Figure, figurine or doll

[Taffeta]

Stuffed animal, stuffed toy and soft toy all normal use during my childhood. (UK)

@Wardah - I could never stand Bratz, tbh. I don't really know from a doll perspective since I'm not really a 'doll' collector, I have Jem and I have MH but that's pretty much it unless you count my 2 pullip dolls...

The trouble is if people were identifying more with Ghoulia and such, then a reboot involving them as more central would've been better. I'm an adult so it doesn't matter really what I think, but I feel like Ghoulia was more of an important role model. She carried these two ideas that a: people communicate differently and b: you can't judge by appearances. Those are really strong values for most kids to absorb and I don't think they found any way to handle that in G2. The moment they went down the "popular kids only" route, MH stopped being diverse and special and started being mainstream and thus I lost interest. But I feel bad for the kids who were a bit different at school or who identified with those quirks and differences that got streamlined out of the series for more "lets hang with Dracula" and playing families. Spectra is another one who randomly disappeared for no plausible reason :/

I feel like the kids who identified with Ghoulia would not suddenly identify with Frankie if she took over the smart role, they'd just feel alienated because Ghoulia was Ghoulia and Frankie was Frankie and it's entirely different. I feel they could've done a lot with Frankie, but they didn't need to axe Ghoulia to do it.

But it was also about the dolls and the themes of the dolls. G2 hair was nicer though on Lagoona and Rochelle. They had so many problems in G1 with goop.

On the same note, MH marketed itself on the platform that everyone is a bit different and weird and it's ok to be that way. Which is entirely different to the nauseating "everyone is going to be friends! popularity is awesome!" mantra. Reality is a lot of kids have problems in school and they all have moments they don't get along with x or things don't work out for them or they're not quite the same as everyone else. MH tried at least to be inclusive of difference by making all the characters a bit out there. G2 kind of lost that somewhere.

I still do feel that Shaz is right, though, and MH and such lines reinvented 'doll' as something more than what it was in the eighties (Jem aside).

However the surprise dolls and some of the toys that exist now are kind of...the other extreme of tacky. I don't really know how to gauge them, things like LOL! and OMG! and whatever.

I think in summation dolls just weren't interesting for me as a child so I can't find the association with pony a positive one. But I can see how someone coming to pony later when dolls had broadened their position, might see that differently.

I cannot remember 'pony doll' on a G1 backcard, and I have quite a lot of them...

[LadyAmalthea]

I think we said stuffed animal/toy too. I really dislike the term 'plushie'. It kind of squicks me out for some reason (actually I think I know why, but I won't derail the thread with it). My sister just calls it a 'plush', or 'plushes' plural, which is slightly more tolerable, but for the fact that I always think of plush as an adjective rather than a noun. Or maybe my aversion is just as simple as just a dislike for cutesy-sounding words in general; any time words like 'mousie' or 'blankie' appear in children's books that I am reading aloud, I replace them with 'mouse' or 'blanket'.

Ponybookworm, it's interesting to hear that there are cultural differences with this...years ago I had a bar regular who was from Scotland and I do recall him attaching an 'ie' ending to some of his words...a habit I gave him a kind of a hall pass on that I wouldn't have for his American brethren; when he said it in his Scottish brogue it was rather endearing actually.

[Ponybookworm]

I think we said stuffed animal/toy too. I really dislike the term 'plushie'. It kind of squicks me out for some reason (actually I think I know why, but I won't derail the thread with it). My sister just calls it a 'plush', or 'plushes' plural, which is slightly more tolerable, but for the fact that I always think of plush as an adjective rather than a noun. Or maybe my aversion is just as simple as just a dislike for cutesy-sounding words in general; any time words like 'mousie' or 'blankie' appear in children's books that I am reading aloud, I replace them with 'mouse' or 'blanket'.

Ponybookworm, it's interesting to hear that there are cultural differences with this...years ago I had a bar regular who was from Scotland and I do recall him attaching an 'ie' ending to some of his words...a habit I gave him a kind of a hall pass on that I wouldn't have for his American brethren; when he said it in his Scottish brogue it was rather endearing actually.

We do that a lot in Scotland, & it's meant to be endearing.

Off Topic my pet peeve is "Lil". I will never use it, as we have this word "wee" meaning small or little. You won't catch me saying "wittle" for little either. There are a few other Americanisms I will never ever use as well, because to us they make no sense.

Back on topic, I notice a lot of people will say dolly for doll. Not needed for Pony as there's already a y on the end...

[Nemesis]

I also feel like I’ve read that term on packaging (i.e., “Includes 1 pony doll and accessories.”).

Based on that link about tarriffs I found (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Biz,_Inc._v._United_States ), I don't think Hasbro would of called them dolls pre-00s due to dolls being subjected to a higher tariff then a toy.

