Bratz Genie Magic 15th Anniversary: A Retrospective
Hey Angelz!
Back in October 2020, I wrote the retrospective article for the fifteenth anniversary of Bratz Rock Angelz. Six months later, I am proud to deliver a new retrospective article for the fifteenth anniversary of the next major line for the Bratz brand: Genie Magic. Just like Rock Angelz, Genie Magic was a huge endeavor for Bratz that was supported by dolls, media, and lifestyle products. Keep on reading if you want to learn more about Genie Magic and its impact on the brand!
THE DOLLS, PLAYSETS, AND SPINOFFS
A promotional shot featuring Genie Magic Yasmin.
At the core of every major Bratz line is its doll collection, with Genie Magic serving as the one of the core lines of Spring 2006. Despite being one of the brand’s biggest lines of the season, there were not as many products released in comparison to Fall lines like Rock Angelz because Spring usually consists of smaller (even when major) ventures for toy brands due to it not being a major holiday season. Nevertheless, Genie Magic had an impressive doll lineup. The main Genie Magic doll collection consisted of Cloe, Jade, Meygan, Sasha, and Yasmin, with Katia being released exclusively with the Bottle/Royal Castle playset. Interestingly enough, Meygan is not a character in the Bratz Genie Magic film, making her appearance a bit odd but interesting because her second outfit is the alternate outfit Katia wears in the film; it is possible that Meygan was originally meant to be a single release of Katia considering they both share the same outfit in different colors, or perhaps Meygan was only added to the lineup to house Katia’s second outfit. Each character in the main line comes with two sets of Middle-Eastern-inspired fashions, head jewelry, a crystal ball, and a fortune-telling magic lamp (some variants do not contain the lamp at all; the lamp was also released separately from the dolls), all encompassed in lantern-shaped packaging with a jewel-accented necklace serving as its handle. The fashions used on the dolls would later be recycled for the fifth edition of the Stylin’ dolls in 2009. Alternate versions of the dolls in classic Bratz trapezoid-shaped packaging were released, ditching the crystal ball, fortune-telling magic lamp, and necklace handle. No Funky Fashion Makeover heads were released in conjunction with the Genie Magic dolls, except for a mechanical Fortune Teller Katia that was the same scale as an FFM torso.
As mentioned previously, Katia was released as part of the Genie Magic Bottle playset (also branded as the Royal Castle in some territories) and was not given a single doll release like Roxxi had in the Rock Angelz line. Alongside the Bottle was a Bedroom playset that came with a genie-themed bed and vanity, a Carpet playset that allowed consumers to “fly” their Genie Magic dolls on a magic carpet, and a Vanity playset featuring the vanity from the Bedroom playset but packaged with a bonus Meygan doll.
Commercial for Bratz Genie Magic Fortune Teller Katia.
In terms of spinoffs, the Genie Magic line was limited in extending to other brands under the Bratz name. Two fashion packs were created for the Bratz Babyz and Bratz Big Babyz line and mini versions of the core four characters were produced as Micro Bratz. Whereas the Micro Bratz Rock Angelz dolls were repackaged Lil’ Bratz Rock Starz dolls, the Micro Bratz Genie Magic dolls were completely new and were mini replicas of the main line’s dolls. The Micro Bratz Genie Magic line is the second known collection to be released under the “Micro Bratz” name, after Rock Angelz in 2005 and before The Movie in 2007. The Micro Bratz Genie Magic dolls are considered rare outside of the United Kingdom, making them sought after by many Bratz collectors.
THE FILM
Bratz Genie Magic is the third overall and second CGI-animated movie in the Bratz film series. Employing the same all-star cast of Tia Mowry (Sasha), Dionne Quan (Yasmin), Olivia Hack (Cloe), Soleil Moon Frye (Jade), Lacey Chabert (Kaycee), and Kaley Cuoco (Kirstee) from the Bratz Rock Angelz and the Bratz television series, Bratz Genie Magic introduced audiences to Katia: a misunderstood teenage genie who tries to escape her sheltered home life, played by the mega-talented Tara Strong (known for her roles in Rugrats, The Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and much more). Katia was originally introduced in the first edition of the Holiday collection a year prior and her appearance in Genie Magic solidified her as a mainstay secondary character in the Bratz brand until 2012. The film was released on DVD and VHS on April 11, 2006. I vividly remember the film airing on Nickelodeon back then, but there seems to be no record of this anywhere. If anybody remembers watching Bratz Genie Magic on Nickelodeon back in 2006, let me know in the comments!
Commercial for the Bratz Genie Magic DVD.
