Saturday, August 24, 2013

My Little Pony Equestria Girl "Rainbow Dash," by Hasbro

I am not a serious My Little Pony collector, although I own a few of the figures and I remember these friendly little faces from my childhood.  Most of my pony-playing days were in the 1980s, so I have a special fondness for the chubbier, more docile-looking ponies of that decade.  Among my favorites were the mid-80s first generation (G1) ponies that look to one side (like Applejack) and the half-rearing characters (like Skydancer).  I also love the original mold, and in my youth, I badly wanted the larger My Pretty Pony toy that shared that same basic shape.

The ponies have morphed quite a lot in the last few years.  I have never seen the Friendship is Magic TV show, but I find the G4 toys cute in a new way.  Although they've shed the cow-like appearance of some of the 80s molds (G1 Posy looks particularly bovine...), they don't necessarily look like horses to me.  These little guys remind me more of Chihuahuas...but that's cool because I love Chihuahuas.

When I started hearing bits of information about the new line of Equestria Girl dolls, I wasn't sure what to think.  The Equestria Girls are teenaged human versions of the regular My Little Pony characters.  These teens appear in a new movie, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.  The promotional pictures of the dolls did not look great to me.  For starters, they don't look human.  The movie characters look like reasonable cartoons of human beings, but the dolls have huge horse ears on top of their heads.  The other problem was that the promo pictures I saw showed only dolls with very limited articulation.  However, at one of my visits to Toys R Us, I found a small stock of the Equestria Girls, and I was delighted to see that two of the dolls (Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash) have articulated knees and elbows.  Furthermore, the dolls looked way cuter in person than they seemed in their pictures.  Won over by Rainbow Dash's colorful hair, I left the store with her, feeling unexpectedly excited about this review.

My Little Pony Rainbow Dash
Equestria Girl doll "Rainbow Dash" and her Crystal Masquerade Pony equivalent.
My Rainbow Dash cost $20 at Toys R Us, and this seems to be the typical pricing.  The less articulated dolls cost $13-15.  There are also doll and pony sets (with Twilight Sparkle and Celestia) that cost around $20.  As a warning, there's another $20 deluxe Rainbow Dash doll that comes in the same size box as this one, but she's not as highly articulated and has extra hair extensions instead of an extra outfit.  I have seen this other doll in person and her hair and outfit are great.  She was my favorite until I noticed that she is missing the elbow and knee joints.

Rainbow Dash's packaging is part of what made her so appealing to me in the store.  Her box is covered in bright rainbow colors with wonderful graphics.  The doll herself is arranged in an action pose with all of her accessories displayed around her.



Look at the awesome pony print on her skirt:


There's a little picture of the Rainbow Dash pony in one corner of the box:


The back of the box has two cartoons of the teenage Rainbow Dash and a small amount of text:


The little snippets of information about Rainbow Dash's personality are not that unique or interesting--she likes bold colored outfits and always wears her backpack:


This second blurb is more critical to understanding exactly what the Equestria Girls are.  It explains that their world is magically connected to the world of My Little Pony.  It also explains that the Girls attend Canterlot High.


The back of the box also has a group drawing of the other Equestria Girls.  In this picture, the Girls have horse ears on their heads.  I am still not quite sure what is going on with the ears, but maybe there is also an Equestria Girls TV show, and the TV characters have horse ears and the movie versions have normal human ears?  *Update: apparently not.  No TV show.  Maybe the Girls grow ears at some point in the movie?  *Update: yes!  The girls grow ears at one point in the movie.  Thank you, my wise readers for this information!


I really like the drawings of Rainbow Dash.  She looks spunky and cool with her jagged, multicolor bangs, layered outfit, and that gesture she's making with her left hand.  

Notice that she has rainbows under both of her eyes.  The doll only has a rainbow under one eye.

Double rainbow.
My favorite feature of the box is this big face shot of Rainbow that wraps around one of the corners (she has rainbows under both eyes, too):

What does this mean?
In two different locations on the box, these three symbols appear:


Rainbow Dash's "cutie mark" is lightning (because she controls the weather), and she is a Pegasus, so the lightning and wing symbols make sense.  I guess she also enjoys soccer? 

A corrugated cardboard insert pulls out of the main window box.  This insert is littered with attachment sites--mostly plastic and cardboard tabs.


The de-boxing is fairly simple, and takes time mostly because there are so many little pieces.


There is a small sheet of stickers, a collector's card and an accordion-folded catalogue:


The catalog has photographs of most of the other dolls:

These are the less articulated basic dolls.
There's another version of Rainbow Dash that I haven't seen in the stores.  On the opposite side of the catalog, there are cartoon versions of the characters.  I like the rendition of Fluttershy.  She's very sweet:


Rainbow Dash comes with a brush, but I have been following good advice and using my wire brush for all of my dolls now.  The brush is cute, but as I mentioned in my Pinkie Cooper review, this brush design is starting to look very familiar.  It strongly resembles Pinkie Cooper's brush and has some features in common with Apple White's brush, too.




