Bratz Girls Nite Out 21st Birthday Edition: A Lookin' Bratz Review!

Bratz Girls Nite Out 21st Birthday Edition Sasha, Jade, Cloe, Yasmin, and Dana

Hey Angelz!

It’s been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over and the Bratz Girls Nite Out 21st Birthday Edition dolls are finally coming out! If you’ve been keeping up with Bratz news, you’ll know that the GNO dolls were originally expected to release back in July of this year. Unfortunately, it seems like that was not the official release date despite some people managing to get some of the dolls when Amazon received early shipments of them. The reception to the early batches of the dolls was mixed, and the cutting of some of the original pieces—such as the third outfits and lenticular cards—have added to fans’ mixed feelings. I have been eager to see experience these dolls firsthand ever since we discovered this iconic collection would be reproduced earlier this year. I was fortunate enough to receive a free set of GNO dolls directly from MGA Entertainment, so you know what that means… a detailed review, of course! Keep reading for a detailed review on the Bratz Girls Nite Out 21st Birthday Edition reproduction dolls, including tons of pictures plus details on the dolls’ hair, faces, and accessories!

THE PACKAGING

The packaging on the Bratz Girls Nite Out 21st Birthday Edition dolls is not far off from the original dolls. A lot of the elements of the packaging, such as the cardboard pop-outs, the accessory blister pack, the text written at the top of the box, the box handle, and the artwork on the front and back are pretty much the same as the original Girls Nite Out dolls from 2004. One major difference is the placement of the additional outfits, which is likely because the Casual-Cool Style outfits that came with the originals have been cut from this reproduction. The Semi-Formal Fever outfits are in the same spots as the original dolls, but some pieces are split up in the package to fill the empty spot where the Casual-Cool Style outfit would have been placed. Because of this change, the pop-out that would originally read “3 Hot Outfits!” now reads “2 Hot Outfits!”. Also missing from the reproductions are the lenticular Movin’ Groovin’ Cool-ectible cards. And if you’re curious, there are no posters or cards at all in the packaging. The reproductions are missing some accessories that were included with the original dolls, but that is not a major loss in my opinion. A new element included on the reproductions’ packaging is the 21st Birthday Edition stick motif, included on the top right corner of the boxes. A semi-major difference between the new packaging versus the classic packaging is that the new boxes have holographic elements, which the originals’ did not. A positive change with the reproductions is Sasha’s artwork skintone being darkened to match her doll’s skintone; however, this change was unfortunately not made for Yasmin. Check for barcodes at the end of the gallery!

THE DOLLS, FASHIONS, ‘N’ FACES

When I first received the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls in the mail, I was shocked. Holding the dolls in my hand brought up a lot of emotions and feelings of nostalgia. These dolls feel so much like Bratz dolls, and that is something I felt was lacking with some of the releases in the past year. The construction of these dolls feels so close to the originals—from the outfits to the faces and even the hair!

As mentioned earlier, these dolls come with their main Funkalicious Formalwear dresses and their additional Semi-Formal Fever outfits. The reproduced Funkalicious Formalwear dresses are pretty faithful to the original dresses, though some may agree that Jade’s dress is more transparent and not as well-constructed as the original. I am otherwise happy with how the dresses are constructed, and even prefer some of them (especially Sasha’s) over the originals. The Semi-Formal Fever outfits, on the other hand, are not my faves. Cloe’s top is a bit frumpy for my liking and Sasha’s denim jumpsuit is a little big for her. The jackets on all of the dolls are a little too loose for my liking, though I do love Yasmin, Jade, and Dana’s second fits. Something to be weary of when unboxing these dolls is that there are so many small plastic pieces being used to attach the dolls and clothing to the boxes—I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many little plastic pieces before! Make sure to use scissors or cuticle clippers to cut these ties out and don’t risk ripping any of the clothes by ripping the pieces out. The shoes are pretty faithful to the original dolls, and I am happy to have more of these classic shoe molds in my collection. The new purses are apparently bigger than the original purses, but this is another change I do not personally mind.

On another note, each of the dolls’ faces look incredibly close to the original dolls’ faces. Just like the originals, the new GNO dolls utilize the Wintertime Wonderland and Formal Funk face screenings; GNO Yasmin uses Wintertime Wonderland Yasmin’s screening, GNO Cloe and Dana use Wintertime Wonderland Cloe’s screening, GNO Sasha uses Wintertime Wonderland Sasha’s screening, and GNO Jade uses Formal Funk Jade’s screening. There are subtle differences between the OG and new faces; one major difference I noticed is Sasha’s lip shape. Some of the lips on the reproductions look smaller than their original counterparts. One of Cloe’s eyes is slightly smaller than the other, but this isn’t a huge turn-off for me and it’s a flaw that many classic Bratz dolls have. Despite these subtle differences and flaws, I am genuinely impressed with how well the faces on these dolls look! I am happy to confirm that all of the dolls use the ORIGINAL 2001 head sculpt and not the modified version used on some of the other releases between Rock Angelz and the JimmyPaul dolls. I can also confirm that the faces use the original face application method, meaning that the dolls’ faces are sprayed!

