The first appearance of Cabbage Patch Kids caused a huge sensation, with parents clashing in toy stores across the US, creating a frenzy reminiscent of Black Friday chaos. These sought-after cloth dolls with plastic heads came with birth certificates and adoption papers. But what’s the story behind the craze?
A Documentary to Watch
Billion Dollar Babies is a movie about the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, specifically creator Xavier Roberts. The movie talks about how everyone went a bit crazy trying to get these dolls, and it even shows interviews with the people involved in making them.
A great watch about how those toys became so famous. Check it out!
The Genius Behind the Madness
Andrew Jenks, the guy who made a movie about these dolls, got the first interview in over 20 years with Xavier Roberts. When Roberts was just 21 and into art, he looked into an artist named Martha Nelson, who had created her own series of toys called Doll Babies. She has been selling them with birth certificates and adoption papers since 1971.
Roberts used to buy and sell those toys, but when he couldn’t get them anymore, he made his own! At first, they were called The Little People, but later he changed it to Cabbage Patch Kids. Cool, right?
Doll Drama: The Battle of Ideas
Xavier Roberts had a big idea to make what he believed would be the coolest dolls ever—he even made himself the main character in their epic story. Kids all across America were definitely into the magic of these dolls.
Meanwhile, Martha Nelson, the artist who inspired him, didn’t like it quite so much! They had to go to court, and in 1985, they worked things out. Martha was more upset about her creation being changed than the money she got.
The Cabbage Patch Kids Craze
In the movie, Xavier Roberts talked about how it stung when people said he stole the design, even though he learned a lot from Martha Nelson.
But you know what’s wild? Without meaning to, he started this whole frenzy where parents went crazy on Black Friday, trying to grab the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls! It turned into a total shopping madness!