OVERVIEW: Bratzillaz

A friend just asked me about Bratzillaz and mentioned I had no overview on the line. Well, I'm not doing anything right now, so I figured hey, why not? My girls are not out on display, so I'm going to compile info based on my Flickr and old pics. I'll probably dig up some promo pics, too.

My first experience with the line wasn't entirely pleasant. From what I can gather, I'd ordered a Sashabella (on the left here) from somewhere online, but before she arrived, I saw the other four girls in Toys R Us. I bought Jade and as I deboxed her, her head fell off. I have a lovely little rant about the quality control of the line up in Flickr. Inset eyes always provide problems, but a head falling off? That was weird.

Anyway. Sashabella would be the first doll I'd review and I did so on June 21, 2012.

But first, some basics on the line.

The Bratzillaz were obviously created to compete with Monster High, though they tried to shove their "House of Witchez" tagline everywhere to emphasize that they were witches not monsters. They had more articulation than most Bratz dolls and were taller, though their names were so linked to their Bratz counterparts that I don't even know why they bothered to make them different at all. Their price was $19.99.

Cloe's Bratzillaz character is named Cloetta Spelletta. She had a lot of two-tone outfits and accessories.

Each doll came with a stand, broom brush and a teeny hat. I never made any of my girls wear the teeny hats.

Jade became Jade J'Adore. Yeah, they didn't even change her name.

Man, did I ever hate this doll's outfit. I dunno. It just screams cheap Spirit Halloween costume for me. Maybe even cheaper than Spirit.

I do love the doll herself though.

Sasha is Sashabella Paws. Definitely my favorite of the original five.

Yasmina Clairvoya is Yasmin's witchy counterpart. You might wonder why in the world she's so pale. And Sashabella's definitely lighter than Sasha also. Why? Yeah, I have no answer for that. I love both dolls, but they definitely could have retained their Bratz-style skintones.

The fifth character is the fifth original Bratz character. Meygana Broomstix is based on Meygan.

Over in Flickr, I did a review of Sashabella, then added a single picture of her with Cloetta and a redressed Jade. I'd picked up both of them the day after I reviewed Cloetta. By July 11th, I had all five of the first series.

Jade got a complete redress. Cloetta got streamlined. I think I trimmed Meygana's hair. Her hair was awful. Yasmina and Sashabella were the two that remained closest to stock.

The dolls got fashion packs, though it would be months before I bought any. Some stores had them at $9.99, others $12.99. I waited until they went on clearance.

Meygana models Sashabella's pack only with her own boots. The ones in the pack were the same mold, but without painted details.

I love the red on Meygana, but I don't think it fits Sashabella at all.

Here's Meygana in her own pack, minus the jacket, and Cloetta in Jade's. Cloetta's horrible fashion pack was the one I refused to buy. You can see it in the promo image up there. Ugh.

Here's Yasmina in her pack.

She's accompanied by her pet, Winkers. Each fashion pack came with an outfit piece for the girl's pet.

You can see all the pets in the promo image way at the top. I have all of them, though I didn't take pics of them.

Winkers is one of my two favorites, along with Sashabella's Fluffinscruff. Jade's is named Kissifuss and Cloetta's is Barktholomew. I didn't get Meygana's Wingzy until I saw her on Hollar years later in 2016.

There were also three accessory packs. I can't remember for the life of me if I ever bought any of these! If I did, it was on clearance.

The next line for Bratzillaz was Midnight Beach. These dolls had fully glow-in-the-dark bodies.

With the high price of $17.97 at Walmart, I didn't intend to get many of these and I actually ended up with only one: Sashabella. I did like Yasmina, but I kept finding flawed ones and never bought her.

Sashabella actually looks really cool like this. And I love her cavewoman-esque outfit.

Midnight Beach introduced a new character named Fianna Fins. Fianna would be the last with a counterpart from the regular Bratz line for quite a while.

Fianna was shipped separately from the regular Midnight Beach dolls, so it actually wasn't until February 2013 that I ordered her from Target.com. I'm putting her here though to go along with Sashabella.

Bratzillaz did something a little different and offered a basic line pretty quickly. These dolls came out in January 2013. They were $12.97, which I was much happier paying than the $17.97 for the beach line.

