Mattel

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Suit: Barbie Maker Reneged on Promise of Big Donation

UCLA Foundation says Mattel should pay the full $49M that was pledged

(Newser) - The UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital bears the name of the company that donated $25 million to support the hospital's construction in 1998. But Mattel and the UCLA Foundation are now at odds over what the latter claims is the toymaker's decision to renege on a much larger...

Kate McKinnon's 'Weird Barbie' Now a Real Barbie

Mattel releases doll based on comedian's movie character

(Newser) - In the wildly popular Barbie movie , Kate McKinnon plays "Weird Barbie," a version of the doll that has been played with, as Mattel puts it , "just a liiiiittle too much." With her crooked hacked-off haircut, marker doodles on her face, and paint on her dress, McKinnon'...

Want $278 an Hour to Play Games? Mattel Has an Offer

Mattel is hiring a Chief UNO Player to hawk latest iteration of the game

(Newser) - Mattel seems to be having a bit of a moment , so why not extend it? As CNBC reports, the maker of all things games, toys, and you know, Barbie, is offering up a pretty cush job to plug its latest iteration of the card game UNO. The game is UNO...

Greta Gerwig's '113-Minute Love Letter to Barbie'


Greta Gerwig's
'113-Minute
Love Letter
to Barbie'
LONGFORM
Jul 16, 2023 8:55 AM CDT

Greta Gerwig's '113-Minute Love Letter to Barbie'

Willa Paskin takes a deep dive into the director's complicated tribute to the iconic Mattel doll

(Newser) - Greta Gerwig has wondered more than once why Mattel, Warner Bros., and the producers of her upcoming Barbie movie gave her free rein to put her unusual live-action spin on the iconic doll. In her piece on the 39-year-old director for the New York Times , Willa Paskin notes that "...

Latest Barbie Doll Has Down Syndrome
New Barbie Doll Is a 'Huge
Step Forward for Inclusion'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 29, 2023 4:05 PM CDT

New Barbie Doll Is a 'Huge Step Forward for Inclusion'

'Fashionistas' addition has Down syndrome

(Newser) - Mattel has unveiled the latest addition to its Fashionista line of diverse Barbie dolls—a Barbie with Down Syndrome. The company says it worked closely with the National Down Syndrome Society to create an accurate depiction of a person with the genetic condition, CNN reports. The doll has a body...

Barney (Yes, the Giant Purple Dinosaur) Is Back

But he'll be animated this time

(Newser) - Barney, the giant purple dinosaur whose iconic show launched the careers of Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and others , is getting the comeback you likely figured was inevitable. Mattel, the toy company behind Barney, is relaunching the franchise that started with Barney & Friends, a live-action kids' show that had a...

Mattel Isn't Happy With 'Barbie-Que' Chips

Toy maker sues Rap Snacks and alleges trademark infringement

(Newser) - Nicki Minaj has long described herself as "Barbie." The rapper has released songs including "Barbie Dreams" and "Barbie Tingz," and her fans are known as the "Barbz." But the rapper's association with the iconic doll has finally ruffled the feathers of Barbie...

Laverne Cox Now Has Her Own Barbie
Laverne Cox Now
Has Her Own Barbie
May 27, 2022 4:14 AM CDT

Laverne Cox Now Has Her Own Barbie

She hopes 'kids of all gender identities can look at this Barbie and dream'

(Newser) - Laverne Cox says that as a child, she was shamed for wanting a Barbie. Now, just ahead of her 50th birthday, one has been made in her likeness—a first for a transgender woman. Mattel worked closely with the trans activist and Orange Is the New Black star on the...

Grown-Ups Can Now Use This Fisher-Price Classic

Company's working adult version of toddler toy uses Bluetooth to connect to your own smartphone

(Newser) - Bridget Carey says she's "broken inside from working at home way too long" (we hear that), but a recent addition to her home office has her newly perked up: an adult version of Fisher-Price's Chatter Telephone , the pull toy for toddlers you may remember from your childhood...

Mattel's Naomi Osaka Barbie Sells Out in Hours

Tennis star has a doll in her likeness

(Newser) - Tennis star Naomi Osaka was one of 20 or so "Sheros"—read: female heroes—gifted a Barbie doll in their own likeness in 2019 . The public was apparently eager for a Barbie of the world's highest-paid female athlete, too, as a new doll of Osaka sold out...

