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American Girl (formerly Pleasant Company) is a company currently owned by Mattel that makes 18" dolls for girls ages eight and up. The most well known line is the American Girl Collection, which includes eight dolls from America's history and two that are "best friend" dolls (with a third planned for Fall 2006). There are also a few other popular lines, most notably the Just Like You and Bitty Baby lines. American Girl was started in 1985 by Pleasant T. Rowland out of her frustration of not being able to find dolls that were high-quality, wholesome and educational.
History
In 1984, Pleasant T. Rowland visited Williamsburg, Virginia, and decided to come up with a way to make history interactive for children. That Christmas she was shopping for presents for her nieces and was dismayed that dolls either portrayed adults, or encouraged girls to act like mothers, but none focused on girlhood itself. She decided to create dolls that not only taught history interactively, but kept girls from growing up too fast. When she announced her target age would be 8-12 years old, she was mocked by the toy market, where it was a commonly held belief that most girls stopped playing with dolls after they were about 10 years old. The success of Pleasant Company encouraged other manufacturers to expand into the 10-12 market for dolls.
The company has earned many awards, most notably the Oppenheimer Toy Award (eight times).
Rowland decided to coordinate a line of dolls and corresponding books that portrayed 9-year-old girls from the history of the United States of America. While looking in the basement of a shop in Chicago she found an 18-inch doll that was perfect for her idea. The doll maker was Göetz in Germany. Thus older dolls have tags that say "Made in West Germany." In the 1990s production was moved to Hungary for a year and then to China.
In 1986 the first catalogs were sent out. They contained the first three dolls in the line: Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, and Molly McIntire. These catalogs featured only the first three stories of each character's eventual six-book series, as well as their pajamas, beds and trunks. These dolls established the original format of the collections. Historical details were scrupulously observed.
During the years 1986-1998, the company expanded, adding three more historical characters (Felicity Merriman, Addy Walker, and Josefina Montoya) as well as the new line of 'American Girls of Today' and the 'Bitty Baby' set.
In 1998 Mattel acquired Pleasant Company. This raised concerns that the company would become "Barbie-fied." Two years later, Rowland would leave the company. A this time, the name of the company changed from 'Pleasant Company' to 'American Girl.'
Since then, there have been some dramatic changes to the company. The layout of the catalogs changed, shifting to a greater emphasis on using the commercial web site for sales. Items from the historical collections began to be retired.
In 2000 Kit Kittredge was added to the historical line. Evidence of the company's new management became apparent, as the layout of the catalogs no longer featured individual doll poses and parchment background schemes. In addition, new products were added more frequently, particularly in the 'American Girl of Today' lines. The company began a line of Limited Edition modern dolls, which are produced for only one year. A seventh historical doll, Kaya, was added in 2001.
In 2003 American Girl teamed up with Red Om films and Julia Roberts to create the first American Girl movie. The first "Best Friends" doll, Nellie O'Malley, was added to the historical collection as a movie tie-in. This new product line would continue in 2005 with a redesigned Felicity collection, second "Best Friend" doll (Elizabeth Cole) and movie, "Felicity: An American Girl Adventure."
In 2005, the "American Girl Today" line was renamed the "Just Like You" series.
2006 is the 20th anniversary of American Girl; so far this has been reflected on the site. One of the stories is from the woman who then modeled Kirsten for the company. *
American Girl Collection dolls
The American Girls Collection is a brand of dolls and other items catered to girls' interest. The American Girl line includes eight cloth-bodied dolls, each character representing a particular period and region of U.S. history and dressed in clothing representative of the time, place and social background of the character.
Although the books are written for the eight-to-ten-year-old market, they are not afraid to write about challenging issues. The books cover child labor, child abuse, poverty, racism, slavery and war, among other topics; the tone is gentle so as to appeal to a school age girl. The books are historically accurate and focus on teaching their readers lessons about self-reliance and 'doing good for others.' In the back of every book is a "Looking Back" section that talks about the historical setting the characters live in, each tied into the theme of the book (the introductory book introduces the time in history, the birthday stories talks about childhood and growing up, etc.)