Rainbow Dash's backpack is made out of hard vinyl and has some small wings sticking out the sides:


The backpack straps are stiff, but flexible:


The straps have small pegs that insert into the pack.  These can easily be detached:


In fact, there are pegs at both ends of the straps, so the whole strap unit can be removed from the backpack.


Rainbow Dash also comes with purple dangle earrings for her big ears:


The design is a bit obscure, but I think it is supposed to be clouds:


Rainbow Dash has some detachable wings made out of tinted clear hard plastic:


They have a single peg for attachment to the doll:


The pale yellow plastic has silver glitter inside of it:


Rainbow Dash comes with an extra dress.  It is made out of a blue stretch knit and has rainbow panels on either side.  There's a silver ribbon down the front that gives the impression of a zipper.  The dress opens half way down in back and has a small strip of velcro to hold it closed.  



There is also an extra pair of boots.  These boots are blue with red painted laces.  


The right boot has Rainbow's cutie mark on one side:


One of the accessories is a red and purple hair extension clip that is advertised as being, "for you and for me."  I don't think this clip would stay in place on a real person's head, but it might work for the doll:

Not for you.

The clip is very primitive--it's just a bent piece of plastic.  You can see that the joint is already white from the stress of bending.  This thing won't last.


Finally, here is Rainbow Dash herself.  She is wearing a short red dress, rainbow arm bands and red boots.  Her hair has a longer section in the back that is meant to represent a tail:


Her face is very friendly and nicely painted.  She looks like a wolf or a cat, I think.  There's nothing at all horsey about her features.

Neeeigh!  Meo...woof??
There are familiar things about this face, but I can't quite put my finger on them.  She has large, slanted eyes that are a bit like Monster High eyes, and a smile that reminds me of one of the Disney Princesses.  Maybe her face is just reminding me of a My Little Pony character?


She has purple eyes with lightning bolt reflections in them.  Her eyebrows and eyeshadow are blue, and she has a layer of silver glitter over each eye.  She has a rainbow lightning shape under her left eye:

Single rainbow.
Equestria Girl Rainbow Dash


Rainbow has a partly open mouth with exposed teeth.  The tooth area is just a line of white paint, but the mouth is so small that this technique works well:



I find this face cute and appealing, but there's also a blankness in the features that makes it hard for me to identify with her.  When I look at the picture of Rainbow with Lagoona and Ariel, above, what stands out is that she's not a sulky, edgy misfit like a Monster High character, but she's not entirely sweet and human like a Disney Princess, either.  She's stuck somewhere in the middle.  

Maybe I would be able to relate to her better if it were clear what she is supposed to be.  She looks mostly human, but her blue skin and big eyes are alien and her ears make her part animal.  Pinkie Cooper is a good contrast because despite her human body, it's glaringly clear she's supposed to be a dog.  I am comfortable with that.  If I put the My Little Pony connection aside, this doll is a blue humanoid that looks like a cat--which doesn't make a lot of sense.  I think I need to watch the movie.


Rainbow's hair is styled in a ponytail, except for the longer blue and purple section of hair that hangs straight down her back:


The bangs are swept across Rainbow's forehead from right to left:


Two hair plugs criss-cross at the hairline, leaving a small area of exposed scalp:


The bangs have only two colors--orange and yellow, and they don't have the cool jagged cut that the cartoon character's hair has.  I might have to change that.... 

Step away from the scissors, Emily.
The ponytail is tied with a clear rubber band and is messy right out of the box.


I took the ponytail out so that I could tidy it up.  The hair is long and looks full.


I like how it is mostly orange in the back, with the other colors hiding in layers underneath:


This hair has a great texture.  It is very soft and smooth and doesn't seem at all prone to tangles.

Equestria Girl Rainbow Dash


The rooting around the edges and around the ears is very thick.  The back of the head is more sparsely rooted and shows a lot of scalp:



The longer blue and purple "tail" section of hair is rooted in its own little square section at the back of the head:


The hair is crimped where the rubber band was, so it looks best back in that original style.  I love how the colors show when it is pulled back like this.  The ponytail curves down the doll's back like a real rainbow:

Equestria Girl Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash's outfit consists of a red dress, armbands and red boots.  


She is also wearing a purple plastic bracelet that matches the design of the earrings.  The bracelet is more clearly in the shape of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark:



I knew next to nothing about these dolls when I de-boxed Rainbow, so I was very surprised to see what was left when I removed her boots:

Stub feet.
The feet are a huge disappointment.  I think this style of leg is terrible.  First of all, it takes a lot of muscle power to yank the shoes off and jam them back on again.  The articulated knees seem in serious danger of getting pulled apart in the process.  I try to be carful to hold the leg below the knee joint when I am removing the boots, but it's unreasonable to expect all kids to be this careful when they're playing.

The other big problem with these legs is that the doll can't go barefoot.  Personally, I love going barefoot, and I'd like my dolls to have that option, too.  I mean, how can you relax at the end of the day if you can't take your shoes off--especially when they're shoes as huge and clunky as Rainbow Dash's boots? 

It's also hard to dress and undress this doll over those big boots, and so the only option is to have her hobbling around on her stumps while she's changing her clothes.

