Why American Girl Is The Mattel Toy Most Deserving of A Movie
After the runaway billion dollar success of the Barbie doll movie, people have been talking about what Mattel toys will hit the big screen next. There are various projects based on Mattel toys that are under development, but ones further along in development include Polly Pocket, Barney and even Uno. Yet, five years after it's initial announcement and four and a half years after it was confirmed, we haven't gotten any word on MGM and Picturestart's adaptation of the American Girl doll.
An article in the New Yorker published around the time of the Barbie movie's release last month confirmed that scripts for the American Girl movie are in development (but they have taken a pause due to the Hollywood writers strike). However, we haven't had the name of a writer, actor, director, or any talent attached to this movie like the Polly Pocket and Barney movies have gotten announced. And all I have to say is this. What about Polly Pocket makes it more interesting to make a Polly Pocket movie before an American Girl movie? What about a freaking purple dinosaur makes it more interesting to make a Barney movie before an American Girl movie?
There's one reason why American Girl is the Mattel toy most deserving of a movie, and it's pretty simple. American Girl dolls already have had stories. They have had movies, most recently Corinne's movie that just came out on Amazon Prime, but the thing is with American Girl dolls, every one has a story. Every one (not counting Truly Me and collectors editions) has a name, time period, interests, friends, challenges that she goes through, and we all know and love these stories and know everything about them. The accessories and clothes relate to the doll's interests and events from their books, so we are used to playing out those stories. Unlike Barbie (don't get me wrong, what they did with Barbie was great), there is a known story to American Girl dolls, with more depth than just a career or a label slapped on to a Barbie. So if Mattel turned a movie about Barbie into a well-reviewed box office hit, I can only imagine what could happen if the American Girl movie hones into those backstories and uses them to enrich an amazing feature film.