Fisher-Price Didn't Heed Rock 'n Play Warnings. 50 Babies Died

New report comes to damning conclusion on inclined sleeper

(Newser) - On the heels of the latest Fisher-Price recall comes a damning report from a congressional oversight committee about the company's 2019 recall of the Rock 'n Play Sleeper . Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel ignored multiple warnings that the product was dangerous, the Committee on Oversight and Reform found...

Barbie Sales Are Way Up Thanks to Pandemic
One Pandemic Winner: Barbies
Oct 23, 2020 1:45 AM CDT

One Pandemic Winner: Barbies

Parents are looking for ways to keep their kids off screens

(Newser) - "Screen time 24/7" might have been the rallying cry back when parents thought they'd be locked down for two weeks or so , but seven-plus months in to the coronavirus pandemic, they're apparently looking for somewhat more old-fashioned ways to entertain their kids. Enter: Barbies. Mattel announced a...

She Made Her Own Scientist Barbies. Now It's Official

Mattel teams with forest ecologist, honors her with doll that looks like her

(Newser) - When Nalini Nadkarni was a kid, she'd run home from school, climb into one of the eight maple trees in her parents' backyard, and spend an afternoon there with an apple and a book, per the AP . That time in the treetops set the tone for the rest of...

A 'Child' Is Born, and Immediately Ascends Amazon

Baby Yoda from 'The Mandalorian' tops plush toy list, but it won't be available for a few more months

(Newser) - The hot item of the holiday season is none other Baby Yoda , the character also known as "The Child" in Disney Plus' The Mandalorian—but no one's going to be unwrapping him (and it is a him ) for several more months. Variety reports an 11-inch Mattel "...

Got $5K at Your Disposal? This Doll Can Be Yours

Three of these American Girl dolls are available, decked out in 5,000 Swarovski crystals and beads

(Newser) - Don't know what to get for the girl who has everything? How about a doll decked out in thousands of dollars worth of bling? If you've got $5,000 lying around and can make arrangements with an American Girl flagship store in Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago,...

New Doctor Who Barbie Doll Is Groundbreaking —and Confusing

Doll based on Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to play the Doctor in sci-fi series

(Newser) - Jodie Whittaker is the 13th person to play the Doctor in Doctor Who, and the first woman, and that first has prompted yet another. Boing Boing reports on a limited-edition Barbie based on the iconic character, an offering coinciding with Sunday's premiere of the 11th season of the BBC...

Barbie Has Her New Profession
Barbie Has Her
New Profession
Jun 26, 2018 12:07 PM CDT

Barbie Has Her New Profession

She's a robotics engineer

(Newser) - After stints in medicine and music mixing, Barbie is trying to her hand at robotics. Mattel's " career of the year " Barbie is a robotics engineer, complete with safety glasses, laptop, and robot accessories. Mattel also partnered with Tynker to include free coding lessons and a workbook on...

Frida Kahlo Barbie Draws Complaints From Relatives

They say it's more Barbie than Kahlo

(Newser) - Relatives of the late Mexican artist aren't happy about a new Frida Kahlo doll from Mattel that they say looks a lot more like Barbie than Kahlo. Mara de Anda Romeo, the artist's great-niece, says Mattel was not authorized to launch a doll based on the artist, the...

Branding Misfires on Women's Day 2018
Branding Misfires
on Women's Day 2018
the rundown
Mar 8, 2018 10:10 AM CST

Branding Misfires on Women's Day 2018

McDonald's, Mattel come under criticism, and Spain's women go on strike

(Newser) - Thursday is International Women's Day, an annual event getting more attention than usual in 2018 because it's the first in the wake of the #MeToo movement. As expected, brands ( including McDonald's ) are looking to capitalize, though critics are calling out examples of perceived misfires. Here'...

Mattel's Successor to Uno Has a Pretty Obvious Name

Introducing Dos

(Newser) - What's next for Uno? Dos, of course. Mattel is launching the new card game Dos next month in hopes of giving its nearly 50-year-old Uno brand a second life, per the AP . Dos has similar rules as Uno, except players make two piles of cards and can throw down...

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