Saturday, April 6, 2013

"China Girl" Doll by Jakks Pacific

It seems fitting that I stumbled upon China Girl while I was writing my post about antique dolls.  I had crazing, cracking and bisque on my mind as I was wandering the aisles of Target, and I could barely believe my eyes when I saw a plastic doll made to look like she was made out of porcelain.  Without knowing a thing about who she was, I handed over $19.99 and brought her home.

The China Girl is actually a character from the new movie, Oz, The Great and Powerful.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've read that while it might not live up to its predecessor (how could it?), and there might be some script and casting fumbles, the special effects are jaw-dropping and the China Girl character steals the show.  I'll probably love it.  The thing is, there's no need to watch the movie to enjoy this doll.  I can safely say that there is nothing on the toy shelves even remotely like her.

Both The Disney Store and Jakks Pacific have released a full line of dolls based on characters from this movie.  Most of the dolls are 1:6 scale, like Barbie.  The Disney Store offered a 19" limited edition version of The China Girl ($179.50, sold out) that was actually made out of porcelain.  They also made a 4" Polly Pocket style vinyl version ($9.99, sold out).  The Jakks Pacific China Girl is 14" tall and highly articulated.  She's just shy of being a life sized version of the movie character.

In this review, I will look at the 14" Jakks Pacific doll and the little 4" doll:

China Girl doll
4" Disney Store China Doll ($9.99)
and 14" Jakks Pacific China Girl ($19.99).
After China Girl caught my eye at Target, I took some time to inspect the other dolls in the Jakks Pacific lineup.  I was tempted by the red-haired Evanora in her sparkling green dress, but the obvious lack of wrist articulation turned me off.  While the China Girl seemed like a bargain for $19.99, the other dolls didn't strike me as being worth that price--with one exception.  I found the Oscar Diggs character interesting, in part because he is carrying a small version of the China Girl, and also just because he is a male doll, and they are relatively rare.  So, I came away from Target with the China Girl and Oscar Diggs.

Once I got home, I scoured the internet for information about other available Oz dolls.  The Disney Store dolls look nicer (and better articulated) but they also cost $15 more.  I thought some comparison reviews might be in order, so I bought the Disney Store version of Oscar Diggs and also the 4" Disney Store China Girl.

Here are the two China Girl dolls still in their boxes:

 

And the two Oscars:


When the little Disney Store doll arrived in the mail, it was instantly clear that she is exactly the same doll as the one that comes with the Jakks Pacific Oscar Diggs.  Here's the Disney Store version:



And here's the doll that accompanies the Jakks Pacific Oscar Diggs:


I decided to de-box the Jakks Pacific version of the 4" China Doll, but save Oscar himself for a separate comparison review.  As of preview of that post, here is a close-up of the Jakks Pacific Oscar face.  It's supposed to look like James Franco:

Reminds me more of Brad Pitt.
Even before the dolls are completely out of their boxes, I can see that The Disney Store has done a better job of capturing this actor's likeness:


The little China Girl comes in a clear plastic holder that is tied to Oscar's arm:


Snipping a few clear rubber bands quickly frees her from this enclosure:


She is tiny and cute and has a lot of nice molded details.  When I peeked at her in the store, I felt sure that her arms and legs were articulated.  They look like they have miniscule little joints.  That would have been amazing, but I suppose it also would have made her really fragile.


Her painted eyes are pretty wonked out, and the red from her lips has bled a little at one side of her mouth, but keep in mind that any flaw in something this small will look worse in an extreme close-up.

China Girl doll

And she's really, really small:

Welcome to Munchkinland.
The paint is surprisingly detailed for her size:



This doll's head, hair and limbs are made out of flexible vinyl.  The hair has a molded crazing pattern in it.  The face has a few small cracks, too, but these are very subtle.


There's a real crack in this doll, too--the seam that runs along the back of her neck is quite prominent if you look at her from the side or from the back.


The neck and dress are made out of harder plastic.


