This week, I’m taking a little bit of a different angle and going with a doll from a current toy line that reminded me of some things from when I was a young child combined with some other things I remember from when I was a teenager.
If you look at B.B. Moonlight next to Blueberry Muffin from the Strawberry Shortcake line, there are quite a few similarities between the two characters.
1. Both have blue hair worn in pigtails.
Blueberry has full light blue pigtails and short bangs while B.B. Moonlight has darker blue hair, smaller pigtails and longer bangs that curl a little below her chin.
Blueberry’s hair is straight while Moonlight’s has quite a bit of curl to it, especially once I brushed out whatever it is that makes her hair stiff. For some reason, MGA has a reputation for putting an excessive amount of gel in their dolls’ hair.
2. Both wear similar style hats.
This is where there’s an interesting difference between the original and reproduction versions of the Blueberry Muffin doll.
On the original 1980’s Kenner Blueberry Muffin, the hat was more like a traditional bonnet with a ribbon threaded through the top of the hat and then tied under her chin.
On the reproduction line dolls from Bridge Direct in the mid 2010’s however, Blueberry’s hat has been changed. It’s now a “bucket” style in a denim-like fabric in a shade of blue with a little ruffled brim.
B.B. Moonlight also wears a blue bucket style hat with a ruffled brim. Moonlight’s hat is in the same dark blue lace as her dress.
3. Both Blueberry Muffin and B.B. Moonlight are characterized as being avid readers and enjoying writing and storytelling as well. B.B. Moonlight even comes with her own little journal as one of her accessories and her purse is a book titled Scary Stories.
As for me, I majored in English and love reading as well as watching and analyzing movies and television shows.
Why did I choose this toy?
B.B. Moonlight is a combination of so many things I’ve loved since my childhood.
1. The Color Blue
Blue has been my favorite color since before I could even say the word properly.
Blue-haired dolls have always been particularly special to me. I still have Blueberry Muffin from Strawberry Shortcake, Willow Song from Herself the Elf, Frosta from Princess of Power, and Misfit Stormer from Jem and the Holograms.
2. Lace
I have always loved lace. My preschool was at a Greek Orthodox church and one year before Greek Orthodox Easter, one of the ladies was walking in the hallway carrying a lace altar cloth. My mom told me I was fascinated with it, but I wasn’t allowed to touch it.
3. French cuffs
When my brother was working at Old Navy, we went there every now and then. I would get a pair of their jeans and some tops. One of my all-time favorites was a black collared blouse with French cuff sleeves.
I could dress it up with a nice pair of slacks or skirt or dress it down with blue jeans.
4. Peter Pan collar
I love dark dresses with a little white collar. They always remind me of Wednesday Addams or Lydia Dietz from that movie about “the ghost with the most”.
5. Double ponytails
I rocked these too!
6. B.B. Moonlight’s Journal
One of the surprise accessories that comes with B.B. Moonlight is a little journal that opens to reveal the astrological sign and symbol of Cancer, the range of dates it covers, and a cute little saying about how the stars keep sparkling even on the darkest night. My birthday happens to be in the middle of July and I can definitely relate to that.
7. Velvet shoes
I love velvet. It’s one of my favorite fabrics, but it’s too heavy for summertime.
8. This dress!
This is the dress my mother made for my senior luncheon. It has a lot of the things from this list going for it: it’s blue and has a white satin (another fabric I love for its shininess and texture) collar.
This isn’t the greatest picture because it was incredibly windy that day and the wind kept pushing up my collar.
When was this toy line produced?
LOL Surprise Dolls are a current line manufactured by MGA (Micro-Games America) Entertainment.
MGA started with Bratz in the early 2000’s but also produced the Lalaloopsy line and they also currently produce the Rainbow High and Na Na Surprise doll lines.