Eech!  Ouch!  Ooch!
Watching her perch on those stick legs made me feel bad, so I gave her a chair to sit in:  

Ahhh.
If this doll had snap-on bare feet, the ankles would be articulated, which would be amazing.  If Hasbro made normal feet for these dolls, it would negate all of my bad feelings about the legs.  Snap-on hooves would be fun, too, while we're on the subject.

Anyway, here are the large, clunky boots that are also the doll's feet:

Gene Simmons wants his boots back.
They have painted silver wings all up and down the molded laces:


The dress is very simple and short, but it does have two layers of fabric in the front.


The stitching is minimal, and the bottom edge of the dress isn't hemmed at all.  Unlike the blue dress, this dress opens all of the way down the back, which makes dressing much easier--especially with the huge boot feet.  The velcro only goes about half of the way down the dress, though, so there's often an unsightly slit up the back.


The red peplums lift up to reveal a full underskirt.  I love the light blue pony silhouettes against the rainbow background.


Here is the doll without her clothes:


She has 9 points of articulation, not counting the peg feet.


She has molded, unpainted underwear, including a sleeveless camisole top and textured underpants.  She has a hole in the middle of her back for the insertion of the wings.


The detail in the camisole top is nice.  Rainbow can be undressed without seeming naked.


This doll struggles to do front-to-back splits:



She has good forward movement in her legs, but the cut of her hip joint prevents her legs from moving straight back:



Her knee joints are hinged and also rotate.


The knees don't quite bend to a 90 degree angle, which makes kneeling a real balancing challenge.  Rainbow can kneel if she uses her arms as counterweights:


Rainbow has ball-jointed hips and decent side-to-side hip flexibility:



The elbow and shoulder articulation is also hinged with a full 360 degrees of rotation.


The top of the elbow joint is very straight-cut, which limits the flexibility of that joint.  It also makes it hard to tell where the front and back of the elbow are.



I think the hands on this doll are really nicely shaped.  They're very realistic:


There are a few frustrating limitations in this doll's articulation.  I wish the hinges in her elbows and knees were slightly more flexible, and I wish her hips had a better design.  I probably have these complaints only because she has a lot of great movement, which tends to get me wishing for perfection.   
Overall, there's a good amount of flexibility in this doll, which can lead to some wacky poses...


...and some great poses:



With Rainbow's clothes off, I can show you how the wings attach.  They stay in place better than I would have guessed, but they still fall out every now and then.


I have to admit, the wings seemed like a bit of a gimmick when I was looking at them on their own, but they look really nice on the doll, and it wouldn't be right for a Rainbow Dash character to be wingless.  

I always wish wings like this were bigger--it would be more realistic.  Dolls tend to have tiny butterfly wings, but I think huge eagle or vulture-style wings would be much more appropriate.  Anyway, larger wings would be harder to keep in place, and, as we know from the Winx Club dolls, larger wings can interfere with the movement of the hair and the head.



I thought while this doll's blue skin was fully exposed, it would be a good time to compare her to the My Little Pony Rainbow Dash figure.  I put on the blue boots, too, so that the cutie mark would be showing: 


Here's my little Rainbow Dash pony figure in her packaging:


She has such a bright, cute little face:


Her wavy mane has two rows of rooting and is red, orange, yellow and green.  Her tail is blue and purple.



I like how the doll's regular hair matches the colors in the pony's mane and the doll's longer shank of hair matches the colors in the pony's tail.  The doll's hair is much softer and smoother than the pony's hair.  The pony's hair is wavy and a little scraggly.

Both characters have purple eyes, although the styles are different.  The pony Rainbow doesn't have lightning reflected in her eyes or rainbow lightning under her eyes.  Also, the shape of her eyes is much rounder and more upright.  The two wing styles are different, but the vinyl color is exactly the same in both toys.  Side-by-side like this, the doll makes a lot more sense.  She is very clearly a humanoid version of the Rainbow Dash pony.  I think it's pretty neat:


At 8.5 inches tall (9 with boots) Rainbow Dash is smaller than many of the other popular play dolls.  Here she is (bootless) in a lineup with some of my 12" girls:

Bratzillaz Meygana, Ever After High Apple, Monster High Clawdeen, Rainbow, Barbie Fashionista, Disney Store Rapunzel.
And here she is again with some of my smaller dolls.  I included my Moxie Girlz doll because she is the only other nubbin-footed doll I own:

Only Hearts Club, Lottie Autumn Leaves, Moxie Girlz, Rainbow, Novi Stars Alie, Pinkie Cooper
I tried clothes sharing with some of these dolls, but not all of them.  Pinkie Cooper, Clawdeen and Apple seemed like the mostly likely candidates. 

