The times they are a-changing folks. Take a look in the doll aisle for proof. Call it the anti-Bratz movement.
The Moxie Girlz, along with four Liv dolls and the Barbie Fashionistas, introduced in August, are more funky than flashy, their high-style, low-key personas embodying their marketers’ response to sober times.
They stand in contrast, especially, to the big-headed Bratz dolls, whose sometimes provocative clothing and fabulous lives — accessories included hot tubs and limousines — made them a $1 billion franchise a few years ago. But Bratz dolls have vanished from toy shelves since Mattel won a lawsuit for copyright infringement against their maker.
“Bratz celebrated materialism; we don’t,” said Ben Varadi, the creative director of Spin Master, the Toronto company that makes the plastic Liv dolls, decked out in denim jackets and tooling around on tiny motor scooters.
What Liv and her cohort do possess are abundant locks and full social calendars that are documented on the Web. Their interactive features and fresh-faced looks, played up in television advertisements, have propelled them to the top of Christmas shopping lists at Wal-Mart,Target, Amazon and Toys “R” Us, where they are ringing up impressive sales.
Born Curious 
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