ldcraig2006_minikingdom

Who's That Doll?

MATTEL MINI-KINGDOM

2000

Early in 2001, Mattel decided to re-design and re-invent their best-selling girl, Barbie, yet once more. For several years Barbie had gone through more career changes than any prospective employer likes to see. Now, Mattel made Barbie the star of her own series of direct-to-DVD movies. Classic stories were re-told, with Barbie teaching gentle life-lessons to little girls (through little sister Kelly) along the way.
The first of these offerings was "Barbie in the Nutcracker". Barbie, of course, was Clara, and Ken was the Nutcracker Prince. Now, I don't know who the brilliant person was who actually got Tim Curry to do the voice of the Mouse King, but he was over-the-top fantastic, and made viewing (from the parents' perspective) so much more enjoyable!
Other movies followed, and are still being made. The only accessories/playsets I've seen for these dolls is the castle and the horse-drawn carriage. So far I have not seen any additional fashions for these dolls, but they ARE 6-1/2" tall, and can wear just about any fashion made for dolls of that size.

The body-style of the Mini-Kingdom dolls uses a uniform torso, with no twist-and-turn waist. The legs bend stiffly at the knees and don't hold the pose. Shoes are permanently formed for the feet. The arms swivel out from the sides of the body, and the head turns easily in many directions on the neck post. Hair is rooted; other facial features are painted on. Most of the dolls have crowns sewn to the head. There are no male dolls.

Clara, from
"The Nutcracker"

One thing that should be mentioned about the Mini-Kingdom dolls, and that is this: if you've seen one Barbie, you've pretty much seen them all. Hair styles are about the only difference to help you determine who the doll was meant to be. There were African-American versions of almost all the dolls except Clara and Annika (from "Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus"). A brunette Theresa model was used for Erika ("The Princess and the Pauper"), and her African-American counterpart varies from the others used to represent Barbie's character. Other than that, they're beautiful, but pretty much all the same.