Of robots, dolls and monsters

Isn't this plush robot absolutely adorable? It's so whimsically delightful, complete with its own little girl inside controlling the one-eyed mechanical man with a red-knobbed lever. I want!! This is the artist's blog and it comes with lots of lovely art links. The doll also reminds me of Sheeta and her robot friend in Laputa. Here's a life-size model of it on top of the Ghibli Museum in Japan.

I love dolls made of fabirc- there's just something incredibly elemental and comforting about the feel of a cloth toy, even if they are monsters. Jude bought a couple of these darling critters called Uglydolls as Christmas presents last year. Aren't they just the cutest things? My favorite is Wage. He works in a supermarket.

Of course, not all dolls are created equal in Serene's eyes. I have a very real fear of model dolls- ok, I'm not sure what you call them, but you know the ones which are really stiff (they're either made of plastic, procelain, or even wood), dressed up in real-people clothing and look amazingly life-like? Some of them have eyes which blink too... Yikes, getting the heebie-geebies already. Don't ask me what the root of the phobia is; that's why it's called a phobia- it's irrational.

Case in point, Steven Soderbergh's new movie Bubble opens tomorrow. Now, apart from the media furor that's been created because of its simultaneous release on big screen, DVD, and cable, it's also a movie about dolls. Well, dollmakers specifically. And a murder. Perfect. Go watch the trailer (or even just look at the poster...), and you'd understand why this girl had her hands over her eyes throughout the 30-second trailer with her heart palpitating wildly, and why if I ever had to choose between being in a room full of snakes and a room full of those dolls (dismembered or otherwise), I'd take the reptiles any day...