The plastic itself is blue and the skin color of the neck is painted on top of the blue.  I know this because....

If I only had a head...
...her head pops off and you can see the unpainted blue plastic underneath it.

She has black painted shoes and very convincing molded ankle joints.  


The fake joints in her arms had me fooled, too:


In reality, this doll's limbs can only move at the shoulders and a little bit at the hips.  Her head has great range of motion, though.


The leg articulation is actually a big disappointment.  The hips have pendulum-style joints like a Lalaloopsy doll or the Cutie Pops Petites:


This style of joint, in combination with the stiff skirt, mean that the doll cannot sit.



In fact, her legs don't even really bend at the hip, but rather somewhere in the mid-thigh region.  It looks a bit strange when she's walking:

China Girl doll

Here's China with some of my other tiny dolls:

Littlest Pet Shop Blythe, Cabbage Patch mini, Lalaloopsy mini, China Girl, Cutie Pops Petite.
Of these five dolls, LPS Blythe and the Cabbage Patch baby have the best movement.

I decided to leave my Disney Store China Doll in the box for now.  I looked very closely, and these two little dolls are virtually identical.

China Girl doll

There are some subtle differences in the face paint, but it's just the normal variation that you'd find between any two painted dolls.

Disney Store 4" doll.
Below, the Disney Store doll is on the left and the Jakks Pacific doll is on the right.  They're the same doll, so clearly they're both manufactured by the same company, but I'm not sure if that company is Tollytots (a Jakks Pacific subsidiary) or wherever the Disney Store dolls are made.


This is a sweet doll, but there's a pricing problem.  A doll this size should cost no more than $5...$7 if I'm being generous.  Her Disney Store price of $9.99 was too high, especially since you can get the exact same doll with the $19.99 Jakks Pacific Oscar.  Currently, this little minx is selling for $20 and over on eBay, which is just plain silly.  

My only other complaint is with her leg articulation.  The pendulum hip joints would have been fine if they were placed at a more accurate anatomical location, and if the skirt was soft enough to accomodate their movement.  As it is, the limited range of motion in the legs just reminds me how disappointed I am that most of her joints are fake.

Here are a few more pictures of this mini movie heroine:


China Girl doll



Now, let's take a look at the 14" China Girl I found at Target.  All of the Jakks Pacific dolls come in these colorful, appealing window boxes with a cutout golden "O" that reveals the doll:


There's a picture of the movie character in one corner of the box.  She looks very sweet, and (based on online pictures and this movie preview) the likeness of the doll is pretty good.


There's a small plastic charm included with the doll, but since I haven't seen the movie, I don't know the significance of this item.  All of the dolls come with a similar charm bearing the first letter of their name, so I assume this is "Cg" for China girl?  It looks like "eg" to me.  Oh, well.


The back of the box has some small photographs of the other dolls in the series, and a short blurb on the China Girl character:


If you look closely at the right hand picture, above, you'll see that there's a perforated line in the cardboard on the back of the box.  This feature is also found on the La Dee Da boxes, but I can't see its purpose.  There's no way you could get the doll out by just pushing open that perforated area.

I started by un-taping one edge of the outer cardboard box.  This piece is separate from the plastic window.  The window is attached to a cardboard backdrop that secures the doll.


The plastic is attached to the cardboard with a series of tabs that are inserted through holes in the cardboard and enthusiastically taped in place.  

 

I removed all of the tape and then pulled the plastic free from the cardboard.


The doll is mounted on another piece of plastic that holds her away from the surface of the cardboard backdrop.  There are a few plastic tethers and clear rubber bands that need to be snipped to get her out.


She can stand on her own with a bit of foot manipulation.  Her ankles will bend under her weight after a little while, but she does a pretty good job of holding simple poses.


This doll has a very unique head.  Her hair is hollow plastic, and it exactly matches the ivory white color of her face.  

China Girl doll

Her hair has a side part and a cute bobbed style with upturned ends.  


