We’ve said it here plenty of times — technology isn’t making it easy on kids. We’ve already seen the likes of Chevrolet introduce tracking tech that alerts parents to kids sneaking out with the car at night, and now we’ve got a smart home assistant that will give kids the business if they’re not polite enough. […]
Early last year, Mattel finally answered longstanding criticism of Barbie’s unrealistic proportions by making her a doll for everyone. Since then, Barbie has become available in many skin tones and body types, but her buddy Ken has still been stuck in his plain old self. That changes this year, with Mattel’s announcement that Ken is […]
Like Barbie, Amy Schumer is a busy woman. Late last year, we heard that the actress was set to play Barbie in a 2018 movie, but Variety is reporting that she’s backed out of the role. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like anything negative — the two schedules didn’t quite work out, and as it turns out, the […]
Barbie isn’t the only one getting a tech boost at Toy Fair this year. Her horse companion is getting way more advanced this year, with new touch sensitivity that makes the horse react to petting and brushing. A couple years ago, Barbie got in the saddle with the Barbie Saddle ‘N Ride Horse & Doll. […]
Barbie is learning all about the miracle of puppy life at Toy Fair this year. The Barbie Newborn Pups Pet Assortment features Barbie with a dog ready to give birth to three puppies — and there’s even a way to tell if they’re boys or girls! No, not that way. Barbie and her friend don’t get […]
Every year, Barbie learns a few new professions — throughout her life, she’s worn many hats. Her latest hat is a hard one, with Barbie coming on as a construction worker with the help of Mega Bloks. Barbie looks the part, clad in jeans, a yellow safety vest, a tool belt and, of course, a pink […]
Barbie has not been messing around during Toy Fair lately. A couple years ago, Mattel showed off the Hello Barbie doll, which had natural voice recognition, and last year Barbie got her own voice-activated smart house. She’s no less tech savvy this year — she’s now going holographic. Hologram Barbie isn’t actually a doll — the toy itself […]
Barbie’s gone through a lot of changes the past few years. Faced with mounting criticism of the doll’s unrealistic proportions and narrow appeal, Mattel introduced Barbie dolls of various body types and skin tones. The message was that Barbie is becoming a doll for every girl — the company took pains to note that all the […]
Ever play a video game and think of all the ways you could make it better, or just completely different? Well now you can. Bloxels, in a partnership with Mattel, has launched a new hands-on technology that enables kids (but you know adults will want in on to) to build, design, play and share their very […]
It’s the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, and everyone wants in on the action. You’d better believe that includes Mattel, which is now showing off three new dolls that are pretty much mandatory purchases for collectors, or for any Star Trek fan, really. Spock, Kirk, and Uhura are all getting their own Barbie dolls, and […]
We try not to throw around the word ‘best’ loosely around here, but we’re having an extremely difficult time not letting it fly to describe this Barbie doll. Mattel has blown past their previous Wonder Woman Barbies with one that looks more regal than ever before — no wonder you have to take a trip to […]
The two things holding 3D printers back from mainstream adoption is cost and relative difficulty of use. While they have been going down in price, it looks like both of those problems will finally be solved in 2016 — and everyone under the age of 13 stands to benefit the most. Late this year, Mattel […]
We saw Barbie move into the presidential race and into gymnastics coaching as part of her Careers line of dolls, but there’s one more doll coming out that deserves our attention. This year, Barbie will also become a chef cooking up spaghetti and meatballs. “But everyone can cook spaghetti and meatballs!” you say, understandably. Well, […]
Barbie can and does do everything. This has been established, and we don’t need to belabor the point. The important part is which skills she decides to show us every year, and it looks like in 2016, one of those skills is going to be passing down skills to the next generation. In other words, […]
You’ll probably remember Hello Barbie from last year, if for no other reason than she seemed to make a bunch of people really mad. Well, the quasi-cyborg Barbie of last year wasn’t at the 2016 New York Toy Fair last weekend, but Mattel hasn’t given up on the Hello thing. This year, they brought along […]
Ugh, of course Barbie would get a real, honest hoverboard before the rest of us. Here at the New York Toy Fair, Mattel is demonstrating the Barbie Star Light Adventure RC Hoverboard, and no, there are absolutely no wheels involved. You can see from the video what the deal is — Barbie’s basically hitching a […]
After decades of criticism over Barbie’s body shape, Mattel is finally ready to reveal several new body types with more realistic proportions. Curvy, petite, and tall versions of Barbie will now be sold alongside the classic doll, beginning a new and very uncertain era for the brand as it tries to stay relevant to a […]
As we know, Barbie has a faithful horse named Tawny. The two have been on many toy shelves together, in the ultimate act of bonding. But, this year’s pairing promises to be better than ever, because we’re getting some genuine galloping action. There’s a lot going on with the Barbie Saddle ‘N Ride Horse & […]
At long last, in the year 2015, Barbie can finally get a little more comfortable. Barbie’s career this year is film director, and she’s heading onto the set in a pair of black flats instead of her heels. Sounds like she won’t be sitting in that director’s chair much. Of course, she’ll still come with […]
At some point most little girls are going to want to play with their mom’s makeup, sometimes making quite a mess. The Barbie Digital Makeover Mirror makes it easy and fun for your daughter to test out thousands of makeup combinations, without all that mess. Setup is fairly straightforward. First you’ll need to download the […]
The Disney Princess Ultimate Dream Castle lives up to its name in a lot more ways than one. Just by itself, with the castle and the 30-some-odd pieces that come with it, the set is a Disney Princess fan’s dream come true. But, the castle also gets a touch of magic, from a little pixie […]