The Bratz film and television series established the central Bratz storyline revolving around the girls creating and running their own fashion magazine, while Genie Magic took a detour from the typical Bratz storylines by adding magical elements. Genie Magic is the first Bratz film to feature supernatural components like genies and magical powers, while the film and television series previously dealt with themes and settings based in the real world. Genie Magic is also the last film in the series to feature the Bratz Magazine office as a location, with the following films (with the exception of Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz) omitting any references to Bratz Magazine and limiting references to other established characters like Burdine and the Tweevils. Genie Magic also introduced the concept of including a fifth main character that does not serve as a side character like Roxxi in Rock Angelz, having an actual storyline that moves the plot of the film; Katia is arguably the main character of the film, with the Bratz girls serving as extras to help develop her storyline. The Genie Magic movie served as the catalyst of breaking the Bratz films out of the world built in Rock Angelz and allowing them to move into a more fantastical realm. Not to mention, this is the first movie that establishes Byron Powell as a secret agent (it is technically referred to in the “Paris” episodes of the TV series that canonically take place before Genie Magic, but aired about five months after the film’s release) which would become a central plot point throughout most of the second season of the television series, plus it is the only Bratz film to receive a direct sequel.
THE ALBUM
Genie Magic is not only the second CGI-animated Bratz film, but also the brand’s second full-length album. Rock Angelz was known for being one of the most ambitious music projects for a doll brand, having charted on the U.S. Billboard 200 record chart and earning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. The Genie Magic album did not reach the same height of success as Rock Angelz, yet is a fan-favorite album with tons of memorable songs. The Matthew Gerard-headed album mainly featured vocals by Lauren Evans, who would go on to sing most of the songs in future Bratz albums and become the most recognizable voice for the brand’s music. Genie Magic is known for its mature Middle-Eastern-influenced and R&B sounds while remaining kid-friendly in its lyrical content; if someone were to listen to this album without knowing it was Bratz, it could easily be mistaken for something recorded by Destiny’s Child.
The Genie Magic album does not have any singles or promotional tracks, but features some of the most iconic Bratz songs featured in the films and television series. The standard edition of the album includes the following tracks: “Me and My Girls”, “Make You Wanna Dance”, “Never Gonna Give Up”, “The Way We Shine”, “When We’re All Together”, “Only You”, “The Real You”, “Livin’ It Up”, “Life’s A Wild Ride”, “All Together”, “Makin’ It Happen”, “Rollin’”, “Invincible”, and a remix of theme song for the Bratz television series. The Target exclusive edition of the album featured bonus tracks “I Won’t Stop” and “Never Back Down”, while the Walmart exclusive edition featured “Everything” and “They Don’t Understand Me”. Some of the songs featured on the Genie Magic album had either been featured previously in the television series and Rock Angelz film, and continued to be used throughout the series, films, and most notably the interactive DVDs.
THE VIDEO GAME
If you haven’t already guessed, there was no Genie Magic video game. Only major Fall releases were given video games. But, this is a fun time to shoutout a Genie Magic fan game that was being produced by Bratz fan Cannie Ngui (canniengui on YouTube) way back in 2007. The game was never completed or released, but was still a fun and impressive project at the time.
THE LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS
Burger King advertisement featuring the Bratz Genie Magic Fashion Wishes collection.
Just like many other Bratz lines, Genie Magic made its way into various lifestyle products. Genie Magic did not have any products as wild as the Rock Angelz cereal, but tons of interesting Genie Magic themed products came out in 2006. There was Genie Magic apparel, toothbrushes, mugs, cosmetics, home decor, electronics, board games, novelty items, party supplies, Valentine’s Day cards, sports equipment, activity sets, and stationery, as well as a Genie Magic toy collection exclusively at Burger King. The Genie Magic Burger King toys are oddly sentimental to me because I got the Fabulous Fortune-Telling Compact with my kids meal in 2006 and was obsessed with it. I would constantly check my reflection in the tiny mirror and play with the fortune-telling mechanism and carry it with me everywhere. That compact is one of the first Bratz items I recall owning and one of the reasons why it is important to me to preserve Bratz history through this website.
IN RETROSPECT...
The Bratz Genie Magic line was not as major as its predecessor, but still remains one of the most well-known Bratz lines to date. The Rock Angelz formula in combining dolls, film, music, and lifestyle products to create an experience for consumers worked in Genie Magic’s favor, with the line also creating new grounds for the brand’s success with its departure from themes based in realism. The magical elements introduced in Genie Magic gave leeway to the brand exploring supernatural themes in its dolls and media, such as Fashion Pixiez, Desert Jewelz, the Kidz films, and Super Babyz.
A big shoutout to the talented folks at MGA Entertainment who conceived Genie Magic fifteen years ago. Thank you for making wonderful (genie) magic that has stayed with fans ever since!
If you are interested in learning about all of the Genie Magic products and media mentioned in this retrospective, check out the Bratz 2006, Bratz Babyz 2006 Fashion Packs, and Lil’ Bratz 2006 Dolls database pages, as well as the Genie Magic pages in the Media Profiles section of Stilesville Central!
Thank you for reading this retrospective of the Genie Magic line! Make sure to check out Lookin’ Bratz on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (@lookinbratz) and stay tuned for more Genie Magic content throughout the week!
xoxo
