‘Bratz’ Had the Perfect Response to Barbie Fever
The real Barbie rivalry isn't at the box office.
In the face of the pervasive media push and the record-breaking commercial success surrounding the Barbie movie’s release this past weekend, it may not surprise you that some diehard Bratz fans have been feeling the need to vent their emotions about all the attention their sworn enemy has been getting. And the official Bratz TikTok did not disappoint its core fan base.
In a TikTok post with a caption reading, “Not pink, punk!! ?? #bratz #barbie,” the Bratz girls definitely let you know they are “not like other girls” by hopping on a five-way call to plan their trip to AMC to see “the premiere” they have “been waiting for all year.” The crew decides they’re “definitely” wearing “something pink” to the premiere they think will be “so controversial” if “someone sees” them!
Stitch incoming? They show up to AMC in their Union Jack hot teen goth fits and order “five tickets to Oppenheimer” for the ultimate sick burn against their true rival, Barbie. So if you thought Barbie’s main rival this July was Oppenheimer, you’ve been sadly under-informed about the last 20 years in plastic humanoid doll consumer culture.
“Whoever came up with this #Bratz marketing is an icon. This is so fun,” commented author Gabrielle Alexa Noel on Twitter when she shared the now-trending video.
Whether you were a Barbie Kid or a Bratz kid was a legitimately important identity marker during a certain time and place of post-Y2K America. Although many kids had both or neither, these two mass-market dolls aimed at the tween-and-under, female-presenting population have been locked in an infamous consumer rivalry since Bratz dolls first came out in 2001.
The original Bratz crew, cool teens named Yasmin, Chloe, Jade, and Sasha, were trendier and definitely edgier than Barbie, who has a whitewashed history and a preppy vibe. The stylish and ethnically ambiguous Bratz teens walked the line between goth/emo style and mainstream alt-rock hotties—and were more racially inclusive as a brand, it won’t hurt to mention.
Bratz’s apparent shade at Barbie isn’t one-sided, either. In a widely recognized Easter egg moment in director Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, fans have spotted a nod to the Bratz world when Barbie visits the cool and edgy, possibly troubled teen girl Sasha, who is surrounded by her friends that suspiciously look like Yasmin, Chloe, and Jade of the original Bratz crew. They flippantly claim to have not played with Barbies since they were toddlers. Burn!
(featured image: Getty Images)
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