Though Bratz dolls fared poorly at their May 21, 2001 debut—mostly due to the long-held monopoly by the Mattel-staple
Barbie—their popularity increased the following Christmas. In the first half-decade since debut, 125 million products were sold worldwide, In 2013, Bratz got a new logo and slogan, and the dolls all got new bodies with articulated arms, with a height to match its competitor
Monster High while keeping their unique faces, and sporting brand new fashions. Only the four principal Bratz characters, alongside additions: Meygan, Fianna, Shira, Roxxi and Phoebe, have been made in the new bodies. In January 2014, MGA revealed that Bratz would go on a country-based hiatus (only for/in the United States) for a year in an attempt to rebuild the brand after an admittedly first relaunch in September 2010 to celebrate the brand's first decadal anniversary, resulting from the lawsuit against Mattel, which was met with decreased popularity. MGA Entertainment felt that it wanted to give the brand "the comeback it truly deserved". In July 2015, Bratz relaunched a second time for 14 years with new doll lines and introducing a new main character, Raya (despite sharing the same name with a previous character) to the debut lineup from its 2001 launch as well as a new slogan and website design. The bodies were changed to be 10" (25 cm) tall again, but with new bodies and head molds. These dolls were met with negative reactions from fans, as the brand was oriented towards a younger demographic than the previous dolls. Due to the poor reception and sales, the dolls were once again discontinued in 2016. On May 20, 2017, MGA Entertainment CEO,
Isaac Larian, announced a third relaunch of the brand in Autumn/Fall 2018, in addition to announcing a collaboration with fashion designer Hayden Williams. Since
Black Friday of 2018, the new set of Bratz Collector dolls designed by Hayden Williams were officially released and sold exclusively through Amazon online. In September 2018, a new line of dolls titled "Bratz Collector" were designed by fashion illustrator Hayden Williams and released exclusively on Amazon online. The brand featured closely resemblance to the original 2001 doll line. In June 2021, for its 20th anniversary, Bratz released near-replicas of the debut dolls from its 2001 launch. Bratz turned 20 years old in 2021. On August 1, 2023, Bratz released a limited-time Mini Bratz x Kylie Jenner collection. The collection features a range of Kylie's famous looks with the promise of a "full line" of Kylie dolls released on October 1 as reported by MGA Entertainment manufacturer. To celebrate the
Mean Girls film's 20th anniversary, Paramount collaborated with MGA Entertainment to feature Cady (Lohan's character) and the Plastics as limited-edition Bratz dolls. The collaboration collection released each character on separate dates throughout October 2024, with Cady on the 3rd, Regina on the 17th and Karen and Gretchen on the 31st (Halloween). On May 21, 2025, Bratz released an anniversary doll of Jade, "Bratzaversary", as a collector's edition to celebrate its 24th anniversary. It was released on the Bratz website and the next day on the Amazon and Target websites.
Controversies The parental group Dads and Daughters were upset at the marketing of the Bratz Secret Date collection. The dolls were packaged with a Bratz girl in the right half of the box — either Cloe, Yasmin, Jade, Meygan, or Nevra — and matched with a mystery Boyz doll behind the door on the left. A window showing the doll's feet would provide a clue to which Boyz doll it was, especially important in the quest for a rare Bryce doll, available in only one of every 24 boxes. The group complained that the dolls' marketing was encouraging young girls to sneak out of the house and go on blind dates with strangers. It also took issue with accessory champagne bottles and glasses, but these were later confirmed to be smoothie bottles. On December 21, 2006, the
National Labor Committee (now The Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights) announced that the factory workers behind Bratz dolls in China have labored for 94½ hours a week, while the factory paid only $0.515 an hour. The cost of labor per doll was $0.17. The retail price for a single doll ranges between $9.99 to $22.99, depending on the included items and specific retailer. The allegations in the report describe practices found at many Chinese factories producing name-brand products for export. They include required overtime exceeding the legal maximum of 36 hours a month, forcing workers to stay on the job to meet stringent production quotas and the denial of paid sick leave and other benefits. The report shows copies of what it says are "cheat sheets" distributed to workers before auditors from Walmart or other customers arrive to make sure the factory passes inspections intended to ensure the supplier meets labor standards. It said workers at the factory intended to go on strike in January 2007 to protest plans by factory managers to put all employees on temporary contracts, denying them legal protection required for long-term employees. and another two days later to
Playthings magazine stating that the information is false and the company is not familiar with the company named in the report and MGA uses "first-rate factories in the Orient" to make its goods, besides Mattel and
Hasbro. Larian said that he never heard about the news or of "the organization who is behind this negative and false campaign immediately prior to the last holiday shopping weekend." In 2007, concerns over the
body image and lifestyle the Bratz dolls allegedly promoted were raised by the
American Psychological Association after it established its Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. In its published report, it cited concern over the adult-like sexuality the Bratz dolls allegedly portray. Another study found that for young African-American girls, the dolls' racial diversity was a more salient variable during play than their sexualized outfits. The controversy over alleged oversexualization of Bratz dolls for young girls was alluded to in a 2007 episode of
Boston Legal titled "Guise n' Dolls." Bratz were not the only dolls to be criticized in this report, which highlighted not only toys but also other products and the wider media. with the focus on the dolls while on looks was not on "sexualization" and that "friendship was also a key focus" of Bratz dolls. In line with the launch of the new line of Kylie dolls, Bratz fans questioned the choice of Kylie as their first celebrity collaborator. Others did not like the skin tones on the Kylie dolls, implying they were too dark as compared to Kylie's skin tone.
