Blaine (Barbie)

Blaine is part of the Barbie doll collection by Mattel.

As part of a large-scale publicity promotion by the toy manufacturer Mattel, the day before Valentine's Day in 2004, a press release was issued, stating that the world famous Fashion Doll couple, Barbie and Ken, were parting company. Soon thereafter, Toy Fair 2004 introduced another male Doll into Barbie's Cali Girl beach-themed line of toys. This was Blaine, a boogie boarding Australian native. "Cali Guy" Blaine Dolls appeared on store shelves late June 2004.

Much was made of all this, both in the press and on the internet. Blaine dolls were initially very popular, and he even won an on-line poll at the Barbie.com website, besting Ken handily in the hearts and minds of the on-line public. For nearly two years, Blaine was the man in Barbie's life. No new versions of Ken were produced during this period, but his presence was felt by means of "Handsome Groom" dolls, which were basically Ken dolls sold without the Ken name on the package. In mid-2006, Ken returned to Barbie's life, with a much-ballyhooed "New Look" and an updated, more modern image. No new Blaine dolls have been issued since.

Blaine

Blaine may refer to:

People

Places in the United States

List of Pokémon characters

This is a list of Pokémon characters in the games, anime series, and manga series. A single character may appear in multiple continuities, sometimes in the same basic role (e.g. Giovanni) and sometimes in very different roles (e.g. Brock).

All references to the "video games" collectively refer to Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black, White, Black 2, White 2, X, Y, OmegaRuby, and AlphaSapphire only, unless noted otherwise. Likewise, references to the Pokémon anime also include, in addition to the eponymous anime itself, the related sidestory Pokémon Chronicles anime, the game Pokémon Channel, and Ash & Pikachu manga unless otherwise noted.

Names in bold are the names from the English-language versions of the video games or anime. Names within parentheses in plain text are the anglicized form of the characters' original Japanese language name if different from the English-language version. Italicized names are the romanized version of the Japanese language name if different from the anglicized version.

Blaine Anderson

Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the show's primary musical group. Blaine initially served as a mentor for New Directions member Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). Chemistry between the two, combined with fan support for the couple, led series co-creator Ryan Murphy to pair them romantically. Their relationship has been well received by critics, and they have been named "one of the most beloved TV couples of the millennium" by Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post. At the beginning of the third season, Blaine transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions; concurrently, Criss was promoted from recurring guest star to the show's main cast.

Criss auditioned for Glee several times before being cast as Blaine, including for the lead role of Finn Hudson. He believed he would be ill-suited to that character, but identifies with Blaine, having been raised among the "gay community". He plays Blaine as charismatic and confident, and finds his youthful self-acceptance a fitting counterpoint to common media portrayals of gay characters.

Barbie

Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.

Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle.

History

Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.

Barbie (film series)

There have been several American computer animated and motion capture-based direct-to-video films based on and featuring the doll Barbie. Since her film debut appearance in 1987's Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World, Barbie has been a computer-animated virtual actress starring in several feature films and short films (including a 1998 video game, Barbie: Riding Club, that contains a short film). After a fourteen-year absence, Mattel commissioned films to feature Barbie as a heroine of several princess or fairy-themed stories to accompany a franchise of related dolls and accessories. Barbie also made appearances in My Scene, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

Many of the Barbie movies are stand alone tales. There are several series within the overall collection. The most notable of these are the Barbie Princesses Collection series, Barbie Fairytopia series, mermaid-themed series, modern day-themed series, as well as musical and ballet series. Some films are based on the stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the Brothers Grimm, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen and Alexander Dumas. Some also include music from Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, and Adolphe Adam.

Barbie (1991 video game)

Barbie is a multi-platform video game developed by Imagineering for Hi Tech Expressions. It is based on Mattel Inc.'s doll of the same name, and it was created in an attempt to get more girls to play video games. As such, it is one of the few explicitly girl-oriented NES games. The game takes place in a dream where Barbie must travel through three different worlds (Mall, Underwater and Soda Shop) to gather accessories before attending a ball to meet Ken. Despite it having been of little interest to typical gamers at the time of its release, some critics have praised it as "not bad" for a generic platformer. Others have advanced the view that its genre is not appropriate for its content.

Plot

Barbie dreams that she has been invited to the Fantasy Ball, but in her dream she has nothing nice to wear. She travels to three different worlds to gather accessories for the big night and a chance with Ken. Along the way she meets a veritable menagerie of animal friends and searches to find Dream-Ups, Glamor Items, and Charms for her bracelet that will help her along her way.