Rose Petal Place
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rose Petal Place was a cartoon and its corresponding toy line from the United States. During the 1980s, the advertising of plastic collectibles in their own cartoon adventures was a successful marketing scheme, most prominently in the line of barbarian action dolls known as the Masters of the Universe. Rose Petal Place dolls, by contrast, each had a flower attribute and they were portrayed living playful lives in a pretty Victorian garden. They were supposed to have been brought to life by the tears of a young girl when she had to move away and leave them behind.
Rose Petal dolls were markedly similar to the sweet themed Strawberry Shortcake and color themed Rainbow Brite dolls. As in those lines, Rose Petal Place characters portray broad stereotypes of femininity and their pastoral lives are interrupted only by the nefarious plots of a bumbling adult villain or two.
The primary characters of Rose Petal Place were:
- Rose Petal, a pink haired and clad doll whose singing keeps the other flowers alive. In the cartoon, Rose Petal was voiced by Marie Osmond.
- Sunflower, a yellow haired and clad tomboy who tells jokes to make the other flowers laugh. She is Rose Petal's closest companion.
- Iris, a purple and white clad painter. In similarity with other doll lines of the time, Iris is a token character of African ethnicity.
- Orchid, a purple clad shopaholic with white hair.
- Lily Fair, a blue haired and clad ballet dancer
- Daffodil, another yellow haired and clad doll, this one obsessed with finance
- Nastina, a widow spider who attempts to thwart the flowers' happiness, and even to kill Rose Petal on one occasion. As is the case for most villains from 1980's doll lines, no concrete reason is given for Nastina's aggression other than her general sense of jealousy. Nastina is assisted by a horsefly, Horace.
Other dolls which were not as widely distributed included:
- Cherry Blossom, a token Asian character wearing a costume similar to a cherry pink kimono
- Shy Violet, a light blue haired and clad actress
- Fuschia, a dark purple haired doll with fuschia clothing and a taste for clothing design
- Gladiola, a blonde doll with light pink clothes and a taste for tap dancing
- Marigold, an orange haired and clad organizer of events
- Canterbury Belle, a pink haired and clad baker