Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise created by former Mattel employee Carter Bryant for MGA Entertainment, which first introduced in Spring 2001. Bratz dolls were popular during the early 2000s.
The four original 10-inch (25 cm) dolls were released on May 21, 2001 — Yasmin (Latina), Cloe (English blond/white), Jade (East Asian), and Sasha (Black) — with Meygan (Scottish Redhead) being added to the group in 2002 as a fifth member. They featured almond-shaped eyes adorned with eyeshadow adding lush and big glossy lips. Bratz reached great success with the expansion to spin-offs, including Bratz Kidz, Bratz Boyz, Bratz Babyz, Bratzillaz, and a media franchise consisting of discography and adaptations into a TV series, a web series, a live-action film and video games. Global sales of the entire franchise grossed $2 billion in 2005 and by the following year, the brand had about 40 percent of the fashion-doll market.
The Bratz doll lines have provoked controversy in several areas from their stylized proportions to fashion-forward clothing, capitalizing closely on pop culture trends. Since the brand's launch in 2001, franchise distributor MGA Entertainment got embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute with its rival Mattel over the rights to its design, which ended in 2011 with MGA as the victors. Related litigation is ongoing in a lawsuit by MGA alleging Mattel's theft of trade secrets.
MGA has paused the Bratz brand since the onset of the litigation and rebranded it several times throughout its lifespan, with the first of those coming in 2010 after Mattel's first lawsuit, only to return later that year to commemorate the brand's 10th anniversary. In 2013, Bratz changed to have taller bodies, an all-new logo, and branding, and continued through 2014, in an effort to return the brand to its roots. As a result, none of the 2014 product line was made available in North America.
In July 2015, Bratz relaunched a second time for 14 years with new doll lines and introducing a new main character, Raya, to the first-era lineup from its 2001 launch as well as a new slogan and website design. The bodies were changed to be 10" (25 cm) tall again, but with new bodies and head molds. These dolls were met with negative reactions from fans, as the brand was more oriented towards younger kids rather than preteens and teens like the previous dolls. Due to the poor reception and sales, the dolls were once again discontinued in 2016.
In Fall 2021, Bratz released reproductions of the first edition Bratz dolls from 2001 and the popular Rock Angelz collection from 2005 to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Since then, Bratz have continued to reproduce several dolls and collections from the 2000s, as well as produce brand new doll lines for the first time in almost a decade.
Contents
Products and history
Though Bratz dolls fared poorly at their May 21, 2001 debut—mostly due to the long-held monopoly by the Mattel-staple Barbie—their popularity increased the following Christmas. In the first half-decade since debut, 125 million products were sold worldwide, and, in 2005, global sales of Bratz and Bratz products grossed over $2 billion. In 2006, a toy-industry analyst indicated Bratz had captured about 40% of the fashion-doll market, compared with Barbie's 60%. Bratz became a popular competitor with Barbie.
In August 2010, MGA released its first Bratz dolls in a year to celebrate the 10th anniversary/first decadal anniversary of the franchise. In addition to two "comeback" collections, MGA also released 10 new female Bratz characters on October 10, 2010. Bratz Party and Talking Bratz were in Target, Toys "R" Us and Walmart stores.
Bratz turned 10 years old in 2011.
In 2013, Bratz got a new logo and slogan, and the dolls all got new bodies with articulated arms, with a height to match its competitor Monster High while keeping their unique faces, and sporting brand new fashions. Only the four principal Bratz characters, alongside additions: Meygan, Fianna, Shira, Roxxi and Phoebe, have been made in the new bodies.
In January 2014, MGA revealed that Bratz would go on a country-based hiatus (only for/in the United States) for a year in an attempt to rebuild the brand after an admittedly first relaunch in September 2010 to celebrate the brand's first decadal anniversary, resulting from the lawsuit against Mattel, which was met with decreased popularity. MGA Entertainment felt that it wanted to give the brand "the comeback it truly deserved".
In July 2015, Bratz relaunched a second time for 14 years with new doll lines and introducing a new main character, Raya (despite sharing the same name with a previous character) to the debut lineup from its 2001 launch as well as a new slogan and website design. The bodies were changed to be 10" (25 cm) tall again, but with new bodies and head molds. These dolls were met with negative reactions from fans, as the brand was oriented towards a younger demographic than the previous dolls. Due to the poor reception and sales, the dolls were once again discontinued in 2016.
