Baby Alive


Baby Alive is a baby doll brand made by Hasbro that eats, drinks, wets and in some cases messes and has a movable mouth. It was originally made and introduced by Kenner in 1973, and reintroduced by Hasbro in 2006.

History

1970s-1980s

The first Baby Alive doll was introduced by Kenner in 1973. It could be fed food packets mixed with water, and came with a bottle, diapers, and feeding spoon. The spoon would be inserted into its mouth, and a lever on its back pushed to have it chew the food. The food would move through her and end up in her diaper; this version did not speak, so you had to check the diaper a few moments after feeding. It also produced droppings and threw up regularly.
The dolls sold in the mid-70s were battery powered. They chewed and drank from the bottle. They were activated by the spoon, the bottle, or a finger. These also peed and pooped. They did not throw up.

1990s

In 1992 the first talking Baby Alive doll was produced. It was fed in the same manner, but swallowed automatically without the need for a lever, and used a potty instead of a diaper. There were sensors located inside the doll to detect what stage the food was at, and trigger its voice to say "I have to go potty" or "All done now." These dolls did not sell well due to the loud gear noises and her "deep adult voice." It was later discontinued, and a non-speaking baby was released in 1995 with snacks and juice boxes, although these came in boxes and cans rather than packets that were mixed with water. They, as opposed to modern Baby Alive doll food and juice, had names such as Yummy Juice and Baby Cherries. It only came in two versions, Baby Alive and Baby All Gone. It appeared as a doll with blue eyes and messy curly blonde hair, not dissimilar to the modern doll, although the 1990s version seemed more traditional and less "cartoon-ey". Nowadays, Baby All Gone is fed bananas and yogurt instead of cherries, and the juice or milk is given from a bottle instead of a juice box, which saved on cardboard waste from empty boxes. A new, updated doll was introduced called Juice & Cookies Baby Alive who could be fed juice from a box, and cookies could actually be made, when a mix was put in a triangular mould, baked and removed with a scoop. The doll drank and chewed automatically.

Present

After The Kenner Company folded into Hasbro, Hasbro redesigned Baby Alive and in 2003 released a more realistic speaking doll, with additional accessories sold separately.

Newborn dolls

Baby Alive dolls at present are more sophisticated than those of the past, including a stationary bracelet with a button, which when pressed activates the doll to say a phrase, a moving mouth which opens when it senses its special magnetic spoon, bottle or pacifier, or it speaks, and large cartoon-like eyes which can be programmed to open and close, rather than traditional closing eyes when the doll is put down.