Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Disney's Rapunzel from Tangled: The Series

Over the years, I've chronicled my increasing frustration with the Disney Store and its Classic Princess dolls.  My problem with the company centers primarily around their inability to design functional and durable knee joints.  That was not a huge deal back when the dolls cost $13, but now that the prices have crept up and the limbs have gotten more fragile...I think it's a big deal.  In fact, I was so exasperated with this trend that I decided to stop reviewing Disney Store dolls altogether.  But--as many of you know--I made an exception to that rule when the live action Belle doll was released last spring.  My love for the Belle character inspired me to try and take a fresh-eyed look at the doll.  Sadly, even when I ignored Belle's predictably bad knees, she still disappointed me in other ways.  I figured that review would surely mark my last Disney Store purchase.  Wrong again!

Back in May, during my Bratz Secret Date review, Sév and Dmitry encouraged me to consider the Disney Store's 10.5-inch Tangled:The Series version of Rapunzel.  They told me that this doll has a completely new body, with--wait for it--a new knee joint design.  I've literally been waiting five years to write those words.  Not only that, but it's a Rapunzel doll, and I love Rapunzel even more than I love Belle.  So, I broke my promise to myself one more time and bought another Disney Store doll:

review
The Disney Store's Rapunzel from Tangled: The Series, $19.95.
Before I launch into the review, though, I have a few comments about what I learned over at the Disney Store site when I was purchasing this doll.

First of all, the live action Belle doll is on sale for $14.99.  That's less than half what she originally cost.  She might actually be worth the sale price, if only for her dress.

Second, a customer review of the 2017 Classic Rapunzel doll suggests that her legs don't bend at all.  Other reviewers talk about flat-footed rubbery legs.  I happen to be in New York this week, so I stopped in to the Disney Store to do some research myself.

Pocahontas offers the best evidence that the knees bend...


...and that the feet are flat and rubbery:


I didn't want to buy any of these dolls, though, so I cant be 100% sure about the articulation.

The other fun thing I saw at the Disney Store is this set with Rapunzel and Maximus:


I found it very tempting.  I love Rapunzel's dark purple cape and beaded hairstyle.  I also like Maximus...but would always prefer a highly-articulated plastic horse to go with a plastic doll.  The set is quite expensive, too, at $45.

But let's get back to the basic, frying pan-wielding Rapunzel doll that I'm reviewing today:


She boasts 16 points of articulation, which is fantastic:


The design of the box is very simple, with Rapunzel's name in a basic yellow font and a small decal from the television series:


The back of the box is extremely plain, too, with just a band of text and a small Disney Channel logo:


The sides of the box are covered with colorful cartoons from the show, though.  This provides a neat contrast to the minimal design on the rest of the box:



Rapunzel herself is attached to a simple cardboard backdrop with no cut-outs or extraneous decorations.  


Of course she was attached to the backdrop in at least ten different ways...including two plastic ties in the back of her head.  Here's the backdrop on its own:


The packaging does not have any description of Tangled: The Series.  To learn more, I watched What the Hair?! (which I thought was the first episode) for free on YouTube.  This was actually the second episode, which explains why I was confused throughout most of the story.  After I found and watched the actual first episode (Tangled Before Ever After--a 55 minute mini-movie), I enjoyed the show a lot more.

Many of the main characters are voiced by the same actors as the original Tangled movie (including Mandy Moore as Rapunzel and Zachary Levi as Eugene).  The plots are fun (and often funny) and chronicle the adventures of Rapunzel and Eugene during the time between Mother Gothel's demise and the royal wedding.  I think it was dangerous for Disney to mess with the beloved Tangled story, but they pulled it off pretty well.  It's a nice show.

Pascal the chameleon (or "frog" as Eugene calls him...) plays a big roll in the series, so it's no surprise that he's one of Rapunzel's accessories.  Her other accessory is a frying pan, which makes a great cameo at the end of Tangled Before Ever After:

review


The frying pan was tightly rubber-banded to Rapunzel's left hand, but she can still grab the handle when the rubber band is gone:

Is she left-handed?  I never noticed this.
The rubber band left some deep indentations in Rapunzel's hand, though, making it look claw-like and spooky:



The opposite hand does not have any rubber band marks, but defects in the soft vinyl (and the talon-like angle of the thumb) create their own aesthetic problems:


This doll does not have attractive hands.

While I was inspecting Rapunzel's hands, I also noticed that her dress sleeves are coming apart along the seams:



I've encountered similar stitching defects in Disney Store clothing before.  It's not super-common though, at least in my experience.  Just bad luck.

Pascal is an impressive little figure.  He's tiny (only 1 inch long) but he has some great details--like an open mouth and well-painted features:


His buggy, side-glancing eyes look funny from the front, but they look good from all other angles.




Pascal's right side...


...is painted slightly better than his left:


But the precision on both sides is surprising for a figure of this scale.

Rapunzel has a cartoonish face with huge side-glancing eyes.  She also has 17 inches of yellow-orange hair:


She's clearly identifiable as Rapunzel (who apparently hasn't changed clothes since she lived in Mother Gothel's tower...) but she's also rendered differently than the character from the original Tangled movie:


Here's a reminder of what the Tangled Rapunzel (left) and the Tangled: The Series Rapunzel (right) look like:


This doll bears a good resemblance to the television character, although I'd say that overall the doll's features are less angular and her hair is more orange:


While I'm sharing screenshots, I have to ask: what is up with the Cassandra character?


