Dora Links Preview and Tween Dora Update
Written on Mar 26, 2009 by Brian and filed under Mattel, News
By far the most popular story we’ve written this year, at least in terms of comments, is the Toy Fair announcement of Dora Links and the new Tween Dora line. Mattel is taking a big risk here, it’s quite uncommon for a kid’s icon like Dora to be “grown up” to appeal to an older audience. Perhaps Mattel’s biggest mistake though, or not, if you think any attention is good attention, was the release of the Tween Dora silhouette that made some think Dora looked a little too “pretty.” As one of the few people who have seen some of the new Tween Dora toys, including Dora Links, it seemed appropriate to get those interested on the same page.
Let’s start with the Tween Dora image. All the initial reaction was to the black silhouette. Here’s a comment we received from Lisa, who has a lot of support it seems:
It is a big deal, because there are plenty of sexy images of girls in the world, in the media, everywhere in fact. What makes Dora great is that she’s a child, like real children. Enough sexualizing of children! Why do this? Aren’t there enough creepy sexy dolls for little girls, like Bratz and Barbie?
But if we look at the color version of the image, it’s clear that Tween Dora isn’t exactly what we’d define as “sexual.” Sure, she’s trendy and stylish, but a far cry from what Lisa and many others are worried about when making comparisons to Barbie and Bratz.
We also noticed a lot of concern about the current Dora. The Nick Jr. Dora, complete with Boots and Swiper, isn’t going anywhere. The kids show, branding and products around that Dora will continue. I’m not sure why so many people assumed that part of Dora would be cancelled, but it’s not. Tween Dora and the Dora Links doll is simply a brand extension, reaching out to current Dora fans that are getting older. Lorrie sums it up well:
I say just see what happens. My daughter is 5 years old, and she is losing interest in Dora big time. She is playing with the computer more and more, and they are learning them in school as well. If she can play Dora online, I guarantee she’ll want one of the new dolls and I’ll be shelling out $60.00 very soon!!!
If we’ve moved beyond the fear that the new Dora will be too sexy and we know the current Dora isn’t getting cancelled, it’s probably time to get excited about the new products, specifically the Dora Links doll.
We were some of the few to get quality time with the Dora Links doll and software at Toy Fair. We liked it so much, we named it one of our favorite toys from Toy Fair 2009. For $60 you get a doll that connects to a computer and opens up a world of online play. There’s more of course. Dora has to assume new identities to solve mysteries in the game. For one task she might need short hair for instance. Connect Dora Links to the computer and a few button presses later, your Dora Links retracts her long hair with an internal motor.
Kids will be able to change her jewelry colors, eye color and makeup too, all with computer controls. There’s nothing like this in the market today and after we spent a few days at Toy Fair, nothing else like it coming any time soon. The level of interaction between the online world and the physical doll is remarkable and for $60, our early opinion is it’s a no-brainer. Of course, as with all dolls, there will be plenty of accessories, outfits, vehicles, friends and so on that will quickly add to your investment, but the baseline doll is what we’re really excited about and think young Dora fans will be too.
We’ve said it for a while, this move by Mattel is not without risk. They have done a great job conceptualizing this Dora Links product though, and while it’s far from complete, if the final version executes on the pre-production model we saw, Dora Links will be huge this Holiday season.
Update 9/1/09 – Dora Links Release Date Released
Update 10/19/09 - Dora Links Review Posted
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