-The
countenance of a doll is pleasant, smiling and happy to see you. Action figures
have a stern, no nonsense look on their faces.
-Dolls
are made to cuddle and love while action figures’ muscle bound bodies don’t
inspire much sweet talk.
-Dolls
can walk, talk, eat, pee, cry and giggle. Action figures can leap tall buildings
in a single bound. Although, to be honest, I think Barbie could leap a tall
building if she wanted to but she would probably break her itty bitty ankles
when she came down on the other side.
-Dolls
frequently suck their thumbs or take a bottle. Action figures never do because
let’s face it: a thumb sucking superhero is really just a wussy man.
-Dolls
frequently have more than one outfit and in the case of Barbie, more than one
million outfits. Action figures have a one-outfit-for-any-occasion outlook on
life.
-I’ve
never seen a doll that came packaged with her arch-nemesis…or a variety of
weapons. But action figures never have real eyelashes or eyes that open and
close.
So
there are definitely differences, but in spite of the cosmetic discrepancies,
what really is the difference between dolls and action figures? In my opinion,
not a thing. They are both roughly human shaped (I say roughly because there is
no way Barbie could actually totter around on those teeny tiny feet without
toppling over) toys that inspire creative play in children everywhere. And where
Malia is concerned, Batman, Superman and Ironman get just as much play time as
Baby, which is what she calls her baby doll. (In fact, she had a full blown temper tantrum last night when we took Buzz Lightyear away because he kept talking during family scripture study.) And I’m perfectly okay with that.
She will learn to nurture and love as well as be strong and courageous. I think
every kid in the world could use some of both.
Malia's face looks funny because she is hollering, "Uh-man!" at the top of her lungs.
