EXCLUSIVE: Participant and Conduit Films have teamed to produce a documentary on the iconic doll line American Girl created by Pleasant Rowland, who has granted film rights to her story and a behind-the-scenes look at the popular characters she created for the first time.
Directed by Conduit Films’ founder Christy Wegener, All American Girls features a sit-down with Rowland, as well as never-before-seen footage and insights from the American Girl brand’s authors, insiders, enthusiasts and journalists. Stop-motion graphics aid the filmmakers as they venture behind the curtain of the brand, which shaped the lives of generations of Americans in the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, and maintains cultural relevance today.
The doc illuminates not only the unparalleled influence of American Girl, but also controversies and a radical edge now associated with a historically wholesome brand, as it’s found a new wave of popularity. Nearly four decades since its inception, American Girl has evolved in a rare way; adult fans have co-opted it, remixing the American Girl iconography into their own art, podcasts, online museums, stop-motion videos and memes as a form of political and cultural expression.
Introduced in 1986 by Rowland, who was formerly a schoolteacher, the American Girl line originally featured 18-inch historical dolls with authentic period outfits, accessories and a series of books. Known for their message of empowerment, encouraging girls to voice their opinions, the books are set at different times in U.S. history and offer an atypical perspective of America’s past, where girls are the heroes of the story. Now one of the most recognized brands in the United States and beyond, American Girl has amassed hundreds of millions of fans as part of the cultural zeitgeist, from being spoofed on SNL to generating some of the highest social media engagement levels of any brand in history.
Rowland sold the American Girl brand to Mattel for $700 million in 1998. Andrea Berman and Wegener are producing the doc, with Courtney Sexton and David Linde exec producing for Participant.
In a statement to Deadline, EPs Sexton and Linde said, “American Girl has championed stories of resilience, empowerment, and inclusion, and this film offers a powerful opportunity to bring those beloved characters to life on screen. Together, we aim to create a film that not only entertains but also inspires young audiences to embrace their unique voices and celebrate the strength found in diversity, individuality, and community.”
Stated Wegener, “I am extremely grateful to Pleasant Rowland for entrusting us with her story and that of American Girl, which is so beloved by legions of fans around the world. Rowland defied the odds for women of her time, building a multi-million-dollar empire from scratch which is anchored in so much creativity. Her story and the story of American Girl provided so much inspiration, which in turn pushed us creatively in so many inventive ways beyond a traditional narrative.”
Building on nearly 20 years of experience in nonfiction and narrative film, Wegener and Berman created Conduit Films primarily to tell personal stories that center around cultural, social and political turning points. The company’s inaugural project, 2022 feature doc I Am Vanessa Guillen, reached the #3 spot on Netflix’s Top 10 Films and was nominated for an Emmy, along with two Imagen Awards and two Realscreen Awards.
An Oscar-winning production company known for its socially conscious storytelling, with projects ranging from Spotlight to Green Book and An Inconvenient Truth, Participant announced its intention to shutter in April after a 20-year run, with most of its 100-person staff being let go. Only core employees remain, having in subsequent months moved to settle out remaining productions and overseen outstanding commitments to the catalog. Jeff Skoll founded the company, which generated north of $3.3 billion in global box office, winning 21 Oscars and 18 Emmys for its projects.
Wegener is repped by WME.
