Since when are yo-yos cool?
Written: Feb 07 '01 (Updated Feb 16 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cool clothes & fab hair
Cons: yo-yo is not removeable, limits play options
The Bottom Line: The doll itself is great. The face, hair and clothes look like a black teen. The permament yo-yo is annoying.
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| justjulia's Full Review: Totally Yo-Yo Nikki |
I confess, I bought this doll for my 25 year old self. When I was a kid I was always annoyed by how few black barbies there were, and that they all had stick straight hair which was nothing like my mop of curls. There was one black barbie with an afro from 1980. She had a big ole fro, an afro pick and a red glitter disco dress. She was the coolest. Anyway, when I saw this hip looking black barbie with curly pig tails I had to buy it even though I was confused by the yo-yo part.
Totally Yo-Yo Nikki looks great. She has crimped hair up in two high pig tails, with little tendrils coming down in front of her face. The face mold has be redone so that her lips are fuller and nose is broader than white barbie. She looks great. Her outfit is sort of a athletic raver look. She has a yellow v-neck crop top over a wide lavender skirt.
To top off the ensemble she has a big purple platform sneakers and a cool shoulder bag with a cool anime chick on it, and two ugly and baffling dangles that I lost within minutes. I confess, I want Nikki's hair.
The gimmick of totally yo-yo Nikki is that she has a yo-yo she can really use. She has a lump stuck into one hand that conceals a string and that you can attach the yo-yo to. You thumb a switch on her back and her arm moves stiffly up and down and which makes the yo -yo like thing move. It amused my room mates and cat the first couple times I did it, but it was also kind of disturbing. Her rigid arm jerkily twitching up and down is a bit freakish. Also, Mattel has cut a hole in the back of her shirt so that you can move the switch. This limits the ability of other dolls to wear her shirt, and means you need to find outfits for her to wear that either have a hole in the back, or cover it thoroughly. Not impossible, but kind of annoying.
On a side note, are yo-yos really trendy? I find it hard to believe that hipsters are bopping along playing with their yo-yos, or calling up Mattel demanding that barbies have yo-yos. When I was a kid I don't remember yo-yos being cool at all. If someone could do cool tricks, it was OK but no one really popular or trendy would be caught tend playing with a yo-yo.
The doll is cool looking, and kind of fun to play with, but is probably better suited for an older child who is more interested in her barbie looking cool than being able to make do different things. It's on sale at various online stores ($4 at amazon.com) and it's definitely worth that price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8.00
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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justjulia
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Location: Cambridge, MA
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