Short stories in small hardback books were published starting in 1999 that gave more insight into the characters, set either during or after the events of the six central books. Some of these were published in American Girl Magazine before coming out in book form. Different "Looking Back" sections pertaining to the story were given (e.g., Addy's Summer Place talks about Cape Island in 1864; Kit's Home Run discusses baseball in 1934.) The six characters at the time each got a single story with each collection. In Set Four, a story for Kit was added, upping the number in a set to seven; in the last offered set, a story about Kaya replaced Felicity. The last group of stories were published in 2003 and the single books were discontinued early in 2006 by the company, but are being released in a collection form. Each book has five stories; to make everyone's set an even five for each, Kit, Kaya, and Felicity are having new stories published in these. *
The first dolls — Samantha, Kirsten, Molly — Felicity, Kit, Lindsey & Kailey, as well as many of the first "American Girl Today" dolls, all share the same face mold. New face molds are noted with the individual dolls. Originally, the dolls were created with white muslin bodies. This was changed in 1991, in response to the low necklines of Felicity's gowns. Thus, earlier dolls are easily recognized and considered more collectible.
Each of the dolls is given a historical year ending in 4, even though their stories roughly cover about two years each. The "Best Friend" line of dolls - companions to the historical dolls - are set either during or after the events of her companion's series. Each of their books - one per doll - cover a different situation of the time that pertains to their story.
Kaya, 1764
Kaya (pronounced KY-yah) is a Native American girl of the Nez Perce tribe. Kaya's full name is Kaya'aton'my', or "she who arranges rocks." Her story takes place in America's Northwest in 1764, before white settlers disturbed the Native American way of life in the west.Kaya was introduced in 2002, the same time Felicity left the catalog. American Girl worked closely with the Nez Perce Indians to create Kaya. She is the only doll that does not smile with her mouth open, as baring one's teeth is considered offensive in Nez Perce people; no other doll shares her face mold. Her collection and books do not follow the trends set down by previous dolls, more accurately reflecting the history of life in the tribe. There are many Nez Perce words and phrases in her books, and a glossary in the back to define the words used. These words are spelled phonetically in the story to ease in pronunciation.
It is rumored Kaya does not sell as well as the other American Girl dolls. It is believed to be attributed to her small collection, or possibly because she may be harder for girls to connect to than the other dolls.
Felicity Merriman, 1774
Felicity Merriman was the first doll added to the American Girls Collection following the initial introduction of Kirsten, Samantha and Molly in 1986. Felicity is a colonial girl living in Williamsburg, Virginia who is stuck between Patriot and Loyalist viewpoints at the beginning of the American Revolution.In 2002 American Girl started to take steps that pointed to the removal of Felicity from the American Girl collection. Felicity was taken out of new print catalogs. The last catalog to feature her included the note: "Attention Felicity fans! This is the last time you'll see Felicity in our catalog--from now on, she'll be featured exclusively at americangirl.com." As one collector put it: "Attention fans. We at Mattel don't think Felicity is hip and trendy enough to be very marketable. We are banning her to the back burner, to the depths of our website, as if she never existed." * In addition, about half of her existing product line was discontinued, including many accesories and outfits.
Felicity was re-launched in October 2005 with the release of her movie; many discontinued items were reintroduced, while other items were replaced with redesigned accessories. One such change is her so-called 'Meet dress.' Originally a rose print, it has been replaced with her former 'Traveling Gown'. The original Meet dress is now available separately while the Travelling Gown is now only available with the doll. Felicity's hair was originally a carrot-red, but has been changed to a more auburn shade.
In connection to these changes, as well as the introduction of the Elizabeth Cole doll, Felicity's books have been reillustrated.
A new TV Movie entitled "Felicity: An American Girl Adventure" was broadcast on the WB in November 2005.
Elizabeth Cole, 1776
Elizabeth is Felicity's best friend, the daughter of a Loyalist during the American Revolution. She was introduced Summer 2005. Her character is featured in the Felicity film.Originally, Elizabeth was illustrated as having brown hair and brown eyes. However, due to concerns that the dolls would resemble each other too much (also that the young actresses in the movie would look too much alike), she was created with blonde hair and blue eyes. The books have been reillustrated for the change.