Pinkie Cooper actually wears Rainbow's red dress fairly well:


And Rainbow can easily slip into Pinkie's Night Out dress, but the color is not very flattering on her:


Rainbow's dresses are ridiculously short on Clawdeen and Apple:


And Rainbow swims in Apple's dress:


She can almost wear Clawdeen's tight black moon dress, but it's a little long through the torso and doesn't close all of the way in back:



The biggest problem with other dolls' clothes is that their style doesn't suit Rainbow Dash at all.  She really needs outfits in bold, bright colors--just like it says on the box.  Here she is in her blue dress and blue boots:



I'll quickly show you how some of the accessories look on Rainbow.  First, here are the earrings:


They slide over the edges of her ears rather than fitting into a hole in the ear.  These earrings don't stay on very well, especially when the dangling part gets caught on her clothes or in her hair.


The backpack fits over Rainbow's arms, but the stiff plastic and small size makes for a very awkward fit:



The wings can be worn with both dresses.  The attachment point sits just above the neckline of each dress:



The hair extension barrette works, but the plastic clip part is bulky and won't lay flat:


I do like how the extra color looks in her hair, though:


Braiding Rainbow's hair is fun because it mixes up the colors in interesting ways.  It also shows off the wings a little better than the loose ponytail.  


I wanted to try two pigtail braids, but Rainbow's thinly rooted hair makes a center part a really bad idea:


I settled for a smaller braid that runs down one side of her head:


I also tried twisting Rainbow's bangs away from her face.  I don't like how they block the design under her left eye.  I would need to wet the bangs to get this style to stay in place better, but you get the general idea:


Equestria Girl Rainbow Dash

This doll's hair is so much fun to play with.  It reminds me of La Dee Da Dots of Style Dee's colorful hair, but I find Rainbow Bright's straight, primary-colored locks more impressive than Dee's pastel curls.



I also think that my two versions of Rainbow Dash make excellent companions.  Even without seeing any of the TV shows or movies, I can imagine some very fun games centering around these two colorful friends...or these two colorful versions of each other.


I wish that the human Rainbow Dash could kneel or sit better so that she could interact with the pony more naturally.


My Little Pony Rainbow Dash

Here's my favorite picture of Rainbow Dash.  I don't think she'd be able to fly very fast in human form with those tiny, delicate wings, but I imagine that she's a super-fast runner:

Equestria Girl Rainbow Dash

Bottom line?  A large part of my reaction to this particular Equestria Girl is based on her hair.  Whether I am combing out the thick bands of color, mixing the colors into braids, or just enjoying the rainbow arc of a simple ponytail, this bright, silky hair is addictively fun.  I mean, a rock with this rainbow hair would be fun to play with.  It doesn't hurt that the hair is attached to a cute, well-articulated doll with fun rainbow clothes and a friendly smile.  If the rooting were thicker in the back of the doll's head, there would be even more styling options, but I am pretty happy with the hair exactly as it is.

It's hard to be objective when a specific doll is dramatically better or worse than I expected it to be.  I did not have high hopes for this line, so in my head, I probably tend towards magnifying the good qualities and underplaying the bad.  I'll be careful to point out what I perceive to be the biggest flaws with this doll.  First of all, her knobby feet are terrible.  I don't understand this design choice, although I suppose Bratz and Moxie Girlz fans are used to it.  Second, several of the accessories are cheaply made and could have been left out in favor of another outfit (or detachable bare feet!).  The wings are fine, but the backpack doesn't fit well and the hair extension clip doesn't look like it will last very long.  The earrings fall off too easily and don't add much to the doll's appearance.  Last, I have some minor complaints about the hair rooting and the elbow and knee articulation: these features are fine, but they're so close to excellent that they make me want more.

This doll is clearly a human version of a My Little Pony character, and the doll and pony are really fun to play with together.  The parallels between the two characters are great.  However, when I look at the doll without the pony, she is not quite as appealing.  I think she tries so hard to be a humanoid Rainbow Dash that she looses some of her independent identity.  She's awkwardly not human enough to be human and doesn't resemble any real animals.  She doesn't need those confusing ears.  I think that the cartoon drawings of the human Rainbow Dash are good and I wish the doll had a bit more of that spunky, unique style.

Doll choice played a role in my positive reaction to this line.  I don't have loyalty to any of the My Little Pony characters, so I could simply pick the doll that I felt has the best hair and the best articulation.  If I were an ardent Celestia fan and wanted to get that particular doll, I'm not sure I would have been as pleased with her stiff, unbendable limbs.  Likewise, if Fluttershy was my favorite pony and I wanted to own that doll, I'm not sure I would have had as much fun with her plain pink hair.  On the other hand, owning the pony figure and/or knowing the stories and personalities behind the characters would probably make it easier to ignore the shortcomings of any given doll.  All things considered, I like Rainbow Dash enough that I would be pretty excited to add another one of these Equestria Girls to my collection...but maybe only if I had the matching My Little Pony to go with her.

Equestria Girl Rainbow Dash

40 comments:

  1. I was glad to see you tackle an Equestria Girls doll in this review. I, too, have fond - if vague - memories of 80's My Little Pony. I'd like to share my reaction to this doll line from the perspective of a Friendship is Magic fan.

    A while back I became a huge fan of the new incarnation of the My Little Pony show, so much so that I began vending at Pony conventions, dressed up as my favorite pony, Applejack. It was an incredibly fresh take on Ponies. The stories were surprisingly smart and funny, following the lives of six independent young-adult ponies as they struggle to balance career, calling, social lives, and family. These were all things that I could relate to. And the pony designs were very simple and cute.

