If you were growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, chances are you either had an American Girl Doll or knew someone with one. I was so obsessed I had three: Samantha, Kirsten, and Felicity (I’m an only child, okay?). I think, along with Molly, those were the only ones available at the time—but now there are so many.
And the newest historical American Girl Doll? An All-American Girl from the 1980s named Courtney Moore—and she’s making us feel so, so old.
With her very own scrunchie, acid-washed denim, neon bracelets, and a trapper keeper, Courtney basically looks like all of us who grew up with the traditional American Girl dolls. One of Courtney’s accessories is even a Molly doll. The whole thing has SO MANY layers—it’s kind of mind-blowing.
The fact that the character Courtney owns an original 1986 Molly doll means that the American Girl Company is canon within the American Girl universe. History has caught up with itself. The cycle is complete. This Ouroboros has swallowed its own tail. pic.twitter.com/PB3LUQHHQB
— Audrey Dubois (@PlatypusInPlaid) September 16, 2020
Courtney is described as an avid gamer growing up with a blended family in the fictional town of Orange Valley, California. She loves playing video games at the arcade and has ambitions to design video games one day—with more female characters. According to a press release from Mattell, “Courtney’s story reflects the pop culture of the decade from sky-high hair, neon-colored fashions, music television, and video gaming to major historical moments surrounding women in government and space exploration, as well as larger cultural shifts around blended families and emerging technology.”
As a blast from the not-so-past, Courtney has folks shook.
The fact that there is a new American Girl doll whose historical era is *four years* before I was born pic.twitter.com/mKjF1e22d8
— Brit Bennett (@britrbennett) September 15, 2020
Realizing an 80s-era @American_Girl doll is as historic to modern kids as 50s-era Molly was to 90s kids like me just broke my brain. (We’re old!!) https://t.co/DQdWekouz1
— Jenna Lowenstein (@just_jenna) September 15, 2020
Me: I’m 36 years old. I’m an adult. I’m not buying a new American Girl doll.
Also me: BUT LOOK AT ALL HER ADORABLE 80s ACCESSORIES pic.twitter.com/EGANhwK6RU
— Ivonne (@servoisnaked) September 15, 2020
Is this an American Girl doll or Uncle Joey from Full House? pic.twitter.com/NQGPtTiklH
— Emma Claire Hedges (@echedges) September 15, 2020
Not to keep talking about the 1980s American Girl doll but this is gonna be a, uh, dark children's book pic.twitter.com/wTJcd8detA
— Rebecca Fishbein (@bfishbfish) September 16, 2020
Finally an American girl doll your other American girl dolls can buy coke from pic.twitter.com/Pa6oBGnQni
— jenny questell (@jennyismessy) September 18, 2020
Welcome to the club, Courtney! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to lie down and rest my ancient bones.