The head looks like it should be heavy and solid.  The hollow hair was a surprise, and it adds a cheapness to the feel of the doll.  I think if her hair had been solid, though, she'd be too top-heavy to stand on her own.   So, this was probably a good design decision.

The hair has a network of molded cracks in it, as does the neck, but the doll's face is almost completely smooth, with just a few subtle fissures.  I think it was a good choice to avoid cracks all over her face (that might be too creepy-ass), but the juncture between her neck and head still looks a little funny with the abrupt change from cracked to perfectly smooth:


The cracks on the neck can look startling from some angles, too, almost like she's prematurely wrinkled in that area:

Creepy neck.
She has bright royal blue side-glancing eyes, red lips, grey eyebrows and a faint red tinge to her cheeks.  


She has nice painted detail in her irises, although the pupils of my doll are slightly askew.  She's never quite looking at the same spot with both of her eyes.



She has a pleasant, subtle smile on her lips:


China's blue dress is not the same as the dress that appeared in the promo pictures (like the one pictured on Amazon, for example) nor is it exactly like the dress in the movie.  It is white short-sleeved frock with a light blue printed pattern that is reminiscent of a fine china tea set design.


The dress is made out of a moderately stiff synthetic fabric, and so it doesn't hang well or feel especially nice, but it has some wonderful details.  Notice the little tuck in the sleeve, the delicate lace collar and the bright striped ribbon belt:


The dress opens in back with a long strip of velcro.  The sash is permanently tied and attached to the dress, and so it opens with the rest of the dress.


The hem of the skirt has a two-layered ruffle and is solidly stitched and finished.


This doll has 13 points of articulation (neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles):


It's hard to see in the pictures (my camera hates blue for some reason) but she has molded crazing all over her body.  She also has blue painted underpants, painted shoes and pretty blue accents around her arm joints.  It's the level of detail I expect from a Monster High doll body.


I altered the definition settings in this photograph so that you can see the crazing pattern more clearly:


The back of the underwear has a black stain.  This didn't come from the dress, so it's a bit of a mystery.  


All of the joints of this doll are similar.  They look like ball and socket joints, but they're rotating hinges.  Let's look at the arm first:


She has a pretty good range of motion and can easily touch her hair with her large hand:

China Girl doll

The shape of the arm pieces limits the range of movement slightly.  In particular, notice how straight the elbow side of the lower arm piece is.  If this area had a slanted shape to it, like the upper arm, the doll's flexibility would be better.  


To see what I mean more clearly, compare China's lower arm to Integrity Gavin's arm, below:


Gavin has a tapered lower arm with a notch cut into the area just below the joint.  This allows her to bend quite a lot at the elbow.  In contrast, China's straight-cut arm piece limits her movement and she can't quite touch her face.


I can make it look like she's touching her face if I monkey with the camera angle:

China Girl Oz

She can even do a good freak-out pose:

AND bears??
The legs have the same rotating hinge joints and the same design problem with the straight-cut edge of the lower leg piece.  It's less of a problem in the knee, though, because the joint area is wider.


Here's a close-up of the hip:


Here's the narrow ankle joint, with the cute black painted shoes.  The shoes remind me of Eloise:


China can't do full front-to-back splits...

China Girl Oz

And it seems like she can't do full side-to-side splits...


...but if you rotate her hips upwards, she's actually capable of excellent splits:

China Girl Oz

And some beginner ballet:


She can also kneel and sit really well:



And creep around...

China Girl Oz

And run:

China Girl Oz
Ahhh!!  Flying monkeys!
And she makes an excellent teapot:


She is flexible enough that she gets herself into some very strange poses every now and then.


Unfortunately, in contrast to her 4" likeness, this doll's head mobility isn't great.  Her neck can only spin around, there's very little up or down movement.  I always find this especially frustrating in dolls with side-glancing eyes, because they will only look at the camera in a limited number of ways.  

