Since we’ve lost Toys R Us, it’s hard to keep up with what’s new on the shelves! This post is all about Barbie’s newest collaboration with National Geographic! I don’t think I’ll be picking any of these Dolls up, but it’s worth taking a peek at what they are offering, especially since Christmas is nearly upon us!

There are five different adventurous careers represented in this line meant to “encourage imagination, expression and discovery through play”, inspiring kids to pretend to be photojournalists, polar marine biologists, astrophysicists and entomologists. The Nat Geo collaboration dolls are playline dolls and suffer from a few disappointing design choices in keeping the line budget friendly.

Photojournalist Barbie is probably my favorite of the five. While I can’t tell for certain based on the promo photos, it looks like she might be on a petite, non-articulated body. An articulated body would have made more sense, in my opinion, for all of these dolls. She has olive skin, bold eyes and a large grin. Her hair is parted to the side and straight. To me, she looks a lot like Bindi Irwin. The hair color, the eyes– I had to do a double take to see if she was somehow inspired by Bindi (which she isn’t). See Mattel’s real Bindi doll here.

Her outfit is disappointing. From Mattel’s site, Photojournalist Barbie is “dressed for the field wearing brown pants, tan boots and a top detailed with a vest, insignia and pocket for a realistic touch.” Mattel needs to start making separates again instead of printing vests on top of shirts. It makes their dolls look super cheap.

Astrophysicist Barbie is your basic Barbie. She “celebrates the sky she studies dressed in a top with space-inspired print, black pants and black boots.” Besides coming with a pretty cool telescope prop and star map, there’s not much to this Barbie. Her top is kind of cute. I just wish they’d done something with her hair or face to make her stand out more.

Polar Marine Biologist Barbie isn’t too bad, actually. She’s my favorite after Photojournalist Barbie. She “stays warm in a cool outfit with black pants and a red parka detailed with insignia and pocket details for a realistic touch.” Guess this answers my question as to if there is a shirt under the parka– doesn’t sound like it! I wish Mattel would have thought to put a shirt under her jacket; even a basic tank would work. The doll itself isn’t that bad, though. Plus, the penguin is kind of cute.

Wildlife Conservationist Barbie is probably my least favorite. I can’t say I like anything about her. The outfit looks cheap and doesn’t flatter the curvy body of the doll. The coloring of the dolls skin, make up and eye color with this outfit doesn’t do it her any favors, either. In my opinion, Wildlife Conversationalist is the least pretty of the National Geographic dolls.

Entomologist Barbie is the only doll to be packaged with a playset that includes a tree for field research, a workstation for lab work and 20+ smaller pieces (10 insects — 2 butterflies, 2 bees, 2 spiders, 1 beetle, 1 water beetle, 1 ladybug and 1 dragonfly, a microscope, binoculars, camera, an issue of National Geographic Magazine and more). It looks like her pink vest is attached to the white shirt beneath it, unfortunately!

She’s a basic barbie with a closed lip smile, making her slightly different from Astrophysicist Barbie. What this doll has going for it are the fun accessories. Sadly, though, she’s still on a non-articulated body. It would have been nice if they’d gone all out and put her on a Made to Move body.

What do you think of the National Geographic Barbie dolls? Do you plan on buying any for your collection? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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