Legal issues Since the 2001 launch of Bratz, sales of the Mattel, Inc.-staple
Barbie fashion dolls began to decline. In 2004, sales figures showed that Bratz dolls outsold Barbie dolls in the UK and Australia, although Mattel maintained that in terms of the number of dolls, clothes, and accessories sold, Barbie remained the leading brand. In 2005, figures showed that sales of Barbie dolls had fallen by 30% in the United States, and by 18% worldwide, with much of the drop being attributed to the popularity of Bratz. In April 2005, MGA Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Mattel, claiming that the "
My Scene" line of Barbie dolls had copied the doe-eyed look of Bratz dolls. It added the word "only" to the toy line's slogan "The only girls with a passion for fashion" by attempting to isolate their dolls from Mattel's as many casual consumers confused the difference of two brands. On December 10, 2006, Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $500 million, alleging that the brand's creator, Carter Bryant, was working for Mattel when he developed its original idea/concept. On July 17, 2008, a federal jury ruled that Bryant had created the Bratz concept while he was working for Mattel, despite MGA's claim that Bryant had never been employed by Mattel at the time and Bryant's assertion that he had designed the Bratz concepts between two separate periods of employment at Mattel. The jury also ruled that MGA and its CEO Isaac Larian were liable for converting Mattel property for its own use and intentionally interfering with the contractual duties owed by Bryant to Mattel. On August 26, the jury decided that Mattel was to be paid just $100 million in damages, citing that only the first generation of Bratz had infringed on Mattel property and that MGA had innovated and evolved the product significantly enough that subsequent generations of Bratz could not be conclusively found to be infringing. On December 3, 2008, U.S. District Judge
Stephen G. Larson granted a permanent injunction requested by Mattel against MGA. Subsequently, on December 10, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted MGA an immediate stay of the injunction, thereby halting the impending recall of all Bratz products, ensuring that retailers would be allowed to continue to sell the Bratz products through at least the Court's final ruling on the matter. In its initial statement, the Court suggested Larson's previous ruling was "draconian" and had gone too far in awarding ownership of the entire Bratz franchise to Mattel. The Court of Appeals also ordered MGA and Mattel to resolve their dispute out of court. Isaac Larian and MGA Entertainment issued a statement that "the Court's stay is good news for all Bratz fans and for anyone who cares about fair competition." On July 22, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared that ownership of the Bratz franchise belonged to MGA Entertainment. The Court Of Appeals rejected the District Court's original ruling for Mattel, where MGA Entertainment was ordered to forfeit the entire Bratz brand — including all registered copyrights and trademarks of the Bratz name — to Mattel. The panel from the Court of Appeals said Judge Larson had abused his discretion with his ruling for Mattel, concluding that Bryant's employment agreement could have, but did not necessarily, cover ideas as it did designs, processes, computer programs, and formulae, which are all more concrete. In addition to the litigation for ownership and control of Bratz on October 20, 2009, artist Bernard "Butch" Belair filed a new design infringement lawsuit against both Mattel and MGA in Manhattan federal court, seeking unspecified damages. Belair claimed that his copyright designs of young women with "large heads, oval eyes, small bodies and large feet," which he had created for shoe designer house
Steve Madden, were "pilfered" when Carter Bryant, during his 2008 court testimony, testified that he had been inspired by Steve Madden shoe ads which he saw in
Seventeen magazine. Belair says neither MGA nor Mattel "sought or obtained permission ... to copy, reproduce, create derivative works from or distribute" his "copyrighted" work. In 2011, MGA prevailed over Belair, with the summary judgment stating that, "Belair cannot monopolize the abstract concept of an absurdly large-headed, long limbed, attractive, fashionable woman." Mattel and MGA returned to court in January 2011 to renew its battle over who owns Bratz, which this time includes accusations from both companies that the other side stole trade secrets. In April 2011, a federal jury returned a verdict supporting MGA, with Mattel in August that year ordered by the same court to pay MGA $310 million for attorney fees, stealing trade secrets and false claims rather than the $88.5 million issued in April. In July 2012, MGA Entertainment sued pop singer
Lady Gaga for $10 million for causing, according to the BBC, "deliberate delays to the release of a doll based on her image." The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated without prejudice the $170 million judgment from 2008 against Mattel on procedural grounds in January 2013. In 2014, MGA filed a complaint in a California state court, seeking in excess of $1 billion. ==Media franchising==