For several decades of youngsters, the American Girl doll offered a substantive alternative to Barbie and the Bratz. Each foot-and-a-half moppet came with her own backstory, which helped educate children about various periods of history and social struggles still continuing today.
The American Girl characters will soon broaden the horizons of a new generation with a live-action movie on the way from Mattel and MGM, as noted today by The Hollywood Reporter.
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The item doesn’t expand on the details of the project much beyond that it exists, or rather, will exist at some point in the future. But that’s fine by us at Little White Lies — let the unfounded speculation begin!
The term “live-action” has grown increasingly foggy due to Disney’s repeated use of the term to classify their motion-capture extravaganzas, and perhaps this project will capitalize on that with a Smurfs-esque approach. Instead of little blue mischief-makers, just imagine rosy-cheeked CGI tots, and instead of Neil Patrick Harris, imagine 2019’s version of a sitcom star game for a studio-sized paycheck. (So, Anthony Anderson?)
Or perhaps the producers will take the more expected route, and build a story around a child actor. But will they select one of the pre-existing dolls for a period piece, or go modern? It’s tough to imagine a family having a light, fun night out to see the story of plucky runaway slave Addy Walker.
So many questions to be answered, all in due time. Until then, kids can busy themselves playing with their collection of dolls, and adults can keep their fingers crossed that this movie will be more The LEGO Movie and less The Emoji Movie.