China Girl Oz

Because of China's unique size, I found it hard to think of other dolls to put in her lineup.  In the end, only MiM and the talking Merida doll seemed like viable candidates:


Of course that didn't stop the usual crowd from gathering to inspect the newcomer:

China Girl Oz
Sweetie, you're not in Kansas anymore.
The other dolls make China look very boxy and pale.  I enjoy the fact that her body sculpture is simple and childlike.  She strikes me as a friendly, unintimidating companion.  

Here are a few more pictures of her:

China Girl Oz


China Girl Oz






Oz China Girl doll

Bottom line?  As you know, I've been wishing and waiting for something new and different to appear in the play doll market.  Here she is.  I suppose the creativity is not so much in the design of the doll, per se, but in the conception of the movie character on which she is based.  This doll is an excellent, durable reproduction of the China Girl from Oz, The Great and Powerful.  More than that, though, this doll is captivating even with no knowledge of the movie.  She is a unique, highly articulated doll that will appeal to children and adults alike.  Her play potential is high, and yet she is unusual enough that she has a surprising degree of display allure.

This doll is a great value.  She offers significantly more than her smaller, less articulated companions in the Jakks Pacific Oz line, yet she has the same $19.99 price tag.  I should note that Toys R Us is selling this same doll for $24.99.   If you can find her at Target, that's obviously ideal, but I would venture to say that she's worth the $25 price, too.  Amazon prices are, as usual, irritatingly inflated.

She is not quite as perfect as she looks in the box.  I am disappointed by her limited up-and-down head articulation.  In addition, her elbow and knee joints could have been much more flexible with just a small adjustment to shape of those areas.  All of the joints are a bit more stiff and awkward than they appear.  Still, the doll has enough range of motion to make her capable of many fun poses, several of which can be achieved without the help of a stand or any other support.  One other minor complaint is that China's hollow hair makes her whole head region lighter and than I anticipated.  It feels a little cheap.  On the other hand, if her head had been solid and heavy, she probably wouldn't be able to balance so nicely on her own.

The small flaws in the design of the China Girl are easy to overlook.  If you are a fan of the new Oz, The Great and Powerful movie, or even if you're simply looking for a new, unique doll for your collection, this charming girl is more than worth your consideration.  If you want the 4" mini doll to go with her, buy the Jakks Pacific Oscar Diggs before you plunk down more than $20 on eBay.

Oz China Girl doll

Summary (14" doll):
Age Level
3 and up, per the box.  
Value
Great value.  This is a durable, highly articulated doll for a good price.
Quality
Made out of shiny hard plastic.  Seams and joints all look solid.  Doll has 13 points of articulation.  Face paint is bright and well-applied.  Many molded and painted details all over the doll.  Outfit is well-sewn and has some nice design elements.
Packaging
Average.  The box is visually appealing, but it requires a fair amount of effort to disengage the doll.  The box cannot easily be salvaged for display.
Collectable?
This is a play doll, but her unique appearance and connection to the "Wizard of Oz" franchise makes her collectable.
Versatility
This doll is made to resemble a movie character and has a very stylized appearance.  She is an unconventional size.  She will not naturally fit in with many of the modern fashion-related play dolls.  On the other hand, since the movie character is a fairly generic china doll, this toy should be no less versatile than an authentic doll of that kind.
Overall
This is a highly articulated doll with a unique appearance.  At the $19.99 price, and even for five dollars more, I would definitely recommend her...especially to fans of the new movie.

Oz China Girl doll

50 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! She's so adorable!

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  2. The Disney store should also make an Alice in Wonderland doll/s.

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    1. You're right! Good thinking! I have never noticed that before. Why isn't Alice in their regular doll collection? She'd be wonderful! I checked the site and they only have little plastic play figures.

