"I think I've seen this film before..."
- Aug 10
- 8 min read
"...and I didn't like the ending."
Over the past few days, there's been a lot of discussion about American Girl's newest collaboration (in this, the year of unending AG collaborations, 2026), a fashion collection and doll based on "country music superstar," Megan Moroney.
Your first thought may be the same one I had -- which it turns out is the same thought that many people have when they hear her name. This sentiment is so prevalent, her own marketing team has tried to turn it into a tongue-in-cheek fan phrase: "Who (the heck) is Megan Moroney?"
It seems to depend who you ask. Her own website offers nothing, Wikipedia gives a general overview, Mattel's press release has a few interesting tidbits, but according to her diehard fans, she's a "great role model for children," with songs that are "full of girl power."
Now if you're familiar with the broader family of Mattel products, you already know that Barbie has a well-established line of dolls celebrating inspiring women. Key word: women. Because at almost 29 years old, Megan is not your typical AG character's age, she's double that. But being the "lifelong American Girl fan" she is, proudly telling the tale of her American Girl doll -- possibly Emily -- who is safely stored away at her parents' house, she obviously needed an American Girl doll made in her likeness, not a Barbie.
The idea of creating an American Girl doll based on a real person sends off warning bells for a lot of AG fans. Sure, Barbie does it all the time, but Barbie also churns out new dolls at an incredible rate compared to American Girl. When a new American Girl doll is released, it's an event! The dolls American Girl has released up to this point are all characters (Historical, Girl of the Year, etc.) or are blank slates (Truly Me) that children (or adult collectors) can use to represent themselves or their own characters. Interestingly, the two dolls modeling the MM clothing and accessory line at American Girl are Truly Me dolls, not ones specifically designed for Megan and her BFF.
But MM isn't a historical person. She's a person whose life is still unfolding. She might remain mostly unproblematic forever, and she might not. Who knows! And that's where most fans begin giving AG the side eye. You can't be bothered to finally create a historical Asian character, but handed enough money, yet another blue-eyed, blonde is fine? Is the doll a limited run? And if not, what happens if MM becomes not-such-a-good-role-model? Does her doll get Thanos'd?
The clothing collection by itself makes sense. Kids love music, they love watching performances, they love grabbing a makeshift microphone and pretending they're singing and dancing on an imaginary stage. Great! The young fans who have actually heard of her will be excited to see doll-sized gear and the ones that haven't will simply treat it like any other set of musical star outfits.
But Megan Moroney isn't the next JoJo Siwa. Her music isn't designed with children in mind. In fact, in reading some of her lyrics, I'm more and more surprised anyone would consider her a role model for young kids. Maybe I've accidentally skipped over her true girl power anthems or I'm just not familiar with today's typical country music, but repeatedly dating sh*tty men and then commiserating with your girlfriends while you "throw down cabernet on the couch" isn't really an inspiring lifestyle. Perhaps the narrator in her songs should consider therapy and a walk in some fresh air and sunshine every now and then... As someone who is very much not a "Swiftie," I think I actually find Taylor's songs to be much better suited to kids and teens -- at least her earlier ones.
In seeing the varied responses from people to this collaboration, and where and how the collection will be available, I'm guessing American Girl isn't as keen on the doll idea, either. Every single other collaboration doll has been available at American Girl stores -- both online and at their physical locations. Even the dolls that have sold out insanely fast, like the recent Alice in Wonderland doll, have been proudly displayed at AG stores nationwide. I think it's very telling that the MM doll will not be available online at AG's website and will not be at the American Girl store locations. We know that there were plans to have AG Sisters available for purchase at Target stores and that the deal somehow fell through. There's a lot of speculation that the MM doll is the replacement for that deal, and I think that's a pretty good theory.
Do I think parents will buy this doll and it will lead their child to becoming an MM fan? Maybe a couple? What I actually see happening is people buying this doll for their kids and telling them it's Taylor Swift or a Taylor Swift fan named Megan or maybe even Barbie. What it really boils down to is marketing and the effort you put on the recipient.
"American Girl" is a famous brand. It's known worldwide. It's even known in some other parts of the world. It's been spoofed, it's been copied, it's been beloved for 40 years. "Megan Moroney" is not an equally famous brand. It may be gaining popularity, but it's not an established, well-known brand. So to market her as if everyone should already know who she is is not only a poor tactic, it's a little offputting.
Everyone knows who Taylor Swift is. That's a "superstar." (Honestly, now that she's a billionaire, she probably needs a word above that.) A quick little blurb about who MM is and why it's worth knowing her would've done wonders. Give me the Megan Moroney "elevator pitch." Don't make me look all over the internet trying to learn who she is. Her fans aren't really helping the situation, either. "She's really popular with kids!" "My kids haven't heard of her..." "Well, she is!!! 😭" Cool, cool, cool. Super productive.