She uses Josefina's face mold and is the first doll to have removable earrings. She has her own line of clothing and accessories that complement Felicity's line. Elizabeth has only one book called "Very Funny, Elizabeth"; her Looking Back Section is about marriage.
Josefina Montoya, 1824
Josefina Montoya lives in the New Mexico area during Spanish control. She and her sisters must face a new way of life after the death of her mother, which happens before the events in the stories. Josefina's family speaks Spanish, and so there are many Spanish words and phrases in her books and a glossary in the back to define the words used in the story. Her books have also been translated into Spanish.Josefina was the last doll introduced before the Mattel takeover. Josefina was the first of two dolls to have a cultural panel to assist her creation, the second doll being Kaya.
The Josefina doll was the first to use her face mold; Nellie, Elizabeth, and Marisol have shared her face mold.
Kirsten Larson, 1854
Kirsten Larson is a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up on the Minnesota plains. She is an immigrant from Sweden who lives in the Minnesota Territory and faces the hardships of adjusting to a new and unfamiliar country.Kirsten is one of the first three dolls produced by American Girl. Only a few of her items have been redesigned since their introduction, and such redesigns have been small. Like with all the dolls, some items have been retired; however, the majority of these items have been special-edition items to begin with.
Unlike many of the dolls, Kirsten's books have maintained their original illustrations (with the exception of the covers.)
Addy Walker, 1864
Addy Walker is a fugitive slave who escapes with her mother to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War, after her master split up her family by selling her father and older brother to another plantation owner.An African American, Addy was the fifth doll to be added to the collection. She was the first non-white doll to be added to the historical line and was the first doll to have earrings. The first production of Addy dolls were done using the original (Caucasian) face molds. Shortly afterward, a new mold was created to give Addy African features.
Her books were originally illustrated by Melodye Rosales, but were redrawn by Bradford Brown and Dahl Taylor.
Samantha Parkington, 1904
Samantha is a wealthy orphan being raised by her grandmother in 1904 in Mount Bedford, New York. Samantha learns the realities of her Victorian world - from her life of luxury to the prejudices and difficulties faced by the lower classes.One of the original three dolls, Samantha is the most popular. Her books have been authored by various writers, unlike most of the other books in the collection.
Samantha was the first doll to have a TV movie made about her. The movie was called, "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday", and it debuted during Thanksgiving in 2004.
(Queen Victoria died in 1901, thus ending the Victorian era and making it the Edwardian era named after her son, Edward VII, who was the ruler of the United Kingdom in 1904, but the doll is marketed as Victorian.)
Nellie O'Malley, 1906
Nellie is a poor Irish girl who has worked in factories and as a servant. After losing her parents to a flu epidemic, Nellie and her two sisters Bridget and Jenny are adopted by Samantha and her kind aunt and uncle.Nellie's character was introduced in Samantha's original books, and was the first of the 'Best Friends' dolls to be introduced. Although premiered as a 2004 limited edition, her popularity resulted in the Best Friends line becoming a permanent part of the American Girl collection.
Nellie starred in "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday" on Thanksgiving 2004.
Nellie has her own line of clothing and accessories. She shares Josefina's face mold. Nellie has only one book, called "Nellie's Promise"; her looking back section is about adoption.
Kit Kittredge, 1934
Kit Kittredge is growing up in the early years of the Great Depression in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her family struggles to adjust to the realities of the economy after Kit's father loses his job. Although referred to as 'Kit' in almost all books and promotional material, Kit's full name is Margaret Mildred Kittredge.Kit was the first doll to have short hair and freckles. Kit also has the classic, original American Girl doll face mold.
Kit debuted in 2000 as the seventh American Girl doll.
Molly MacIntire, 1944
Molly's story is set during World War Two. Her father is off caring for wounded soldiers in England. Molly is left with her mother and three siblings in Jefferson, Illinois.Molly was one of the original three dolls offered and remains a favorite to both children and collectors alike. She is especally popular with older fans who grew up in her era. She is the only American Girl doll to wear glasses so far.