    As a fan of these girls in their pony forms, I felt a strong unease around the Equestria Girls line. It felt as if the franchise was ditching the simple innocence of ponies to chase after some of the Monster High demographic. I love Monster High, but ponies fill a very different space in my heart. Also, the designs looked disturbingly like the pony porn images that I try very hard never to come across (pony porn exists, sadly.) Humanoid ponies are nothing new in the fandom, and in some instances they've become sex symbols, which makes me deeply uncomfortable.

    I think I was most angry about the movie. We pony fans have been waiting for a Friendship is Magic movie for a long time, and now that we get it they're all humanoid and - here's the real problem - in HIGH SCHOOL. One of the things I loved about the show was that it didn't play out the same tired high school drama that so often plagues children's entertainment. Putting the girls in high school seemed like an enormous step backwards.

    As someone who is fascinated by dolls, though, I've had conflicting feelings about the line. I'm always curious about new dolls, especially when they're strange in some way. Some aspects of Equestria Girls seem very cheap to me, like the painted-on tops of and limited articulation of the budget line and the peg-feet. On the other hand, I wonder if my hatred towards the movie tainted my opinion of the dolls before I even saw them. In person, I felt kind of drawn to Rainbow Dash, and that felt oddly like a betrayal.

    I don't know that I'll ever be able to be totally objective about these dolls, but I really appreciate your review. Sigh, maybe - as with Monster High - I just need to get one in my hands and see how I feel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely agree with you Casey! These dolls make me feel very uneasy. I feel like they've kind of tarnished the innocence of my little ponies and are pandering to the pony porn crowd. It disturbs me so much I'm not sure I could be objective.

      But as always this was a great review and I enjoyed reading it! These just aren't for me!

      Delete
    2. OMG. I did not have any idea that there was anything remotely like "pony porn." How awful. I guess this is an example of how being completely uninformed can be a good thing.

      Now, I have to try and get that image out of my head. :(

      Delete
    3. Sorry! I wish I could go back to not knowing about it, myself. It's a very small section of the fanbase that engages in that kind of thing, but MAN! I like ponies precisely because they're sweet and innocent. That's not to say that this doll isn't also sweet and innocent, but it does bring up some strange associations.

      Delete
    4. Hi Casey--thank you for sharing the link! I am so behind in my email, I have been meaning to write back to you. I like your new blog! Having never seen the Disney Frozen dolls (or even heard about the movie...) I was fascinated to read your thoughts. I can't wait to see Anna and Elsa. They look incredible. I agree with you that the quality seems very high. I love it when a reviewer goes out on a limb, and I applaud your declaration that these might be the best play dolls Disney has ever made. I hope you're right!! :)

      Many review blogs are similar--it's the nature of the beast.

      Delete
    5. Hi Emily. Thanks for reading my blog post. I really appreciate it. I'm glad you don't think my blog is too redundant. I was able to get a hold of Anna and Elsa and I like them an awful lot out of the box. They have a ton of appeal and personality! I'll have a review of them, and one of Hans up in a few days. No worries about the email. I'm super behind on my email just now, so I know the feeling. I just wasn't entirely sure that I had the right email for you, so I shared the link here just in case.

      And to MCooper: It was nice to hear your thoughts. It's reassuring to hear that I'm not alone in the vague unease these dolls stir in me. It's a strange sensation, too, because I generally think they're cute. Once again, it all comes down to associations. At least for me. I can see from your avatar that you like American Girl dolls. I loved those books growing up, though I never had a doll. Molly was my girl!

      Delete
    6. Hi Casey--I was filtering messages with "http" links (often spam) and deleted one of your posts by accident. I can't find a way to undo it, so I copied and pasted from another screen. Sorry! :/ Here it is:

      Casey Robin:
      Oh, also, on a very different topic, I've finally started that doll blog I've been wanting to make. I was lucky enough to get my hands on some pre-release Frozen dolls at the Disney D23 Expo, and I thought they'd be the perfect things to start my blog off with.

      I really hope that I'm not stepping on your toes with my doll reviews. My opinions and writing style are fairly similar to yours (which is part of the reason I love your blog so much!) I'd like to add some other features in addition to reviews, like photo stories and custom projects. Everything's still malleable with my blog, if there's anything you'd like me to change.

      http://caseyrobinsdollyanna.blogspot.com/

      Delete
  2. Great review! :) I recently reviewed Fluttershy and the Twilight Sparkle doll that came with a pony version on my blog. They're not my favorite dolls ever, but as a huge fan of My Little Pony, I think I was able to excuse a few flaws. They look really cute on my My Little Pony shelf, too. ;)

    I've never run across any inappropriate My Little Pony stuff online (thankfully), but I'm one of the MLP fans who ended up liking Equestria Girls a lot more than I thought I would. Of course, I prefer the uniqueness of the original show. I also appreciate the fact that with ponies you don't have yet another show starring overly-skinny teenage characters. I was pretty skeptical about the whole Equestria Girls thing when I first heard about it for these very reasons. Why change something awesome?

