Groovy Girls are a line of fashion dolls manufactured by the American toy company Manhattan Toy and launched in 1998. The brand consists of plush, 13-inch dolls, fashion and furniture accessories, as well as pets. Groovy Girls generally cost $10 to $20 per doll and target the 6-to-12 age range, with licensed products including room décor, apparel, interactive and electronics, stationery, health and beauty aids.
Contents
History
Groovy Girls launched as a "funky" alternative to Barbie. Each doll has different skin tones, hair types and facial features, reflecting the ethnic landscape of America. The brand's lifestyle aspects are fashion, friendship and self-expression, and represents a wholesome alternative to dolls such as Bratz, Flavas, My Scene, and Barbies. Groovy Girls were initially sold in specialty toy stores such as Zany Brainy, Noodle Kidoodle, and Store of Knowledge. Beginning in early 2005, the dolls were launched in Target stores.
As of 2005, more than eight million Groovy Girls dolls were sold since its inception, totaling more than $100 million in retail sales. GroovyGirls.com, which launched in the fall of 2004, had approximately 145,000 registered users by early 2005, and more than 1.7 million registered users by July 2007. The Groovy Girls RSVP collection was introduced during the 2008 holiday season. RSVP stands for Respect, Self-Expression, Values and Play.
List of Groovy Girls
Here is a list of basic Groovy Girls by their year of release.
Some characters share names. Not counting the updated looks of the Main 6, there have been 2 dolls named "Trini," 2 dolls named "Vanessa," 2 dolls named "Carissa," and 3 dolls named "Marissa."
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Main 6:
2005
2006
Main 6 Updated:
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Poseable
These had wires in their arms and legs that made them able to strike different poses. They were released from 2006-2008.
Holiday Exclusives
Christmas
Easter
Valentine's Day
Halloween
RSVP
These dolls came with codes to unlock special items online. They celebrated Groovy Girls' 10th anniversary. The RSVP line dates from 2008-2009.
Fun Packs
Troop Groovy Girls
These dolls were partnered up with Girl Scouts. The Troop line dates from 2007-2010.
Dreamtastic
The Dreamtastic line dates from 2005-2011.
Candy Kingdom
The Candy Kingdom doll line dates from 2007. Fatina and Dari have their pets on leashes attached to their hands.
Special Edition
These dolls date from 2005-2012.
Chic Boutique
The Chic Boutique doll line dates from 2005.
Flutterflies
The Flutterflies doll line dates from 2010.
Princesses
The princesses date from 2010-2015.
Mermaids
The mermaids date from 2002-2012.
Style Scents
These dolls date from 2015, and each one is fruity-scented. They all come with a pet as well.
Fairybelles
The fairies date from 2015.
Groovy Girls Sleepover Club
Groovy Girls Sleepover Club was a series of short, chapter books for early readers starring the main 6 Groovy Girls, who are Gwen, Reese, Oki, O'Ryan, Vanessa, and Yvette. The books each contained 80 pages and a few illustrations. The books were published from 2005-2006.
List of books
- The First Pajama Party: Slumberiffic Six
- Pranks a Lot: The Girls vs. The Boys
- Sleepover Surprise: A Twin-Sational Birthday
- Rock and Roll: Divas Supreme
- Choose or Lose: How to Pick a Winner
- The Great Outdoors: Take a Hike
- Growing up Groovy: An Out-of-this-World Adventure
- Girls of Summer: Bon Voyage
Licensing and awards
Burger King offered miniaturized plastic as well as plush versions of Groovy Girls in its global Kids Meal program, which ran from February 12, 2007 to March 18, 2007. That year, Manhattan Toy also partnered with the Girl Scouts to develop a line extension of dolls called Troop Groovy Girls. An online community called Camp Groovy Girls launched in September, soon after the dolls became available in stores. In February 2008, the Toy Industry Association named the Girl Scouts' Troop Groovy Girls the best girl toy of the year during the American International Toy Fair in New York City. Groovy Girls had previously won "Girl Toy of the Year" and "Specialty Toy of the Year" awards at the 2003 Toy Fair.