If you’ve already read my explanation on how Bratz faces are applied, feel free to skip to the next section! If not and you’re interested in learning more, keep on reading! Nearly every Bratz doll between 2001 and 2014, except for a select few, has a face screening that was painted using the “spray” method. The spray method ensures the eyes are elongated across the face for a classic, sultry Bratz look. Between 2015 and 2016 (except for the V Files x Bratz doll), and for the Bratz 20 Yearz Special Edition dolls released last year, the “sticker” method was used to apply the dolls’ faces. The sticker method is hit-or-miss as the 20 Yearz dolls looked beautiful (in most cases), while it played a huge role in the discontinuation of the brand in 2016. A new method was introduced to the Bratz brand with the Rock Angelz reproductions last year, which is UV printing. UV printing is a more cost-effective method to apply dolls’ faces as spraying seems to be less common in the doll industry these days. Holiday Felicia, the GCDS dolls, Sweet Heart Meygan, and the JimmyPaul dolls also use the UV printing method. However, the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls reintroduce the spray method to the brand ever since the 2018 Collector dolls.

I am incredibly excited to see the return of the sprayed face application method, and believe this is a HUGE step in the right direction for the brand. This may also explain why some parts of the original dolls (third outfits, lenticular cards, etc.) were cut from these reproductions. Personally, I am okay with these small cuts if it means having beautiful sprayed faces! I will acknowledge that my set of dolls look very different from the initial batches we saw in July. I truly do not know if this is a matter of receiving samples from MGA, or if later batches will have faces like line… I’m hoping it’s the latter because the faces on mine are truly gorgeous. The faces also include the iconic real eyelashes that the original dolls have, but we can discuss that more in the next section of this article dedicated to hair!

the hair

A burning question for many fans is: What type of hair do the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls use? The original GNO dolls from 2004 use saran hair, which was the standard for Bratz dolls during their prime years. In short, the new GNO dolls use premium nylon hair. Read below for an overview on hair types used on Bratz dolls!

Just like the face printing method section, feel free to skip this section if you’ve already read my explanations on the differences between Bratz hair types! Nylon hair appears to be a new standard for the Bratz brand, as is the case for most MGA doll brands (except for Dream Ella who has been using polypropylene, sorry girl!) since 2019, which is something I fully support. For some context on some of the different hair types used on Bratz, nylon has often been confused with polypropylene, which is a hair fiber that was used in a majority of lines between 2008-2013 and is known for being hard to manage and prone to degrading over time, because of a name mix-up over a decade ago. Saran—which has been used on most Bratz released between 2001-2007, 2015-2018, and on most of the Bratz 20 Yearz Special Edition dolls (except for some later variants which use nylon) released last year—is a great hair fiber that has always satisfied collectors, though it is prone to yellowing and degrading over time. Nylon is another premium hair type that can be easily restyled with heated hair tools and is less likely to degrade over time like saran and polypropylene can do. Saran hair is harder to come by in certain colors and is not as commonly used in modern doll productions, so nylon provides a way for consumers to have these hair colors without resorting to using low-grade polypropylene. Nylon also tends to feel really nice and oftentimes better than saran, so I hope this is something that stays for most—if not all—future Bratz doll releases.

I am personally happy that the new GNO dolls use nylon hair because it looks sleek and, in my experience with the few original GNO dolls I own, the saran on some of the OG dolls have breakage. Plus, because of the intricate hairstyles on the GNO dolls, I feel that nylon is better for them. I am very surprised that MGA managed to recreate (most of) the original hairstyles. The only major difference is Jade’s hairstyle, which I tried to replicate on the reproduction doll but did not fully succeed; however, I like the way it looks now! I have included some pictures of the hairstyles because a lot of fans have asked about these over the years, so I wanted to compile them in one place. Please note that, as I previously stated, Jade’s hairstyle is not the same as her OG doll and I changed the way her reproduction pigtails are tied.

Just like the hair on their heads, the new GNO dolls’ real eyelashes use premium nylon hair. This likely explains why the lashes are noticeably thicker now!

THE BODIES

Unsurprisingly, the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls use the original 2001 bodies. While I am not the biggest fan of the original bodies and would like an upgrade in the future, the body keeps in line with the reproductions being mostly faithful to the original dolls. The reproductions also have body glitter like the original dolls, though I do not enjoy the glitter on the new dolls. The original dolls have metallic body glitter, whereas the reproduction dolls look more like the dolls were dipped in glitter. The skintones are a bit off in comparison to the heads and shoes, which may be how the plastic and glitter was mixed to create the bodies. I should also note that the body’s plastic is closer to the plastic on the original bodies and is less “matte” like other reproductions released in the past year.

