Oh, I forgot to give my opinion on the whole ethnicity thing, regarding popularity and the attention dolls get. I find *most* little girls want dolls they relate to, which may range from skin color to hair color. In that sense, Jasmine does appeal to brown girls (Indian, Pakistani, etc), and then all the other dolls are loved by their obvious hair color and skin color counterparts. I think Disney has definitely tried to corner the market on all the different ethnicities, but if Rapunzel sells more than Tiana, they're naturally going to push the blond doll more.
Also, I think *sometimes* parents promote matching up dolls to the way their child looks. I remember CRYING for a black Cabbage Patch Kid when I was little, but my mom refused because she was afraid it might look bad if black kids saw me with a black doll at school. But then on the flipside, some cultures prefer the blond / blue-eyed look even though they don't look like that, so then Rapunzel sells even better in that demographic, too. My city is EXTREMELY multi-cultural, so I get to see who gets excited for what characters when I'm shopping at the Disney Store. It's actually very interesting, and I can see why certain characters get more attention from Disney based on who sells. It's just too bad because some of the more interesting princesses will never get the chance they deserve because of that