So I looked it up. So Barbie was modeled after a German cartoon hooker named Lilli. I learn something new every day.
Posted on 07/02/2008 4:21:03 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl *** Stars: Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci Rated: G How long: 1:41
In a time when it's commonplace for 9-year-old girls to get their nails done and wear thong underwear, it's easy for adults to shake their heads and say, "It wasn't like that when I was their age."
Of course, being 9 hasn't really changed, but it's hard to see that through the sexualized, materialistic story told by Bratz and Barbies.
"Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" captures what it's like to be a real 9-year-old girl in a way that will take adults back and kindle kids' imaginations.
Since its inception in 1986, the American Girl company (founded by Madison's own Pleasant Rowland) has made a niche for itself selling dolls with accompanying books that tell each doll's story. Spunky 9-year-old American Girls like Molly, Samantha and Felicity go on adventures that teach history and morality (the kind of morality that everyone can agree on, like perseverance, honesty and helping others).
Still, American Girl isn't really non-materialistic; the company achieved wild popularity with its brand of books, dolls and a plethora of other merchandise.
"Kit Kittredge" walks that line between glossy materialism and reality, and usually succeeds in keeping things real.
Kit (Abigail Breslin) is a plucky aspiring newspaper reporter living in Cincinnati during the Great Depression. When her father (Chris O'Donnell) loses his job and her mother (Julia Ormond) has to take in boarders to make ends meet, Kit struggles to make sense of things.
Being 9 is an age on the brink, a time when play becomes serious and fantasy turns to concrete plans, no matter how outlandish. Everything Kit does in the movie rings true, from her attempts to get printed in the Cincinnati daily newspaper to the secret codes she and her friends swear to each other in their tree house.
At times, the film slips into sun-kissed schmaltz. A few wince-inducing scenes toward the beginning break the film's general allegiance to hokey-free dialogue. Another misstep is Abigail Breslin's obviously bottle-dyed bob. Part of her appeal in her breakthrough film "Little Miss Sunshine" was that she looked like a grubby non-Hollywood kid. Here, her dyed hair and perfect little outfits sadly make her a movie girl, not a real girl.
But, let's face it, all dolls are based on image, even American Girl dolls, and it should come as no surprise that Breslin's been fit into that mold. As an actress, she's great. She has a rare ability to be cute without any pretense or self-conscious pandering.
The real treat in the movie is the cast of characters that Kit's mom brings into the house as boarders. Just when you think the movie might fall into pit of syrupy idealism, in saunters Stanley Tucci as the traveling magician and Joan Cusack as the oddball librarian with a truck full of books.
"Kit Kittredge" takes up some surprisingly thorny moral dilemmas, maybe ones to discuss as a family after the movie. For instance, when Kit's teenage hobo friend reads "Robin Hood," he wonders if it's okay to steal from the rich and give it to the poor. What if you're a poor hobo and you steal from the rich and keep it for yourself? What does it mean to be "rich" or "poor"?
The movie presents the Great Depression in a way that's both suitable and educational for younger audiences, but disturbingly close to today's reality. When Kit's mother explains what a mortgage is and why their neighbors are losing their homes, I thought of a mother today explaining sub-prime loans and foreclosures to her daughter.
> I would hardly put barbies in the same category as bratz. Bratz are a sleazy way to sexualize young girls.
I’m with you on that one. My daughter really enjoys the Barbie videos: they are extremely well-produced and quite wholesome, and certainly harmless.
This isn’t the first American Girl movie. Molly, Samantha and Felicity have already been done. :)
Oops! I’m behind the curve; I raised three boys. They had little interest in American Girl dolls; they were more intent on making one another bleed on a daily basis, LOL!
Oh, and a Barbie Doll? Bend her in half and she makes an AWESOME gun! ;)
No problem, I’ve got an eight year old daughter, so I’m a walking movie database for little girl flicks.
The recent Barbie movies are very well made and excellent.
Bratz, trashy.
I do need to start working on my knowledge of GI Joe and that sort though, since we have a 9 mo old baby boy now. I’ll have to remember about the Barbie gun in a few years...lol :P
When (middle son) Sonny was seven, he came home from a weekend ‘play date’ at the neighbors while Husband & I had some time to ourselves.
As Husband was unpacking his backpack, he found a naked Barbie doll in Sonny’s backpack. At first Husband totally FREAKED, but I told him to cool it and we’d talk to our son about this together.
Sonny’s explanation? It was his GUN! One of the older daughters in the family didn’t want it anymore, so Sonny scarfed it up, LOL!
Now Sonny is 21, has an awesome girlfriend who is WAY out of his league (as in; unless he gets it together and finishes college in the next ten minutes, he’ll never be able to AFFORD to keep her), but it seems to work, and all is well in Husband’s Little World.
Kids will freak you out every day, and twice on Sundays just to keep you on your toes, LOL!
When Kit’s mother explains what a mortgage is and why their neighbors are losing their homes, I thought of a mother today explaining sub-prime loans and foreclosures to her daughter.
Probably a bit more convoluted.
I would hardly put barbies in the same category as bratz. Bratz are a sleazy way to sexualize young girls
I assure you that the German Sex Toy (Barbie) is sleazy. You just are used to it.
Oops! I’m behind the curve; I raised three boys. They had little interest in American Girl dolls; they were more intent on making one another bleed on a daily basis, LOL!
Oh, and a Barbie Doll? Bend her in half and she makes an AWESOME gun! ;)
We didnt have Barbies at our house. I always thought they wern’t human. Confirmed when one of the girls thought she was a pink stethescope.
So I looked it up. So Barbie was modeled after a German cartoon hooker named Lilli. I learn something new every day.
I'm looking into the Life of Faith dolls now.
No.
They ought to call them 'Slutz'.
And if you have a boy that’s into sci-fi,
bend one leg and hold it for an awesome phaser.
LOL! :)
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