Uglydolls are a collection of designer toys created by independent toy designers David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim. Uglydolls were first released in 2002, and are distinguished by an aesthetic that balances traditional cuteness with ugliness. In 2006, Uglydolls were awarded the Specialty Toy of the Year award by the Toy Industry of America [1].
Products
The first commercially available Uglydolls were 12' plush, handmade by Sun-Min Kim in 2002; since then, 7' Little Uglys, 24' Giant Uglys, 4' plush keychains, and 7' vinyl Uglys have been introduced. Although the plush dolls are still handmade, their production has been moved to mainland China. As each plush doll is handmade, each features slight variations, which enhances their appearance of uniqueness. Each doll includes a small tag describing the character's distinctive persona.
Uglydolls are sold primarily at independent and specialty toy retailers, rather than in mainstream outlets; exceptions to this are Tower Records and FAO Schwarz. David Horvath has stated that the decision to sell the toys through specialty retailers was meant to both reflect the independence of the brand from major toy manufacturers, and to emphasize the importance of specialty retailers in designer toy culture.
Babo and Ms. Green sitting in a tree kissing.
Relationships
In addition to names and personas, Uglydolls are also attributed relationships with each other. Target is the grandfather of the Uglydolls, and Cinko is the younger brother of Target. Moxy is OX's little sister. OX and Wedgehead are best buddies, while Bop is friends with Wedgehead, and Beep is friends with OX. Peaco and Cinko are cousins. Wage is best friends with Babo.
Events and Appearances
Human-sized Ice-Bat and Wage mascots have appeared at the San Diego Comic Con. Ice-Bat appears briefly in the 2005 film adaptation of Chris Van Allsberg's book Zathura, while OX appears briefly in the 2005 film Yours, Mine and Ours. Jeero appears in the music video for Kasabian's song Cutt Off. Wage appears in the first episode of the television series Surface. Babo appears in the photograph on the back of Jennifer Weiner's novel, Goodnight Nobody. The life-sized Comicon Wage and Ice-Bat mascots also appear in an episode of HBO's Entourage, showcasing the convention.
The first Uglydoll convention, called Uglycon, took place 9 December 2006 at Giant Robot 2 in Los Angeles. The event included two limited pieces: Birthday Wage, in an edition of 100, and Sailor Babo, in an edition of 50. Babo was the mascot for the event.