      I found this one from the limited edition series:
      http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7070/6926501981_fac44901ab.jpg

      And this one:
      http://www.flickriver.com/photos/68105287@N03/sets/72157631848109431/

      She's cute, but not like the articulated vinyl princesses. If they had a 12" Alice like the other movie character dolls--I'd buy her! :D

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    2. Me too! They should totally make some doll versions of Alice, Red Queen, White Queen, and the Mad Hatter. :)

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  3. I actually bought the same two dolls you did (14" China and Tollytots Oscar) thinking that mini-China was articulated. The 14" doll is an AMAZING value. I wonder if yours just happened to have weak ankles, though? Mine has no problem standing posed for long periods of time. The thing I couldn't help but be impressed by most though was that she can sit with her legs curled to the side.

    I originally bought both of my dolls from Amazon, and paid only $45.59 total for Oz/China and the 14" China. Of course, that was also before the film came out and presumably demand went up.

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    1. You have good taste in dolls! ;) It's a bummer that the little doll isn't jointed, right? She's still cute, though.

      Actually, now that you mention it, I think maybe my doll was bending in the ankles because she was holding the mini China. She's been posed on one foot (doing ballet!) for over a day now and hasn't collapsed. I should change that in my review. I'm glad you mentioned it! I agree about the sitting pose--rotating knee joints are the best! She really is a wonderful, sweet doll.

      I'm glad you got your dolls for such a good price! When Amazon has normal prices, the free shipping makes it a great place to shop. I noticed that China disappeared from the stores about a week ago (both real stores and online). I think you're right that this was when the movie first came out. My Target had NONE of these dolls left last time I went--nor did Toys R Us. Not even a blank space on the shelf! The private vendors on Amazon were the only ones left with the doll, and so the price went up. It can be a lot like eBay over at Amazon these days--at least for hard-to-find items. China is back in stock now, so my guess is that the prices will calm down again in a little bit. I hope so!

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  4. I've been eyeing her at Target, she'll definitely be on my shopping list soon!

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  5. I love the 14" dolls face, very sweet. The crazing on her body etc reminds me of Easter eggs.

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  6. Her character was the only enjoyable part of the movie for me. My husband heard me gasp and saw me lean forward when she came on screen. He leaned up and said, "That's a ball-jointed doll." Yes ladies, I've trained him well. Especially because his next words were, "I like her, she's beautiful." Love your review, I definitely will add her to my collection now.

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    1. Wow! You have taught him well, indeed! That is very impressive! :D My husband has called China "very sweet" a couple of times, now. I love it when there's a doll we can agree on!

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  7. Are you going to buy jem and the holograms doll by integrity toys

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    1. They're definitely still on my radar, but I have a long list of dolls I want and limited funds! Right now, I need to play catch-up with dolls I have already bought. Are you thinking about buying one? They are very appealing. I love the hair colors.

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    2. I bought the three i am so excited when they arrived Aja she is beautiful but a have a problem in her hair it is too thin they should have put more hair and Kimber she is very beautiful her clothes is beautiful and very accurate an Shana is beautiful too But i need to cut her hair because it is not verry accurate in the cartoon i am afraid to cut a doll's hair that worth 120$ but i really recommend the three of them my favourite is Aja

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  8. Thank you! I wanted to buy one of those China's dolls, but it's really hard which one is the best one. :)

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    1. You are very welcome! Definitely go for the 14" doll, she's really special. :)

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  9. I have seen those in toys r us and target! I really love china girl. The four inch mold really does make you think, wow she has great articulation for a mini doll! As always love love love your post!

    -Chloe- theamericangirlreviewer.blogspot.com (if you could check it out it would mean a lot:)

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    1. Thank you, Chloe! I like your blog, especially your most recent post about the AG store! FUN!! You have some great pictures of Saige--she's definitely a cutie. I didn't realize there was such a good selection of earrings for the dolls. The pet ones are awesome. Next time I'm in Manhattan, I'll have to check out the AG store there. It looks like it must be full of temptations!

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  10. I have theodora. the charms are to go with a charm braclet you can get in a makeup kit. The theodora doll has extremely soft hair. (THE glinda doll looks just a bit creepy.) i would've gotten china girl but they did not have her. My cousin got her and since shes 6 she plays oz with my brother and her brother and its extremely adorable. hope you enjoy.

