Friday, February 8, 2013

Toy Fair 2013 : Barbie in 2013 & Malibu Dreamhouse Up For Sale

It seems Barbie either saw the Iron Man 3 trailer and decided she should get out of Malibu before The Mandarin blows up her posh digs ...or she was hit by the economy even after working over 60 jobs this year. Either explanation is funny.

Malibu, California's most fashionable resident is moving. Today Barbie® officially put her coastal Dreamhouse® on the market and is packing up her three-story pink palace – signaling the launch of a year-long global brand campaign. With the help of her realtor-to-the-stars Josh Altman, the impressively scaled Barbie® Dreamhouse® is currently listed on the market for $25 million*. Over the next few months, Barbie® will embark on a worldwide tour to find a new dream home.

Barbie® has been a part of girls' dreams and imaginations for four generations, but for the first time, the brand is literally letting fans "into" her world by opening the doors to her palatial Dreamhouse®. This year's global campaign will feature real-life, life-sized experiences, online engagement and retail touch points that bring the Barbie® Dreamhouse® to life in new ways.

"It wasn't an easy decision for Barbie to put her Dreamhouse on the market, but this move marks an unprecedented opportunity for her fans to get an inside look at her dreamy home," said Lori Pantel, vice president, global marketing for Barbie. "As the brand continues to evolve, we are focused on creating new experiences that allow girls to step into Barbie's world in ways they never thought possible – igniting their imaginations and encouraging them to dream even bigger."

For 41 years, Barbie® doll's famous Dreamhouse® has been a fictional Malibu landmark as well as one of the most coveted toy homes. The original Barbie® Dreamhouse® debuted in 1962, providing girls with the backdrop to "play house" with Barbie® which brought to life Ruth Handler's vision that Barbie® allows girls to role play real life scenarios. Each model has represented the era the house was "built" in with unique architectural features and interior design details, including a three-story model in 2012. As a successful career woman and homeowner, the Barbie® Dreamhouse® is one of her most valuable assets.


After decades of living in Malibu, Barbie® is ready for a change – she's moving. To sell her house and make  the move, Barbie® has enlisted the premier real estate agent to celebrities, Josh Altman. Valued at $25 million*, her creatively scaled 8,500 square foot, three-story, one-bedroom, one-bathroom mansion is the only house in Malibu with truly unobstructed views of the ocean – after all, it only has three walls! The Dreamhouse® also includes the iconic pink elevator equipped with a state-of-the-art pulley system.

Altman has listed the Dreamhouse® online exclusively at Trulia, a leading online marketplace for home buyers, sellers, renters, and real estate professionals. Visit Trulia.com/Barbie to view the listing.

"Celebrity can add to the cache of a listing, but few homes also have such iconic status as Barbie's Malibu Dreamhouse," said Altman. "I've been uniting people with their very own dream homes for years and Malibu is considered one of the most desirable addresses in the world, making this one-of-a-kind property a realtor's dream listing."

In search of a new place to call home, Barbie® will embark on a worldwide scouting tour where she will enlist the help of a "Dream Team" of designers to provide her with advice and inspiration to make a decision on her new home.

Over the years, Barbie® has served as creative muse and inspiration to hundreds of designers and stylists developing relationships with the best of the best. This year, Barbie® is partnering with a group of admired style setters, designers and industry experts to re-imagine the Barbie® Dreamhouse® for today. The Barbie® Dream Team of interior designers include Los Angeles-based textile designer and design influencer Lulu Dekwiatkowski, New York/Palm Beach based designer Celerie Kemble and West Coast fashion and home product designer Trina Turk.

Barbie® will open the doors to her Dreamhouse® with the first-ever, larger than life "Barbie™ The Dreamhouse Experience" which will debut on two continents – Florida in the United States and Berlin, Germany in March. Inspired by the popular web series, Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse, this interactive installation celebrates Barbie® doll's fabulous life, allowing fans a look inside her pink palace. Fans can visit www.barbiedreamhouse.com for ticket pricing and more information.

Girls can get an all-access digital pass into the Dreamhouse® with the third season of the CGI-animated reality web series, "Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse." The lighthearted, humorous show airs on Barbie.com/Dreamhouse, and stars Barbie® and her friends, her sisters, adorable pets and long-time boyfriend, Ken®. With more than 300 million views, translated into 21 different languages, mobile- and tablet-optimization and global distribution, girls can visit the Dreamhouse® anytime and anywhere. On Barbie.com, the top online destination for girls reaching 13 million unique visitors around the world monthly, girls can make their dreams a reality by customizing their own Dreamhouse®.

Girls can now also cruise the world in style with fun, fashion and runway moments onboard Royal Caribbean International with the "Barbie™ Premium Experience." Available fleetwide this March, the onboard Barbie® package lets girls sleep in Barbie-themed staterooms, attend a Barbie tea party and design Barbie outfits while on the high seas.

Mega Bloks® and Barbie® are transforming the way girls can build, design and decorate their Barbie® world with the global launch of Mega Bloks Barbie™ – the first-ever Barbie™ building collection designed specifically for girls. The complete construction toyline – including a Dreamhouse-inspired Luxury Mansion -- lets girls literally build Barbie® doll's world – piece by piece.

This fall, girls will have the ultimate play experience with a newly-designed Dreamhouse®. Complete with two pink elevators, the 2013 Barbie® Dreamhouse® is sure to be the must-have gift for the holidays.

Visit Barbie on Facebook (Facebook.com/Barbie) for the latest on her moving adventures.

and now..onto the specifics for Barbie in 2013...

