What has happened to American Girl?

[Hawkee]

I have been a fan of American Girl since I was a little girl and I have noticed that American Girl has gone downhill these days and I would like to know why the reason is? Is it because American Girl wants to attract an older audience to buy their dolls and books and other merchandise? Or is American Girl changing it's image because the girls who grew up with American Girl are now grown up and want to share their childhood dolls with their own daughters? Ever since American Girl was first launched in 1986 as Pleasant Company they were known for high quality dolls and exceptional well made merchandise and the American Girl books were great but I think that when Mattel Toys bought American Girl you could tell the quality of the merchandise was going downhill and American Girl was going in a whole new direction. Take for instance I noticed that the new style of American Girl books are being edited and if you look at Molly's and Addy's stories you'll notice that they have been edited because they talk about war and not only that the illustrations of the books are drawn like comic book art and it shocks me that American Girl has done this to their books. A second thing I noticed about American Girl with their books is that they seem to have an obsession with death because in nearly every American Girl book except for Kit and Molly's books some of the American Girls characters have a relative die in a book and I do not think that is normal for young children to read. Another thing I have noticed about American Girl is that every once in a while when they bring out a new doll they retire a current doll and then bring the retired doll back redressed in a new outfit? Take for instance when Samantha was the first retired American Girl doll they replaced her with another doll named Rebecca and then when Felicity retired they didn't replace her with another new doll but when Molly retired American Girl brought out a doll named Julie from the 1970's and I found it odd that American Girl would have a doll from the 70's when they were known for dolls from historic times. I have also noticed that American Girl now has a doll series called Girl Of The Year where every New Year's Eve each year they add a new doll to the series and it has been a smart concept. But what I find odd is that American Girl now has boy dolls and it tells me that American Girl is heading down a road of greener pastures now. Why I also think American Girl is changing it's image is that they're trying to sell the dolls in stores like Target and Kohl's and while they have their own chain of stores called American Girl Place and now their own hotel chain as well it looks to me that American Girl has adopted a smart and successful image for the girls of the new generation of new American Girl fans around the world
Has anyone noticed this about American Girl today?
Bestie

[Hawkee]

Here's another thing I discovered about American Girl that I can't figure out why they did this? American Girl has just released a new character named Courtney Moore from the 80's and I can't figure out why American Girl decided to do this. Although the accompanying Courtney Moore doll is really neat and awesome I can't believe that American Girl has a doll from the 80's and what's shocking about Courtney Moore is she represents 1986 "the exact same year that American Girl debuted as Pleasant Company" and to me this is a sign that American Girl is not going to make dolls from historic times anymore and focusing on modern times now. When I read Courtney Moore's backstory her story is similar to the character Julie Albright from the 1970's with the topic of a blended family and divorce while Courtney herself is obsessed with Pac-Man and video games and is a fashionista who hangs out at the mall. And I couldn't believe my eyes when I was reading that the Challenger tragedy was mentioned in Courtney Moore's book and it is a topic that young children shouldn't read about because it featured death. I think they wanted a doll to have a storyline like the movie Valley Girl in my opinion. Another thing I can't understand is why American Girl releases new dolls then tries to link a career to them. Take for example American Girl debuted a doll named Luciana Vega in 2018 with sponsorship with NASA who dreams of becoming a astronaut and I think what American Girl is trying to do is to send young girls a positive message that "You can be anything" but I think this is American Girl's way of starting a line of dolls that have careers and when you get the general picture kids are too young to work or have summer jobs. But with this new image I can bet American Girl will go belly up in a few years
Bestie

[DadTheKing]

Hi, Bestie! I think Mattel ruined American girl by trying to mass market it like Barbie. It was not exclusive anymore. They are trying to bring back the exclusiveness, but it is too late. What do you think?
DTK