Why is it with all good things, someone has to stand up in a meeting somewhere, raise their pointer finger into the air and declare, “I say we can do it better! Makeover!!” *limp wristed applause* Obviously this ‘Queen’ works for Mattel, because they’ve decided that Dora the Explorer should look like THIS:

Instead of THIS:

My daughter loves Dora. Thousands of children all over the place feel the same way. I haven’t heard any of them saying, “Dora is so lame! Her hair is stupid and she’s fat. She needs a weave and a diet pill. THEN we’ll love her!” Nope. Haven’t heard anything close to that.

What I HAVE heard are statistics. In 2007 Mattel had to recall close to one million toys that were covered in lead-based paint. This past Christmas proved devastating for Mattel, revenue dropping by nearly half. Alot of this loss was balanced out with Mattel’s huge legal win, allowing them to gain full ownership and profits of the Bratz doll line.

So is Dora being forced by Mattel to cave in to peer pressure? And will this overhaul even appeal to the Tweens who dwell in the land of Angst? I highly doubt it. I don’t care if you skinny Dora out, give her a nose ring and a tat. Tweens will still think Dora is for babies.

Apparently the “New & Improved” Dora will accompany the original Dora…not replace her. I wonder how long it’ll be until the real Dora gets knocked off the shelf permanently? I’d like to think that Dora the Tween would be intellectually stimulating, not having to depend on curves and big hair for approval.

I wonder if Cali will notice the change? Probably not. If you showed her a Bratz doll, she’d probably take one look at it and say, “That child’s mother obviously wasn’t taking a pre-natal. Those lips are unnatural.” I secretly hope that when the lights go down in Toys-R-Us this fall….Cool Dora kicks Stupid Dora off the shelf and sicks the monkey on her.