Controversies
The parental group Dads and Daughters were upset at the marketing of the Bratz Secret Date collection. The dolls were packaged with a Bratz girl in the right half of the box — either Cloe, Yasmin, Jade, Meygan, or Nevra — and matched with a mystery Boyz doll behind the door on the left. A window showing the doll's feet would provide a clue to which Boyz doll it was, especially important in the quest for a rare Bryce doll, available in only one of every 24 boxes. The group complained that the dolls' marketing was encouraging young girls to sneak out of the house and go on blind dates with strangers. It also took issue with accessory champagne bottles and glasses, but these were later confirmed to be smoothie bottles. MGA later renamed the collection to Bratz Blind Date.
On December 21, 2006, the National Labor Committee (now The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights) announced that the factory workers behind Bratz dolls in China have labored for 94½ hours a week, while the factory paid only $0.515 an hour. The cost of labor per doll was $0.17. The retail price for a single doll ranges between $9.99 to $22.99, depending on the included items and specific retailer.
The allegations in the report describe practices found at many Chinese factories producing name-brand products for export. They include required overtime exceeding the legal maximum of 36 hours a month, forcing workers to stay on the job to meet stringent production quotas and the denial of paid sick leave and other benefits. The report shows copies of what it says are "cheat sheets" distributed to workers before auditors from Walmart or other customers arrive to make sure the factory passes inspections intended to ensure the supplier meets labor standards. It said workers at the factory intended to go on strike in January 2007 to protest plans by factory managers to put all employees on temporary contracts, denying them legal protection required for long-term employees.
After the announcement, MGA Entertainment CEO, Isaac Larian sent a statement on December 24, 2006, via email to a dedicated franchise fansite, Bratz World, and another two days later to Playthings magazine stating that the information is false and the company is not familiar with the company named in the report and MGA uses "first-rate factories in the Orient" to make its goods, besides Mattel and Hasbro. Larian said that he never heard about the news or of "the organization who is behind this negative and false campaign immediately prior to the last holiday shopping weekend."
Legal issues
Since the 2001 launch of Bratz, sales of the Mattel, Inc.-staple Barbie fashion dolls began to decline. In 2004, sales figures showed that Bratz dolls outsold Barbie dolls in the UK and Australia, although Mattel maintained that in terms of the number of dolls, clothes, and accessories sold, Barbie remained the leading brand. In 2005, figures showed that sales of Barbie dolls had fallen by 30% in the United States, and by 18% worldwide, with much of the drop being attributed to the popularity of Bratz.
In April 2005, MGA Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Mattel, claiming that the "My Scene" line of Barbie dolls had copied the doe-eyed look of Bratz dolls. It added the word "only" to the toy line's slogan "The only girls with a passion for fashion" by attempting to isolate their dolls from Mattel's as many casual consumers confused the difference of two brands.
On December 10, 2006, Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $500 million, alleging that the brand's creator, Carter Bryant, was working for Mattel when he developed its original idea/concept. On July 17, 2008, a federal jury ruled that Bryant had created the Bratz concept while he was working for Mattel, despite MGA's claim that Bryant had never been employed by Mattel at the time and Bryant's assertion that he had designed the Bratz concepts between two separate periods of employment at Mattel. The jury also ruled that MGA and its CEO Isaac Larian were liable for converting Mattel property for its own use and intentionally interfering with the contractual duties owed by Bryant to Mattel. On August 26, the jury decided that Mattel was to be paid just $100 million in damages, citing that only the first generation of Bratz had infringed on Mattel property and that MGA had innovated and evolved the product significantly enough that subsequent generations of Bratz could not be conclusively found to be infringing.
On December 3, 2008, U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson granted a permanent injunction requested by Mattel against MGA. Subsequently, on December 10, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted MGA an immediate stay of the injunction, thereby halting the impending recall of all Bratz products, ensuring that retailers would be allowed to continue to sell the Bratz products through at least the Court's final ruling on the matter. In its initial statement, the Court suggested Larson's previous ruling was "draconian" and had gone too far in awarding ownership of the entire Bratz franchise to Mattel. The Court of Appeals also ordered MGA and Mattel to resolve their dispute out of court. Isaac Larian and MGA Entertainment issued a statement that "the Court's stay is good news for all Bratz fans and for anyone who cares about fair competition."
Media franchising
Films
There have been a number of animated Bratz direct-to-video films, all of which initially were distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and were later re-released through Lionsgate. Bratz Babyz Save Christmas, initially released in 2008, was re-released by Lionsgate in 2013 as Bratz Babyz Save Christmas: The Movie. The live-action adaptation of the franchise involving the four main characters discovering high school troubles and cliques was met with overpoweringly negative reviews from critics including at Rotten Tomatoes with emphasis "full of mixed messages and dubious role-models", adding that "Bratz is too shallow even for its intended audience."