In anticipation of the new movie, many of Molly's items are in the process of being retired and will possibly be rereleased.
Emily Bennett, 1944
Emily Bennett is an English girl who is sent to stay with the McIntires for two weeks in the story "Happy Birthday, Molly!" She will be the third doll in the "Best Friends" collection. Pictures have been revealed in a press release from Mattel . Valerie Tripp, author of the Molly series as well as other American Girl titles, has confirmed that she is writing a book for her, titled 'Brave Emily.' As with the other Friends dolls, Emily will be featured in a movie, scheduled to be released in the fall of 2006.Just Like You
Formerly known as the "American Girl Today" line, this style of doll was introduced in 1995. In December of 2005, the name of the line was changed.
The "Just Like You" line of dolls has twenty-three options (three have been retired), each with a unique combination of face mold, skin, hair and eye color. This allows the owner to choose a combination that best resembles herself, and dolls are not customized by the company. The doll comes dressed in a modern outfit and includes a book of questions to get to know the doll and create her story. Many modern accessories are available for these dolls, from ever-changing clothing to beds to furniture wheelchairs. The dolls are the same size and style as the historical line.
Beginning in 2001, American Girl introduced limited edition Girls Today, which featured smaller, specific collections and individual storybooks, similar to the historical doll's "Meet" book. Although each collection is specific to the doll's character, each features accessories based on the book's plotline, and each doll has an animal companion. Each of these dolls was only available for a year after being released. The line is now known as the Girls of the Year.
Girls of the Year
2001 - 2002: Lindsey BergmanLindsey is a ten-year-old Jewish girl who is eager to help. But sometimes, her help creates more problems than solutions.
This was the first of the "Girls of the Year" series.
2003 - 2004: Kailey Hopkins
Kailey is a devout environmentalist who faces a test when she needs to save her beach from developers.
2004 - 2005: Marisol Luna
A dancer from Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, Marisol is devastated when her parents move away from her close-knit community...and leave her without a place to dance!
Introduced during the Christmas season of 2004, Marisol was retired December 2005. This character's story caused some controversy. Her collection sold out in early December, 2005.
2005 - 2006: Jess Akiko McConnell
Jess, along with her parents, goes to Belize to explore Mayan ruins and makes some important discoveries of her own. Introduced in December 2005, following the early sell-out of Marisol's collection, Jess has a unique face shape shared by no other American Girl doll. This is the first specifically bi-racial doll introduced by the company (her father is Irish and her mother is Japanese). She is also the first L.E. doll to be given a middle name.
Other product lines of note
Bitty Baby Collection
Bitty Baby, a baby doll, comes in several different styles (African American, Asian American, Blond Caucasian, Brunette Caucasian, and Hispanic). She is 15 inches tall. She comes wearing a sleeper and with her own Bitty Bear (a small, 5 inch tall teddy bear).This collection was originally introduced in 1990 as 'Our New Baby,' with a complete line of very realistic accessories for the doll as well as matching ones for real infants. However, this collection underwent a drastic change and was re-aimed at the toddler set, with the accessories becoming less realistic. In addition, the clothing line was revamped to be sized for toddlers and preschool aged girls.
Also part of this line are the "Bitty Twins", a set of boy/girl toddler dolls that come as a pair in either blond or brunette. They feature 'real' hair, unlike the molded hair of the Bitty Baby line.
Hopscotch Hill Collection
Based on the book series by Valerie Tripp, this was a set of four dolls aimed at school-aged children. They featured hard plastic bodies, unlike the other dolls by American Girl, and were multi-jointed. The first dolls to be introduced were Hallie, Skylar, and Logan.They were then joined by Gwen.Hopscotch Hill Collection
Based on the book series by Valerie Tripp, this was a set of four dolls aimed at school-aged children. They featured hard plastic bodies, unlike the other dolls by American Girl, and were multi-jointed. The first dolls to be introduced were Hallie, Skylar, and Logan.They were then joined by Gwen.The line was removed from catalogues in 2005. Currently the line has been set for retirement but some portions are still available on the American Girl website on clearance.