I'm hoping this is a one-and-done deal for American Girl and any real people. That's a Barbie thing. Correction, that's a specifically "Barbie Collector" thing, meaning the people who are buying those dolls are typically older. If they buy one of a singer who says things like "wreck your bed" or "something I can unwrap like a present," they're old enough to understand what that means. They're not five. If the famous person later does something terrible, it's not going to break their heart to get rid of the doll if they choose to. (If you've ever wondered why the U.S. typically doesn't put living people on money or stamps, this is why.)
In the meantime, we're still left with the bigger problem with AG, which is the way they've been throwing a million things at the wall and trying to see what sticks. They've got collaborations with Little People and Polly Pocket, they released 14.5" versions of their most beloved historical characters (to a lot of criticism), they're delving into YA literature, and now they've announced the first doll based on a real person. "I've seen this film before" -- with Magic Attic Club.
Over twenty years ago, I watched Magic Attic Club go from a strong American Girl contender (in my young opinion, anyway), with character dolls that felt like real friends, clothing and accessories made with high quality materials and painstaking detail, and stories that felt relatable, to a cheap, dismal shadow of what it once was. Instead of unique separate collections for each character that really helped bring their stories to life, fans were left with a watered down generic array of terrible fashions and a few accessories. The dolls were made with cheaper parts and some even lost their identity. Rose, AN ACTUAL MODERN DAY NATIVE CHARACTER, became Rosa, presumably to help her sell better. Why not just introduce a new character? No, no, too much effort and money. But there was plenty of money to add random things that had no connection to the dolls or their stories. Have some random teddy bears! It worked for AG, why not MAC? 🙄 By the time Magic Attic Club shut down for good, it felt like it had already died years ago.
I really, really hope American Girl isn't following in Magic Attic Club's footsteps.
I'd love to see them do what Barbie has done in recent years. Use more realistic colors. Make more realistic things again. Barbie's kitchens have gone from multiple shades of pink and pastels to actual silver, wood tones, neutral colors, brighter colors, etc. Do that with American Girl clothes! Give us some basics! T-shirts, jeans, hoodies, shoes, socks! Not everything needs to be a sparkly, pink, over-the-top, eye-popping creation! Make it a build-your-own set! Choose a couple tops, choose a couple bottoms, add some accessories, etc.
Can you get these things on Etsy or Amazon? Yes, but not always made with the same standard of quality. When I see dolls ruined by dye transfer, it's most often because the doll was wearing some off-brand piece of clothing. Give kids the same sense of awe so many of us felt as we held items that looked like the real thing, somehow magically shrunk down to doll size!
And I know some people will absolutely clutch their pearls at this thought (and by some people, I mean the mostly women who think it's shameful for other women to collect dolls as a hobby instead of making every moment of their lives revolve around actual children, or gasp, even worse, that men collect dolls instead of only doing "manly man" things like sitting and watching sports with "the boys"), but maybe American Girl should attempt to make things their adult collectors would be eager to buy. And I don't mean just more $300 or $80 collector sets; things at different price points that collectors want. Barbie has done this for years! LEGO has done this for years!
...You know who's doing it now? PLAY DOH.
PLAY. DOH.
The thing we all used to play with as VERY SMALL CHILDREN! They're making flower-making sets geared at adults!
I'm not really sure they'll be as successful as the flower making sets LEGO has produced (mostly because adults have anxiety about mixing dough colors because our parents were always overly cautious about that), but I applaud the effort all the same! I hope it's wildly successful!
Since 2024, more adults have been buying toys for themselves than for any other age group! It makes sense! Our "third spaces" are disappearing (RIP Joann's ♥), we can't afford as many outings (concerts, etc.), we definitely can't afford trips and other large expenses, so we may as well stay home and "play" with toys. For some people, that's video games, board games, card games, model kits, and even collecting things that bring them a sense of happy nostalgia. People are allowing themselves to buy the toys they wanted as kids, but never received. That's how I got my first American Girl doll. My mom bought Emily and Molly right before they were discontinued because they'd always been her favorites to see in the catalogs, and I finally realized that if she could buy American Girl dolls without feeling bad, what was stopping me?!
tl;dr: American Girl needs to stop throwing random sh*t at the wall, take a look at its entire consumer base, and try to avoid the same fate as Magic Attic Club (RIP ♥).
And if they can't be bothered, fine. For myself, I have plenty of dolls, I know how to fix them up, and I can learn how to sew better and more detailed clothes. I'd rather support them with purchases. I'd rather see their brand grow and thrive. Hopefully they can start making choices that will help them last at least another 40 years. Time will tell.
