Bratz today delighted fans of the doll brand by leaning into the rising Y2K trend with a digitized doll paying tribute to Megan Fox‘s role in Jennifer’s Body, a cult classic horror film released in 2009. In the animation, the doll reenacts the role of lead character, Jennifer Check, as she puts the flame of a lighter to her tongue while chatting with her friend Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried). After holding the flame to her tongue to the point its blackened and sizzling, Jennifer Check declares, “I am god.”
Like many things early-to-mid-aughts, Fox’s star is on the rise. In addition to a splashy SKIMS ad with Kourtney Kardashian, the striking actress attended the Met Gala with her boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly (real name Colson Baker), both of whom were recently profiled by GQ magazine. In the couple’s quiz, Fox reveals that Jennifer’s Body is her all-time favorite role.
Just like Fox, Bratz has experienced a renewed interest, which kicked off on YouTube in 2017 where Las Vegas-based makeup artist Malaysia Herd launched the “Bratz Challenge.” It quickly spread to TikTok where it eventually generated millions of impressions.
Adding synergy, the Bratz’s equal parts cute and sexy wardrobe of crop tops, mini skirts, bellybutton-revealing oversized jeans, chunky platform boots and super cute accessories, are a picture perfect representation of the Y2K looks currently swinging back in style.
Much of the fun and clever energy for the brand’s current reincarnation can be credited to Ecuadorian-born artist Mar Cantos, a longtime Bratz fan who creates digital versions of Bratz dolls for the company’s social media channels. Cantos is also often credited as providing inspiration for the “Bratz Challenge.”
Owned by MGA Entertainment, Bratz was conceived by Mattel designer Carter Bryant in 2001. The original Bratz launch featured four 10-inch dolls: Yasmin, Cloe, Jade, and Sasha. As the dolls grew in popularity, so did their controversy with the dolls often criticized as overtly sexual and not appropriate for children.
As the years have passed, there’s been an equal amount of the pushback on the critiques with Bratz champions arguing the dolls made people uncomfortable mainly because their features were more in line with those of Black, Latina and Arabic women, a look that flouted the white European beauty standard upheld by Barbie.
The brand this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, an event kicked off in May with the re-release of the original core four dolls. Bringing things full circle, designer Jasmin Larian, the daughter of MGA Entertainment founder and CEO, Isaac Larian, returned as Bratz creative director in 2020.
Commenting in May on the relaunch of the four original dolls, Larian stated, “Bratz completely disrupted the industry at the time when Barbie was the norm, and the purist perception of what a woman should be. Bratz were and are just so cool, fashion forward and rule breaking. They spoke to what kids actually wanted, not what their parents felt like they should want. They were also a diverse group which was shockingly new at the time.”
Check out the “I am God” scene from Jennifer’s Body below.