In 2025, Amazon MGM Studios won bidding rights to produce a new live-action film, with Picturestart and Kim Kardashian to produce.
Traditional animation
Bratz: Starrin' & Stylin' (August 3, 2004)
Bratz Babyz: The Movie (September 12, 2006)
Computer animation
Bratz: Rock Angelz (October 4, 2005)
Bratz: Genie Magic (April 11, 2006)
Bratz: Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz (September 26, 2006)
Bratz: Fashion Pixiez (February 27, 2007)
Bratz Kidz: Sleep-Over Adventure (July 31, 2007)
Bratz: Super Babyz (October 9, 2007)
Bratz Kidz: Fairy Tales (February 26, 2008)
Bratz: Girlz Really Rock (September 22, 2008)
Bratz Babyz Save Christmas (November 5, 2008)
Television and web series
A computer-animated TV series adaptation was produced by Mike Young Productions (now Splash Entertainment) and premiered in the United States on 4Kids TV. Voices included Tia Mowry, Lacey Chabert and others.
In August 2007, an 88-minute, computer-animated, audiovisual production titled Bratz: BFF (Best Friends Forever) was released on the DVD rental website portal of Netflix.
From October 2008, Nickelodeon UK aired a reality show titled Bratz Design Academy, in which young girls aged 9 to 14 compete in fashion challenges similar to Project Runway, with the winner designing clothing for a British line of Bratz dolls.
On October 10, 2010, MGA premiered the first episode of an 11-episode web series, titled Bratz Rock, revolving around the main characters as they enter a music competition held by fictional music star Whisper, and as they get closer to finishing their song for the contest, they also uncover Whisper's true identity. On October 14, 2010, the series was announced as postponed, but the remaining episodes were not released.
In August 2015, a stop-motion web series premiered on YouTube. MGA confirmed there would be 10 episodes for the first season, which would turn out to be the only season. All 10 episodes were compiled into a 25-minute video titled Bratz: Friends Forever on Netflix. The web series was seen on American TV on Kabillion.
In May 2021, Bratz announced via Twitter that a web series titled "Talking Bratz" would air exclusively on its TikTok. In a similar CGI-style animation to the original TV series which aired between 2005 and 2008, the series consisted of several Bratz characters being interviewed in a talk show-like studio. The series saw the return of two of the TV series' cast in Olivia Hack (Cloe) and Ogie Banks (Dylan).
On August 31, 2023, Bratz announced on its TikTok that it is going to weekly air a two-minute miniseries on there titled "Alwayz Bratz". It started on September 15, 2023. and ended on December 9, 2023 with 13 episodes. In a CGI-style animation different from Talking Bratz, the series focuses on the main characters, who are young adults in their twenties, pursuing a TV pitch to get their show on streaming services. Meanwhile, Cloe is persuading her friends to began dating and set two of them up on a dating app without their consent. In an Instagram post on January 30, 2025, Bratz announced a second season of their continuous Alwayz Bratz miniseries since 2023, and the season premiered on February 7, 2025.
Digital Dolls
In January 2024, MGA Entertainment partnered with Flickplay in a five-year deal to create digital Bratz dolls. The digital dolls will be used on Flickplay, on other platforms, and in online games.
Discography
Bratz: Rock Angelz Soundtrack (2005)
Bratz: Genie Magic Soundtrack (2006)
Bratz: Forever Diamondz Soundtrack (2006)
Bratz: The Motion Picture Soundtrack (2007)
Bratz: Fashion Pixiez Soundtrack (2007)
Bratz: Girlz Really Rock Soundtrack (2008)
Games
DVD games
Bratz: Passion 4 Fashion (2006)
Livin' It Up with the Bratz (2006)
Bratz Babyz: Dare-a-oke (2006)
Bratz: Glitz 'n' Glamour (2007)
Lil' Bratz: Party Time! (2008)
Apps
Bratz (2010)
Bratz: Style Starz Auto-Tune (2012)
Bratz Cam (2013)
Bratz: Action Heroez (2013)
Bratz: Fashion Match (2013)
Bratz Emoji (2015)
The Bratz App (2015)
Bratz: Total Fashion Makeover (2021)
Card game
Bratz Fashion Party Fever Game (2004)