Barbie® Color Chalk Hair : Representative of real-life trends and style, the Barbie Chalk Hair salon doll allows girls to create a rainbow of hair styles for the world’s most fashionable doll. Girls pick a chalk filled color pod, clip a section of Barbie doll’s hair and swipe down – color appears as the pod moves over hair. Girls can add multiple streaks, blend colors and style for unique, creative and customizable looks.

ARP: $21.99  Age: 5+ Available: July

Barbie® Digital Dress Doll : Always wearing the latest fashions from the red carpet to the runway, Barbie® Digital Dress doll makes a customizable digital fashion statement combining fashion, sound-activation and on-trend technology. Using the latest LED and touch-screen technology, girls can create and select their own animated digital designs which appear on Barbie doll’s dress.  There are three modes of play—choose from ready-to-go graphics like hearts and fireworks, draw custom designs, and watch designs respond to sound and music. Barbie® doll’s black dress uses a 4.5 square inch resistive touch panel and 114 tri-color LEDs. The runway has never shined brighter!

ARP: $49.99 Age: 6+ Available:  August



Barbie™ and Her Sisters in A Pony Tale TRAIN and RIDE™ Horse :  In a new story, Barbie™ and Her Sisters in A Pony Tale, Barbie™ and her sisters travel to the horse academy and make some new animal friends. This set celebrates the instant connection Barbie™ has with a wild horse which she trains. Looking like a magical maneuver, girls simply press the horse's forehead to turn it on to see it interact with Barbie® doll. Raise Barbie® doll's arm, and the horse will walk toward her; lower her arm halfway, and the horse will stop. Lower Barbie® doll's arm completely, and the horse will execute an affectionate bow. Girls will love recreating scenes from the movie with this interactive doll and horse set.

ARP: $49.99  Age: 3+  Available: July






Barbie™ Digital Makeover Mirror : Enjoy a fabulous, makeup-free makeover with the Barbie™ Makeover Mirror.  Transform an iPad® into a digital mirror by sliding it into the vanity frame. Girls can then look into the “mirror” and select options like eye shadow, lipstick, color, and glitter.  Use the included applicator to apply virtual makeup to the girl’s live image on the iPad® screen!  Facial tracking technology keeps the digital makeup in place as the girl moves, just like she’s really wearing it!  Girls can make a digital scrapbook of their favorite makeover looks.

ARP: 69.99 Age:    6+  Available: August



Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse Fashion Vending Machine™ : When there is a fashion emergency, Barbie® doll and her friends can rely on the nearest Fashion Vending Machine™ to save the outfit! Girls can make their Dream Closet style visions a reality using Barbie® doll’s new fashion-saving concept. Girls can load the compartments with their favorite Barbie® accessories- purses, shoes and jewelry –then turn the levers to rotate their position within the vending machine. Once a fashion item is selected, girls can slide a lever to make it shoot down the vending machine shaft, ready to be stashed in one of the included shopping bags. Completing an outfit was never this fun or easy!

ARP: $22.99  Age: 3+  Available: August



Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse Feature Talkin’ Barbie® Doll : ‘Off The Hook’ and ‘Amaze’ are just a few of the many fun phrases Talkin Barbie® doll can say! Straight off the set from the reality web series, the Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse star will ‘say’ iconic phrases from the show.  She also can record voice and sound, then play it back in her “Barbie” voice. This fabulous doll featuring sounds and recording truly lets girls play in the ‘Dreamhouse’ to create their own storylines and mansion memories.

ARP: $22.99  Age: 3+  Available: August



Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse Feature Talkin’ Raquelle® Doll : “Prepare to be dazzled!” Even Raquelle® has to admit that life in the Dreamhouse® is fabulous!  Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse introduced Barbie’s frenemy Raquelle®, and now girls can really role play the Dreamhouse drama with this new sound-engineered ‘talking’ doll. Talkin Raquelle® doll will ‘say’ iconic phrases from the show.   She also will record voice and sound, then play it back in her own “Raquelle” voice.

ARP: $22.99  Age: 3+  Available: August



Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse Friend Core Assortment : Barbie® doll’s friends Summer®, Teresa®, Raquelle® and Midge® play a big role in her dream life and are always hanging around the Dreamhouse®. Inspired by the reality web series Barbie™ Life in the Dreamhouse, Barbie® doll’s friends are brought to life.  Each doll captures the animated character’s facial details which are highlighted by beautiful rooted eyelashes. The dolls sport recognizable fashions from the show and each come with one additional fashion.

ARP: $16.99  Age: 3+  Available: August





We are diving head first into Toy Fair 2013 now, so keep checking back often and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/idlehandsblog or https://twitter.com/nomadixxx (if you want your news faster and don't mind mildly psycho chatter.)

You can also dive into our picture galleries as they go live RIGHT HERE!

7 comments :

  1. Thats Great Thanks For Posting Can't Wait To See Pictures Of The 25th Anniversary Holiday Barbie Collector Doll!

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    1. I'll be sure to keep an eye out. Can't say that has been on display in the past though.

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  2. The Dream House friends look cute, but I don't like the pink legs on the Pony Barbie.

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  3. Thanks for the heads up, should be interesting.

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  4. Got all 7 Dreamhouse dolls, all 3 Talking Dreamhouse , the 2 Two-Pack sets and the Vending Machine. Now I own all Dreamhouse stuff, minus the Dreamhouse and Toys R Us Exclusive Fashion Pack. Love the Dreamhouse series.

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  5. This is really an amazing and attractive post. I appreciate your posted wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing such an interesting post.

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