    - leaping lizards

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    Replies
    1. That's great to hear about the hair! I was wondering what the quality was like. Thank you for clarifying the purpose of the charms, too. That makes sense.
      How neat that you get to watch your cousin and the boys play Oz! Do they act out the parts themselves, or use the 12" dolls? The neat thing about China Girl is that because of her size, it seems like she might inspire kids to become the Oz characters themselves. That's the kind of game I would have loved! :)

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  11. I have no plans to see the movie but I fell in looooove with this doll as soon as I saw a picture of her on tumblr. I'm glad to hear she's as great as I thought she would be! I'll have to get her now. :)

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    1. Isn't it neat how she is so appealing, even to those who have no interest in the movie? I may never see the movie either, given the frantic pace of my life, but it doesn't matter! Still a great doll. :)

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  12. I bought China Girl as an early birthday present to myself. I adore her. :) I wasn't a huge fan of the movie but she was no doubt my fave part.

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    1. Happy birthday! That's a great gift! I like watching the movie clips of China on You Tube, but that's as far as I've gotten in terms of watching the movie. The reviews are so mixed, I'm worried that it'd be a disappointment!

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  13. I'm SO getting her!

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  14. Just a tidbit of info...Jakks Pacific is the manufacturer for Disney Store's dolls. I don't have any of the newer ones, but on DS's old WITCH dolls from '07, if you part the hair at the scalp you will see a Jakks branding. :)

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    1. How cool to know that!! Thank you!! I was searching and searching online and couldn't find any information about who makes the Disney Store dolls. They must have a special deal with Jakks that allows them to have no written credit on the box. It makes total sense now. You are a good detective! :)

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    2. :D glad I could help! I love your site!

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  15. I'm so glad you did this review! Since the Liv dolls faded out I've been so bored with the dolls out there. But this show shows some real promise! Great pics too. Informative and entertaining as always. :)

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    1. Thank you, Becky. Well said--things were getting a bit boring in the aisles of Target until China showed up!

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  16. Oh my Ra... That is one ADORABLE doll.

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    1. :) Thank you, Astroasis. Isn't she sweet?

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  17. If you are not aware there is a person with your profile pic and name. Is this you? I'm not sure, but just in case its not you here is a link, http://www.blogger.com/profile/03120968620872136350

    -chloe

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    Replies
    1. Hi Chloe! Thank you for looking out for me! That's me, though. No worries. :)

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    2. great! thank you! I love your blog and for you to check out mine is amazing!

      -Chloe

      Delete
  18. Thanks for another great review. For some reason no stores in my area carry these dolls so I ended up ordering her online after seeing this. I know you do mostly fashion-type doll reviews, but I'd love to see a review of some of the Disney dolls that are roughly the size of American Girl dolls.

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  19. I will have to get to Target and see this girl, thanks for the great review. Tina

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  20. I haven't seen the movie yet but when I saw the 14" china doll for the first time on flickr I immediately fell in love. I really need to see the movie but this doll has been put on my wishlist in advance.
    She's so unique, not like any other playline doll out there. Not to mention she's just beautiful with her red lips and cheeks and amazing eyes. I wish there were more clothing options though.
    I also quite like the 4'' doll although I think I would've been fooled by those fake joints, too. A bit too pricy but I can see how the movie fans would plunk down a lot of money for her. Besides, what's cuter than a doll having her own doll?
    Though if you'd like to have a mini articulated doll, I'd suggest mini Winx dolls by Jakks. They already released quite a few collections (even exclusive Trix minis!) and I totally adore them. It's a shame they're not sold here. I heard rumors about Jakks, planning to sell the minis in Europe soon. I really hope these rumors are true!

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  21. I'm glad you shared this dolls because I had no plans of watching the movie! She looks kind of vintage and unique, love her!

