Entertainment

This Is Where You Can Buy An Evil Bratt Doll

by Cat Bowen

My daughter adores the Despicable Me franchise. We have more minion dolls and action figures than what could possibly be considered normal, we've had fart machines and giant stuffed unicorns, and the newest Despicable Me movie will likely see us buying more, especially the villain. But can you buy an Evil Bratt doll? It might not be as easy as you think.

Every year there seems to be a few toys that no one can get their hands on. I remember when I was really little, I wanted a crimp-n-curl Cabbage Patch doll. My mother went to our local Toys R Us to buy one, but came home empty-handed and just chock full of a visceral rage toward anyone who ever mentioned Cabbage Patch dolls or Toys R Us. I think if you mention them to her all these years later, she might start to twitch about the eyes or foam at the mouth. I'm not sure. (I'll totally try it at the July 4th picnic, though. I am a very good daughter.)

This year it seems to be the Balthazar Bratt, also known as the villain Evil Bratt, doll. As soon as my daughter heard that I was writing this story, she had to have one. Of course.

After a little online searching, I quickly found out that this mission would be harder than most others. At the time of publication, Amazon has only one Balthazar Bratt poseable figurine left and it's not exactly a big toy. Other versions of the Evil Bratt doll include a tiny one in a pack of Despicable Me 3 Micro Figures, and there's only one left of those, too. I did find the Balthazar Bratt action figure on ToyWiz.com, but there's only three of those left, and eBay happens to have a few at varying prices. (It's listed as a "hot item" on eBay.)

Balthazar Bratt Poseable Figurine, $18, Amazon; Despicable Me 3 Micro Figures, $17, Amazon; Balthazar Bratt Action Figure, $20, Toy Wiz

I sent my husband into the belly of the beast, Toys R Us, to see if he could procure one of the hard-to-find dolls. He got there this morning as the doors were opening, and went off in search of Balthazar.

Nothing. Nada. They had all sorts of other minion toys and Groot model figures, but Balthazar Bratt? An employee said they'd been sold out for over a week. I called the manager of the store as my husband got lost in the Nerf gun section and he tells me, "We just didn't know how crazy the demand for the toy would be. We only received a few units, compared with tons of minions. They flew off the shelves and we haven't been told when or if there will be more coming." (At the point of this publication, the toy wasn't available anymore in store or online.) My speculation? It's all about the rocking mullet. No one can resist a villain in a mullet.

So, can you buy an Evil Bratt doll? Maybe on eBay.