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When a new toy line becomes successful, there are usually a bunch of cheaper copies created
to look like the originals, and to sell like originals. This was no exception for the Jem dolls,
there was all kinds of cheap imitations, which eventually more or less caused the Jem doll
line to be discontinued, since it prevented the sales of the Jem dolls. Jem obviously made it's mark,
and even today you can find new dolls that clearly inspired by Jem dolls.
Obvious bootlegs are mostly done by smaller companies,
while the bigger ones tries to hide their attempts by making their own and a little different
version of the original idea. Then of course there are those dolls that just happen to be
lookalikes, and sometimes it's pretty much impossible to tell which ones are what.
Here are some examples of dolls that are similar to the Jem dolls in one way or another,
either they are rockstars, have punk hair colors, or something else that reminds of Jem.
Barbie dolls
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Barbie and the Rockers, 1985 by Mattel
Right after the Jem dolls were released in 1985,
Mattel decided to give Barbie a rockband too, "Barbie
and the Rockers", or "Barbie and the Rockstars" as in
Europe.
Just like the Jem dolls, the Barbie and the Rockers
dolls had an edition of the leadsinger with star earrings,
there was a male doll with combable hair, the group
had one black and one chinese member, the dolls came with a cassette
with songs, and there was a Stage playset. The Jem dolls had more realistic and more
bendable bodies, while Barbie and the Rockers had their "Real Dancing Action" edition of dolls.
There was even a Barbie and the Rockers cartoon made,
which included stories with time traveling and
fifties style theme, just like the Jem cartoon had
already done. Both of the cartoons had music videos
that were blended with the action.
With all the similarities, Barbie and the Rockers were
still appearantly of lower quality, as could be expected
since they were made in a hurry. The about 10 songs
sang by Barbie and the Rockers in the cartoon, weren't
presented with a title until the ending credits, and
half were covers of old songs. While Jem and the
Holograms sang almost a hundred songs in total, with
no covers.
Barbie and the Rockers were the only band in their cartoon,
loved by everyone in the whole world. At their worst, Barbie and
the Rockers were tired or disappointed. Unlike Jem and
the Holograms who had alot of competition from other
bands and other characters against them in the Jem cartoon.
Today however there is no question about which of
these 80's rockstar cartoons and dolls are more
popular. At the auction site eBay for
example, Barbie and the Rockers dolls hardly make it
there, since they aren't selling. While Jem dolls are
selling better than ever, and more expensive than
ever. This is
probably also how the sales would look today if Jem
made a comeback into the toystores, even if Barbie and the
Rockers made a copy-comeback.
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Foam 'n Color Barbie, by Mattel
Barbie with pink or blue hair streaks.
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Mermaid Barbie, 1994 by Mattel
When the rights to Disney's "Little Mermaid" went to
Tyco, Mattel did the same thing as always, their own
version, but with pink hair?
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Beyond Pink Barbie, 1998 by Mattel
Ever since Barbie and the Rockers time, Mattel has
continued to use the ideas and looks of Jem, on
several more Barbie dolls. Only a few years ago when
girls groups was the big thing, Mattel did
it again, they responded with a rockband for
Barbie, named Beyond Pink. Beyond Pink consists of
Barbie and her friends Teresa and Christie. Mattel
seemed to have learned from Jem, and also this time
included a music cassette tape, with the song "Think
Pink", and on the other side an instrumental
version. This time the dolls even had parts of their
hair in punk hair colors, and Barbie's dress even resembles Jem's.
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Happenin' Hair Barbie, 1998 by Mattel
If you dip this Barbie's styling tools in cold water,
you can stamp or stencil pink and purple hair
tattoos. As usual there's a Teresa and Christie
version also with punk hair colors.
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Hula Hair Teresa, 1998 by Mattel
There's also Barbie and Christie, both with the
haircolors pink, orange and yellow. But Teresa was
the most interesting of them. Teresa has light brown
hair, plus the "hula hair" with the three punk
colors, red, blue and purple. The same three colors
as the Holograms dolls, Kimber (red), Aja (blue),
Shana (purple).
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Hasbro dolls
After the Jem doll line was discontinued, Hasbro
continued to use accessories from the Jem dolls, like
bracelets and necklaces, on their other and new doll
lines. It's possible there are even more similarities
of Jem and other Hasbro dolls. These dolls are the
closest other dolls can truly come to the the Jem dolls,
since they're made by the same company.
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Sindy, by Pedigree
An older version of Sindy, with the bigger head. From before Hasbro bought the rights to Sindy, and
probably before Hasbro made the Jem dolls. It's suppose to be a space doll, with the pink
hair, silver top, and pink skirt.
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Maxie Dance 'n Romance, 1989 by Hasbro
Maxie was the name of the doll that inherited most
things from the Jem dolls. Many of the ideas that was
suppose to be used on the Jem dolls before the line
was discontinued, are believed to instead have been
used on the Maxie dolls. Maxie also had her own cartoon,
in which many of the fashions the cartoon Maxie is
wearing, appear to be ones that were released as Sindy
doll fashions.
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Sindy Paint-a-Picture, by Hasbro
This is an example of the newest version of Sindy's
head. This doll came with three
bracelets, a pink, a yellow, and a black. The armrings
has the exact same shape as the armrings that came
with the Clash doll from the Jem doll line.
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Other dolls
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Lace, by Creata
This doll is from the late 80's, right after the Jem
dolls were released. The box says "The Celebrity Rock
Star with Fashion & Fame", which is partly the same
as in the Jem theme song. Other versions are a black
doll with black hair and blonde bangs, and a blonde
doll.
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Popstyle Riviera, 1987
This is the most interesting of the dolls, it very
much resembles Stormer. The flower in the blue curly
hair, and that make up, makes you wonder if it
doesn't possible have something to do with Jem,
instead of just being a very well done copy.
Unfortunately it comes with a head stand instead of a
body. Had it come with a body, the mystery would
easily had been solved. Anyone knows anything more about this doll?
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Sailor Mercury, 1999 by IGEL
A blue haired sailor girl from the anime show, Sailor Moon. It seems that many fans of Sailor
Moon are also fans of Jem. But are the shows really that alike, other than that both the main
characters has a secret identity?
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