princess — but, then, neither is Mulan.
Alice is indeed hard to find, though there’s a bit of it (mostly Cheshire Cat) around — and certainly no classic (Tenniel?) to be had.
I’m laughing because my Christmas gift this year is a hunk o’ children’s programming from the 1980’s — Pee Wee’s Playhouse has just come out on DVD and the spousal unit has bought me Volume 1! I am absolutely giddy with excitement.
I don’t know if you caught it the first time around, but it’s amazing stuff. CBS gave Rubens $425,000 an episode and the production values are incredible. I was particularly grateful it was around when my daughter was a child — Pee Wee’s Playhouse is smart, funny and teaches a lot of great lessons without the saccharine sweetness of Sesame Street, which used to drive me crazy.