Girls of Many Lands
Premiered in 2002, this set of eight dolls was aimed at twelve-year-old and older girls. The dolls were each from a different, pivotal time in history, and were a large departure for the company, as only one of the dolls was American. They were also far more detailed and designed more for display, rather than play.Despite winning the Oppenheimer Toy Award in 2003, this line was retired in 2004.
Angelina Ballerina
Based on the Angelina Ballerina series of books, this collection featured a dancing mouse and many accessories for her world. This set was aimed at the three-to-seven age group and was another departure for the company, as the main character was - a mouse.Introduced in 2002, this set was removed from catalogues and retired in 2005. Product line then was transferred to target stores and HIT entertainment.
Movies
Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004)
Samantha was the first American Girl movie to be broadcast on television, on 23 November, 2004. During the movie, animated commercials for Tide, a brand of laundry detergent, were broadcast. One of the commercials included a scene where a girl received a Samantha doll for Christmas. The movie was broadcast again on November 25 (Thanksgiving Day U.S.). It drew six million viewers. The movie starredAnnasophia Robb as Samantha Parkington
Kelsey Lewis as Nellie O'Malley
Mia Farrow as Grandmary
Jordan Bridges as Uncle Gard
Rebecca Mader as Cornelia
The movie went to VHS and DVD quickly in time for Christmas 2004.
Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005)
Shailene Woodley as Felicity MerrimanKatie Henney as Elizabeth Cole
John Schneider as Edward Merriman
Marcia Gay Harden as Martha Merriman
Kevin Zegers as Ben Davidson
Eulala Scheel as Nan Merriman
The movie went to VHS and DVD quickly in time for Christmas 2005.
Molly: An American Girl Victory (2006)
The third movie is currently in production to be released this fall.
The first two movies were broadcast on The WB; Molly's movie will be on Disney Channel since UPN is merging with the WB and both sides feel that the movie's content will not fit with the goals of the new network.
Maya Ritter as Molly McIntire
Tory Green as Emily
Hannah Fleming as Susan
Samantha Wilson as Linda
Josette Halpert as Alison Hargate
David Baker as Dr. James McIntire
Molly Ringwald as Helen McIntire
Genevieve Farrell as Jill McIntire
Andrew Chalmers as Ricky McIntire
Criticism
In addition to complaints about Mattel's management by longtime fans--including the retirement of many quality items that are replaced with items considered to be of lesser quality--many believe that American Girl products are overpriced. Dolls themselves cost $87, and most outfits cost around $26, with furniture sometimes costing over $100.
Girls, Inc.
In August 2005, one of the products offered by American Girl was the "I Can" band. The company web site stated that "American Girl will give 70 cents for every dollar of “I CAN” band sales, plus a $50,000 donation, to Girls, Inc., a national organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold." The relationship to Girls, Inc. has been criticised by some conservative activists [http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21845 who allege that Girls, Inc. promotes abortion rights and acceptance of homosexual orientation. American Girl states that these donations are earmarked to support the work of Girls, Inc. in the areas of intellectual development, leadership, and sports programs.Marisol
In 2005 residents of Pilsen, a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, claimed the book Marisol portrayed their neighborhood as unsafe, because in a passage Marisol's mother explains that they are moving to the suburb of Des Plaines because Pilsen is "dangerous" and "there is no place to play." The Latin-American community decided to protest the book and doll. Stephanie Spanos, senior public relations associate for American Girl, responded: “We feel that this brief passage has been taken out of context in the book...In the story you’ll see that Marisol’s parents want to have a house and a yard, and a place for her to play. As well as there are some other reasons, too, that they are talking about moving.” [http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=3039ad0b2783d93f73073ad7973fba43External links
- American Girl web site
- Complete Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting
- Molly's Big Idea: New unofficial community to replace the now closed American Girl Club.
- American Girl Playthings!: Where little girls who play with dolls grow up and become collectors who play with dolls!
- American Girl Fans Message Board: A board for collectors of all ages.
- Archived Article about the uniqueness of the American Girls Doll.
- On-Set Pictures: ''Molly: An American Girl Victory
"American Girl (company)"