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  22. The movie's a total bust. Save your admission and wait for HBO to start running it into the ground. Granted China Girl steals the scenes by virtue of her spunkiness, and the costuming is gorgeous, but two hours of "gee, look at all the CGI" do not a movie make, if you ask me. Also, Evanora's doll has NOTHING on her costume from the movie. It's a real shame, because in the movie it's this gorgeous Art Deco number with sheer and sparkles and a great approximation of Paris Green.

    On an unrelated note, I love this blog so much. Your reviews are a welcome hand-up in the toy aisle. :)

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  23. Jenna Starry-NightsJune 10, 2013 at 5:25 AM

    She is a really cute doll. She looks sweet and innocent, but with just a little bit of a sassy look with those eyebrows.

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  24. During a bout of insomnia I read your China girl review and ordered her in the middle of the night...she was waiting for me when I came home from work today! What a sweet little treasure! Thanks :)

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  25. Hi I want to start out by saying I love your doll reviews!! Just in December I decided I wanted all of the Disney Princess dolls. It was around that time that I stumbled upon your site. Well since then I have become a doll collector lol. I completed my set of the Disney Princess classic dolls and since then have started collecting other various Disney dolls. In any case referring to China Girl...when my boyfriend and I saw the movie he said she reminds him of me, which I took as a great compliment (she's just too cute). I never saw any of the dolls until 2 months ago when I saw one lone china girl doll sitting on a clearance shelf at Walmart...needless to say I did not rescue her as I was preoccupied with obtaining my Disney Princesses. I completely forgot about seeing her until I saw your review, then the hunt began for her. All of our stores here have all of these dolls on clearance now. I went to 4 different Walmarts, Target, and ToysRUs with no luck. They had all of the other dolls, but no china girl. Finally I just went on amazon and purchased her for their $23 price tag. I'm assuming she's going to become increasingly difficult to find and the cost will begin increasing again. She arrived today, but now I'm wondering about the Oscar Diggs Doll. I like the idea of the mini china girl coming with him more than anything. I saw the mini version is going for $44!!! Oscar's price tag has skyrocketed too! I found him for $17.99, but he was quickly gone. Other prices have been as high as $40! I just wanted to let you know that because I found it interesting how high the cost of these dolls increased again when not too long ago I had them in my hands for an unbeatable price!

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  26. Awesome detailed review. Just bought myself one off Amazon. Hopefully the one I get has a good paint job, usually that's the problem with toys you don't see in person. It seems though I don't really have to worry with toys with simple tones and lines.

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  27. I know this is really late- It's been like a year or two??? (crazy!) But I just finally got a chance to watch this movie (like yesterday) and I had very low expectations for it. But, when I watched I was just in awe. It is an amazing amazing beautiful well casted and thought out film and if you still haven't watched it- you just have to. My favorite character was of course- China girl. Right after I watched the movie I was like- I HAVE TO GET THE DOLL. So now, I have 5 dolls (Evanora, Theodora, Glinda, Oz, and China Girl) headed my way and I'm glued to the shipping tracking site. I looked at about every single review on the China Girl doll, because I'm afraid that she might not live up to my expectations. Your review is great- the movie is great too.
    All I'm trying to say is WATCH THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    (I don't even know if you'll see this Emily, but ^^^^^^^^^)

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  28. I have one of these dolls sans box that I will be happy to send you, Lellytots, for the price of postage. I picked her up at the thrift store for cheap because she was so pretty. Contact me on eBay. My user name is adela*s_attic. I don't have her listed, but can set up a listing just for you. :-)

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  29. Thanks to this review, I now have a China Girl of my own, and she may be one of my favorite toys ever. She's such a charming design, and her articulation is nice, even though her ankles can't hold her up well.

    One thing I noticed, though, is that she has stoppers to prevent her head from rotating more than 180 degrees! Very few dolls have this realistic limitation, so it was a surprise to turn her head and feel it stop.

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  30. Aaaaand you never did the Oscar review, you tease! I had totally forgotten about him; I would really have liked to see the two versions. Alas! He's definitely gone to Goodwill by now. :/

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