So yesterday, while researching an answer for Yahoo! Answers, I ran across this photo:
The Cherry Merry Muffin dolls, released in 1988, were small, scented, poseable figures that came with a tin of muffins (also scented), a muffin-shaped comb, and a helper figure that doubled as a cooking utensil. Chocolottie, for instance, was chocolate-scented and came with a helper named “Chocolate Drop,” who resembled a chocolate chip and doubled as a cookie cutter. A banana-shaped measuring spoon called “Bitty Banana” came with the banana-scented blonde named Banancy. (Yes, that was actually her name. You can’t make this stuff up!) Apple-scented Apple Amy had a pitcher-shaped pal called “Apple Buddy,” and Betty Berry, who smelled like blueberries, had a ladle named “Lil’ Dip” for a pal. Cherry Merry Muffin’s helper was a sugar-shaker named “Cherry Sweet,” and, naturally, she smelled like cherries.
Mattel did away with everyone but Cherry Merry and Chocolottie for the 1989 run, and brought out a new set of characters: Lilly Vanilly (seriously), Greta Grape, Bubblegum Becky, and Penny Peppermint. They were still scented, but the helpers had disappeared. Instead, the girls now came with pastry-shaped hats, along with their combs and their trays of muffins. They also included simple recipes for girls to try out, like “Vanilly Dilly Treats.” (Your guess is as good as mine on that one…)
Now, I can forgive the silly names, the mysterious disappearance of my beloved helpers, and even the fact that all of these girls are actually decorated with cupcakes, not muffins, but in 1990 Mattel apparently went completely off the deep end. The only doll that stayed was Cherry Merry Muffin, and she was joined by Grape Ice, Peach Perfection, and Cookie n’ Cream. These strange-looking dolls, much unlike any of their predecessors, wore makeup and had violently bright, glittery hair in shades of pink, purple, peach, and brown. (The brown was streaked with sparkly silver “highlights” to make her look more edgy and fun, like the others.) Their clothes were futuristic and rife with iridescent fabric, and they were modeled not after muffins, but after ice cream. Because that makes soooo much sense.
In addition to the doll photos, I was also able to locate a commercial for the dolls. You know you want to watch it!!
I’d like to make this sort of thing a recurring feature. Unfortunately, though, I’m eventually going to run out of 80’s toys to blog about, so if you have a favorite doll from your childhood that you’re like me to research, drop me a line at toygeek(@)toygeekblog(.com) and I’ll post it here.