I don’t know if they still are, but last year LOL dolls were advertised heavily during “Disney Junior” shows like Muppet Babies and Bluey. Every time my younger niece came over and I was off work, we would watch Muppet Babies together and whenever a LOL Surprise commercial would come on, she would say, “I want that!”
LOL dolls appear to have declined in popularity somewhat as the big thing in the doll world right now appears to be the Rainbow High line. My six year old niece doesn’t seem to care about Rainbow High at all, but she had some LOL Surprise characters on her most recent birthday cake. For Christmas last year, my mom found Miss Royale and Major Lady LOL dolls for each of my nieces.
I had a brief opportunity to hold Miss Royale for a few minutes on Christmas Eve. I was helping the six year old get into her car seat and she gave me her tablet and the doll to hold while she buckled herself in. It was the first time I ever got to see one of the LOL dolls when it wasn’t in a box or on a screen.
From what little I have seen of the line, it appears each teen character has a younger sibling counterpart.
Was there a Cartoon?
There is a LOL surprise cartoon on You Tube. I’ve seen a few clips of some of the episodes on Instagram, but all I’ve seen with B.B. Moonlight has been a sketch acted out with dolls.
Moonlight has lost her journal and Sunshine Girl, her “Bestie” goes out to look for it. Moonlight is anxious to get the journal back because it contains a story she had written about a vampire who survives on French fries and ketchup. It was exactly what I was hoping for with the character: creative and sweet-natured with a quirky sense of humor.
Who was the villain in the cartoon?
Since I’ve only seen a few clips of the cartoon, I’m not sure which characters instigate conflicts. There appears to be focus on working together to solve problems.
Where/when did I acquire this toy?
After I had a chance to see my niece’s doll, I decided I wanted one for myself. I didn’t mention this much online last year, but the end of last year was very stressful for me.
Things were very tense at the day job because the government decided December would be a great time to update the website for an already problematic program for a time-sensitive medication.
I logged into my Amazon account a couple days after Christmas and did some browsing for retail therapy.
I had seen B.B. Moonlight on the shelves at Walmart earlier in the year, so she was the first doll I looked for. It didn’t take me long to find her and she was in stock online so I ordered her.
She arrived January sixth, but I was tired from my day job and didn’t actually get around to opening her box until the seventh. I didn’t watch any unboxing videos beforehand because I was worried about spoilers, which is kind of an odd thing to think about when it comes to dolls, but LOL Surprise is all about the “blind bag” aspect.
Do I still have this toy or any of its accessories?
Yes. I have the doll, her stand, her brush, her hatbox, her hat, her sunglasses, her shoebox and the afore mentioned journal. I even cut the mirror out of her box, but we discarded the rest of her box.
Did I have any other toys from this line?
No, this is my one and only doll from the LOL Surprise line. My nieces are supposed to be coming over for a sleepover later this summer and I’m hoping they bring their LOLs with them for us to play together.
Did anything surprise me while researching this toy?
When I was putting on Moonlight’s sleeves, the directions advised taking off her hands. I had never removed a doll’s hands to dress them before and that was a very surreal, Uncanny Valley kind of experience.
Also, on her hands, she has tiny little black nails, but her toes aren’t painted, so she just has a mani, no pedi.
There were a few other unusual accessories included with Miss Moonlight. She has two (mismatched) earrings. One is an ear cuff style and the other is a safety pin.
When you first unbox Moonlight, she’s wearing a spandex bodysuit. Her belt goes over her shoulders and buckles at her waist. She also has a ring hanging from that belt.
There’s a definite counter culture aspect to this doll that as an adult I can accept. After all, toys aren’t just for children anymore. On the other hand, I’m not sure I would want to explain some of her accessories to children.
I’ve already taken out her earrings because they don’t stay in well anyway. I may also remove the harness/belt before my nieces come over again. Aside from that, there are so many other aspects to this doll that I really enjoy in terms of her aesthetic and all of the separate components I’ve mentioned that add up to so many awesome memories for me.
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