TOY JOY VALLEY FIRM'S BRATZ TOP DOLL.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

NORTH HILLS - Isaac Larian had good reason to celebrate on Friday.

MGA Entertainment, the company he's nurtured for 24 years, announced a four-front toy victory. The North Hills-based toymaker announced it won the Toy Industry Association's People's Choice Toy Of The Year award, as well as supplier accolades from Target, Toys 'R' Us and Wal-Mart.

This marks MGA's second consecutive year atop the TOTYs, handed out last weekend at the American International Toy Fair in New York. This year, the firm won for its Bratz Stylin' Salon 'N' Spa, a beauty play-set for its ragingly popular Bratz dolls.

``We beat Barbie Rapunzel and Chicken Dance Elmo,'' Larian crowed. ``It's great to beat them, and I think we can do it again. It's all about making things that kids want - as long as you're innovative, kids will like it. We beat Spider-Man, Harry Potter Legos and Yu-Gi-Oh! - and that's so hot right now. It's unbelievable.''

Though he's watched the fashion-conscious figures sell billions in their two years on the market, the award still came as a surprise. The salon, which features a working hot tub, juice bar fixtures and cosmetics for both the dolls and their human counterparts, was on the market only a short three months, selling out of 500,000 units worldwide by November.

``We're the only toy company in the world to win Toy Of The Year twice in a row,'' he said. ``It feels great. This is the Academy Awards of the toy business.''

Well, sort of, industry watchers pointed out.

``Considering that the awards program is three years old, yes, this is unprecedented,'' said independent analyst Chris Byrne, with a dry laugh.

But that relentless self-promotion made Bratz into the force they are today, Byrne noted. Last year, he surveyed 20 similar dolls at the Toy Fair, all competing with Bratz. This year, he saw one - Mattel's My Scene Barbie.

``He's a very forceful personality that's created a certain controversy, but no matter what anyone says, you can't argue with the success of Bratz,'' Byrne said. ``It revolutionized the fashion doll industry.''

And while Larian does boast a gregarious, outsized nature, he declined to take sole credit for the dolls' success, deferring instead to his creative team. And while those designers were partying at the news of the TOTY award, they were back to their brainstorming soon thereafter.

``We've already finished the enjoyment,'' Larian said. ``We had a bottle of champagne that night, which we enjoyed a lot, then the next day, it was right back to work.''

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(color) North Hills-based MGA Entertainment earned Toy Industry Association's People's Choice Toy Of The Year award for its Bratz Stylin' Salon 'N' Spa.