I looked at various packaging for G1 and either they didn't say pony, or included the pony name and G3 packaging said "pony figure" (at least, they few that I checked did.)

I believe it was a package from G3 or G4, actually... Maybe one of the Fashion Style G4s?

Or maybe my aversion is just as simple as just a dislike for cutesy-sounding words in general; any time words like 'mousie' or 'blankie' appear in children's books that I am reading aloud, I replace them with 'mouse' or 'blanket'.

Ponybookworm, it's interesting to hear that there are cultural differences with this...years ago I had a bar regular who was from Scotland and I do recall him attaching an 'ie' ending to some of his words...a habit I gave him a kind of a hall pass on that I wouldn't have for his American brethren; when he said it in his Scottish brogue it was rather endearing actually.

I can’t lie... I add “ie” to the end of everything. I seem to have the opposite feelings about it, as to me it just makes everything more cute... and I adore cuteness in general.

On the subject of plush... As an avid plush collector, I find it really interesting how different terms like “soft toy” or “stuffed animal” stuck around or declined in usage in different places around the the world! When I was little, I called everything a “stuffed animal”. I heard other words from friends or family, like “plush” or “soft toy”, but they sounded weird to me. If an animal was filled with pellets like a Beanie Baby, I referred to them as “beanies”. As a teenager, I heard the word “plushie“ online constantly and ended up adopting it. Today, I tend to use “plush” or “beanie” (depending on the toy) the most, but in casual conversation might use “ploosh”, “plooshie”, or occasionally “stuffed animal” or “stuffy”.

[banditpony]

I also feel like I’ve read that term on packaging (i.e., “Includes 1 pony doll and accessories.”).

Based on that link about tarriffs I found (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Biz,_Inc._v._United_States ), I don't think Hasbro would of called them dolls pre-00s due to dolls being subjected to a higher tariff then a toy.

I looked at various packaging for G1 and either they didn't say pony, or included the pony name and G3 packaging said "pony figure" (at least, they few that I checked did.)

I believe it was a package from G3 or G4, actually... Maybe one of the Fashion Style G4s?

All the ones I checked for G3 or G4 say pony figure. (including the fashion size)
I'm just super curious about it, that's why I'm checking!!

[Taffeta]

Li'l is a bit of an annoyance tbh. I think the teeny ponies are all Li'l something or other in the US, right? Which was extended out to Little here.  "Wee" in that context is cuter but somehow doesn't work so well if you come from south of the border. Trying to think if we have any midland words that would suffice...possibly not.

I don't have a problem with Americanisms in pony names in general...some American names are actually cuter than the UK equivalent would be (Cotton Candy v Candyfloss, Tic Tac Toe vs Noughts & Crosses, and IMO Molasses v Gingerbread is nicer). I'll spell Colorswirl and Watercolor the US way because those are US set names. But unnecessary and cutesy word contractions...less fond of that xD. (And repeated names, and lazy names, but that's for a different discussion.).

I am guilty of calling things fluffies. Or sometimes Flufflies. But that's largely because of how many fluffy things my sister buys, and that's the only word for them.

I am certain I learned plushie from online communities. Probably this one. xD. I don't mind it though.

[Nemesis]

I also feel like I’ve read that term on packaging (i.e., “Includes 1 pony doll and accessories.”).

Based on that link about tarriffs I found (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Biz,_Inc._v._United_States ), I don't think Hasbro would of called them dolls pre-00s due to dolls being subjected to a higher tariff then a toy.

I looked at various packaging for G1 and either they didn't say pony, or included the pony name and G3 packaging said "pony figure" (at least, they few that I checked did.)

I believe it was a package from G3 or G4, actually... Maybe one of the Fashion Style G4s?

All the ones I checked for G3 or G4 say pony figure. (including the fashion size)
I'm just super curious about it, that's why I'm checking!!

Honestly, now you have me curious, too. I’m really trying to remember where I read that... It could even have been just a store category on Target’s and/or TRU’s websites. They had (have?) all these subcategories if you clicked “Dolls”: “fashion dolls”, “baby dolls”, “electronic dolls”, etc.... I KNOW one or both of those stores had a category called “Horse and Pony Dolls” that contained MLP, Pony Royale, and other lines like that.

...But I still feel like I also saw it on a package of some kind, most likely for a larger toy or possibly a G4 So Soft (Princess Skyla?). Maybe a zilla? My brain must have latched on to the term because I’m a doll collector, and it was easy to see my MLPs as dolls, what with fashion packs, hair salons, and even shoes.