OTHER FEATURES

As mentioned earlier in the article, the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls do not come with lenticular cards or posters featuring character or doll artwork. The dolls come with a bunch of accessories, including sunglasses, hair clips, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, makeup palettes, makeup brushes, and nail polish bottles. The reproduction dolls do not come with as many accessories as the original dolls, but this is not a major loss in my opinion. But, I do wish Yasmin came with her original floral choker!

WHERE TO BUY

If you’re wondering where you can buy the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls, they will be available at retailers like Amazon (internationally), Target (United States), and Walmart (United States) soon! And for international fans, the dolls will also be available on MGA’s direct-to-buy website, LOLSurprise.com! Some fans have already bought up the current stock at a lot of online retailers, but do not worry if you did not have a chance to purchase them yet because they will be more widely available soon! The dolls will start rolling out in select Target stores beginning October 9th (be patient if you do not find them immediately, it may just take some time), and are expected to be stocked in some Toys”R”Us at Macy’s stores in the United States. I am not sure where they will be sold outside of the United States nor will I be able to post about it, but my best advice is to contact local retailers to see if they’ll be selling the GNO dolls, especially if those retailers sold the 20 Yearz dolls last year! International fans also have the option of checking the retailers listed on MGA Entertainment’s Where To Buy webpage or contacting their international offices for more info. The dolls retail for $36.99 USD; please ignore prices that are higher than this on websites like Amazon and Walmart—these websites allow third-party sellers to sell on their platforms and any prices higher than the retail price are from these sellers, not from the companies.

I want to mention this because I know a lot of fans may worry about the dolls being sold out at some retailers. I need to reiterate this: do not worry! The dolls will likely be restocked. As to when restocks will happen, you will have to keep up with that on your own as there are never set dates for restocks. More than enough dolls have been produced for people to purchase, so be patient and make sure to not give in to reseller prices!

Also, some people may have seen a “recall” on the dolls last month when some made their way onto Target shelves. I don’t believe the dolls have actually been recalled, but rather they put the stock on shelves too early.

Below is a list of links of some places you can purchase the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls!

OVERALL THOUGHTZ

Overall, I am stunned by the GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls! While the 20 Yearz Special Edition release was an impressive reproduction, I am completely blown away by how well-made the GNO dolls are and can firmly say this is the best Bratz release since their comeback in 2021. Receiving these dolls was such a major treat! I have always wanted to complete the GNO collection, but the secondhand market prices have been exponentially high over the past few years making it nearly impossible to collect the original GNO dolls without breaking the bank. The reproduction of set fulfills my GNO cravings, and I believe and hope this will satisfy many Bratz fans! GNO is truly one of the most iconic Bratz lines released and there’s no argument there—who remembers playing the commercial over and over again on the Starrin’ and Stylin’ DVD?

The slayful, legendary, iconic, fierce, scorchin’, stylin’, and funkalish Bratz GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls hittin’ the runway disco like only these girls can do! Did you see the YouTube video yet? I highly recommend it! ;)

The quality of the new GNO dolls is a major step-up from most of the past year’s releases and I can only pray that MGA keeps it up with future Bratz releases. The sky is truly the limit with Bratz and anything is possible, so seeing the comeback of good quality control makes me incredibly happy and hopeful for the future of this brand.

If you want to check out the original GNO dolls to compare them to the reproductions, feel free to check them all out on the Bratz 2004 Dolls page on the Lookin’ Bratz Database! The LB Database is the largest Bratz database on the web and will soon house information of over 10,000 Bratz products.

Also, I have some really cool content coming to the official Bratz Instagram page—yes, the official page!—very soon for GNO so stay tuned for that! You can also check out my most recent work with the brand, the ‘Bout Bratz Series 2 Spotlights, on their page now!

Thank you again to MGA Entertainment for gifting me this set of GNO 21st Birthday Edition dolls, and thank YOU for reading this article about the dolls! I have another review on the way very soon for the Series 2 dolls, so keep an eye out for that!

I hope you keep checkin’ out Lookin’ Bratz for more news and reviews in the future! Make sure to check out my YouTube unboxing video for another look at the dolls and subscribe for more Bratz videos.

Stay tuned to LookinBratz.com for more news on the Girls with a Passion for Fashion, and make sure to check out Lookin’ Bratz on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok for more scorchin’ Bratz content and news! I’m also now on Twitch for some cool stuff coming up very soon!!!

Curious about what else the Bratz brand has in store? Keep up with everything we know about the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 doll releases on the Bratz 2022 Masterpost!

xoxo

 
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