    While I still prefer the regular MLP series, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. The way they handled things was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The show fit into the storyline of the regular show (there was actually a purpose story-wise for Twilight to experience being a human, and she grew and changed as a result). I mean, it's not the most profound thing out there, but it was enjoyable. I shared many more thoughts on the show on my own blog review of EG, so I won't bore you with more details here. :}

    So, bottom line of my rambly comment? I still prefer regular MLP to Equestria Girls, but I don't loathe it either. ;)

    I didn't think I would want any other EG dolls, but I have to admit that Rainbow Dash's colorful hair is tempting... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Beastsbelle,

      Ooh! I'll have to go check out your reviews on Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle. I like the Fluttershy of the show quite a bit, so it will be interesting to see a review of her doll.

      Admittedly, I haven't seen the movie yet. I'm waiting for the rage to wear off, actually, so I can watch it with a more open mind. Also, the animation didn't quite look theatre-worthy, so I'll be watching it on DVD. Maybe it will help me warm up to this whole humanoid pony thing. We shall see...

      But the peg feet! I just can't get over the peg feet!

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Beastsbelle! Your reviews are fantastic, too! I was excited to see your detailed Fluttershy pictures because she's the other doll I am interested in buying.

      I especially enjoy your post about the movie--I hope you don't mind if I add a link to that post in this review. I am glad I didn't know about all of this controversy as I was writing my review, but now that I have formed some opinions based on the doll alone, I am very interested to learn more about the movie and some of the negative reactions to these dolls. It's fascinating.

      I have to say, though, that even after learning more about the outrage surrounding these characters, they don't seem at all sexy or provocative to me--even with the short dresses. I totally agree with your assessment that there's no real attempt to be realistic (or even human!) with these dolls.

      Delete
    3. Lol...Casey, I'm totally with you on the peg feet. ;) I hope you enjoy the reviews! Fluttershy and Twilight are my two favorites, so it was easy to decide which EG dolls to add to my collection. ;)

      I thought the animation was pretty much the same as you'd find in the regular show, for the most part, so I liked it. I didn't see it on the big screen either, though, so I wouldn't be the best judge. :)

      Emily, I don't mind at all. :) I almost shared a link to my blog but I try not to do that too often. ;)

      I'm glad you enjoyed my review on the movie. It really helped me to process my thoughts. I'm finding that many of the people who have major problems with the movie haven't watched it yet. It's not going to be something that everyone loves, for sure. It's not deep and there are a few convenient plot points, but it's not the horrible thing many people think it is, either. ;)

      Delete
    4. Beastsbelle: I've actually been reading your blog for a while now. I thought your name sounded familiar! I enjoy the perspective you bring to your doll reviews. I'm a Christian, too, though not a mother. You actually remind me a lot of my fabulous godmother, who was a total rockstar mom, homeschooling three rambunctious boys from kindergarten through high school. She's a very strong Christian, too. Actually, she's been looking for some wholesome dolls for her 5 year old granddaughter. I'll have to recommend your blog to her.

      I enjoyed your Twilight and Fluttershy reviews. I especially liked seeing a basic doll next to a deluxe one. I've been curious about how the articulation compares, out of the box. It looks like a basic doll can still have a lot of fun clowning around for the camera.

      Delete
    5. Casey Robin: So glad you've been enjoying the blog. :) It's always fun to meet another sister in Christ, too. :)

      I had a lot of fun doing the photos for Twilight and Fluttershy. I knew that one of the main things I wanted to know as a doll collector was the difference between the basic and deluxe dolls, so I figured there were probably others out there who wanted to know the same thing. ;)

      Oh, and I think Twilight is a little miffed that I portrayed her in such a goofy way. She's much more reserved than that. ;)

      Delete
  3. LOVELY review! The Equestria Girls do indeed have pony ears at one point in the film. Not for very long, but they're there. I figure they reckoned maybe the dolls would sell better with the pony ears, otherwise they are just multi-coloured little girls again.

    I have Fluttershy (also as articulated) and Pinkie Pie who only has joints at the shoulders and hips. Rainbow Dash is on my wishlist and your photos really show how cool that rainbow hair is!

    I have loved MLP since I was a kid (many years back!) and I really enjoy these new girls as a different take on them. Their little faces are so cute!

    One point about the legs. I have discovered that Betty Spaghetti shoes will fit. Not perfectly, but the leg pegs will fit into the Betty Spaghetti shoes and give the girls more casual shoes to wear. They aren't heeled like Bratz footwear, a bit more in keeping with their younger style.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/48784812@N07/9299780959/in/set-72157634618083807
    If you can find these shoes on Evilbay, it's another option for the girls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great tip about the shoes--they look fantastic on your Fluttershy! She's so cute. :D I love the look of the more casual shoes. I had to Google "Betty Spaghetti" because I had never heard of her--she's interesting! Similar to Lalaloopsy in some obscure ways.