[Shaz]

It's so interesting reading about how words vary from place to place (but then I am obsessed with words and languages). 'Stuffed toys' and 'fluffies' were both in use during my 90s UK childhood, along with beanie to describe anything remotely Ty-beanie-like. I was crazy about Ty beanies as a child and used to get the UK version of US magazine Mary Beth's Beanbag World.... I'm trying to remember what sort of toy words I saw used in there (besides beanbag). I think plush might have been in there, especially in reference to large toys ('giant plush') but I don't remember plushie.

I never used cutesy language or added 'ie' onto things until I got cats....now I'm always talking in a cutesy voice and asking them if they want to play with their mousie or birdie toy, or get in their lil bed and snuggle with their blankie. So get a cat and cutesy phrases will no longer seem annoying

I can't remember if I said in my last post, but I agree with people saying that figurine means something small and possibly made of porcelain. If you think about it, My Little Pony actually includes pony toys, dolls (Megan and Molly, Equestria Girls), action figures (Guardians of Harmony), plushes (G1, G3, G4), beanbags (G2), figurines (porcelain ponies) and mini figures (Blind Bag ponies). Much simpler to just call them all ponies!

@Taffeta, I agree so much about Monster High. G2 gave us some nice toys (I love my Dracula!) but it also really departed from Be Unique, Be a Monster, and all the good monstery stuff I liked about G1. I find all this FRIENDSHIP!!!! rather hard-going (I'm an unsociable person). It was nice in G1 to see characters who didn't communicate conventionally (Ghoulia), liked to spend time on their own, were introverted (Twyla!), etc. And characters who weren't totally nice but weren't evil either (Cleo, Spectra with her gossipy ways). And I always hoped Clawdeen would turn out to be gay or asexual or something after such a big thing was made in one of the films about her not being interested in the guys Draculaura was trying to set her up with (if nothing else, I quite liked the idea that 'you don't have to date just because all your friends are').

Sorry for all the OT ramblings, there's just so much interesting stuff in this thread

[Taffeta]

@Shaz - absolutely. I feel like shows like FIM alienated kids who struggled with making friends or who didn't fit the normal social sphere. Although it;s actually EQG which suggests in one - I think Friendship Games - that a popularity contest is the best way to resolve who should compete, rather than those who have the most skills. I have so many problems with this, it's reinforcing the idea of the clique and the popular crowd (I called them the moron brigade, because they were). Whereas MH didn't feel like it did that (until G2).

I also identify more with the Misfits in Jem than JATH. This often shocks people but the irony was that in the Jem community I used to be a part of, you could tell whether someone would reach out to help you or not in part by which characters they identified with most. It was always the Misfit (and Stinger) fans that would be the ones there to help out other fans and collectors.

When I first got into Jem (Truly Outrageous), I was on the side of the Holograms. By the time I got to the end of the series I hated Jem and was a sworn Misfit fan forever.

[Leave a Whisper]

It's so interesting reading about how words vary from place to place (but then I am obsessed with words and languages). 'Stuffed toys' and 'fluffies' were both in use during my 90s UK childhood, along with beanie to describe anything remotely Ty-beanie-like. I was crazy about Ty beanies as a child and used to get the UK version of US magazine Mary Beth's Beanbag World.... I'm trying to remember what sort of toy words I saw used in there (besides beanbag). I think plush might have been in there, especially in reference to large toys ('giant plush') but I don't remember plushie.

I never used cutesy language or added 'ie' onto things until I got cats....now I'm always talking in a cutesy voice and asking them if they want to play with their mousie or birdie toy, or get in their lil bed and snuggle with their blankie. So get a cat and cutesy phrases will no longer seem annoying

I can't remember if I said in my last post, but I agree with people saying that figurine means something small and possibly made of porcelain. If you think about it, My Little Pony actually includes pony toys, dolls (Megan and Molly, Equestria Girls), action figures (Guardians of Harmony), plushes (G1, G3, G4), beanbags (G2), figurines (porcelain ponies) and mini figures (Blind Bag ponies). Much simpler to just call them all ponies!

@Taffeta, I agree so much about Monster High. G2 gave us some nice toys (I love my Dracula!) but it also really departed from Be Unique, Be a Monster, and all the good monstery stuff I liked about G1. I find all this FRIENDSHIP!!!! rather hard-going (I'm an unsociable person). It was nice in G1 to see characters who didn't communicate conventionally (Ghoulia), liked to spend time on their own, were introverted (Twyla!), etc. And characters who weren't totally nice but weren't evil either (Cleo, Spectra with her gossipy ways). And I always hoped Clawdeen would turn out to be gay or asexual or something after such a big thing was made in one of the films about her not being interested in the guys Draculaura was trying to set her up with (if nothing else, I quite liked the idea that 'you don't have to date just because all your friends are').

Sorry for all the OT ramblings, there's just so much interesting stuff in this thread

  Cute animals have that effect on.people. Clever beasties.