It's... ALIIIVE!!!!

Am I the only one who's slightly creeped out by Hasbro's brilliant Christmas gift idea: the Baby Alive Doll series?

I'm not one to slink away from disturbing play things.  I do have the Jane-in-the-Box bride of Chuckie doll after all.  But Baby Alive is different.  It's the kind that comes off as something innocent ... and then, when you least expect it... it shocks you to pants-peeing heights!  It's kinda like Damien of The Omen.  Evil lurking beneath those angelic eyes.

Overdrama aside, Hasbro says that the Baby Alive dolls are meant to teach young girls how to be responsible and caring with absolute realism.  True.  I get that.  Nothing teaches quite like an actual experience.  But if I'm ever left alone in a room with these dollies, I swear, I will get a heart attack!

Baby Alive Baby All Gone is deemed the crowd favorite.  She comes with baby food which your child will have to mix with water and then feed the 'baby' with.  And a sippy cup which your child will really have to fill with water and have the 'baby' drink from.  Now don't forget to keep the 'baby' in a diaper --because she WILL pee and poo after.  Really!  And you don't want the mess, do you?

Baby Alive Better Now Baby is the perfect Let's Play Doctor companion.  Because the 'baby' really gets sick.  Your child will have to take her temperature, and listen to her heart with a stethoscope.  Uh-huh, the doll really HAS a heartbeat --EGAD!  Now, your child can give the 'baby' her medicine.  Don't forget the diaper though.  This doll pushes out everything she takes in.

Baby Alive Bouncing Babbles is by far the freakiest of the bunch.  This 'baby' will bounce on her legs while your child holds her hands.  And, with the technological ingenuity of actual mouth movement, she will --and by God, she will-- move her lips as she coos and calls your child 'Mama'.  THIS is the true-to-life Chuckie doll!  All it needs is a knife and it will bounce all the way to your bedside!

Baby Alive is a novel idea in doll love.  Seriously.  And I'm not holding back my two-thumbs up because of that work of genius.  I'm pretty sure daughters everywhere will want one Baby Alive this Christmas and Hasbro will make a killing in sales.
But if it were up to me, I would've taken this doll on an elaborate 2-and-half-month launch --crossing Halloween and Christmas!

DIY DOLLMAKERS... UNITE!

I've had my own hand with DIY dolls (please see my Family Project Weekend entry).

The result was favorable.  The mere fact that it was home made, cheap,  and got my boys involved in the whole creative process is a huge win.  But as I was looking through Google images (a crippling past time), I learn that a lot of weekend warriors have the DIY streak down pat.  Even better than the real mccoys!

A good case study is the NCIS Abby Sciuto doll.

This is the official 'non-action' figure.  Aside from the get-up, the thing bears absolutely no resemblance to the real Abby Sciuto character.  The thing's got the power jaws of Schwarzenegger and the mannish built of Stallone.  Guess that's why the Caf-Pow addition was important --so you can make the almost nil connection between the doll and the actual NCIS forensic scientist.  Guess that's why the huge picture on the pack was of great importance, too.  It seems to say, "Heeey... this is an Abby Sciuto doll.  Not a G.I. Joe.  Honeeest..."

Now HERE are the DIY entries of very, very talented fans.

A Brenda Starr doll transfiguration that's totally hit the mark.  She maybe model-pretty as compared to Abby's charming look, but she's obviously a woman!

Another original doll bastardation happened to this Barbie doll.  Looove the boots!  They're so very Abby.  The computer console was a good touch, too.

Oh, I like this one!  It's cute and funny --much like the real Abby.  It's like an anime version of Abby.  And even without the human details, you know it IS Abby.  It's all about the personality and charm oozing out of this crocheted doll. And the maker of this doll totally nabbed that.

More than personality and style, this doll took on Abby's gothic nature --which connects us to the character more than a masculine plastic mould of her ever could.  Heck, this is a frakkin voodoo doll!  With a voodoo Caf-Pow!  And a voodoo stuffed hippo!  What can possibly be more Abby than that?!

My point?  DIY warriors have very little to work with (junk around the house, mostly) and yet they imbibe the TV show characters into their masterpieces with more realism than big-budgeted, true blue toy manufacturers.  That's because DIY warriors are fans.  They know what they're doing, and they know WHO they're making.  They don't make dolls because they want to make it in the corporate world of big bucks.  They make dolls because they want to give a tribute to the characters they love.
It's --wait for it-- a heart thing.