      Thank you for helping me understand the ears a bit better. I have been trying to figure out why the "human" characters would have them. I guess I could just as easily have been wondering why the human characters have blue and yellow skin, but for some reason that doesn't bother me! XD

      Delete
    2. No worries! I had been keeping my eyes open for Bratz shoes as a possible alternative to the boots after seeing a review that pointed out the EG's peg feet. Then I spotted the Betty Spaghetti shoes. They are slightly more relaxed footwear for my girls!

      I personally loved the film and I know it's got some stick from fans, but I try not to get too deeply into all that. I am 37 and have loved MLP since I got a Blossom in 1982. I've still got my old ponies, and some newer ones and now the couple of Equestria Girls. I like pink and I like frilly, despite being quite Gothic themed in my other collecting. I didn't get too caught up in the meaning of the film, and enjoyed it for what is was. Rainbows and magic and friendship, things I loved as a kid, and quite frankly have difficult finding in real life, so I use my toys!!

      Rainbow Dash just screams "Eighties" to me and as I appear to be stuck in that era, I think she's going to the top of my wishlist!!

      Delete
    3. Betty Spaghetti, wow what a blast from the past. I used to play with those as a kid (in the 90s). I hadn't thought about them since then. Thanks for reminding me of them Redmermaidwerewolf. :)

      Delete
  4. First SPOILER ALERT...

    Seriously, just scroll for awhile.

    Scroll.













    Almost there.








    The deal with the ears is that near the end of the movie, the girls use the "Magic of Friendship" to defeat the big bad. Just as they do countless times in the pony series. Or, as I put it somewhere. "Now Twilight Sparkle is a Magical Girl for real!" I actually thought it was a great way to tie it into the series that I love so much, and that really brought me back to the My Little Pony collecting I did as a kid.

    As for the series... no. As far as I've read on Equestria Daily and other news sites, there are no plans for series based on Equestria Girls. I believe the page you link to is advertising the airing of the movie on The Hub network, since it was such a limited release - we never got it around my area at all, I had to watch a brony bootlegged version. Which sucked because I had to listen to bronies. Gah.

    As for the dolls. I actually enjoy them. A lot. I found Applejack, which made me squeal, and I've learned that there is an articulated Rarity doll coming, which of course makes me giddy, because that little grey unicorn is my favorite of the bunch and always will be. *hairtoss*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! What would I do without you, AJ? You make me laugh AND you correct my mistakes! Thank you so much. :D And thank you for explaining the ears.

      I love the Rarity figure's coloring (and I adore unicorns). I was actually holding her at TRU, wanting to buy, but wishing she had more joints. That is very good news that there's an articulated Rarity on the way!

      I am also happy to hear some positive thoughts about the movie and the dolls. I have been reeling this past hour as I discover some of the nefarious details about My Little Pony and bronies. The only bronies I know are sweet, sensitive young men and I just assumed that was the norm.

      Delete
    2. :D Happy to help, my friend!

      I don't like to wash all bronies with the same brush, I really don't. Some? Who actually listen when people have concerns about the rampant ableism with in the community (which is one of the chief problems), or other concerns, are very, very nice people. Honestly. I run an MLP comm (and a sister comm for EqG) on LJ and most of the bronies we have there are just as nice as they can be. The problem is that bronies were born out of 4chan, so. You can see what kind of folk I'm talking about. You take the good with the bad and try and find your section of fandom where you feel the most comfortable.

      Stuff about the dolls is fairly mixed. I had to open the EqG sister community to the MLP one after the complaints about the mere existence of EqG got to an ugly stage pretty quick. I figured it was just better to put the two in separate corners and hope for the best. As soon as I heard that EqG was coming, I knew I was going to love it (and I did. I maybe even cried a few times, I thought it was that wonderful) and I couldn't wait for the dolls. I still need to get Rarity, obviously. And as I say, I have a Pretty Pony Princess Problem. I love Celestia, Luna and Cadance, and so seeing, on TRU Canada's site that there's going to be a set that includes a Luna doll made me giddy. I hope that comes to the US!

      Delete
    3. For the record, the vast majority of Bronies I've met are sweet, sensitive young men. On the whole, I love the fandom to pieces. It's just that there are some odd strains and they do sort of taint the humanoid pony thing for me. But most Bronies are wonderful, friendly, generous, and talented. I never meant to make it sound as if the group as a whole was sketchy.

      Delete
    4. I don't know if I'd say "the vast majority" of them are sweet, sensitive young men. Some, yes. Vast majority, no. I've seen stuff on Tumblr that would make your hair curl with how awful they can really be (the aforementioned ableism over the fandom's representational child, death threats to an artist over the fandom's representational child's one speaking appearance on the show, rape jokes/apologism, hate towards transfolk, etc.) But, like I said, I've found my little corner where I like to hang and I love all the people in that corner, and I basically ignore the rest.

      Delete
  5. Ooo, Equestria Girls! I have to admit my first glimpse of them gave me total squeal, and it's been my wallpaper on my comp ever since. (I am a ridiculous pony collector--I even have a lot of the old 80s ones and almost every Gen3 [2003-2009, before they broke out Gen 3.5]). As it is I have all but one of the Equestria Girls, thanks to a sale on Hasbro's shop. Initially there was hope they would be the size of Monster High, but alas no.