The basic dolls only have simple articulation and no inset eyes, yet they are still some of my favorites from the line. Meygana here is stunningly gorgeous. Far prettier than her original line version.

The basics came with simple, yet still nicely-detailed, outfits. Each had a themed headband and earrings, which I liked a lot better than the original line's.

This Meygana looks spectacular redressed in her fashion pack.

Yasmina was the other one I bought right away.

I love this outfit.

Cloetta was one I wanted at the same time as the first two, but all her dolls were flawed. I picked her up not long after at a different store.

So of course I also had to get Sashabella and Jade.

I hate these boots and the fur cape is a bit much, so...

Much better with a couple changes.

Jade had the worst outfit. Ugh. Except for the top. That's cute.

But she looks amazing in Sashabella's fashion pack dress!

The next line was Magic Night Out, the inevitable party dress line.

This line introduced the new vampire character Vampelina. Like Fianna, I had to order her online, since she wasn't part of the regular assortment.

These dolls had a dancing action when you twisted their waists. Ah, like the old Barbie and Rockers line. Classic.

Vampelina was the only one I purchased, although I'm kinda regretting that now. May go hit ebay later...

Vampelina was quite cute. I love her outfit, although the white stockings love to fall down.

The two newbies quickly got pets.

Vampelina's is Batric.

And Fianna's is Ripple.

The next endeavor for Zillaz was Create-a-Monster.

I mean, Switch-a-Witch.

These came in single and double packs, but unlike Monster High's Create-a-Monster, they don't work well as stand alone packs. They work best if you combine them.

There was a second wave of these that I didn't buy.

I do give MGAE credit for varying the bodies. However, doing it in a line where you're supposed to switch parts makes that a bad idea. You see, their legs are different lengths, so...yeah. It doesn't work.

I did love the dolls I ended up with though.

I like this one the least of the three, but I do still like her.

Cute little clown chick.

And by far my favorite. I adore this girl.

The Back to Magic line was up next in July 2013.

The first wave included Sashabella, who I didn't buy, and Meygana, and also introduced a new character: Victoria Antique.

Here's Meygana in her box.

I love this outfit! Except for that hat.

Finally, a Meygana with good hair.

I ordered both these girls from Target. I was so excited for Victoria! Really wish they'd made her pet. Look how cute he is.

Victoria is an exchange student from China.

She is gorgeous. They were really stepping up their game with these later dolls, but sadly, this would not last long.

It would be September before the rest of Back to Magic appeared. I found these two in Toys R Us.

Jade is absolutely lovely.

And the exchange student from India, Illiana Honesty, is super stunning.

There was more planned for this line that sadly we'll never know more about. In very blurry pictures that weren't supposed to be leaked, you can see prototype dolls of a pastel skeleton girl (gee...wonder who inspired her) and one that looks like a stunning spider girl. I'm talking widow's peak, black hair, pale skin, animated Lydia Deetz's fashion sense and what looks like multiple arms. And she's holding a guitar. She would have been AMAZING. There's also a drawn cutout of a third unknown girl with either brown or auburn hair and lots of blues and greens. And there was a band line! Augh.

Google "Bratzillaz prototypes." You'll be as frustrated as I am with the lack of clear images, lack of names and most especially that these were not made.

Next up, we've got the Witchy Princesses line.

This was one of those big disappointments for some people, because these are the prototype images we got.

While the dolls had less detail, mostly involving losing the hair streaks.

Here is Angelica Sound. She's the oddest-looking of the three, but I still love her.

Siernna Calmer resurrects the being-named-after-regular-Bratz trend.

And Carolina Past. Possibly my favorite? I actually love all three about equally.

This line came out in August 2013.

Two final dolls to finish off this post!

These last two basic dolls came out in January 2014. I had figured they'd never come out, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them on KMart's website and actually get the correct dolls in the mail! I was fully expecting to get the first series ones.

While definitely inferior to the first run of basic dolls, these two were still must haves for me. I just love the basic line.

Gah, these outfits are so crazy.

So there you have it, my look at Bratzillaz.

If I missed anything, please let me know. I don't collect playsets, but I honestly can't remember if the line had any. Now I'm off to go look them up on ebay. Maybe I'll buy a Magic Night Out doll...

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine and promo shots.