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Monday, October 16, 2000

Action dolls challenging Barbie world

Get Real Girls sold to inspire girls to expect more of future

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO- Could it be that perennially fashionable Barbie is behind the times?
   A bevy of new dolls with the ambition of high-tech entrepreneurs and the vigor of gung-ho athletes aim to make 41-year-old Barbie look like a relic.
   Their makers want to inspire girls to compete against Ken rather than date him.
   "We want to teach girls to get off the sidelines and get into the game," said Julz Chavez, chief creative officer of San Francisco-based Get Real Girl, which introduced its line of sports-action dolls earlier this month.
   Barbie's maker, Mattel, disagrees with the notion that Barbie hasn't evolved since Ruth Handler conceived her in 1959.
   The new doll lines also tweak Barbie's starlet looks. All the upstarts have tried to configure their 11_¤ inch dolls - the same height as Barbie - with bodies less voluptuous than Barbie's famous hourglass figure.
   Get Real Girl is manufacturing 210,000 dolls with a listed retail price of $19.99 as it introduces its new line in selected Target stores and at several online toy e-tailers.
  

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