    The lack of full joints is a little disappointing (especially in Pinkie Pie) but if they come out with articulated versions of them all, I'll probably make those the primary display ones in my collection. The first one I got was Fluttershy with Rarity, and she's just adorable. But boy do the peg feet bother me--I've never collected any other doll with peg feet and I'm not likely to collect any other ones. I agree with the bare feet because I like to go barefoot. If I was a better sculptor, I'd make them bare feet molds. Oh well.

    My RD actually has black boots instead of red, a purple backpack, and pink earrings/bracelet. There's variations, of all things. But I don't have time to dig up differently colored boots and clips. I'm a collector, but even I have my limits.

    ReplyDelete
  6. the only time i have seen the Equestria Girls with pony ears in the movie commercials is when i think they make paper ones. I don't really know the background to these dolls but i have been tempted to buy one. I'm not sure how i feel about this line, the no feet thing is something i don't want, i loose feet shoe things easily, and i don't want to have a doll with no feet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice review. Cute doll. I like that she does have an innocent look to her face; looks friendly and happy. Not an ounce of sarcasm or attitude.
    Thank you for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hmm i didn't personally like these new dolls, but since Rainbow dash is my fav MLP, i thought i would look and see what your thoughts were on them. Rainbow dash is adorable! in humanoid form..her hair looks amazing and very easy to up keep and maintain. i like that some of these dolls you can get articulated, and i would love to see if they do rarity and other "themes" for these dolls in the future. after reading your review i'm still not so sure how i feel about this new line, i was really bummed that they're really short and they can't fit into other clothes. or even that they don't look right on their coloring..i think some fashion packs for these dolls are needed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I didn't even know about this line until now! I'm not a MLP collector but these dolls do look quite good to me. I love Rainbow Dash's hair, it's hands down her best feature. I could play for hours with that hair. I also really love the cute little wings. But I suppose that's not that strange for such a huge Winx fan ;) I like the style Hasbro went for with these dolls but they have to improve those accessories. I wonder if these can share shoes with Bratz or MG? Anyway, thanks for this review Emily. It's always nice to be introduced to a new doll line :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was really excited to see this review. Somehow I didn't expect you to review the Equestria Girls. I don't know why. I have always loved horses and I must have had a million of the MLP when I was little. I have three of the newest ones now and I was very interested in this doll line when I heard about it.... but I didn't love them when I first saw them. I find their colouring a bit off putting. I looked at them again in the shop today and they are growing on me ..... slowly. I am more tempted to get on ebay and find my original MLPs :)

    I had no idea about the bronies. I did a quick google and educated myself... who knew?!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Another wonderful review!!
    I was wondering if you have seen the Positively Perfect Divah Collection. I just saw them at the store and wondered about their quality and if they can share clothes with AG dolls. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is totally unrelated, but I got my first pinkie cooper doll today!!!!! <3 Soooooo excited!!!!! Okay so about the review... Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! I hate that kind of feet you can't do ANYTHING with them!!!!!!!! I LOVE Rainbow Dash. And finally this review was GREAT and very informative... THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you so much for this review! I'm pining for a Rainbow Dash from this line because she's my favourite pony and I'm a huge Bowie fan and I think she has a totally glam rock vibe going on..

    I wasn't sure about these dolls at first (I also made the unfortunate connection with anthro etc) and if I'm honest I still think they look a bit weird or cheap or something. It's not the alien thing because I love odd looking dolls there's just something off about them I can't put my finger on. BUT the Rainbow Dash has the most amazing hair, clothes and accessories so I have to have one.

    The peg feet won't put me off buying one but I'm pretty glad to be forewarned!!

    P.s I love your blog - I'm a newish reader but I've been lurking until now ;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey! Just wondering if you knew that they have these dolls (as a Dress-Up) on Stardoll? It's actually kind of interesting. You can get the same clothing and wig as on the doll. Well...without the peg feet. I chose Rainbow Dash because well...look up.

    -Sara

    ReplyDelete
  15. the newest EQG Raindow Rock dolls have feet.

    ReplyDelete
  16. i don't know if someone told you this already, but in the movie rainbow dash plays soccer and her and twilight have a soccer contest

    ReplyDelete
  17. also when you said it didn't look like it would tangle i laughed because i have fluttershy and rainbow dash and fluttershy's hair has like a million tangles in it

    ReplyDelete
  18. The doll quality itself has improved by a great amount. The ponytail is much more thicker, the heads now have glue for almost no shedding, and the articulation is slightly improved, comes with feet, but now the breasts are located slightly high and she isn't wearing a tank top anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  19. No tank top? That's what made them original!

    ReplyDelete
  20. the mold of the equestria doll actally looks the same as the counterfit ELSA / ANNA dolls from china

    ReplyDelete
  21. You want a new digital camera for your family this Christmas but how do you decide where to start? At Porter's we get asked this question daily. The variety of cameras available seems overwhelming and the differences between models on the surface appear to be subtle at best. Dual Car Camera

    ReplyDelete