I mean, I've only seen two episodes so far, but is this really Rapunzel's new best friend?  She's so grouchy and paranoid all of the time.  And she hates Eugene.  It's almost impossible to get a screen shot of her smiling...



...and then when she does smile, it kinda makes my skin crawl:

That's a devious face if I ever saw one.
There's actually a Cassandra doll now (sold in a gift set with another version of Rapunzel).  She's tempting to me.  In the promotional pictures, she looks much more fierce and awesome than the grumpy television character:


In real life, I wasn't quite as impressed with the Cassandra doll.  Her head is very wide:


She has a neat outfit and a great sword, though:


But let's get back to Rapunzel for now.  

Rapunzel does not stand very well on her own.  This is partly because of the substantial weight of her hair, but also because those knee joints buckle quite easily and are hard to position when the legs aren't visible.


With those big feet, it seems like she should be more solid.

Rapunzel's hair comes parted on the right side, with a plastic flower decoration on the left side:



The hair looked a little stringy when it first came out of the packaging, but at least it was not coated in styling product (there's just little bit near the flower decoration):


The hair had quite a few small knots in it, too, and I so had to brush it for quite a while.  This was not a trivial job, and I accumulated an impressive pile of shed hair along the way:


Rapunzel's freshly-bruhsed hair is soft to the touch with a little bit of shine:


The last Disney Store Rapunzel I reviewed was the Classic doll from 2013.  The new Rapunzel's hair is nowhere near as silky and smooth as the 2013 doll's hair.


Now that all of the knots are gone, the hair is much easier to brush.  It takes a while to brush it--don't get me wrong--but it's not an onerous task anymore.  However, the ends are scraggly, and so even immediately after a thorough brushing, the bottom section of hair instantly looks messy again.

review

The hair looks nice from the top, though, and the sheer quantity of hair gives this doll a very authentic Rapunzel quality.


There is absolutely no way that this doll could survive a child's game for more than about ten minutes without the hair tangling up again.  I feel pretty confident about this statement because of how often the hair tangled up on me while I was simply staging pictures.

I quickly gathered the hair into a single braid:


The side part makes the top of the braid a little lopsided (although I'll admit to not putting much care into this particular braid):


And the coarse fibers at the bottom of the hair make it hard to finish the braid elegantly:


It gets harder to balance Rapunzel when the weight of her hair is concentrated at the back of her head like this.  On the plus side, though, it's easier to feel and manipulate the knee joints when the hair is out of the way. 

I managed to get Rapunzel to stand on her own after a few failed attempts:

review

It's a little easier to see her facial features when the hair is out of the way.  I love side-glancing eyes, but these eyes look mismatched to me.  Doesn't the left pupil look bigger?

Anisocoria.
Maybe the whole left iris is larger?  It's hard to tell.  Aside from that issue, the face is adorable.  I love the spray of freckles and the quirked, mischievous smile:


Rapulzel's eyes are both looking in the same direction, which is nice.  She can glance impishly up at the camera with no problem.


I zoomed in on each of Rapunzel's eyes to see if I could figure out why that left pupil looks so big.  Here's the right eye first:


The paint is nice and crisp, with only a few small errors (like the green of the iris spilling over onto the outside edge of the eye).  I like the two-toned detail of the narrow iris.

Now, here's the left eye:


The inside edge of the eye is not as crisp on this side.  Also, the pupil intersects with the dark band of eyelashes on that inner side.  I wonder if the merged areas of black are what make the pupil seem bigger?  It might just be bigger.

Rapunzel has a simple profile that accentuates her enormous eyes.  She has a practically nonexistent forehead that slopes down into an angular, upturned nose:


As much as the Disney Store might be neglecting the articulation on their dolls, they do a really wonderful job with the face molds and face paint.  Not only is this Rapunzel cute and expressive, but many of the new 2017 dolls have lovely, bright faces.

Rapunzel is wearing a one-piece dress with lots of different fabric and trim detailing:


The bodice is the most intricate part of this garment.  It's constructed out of four different coordinating fabrics, with decorative ribbon corset ties and a delicate lace trim:


I like how the striped cap of each sleeve is gathered at each side to create a puffed effect:


The skirt is composed of two layers that are stitched together along the back seam.  Underneath the glitter-laden organza top layer, there's a satiny lilac layer:


The dress opens down the back with a partial velcro seam:


The dress is a fairly typical piece of Disney Store doll clothing.  It's easy to use, colorful, and has lots of great details that are accurate to the character.  There's a small amount of glitter shedding from the skirt, but it's barely noticeable.

It's easier to take the dress off (and put it back on again) if the hands are removed.  They pull out of the arms fairly easily:


This picture was taken a day or two after I de-boxed Rapunzel, and I think the rubber band lines are getting better...although they're still visible:


Here's the dress on its own:


The construction of the dress is fine, aside from the splitting sleeve seams and a few snags in the shiny fabrics.

But this next part is what we've all been waiting for, right?  The new body!

Rapunzel does, indeed, have sixteen points of articulation...if you count the double joints in her knees!

Hallelujah!
Look at those beauties!


From the back, it even looks like she has an extra rotating joint just above each knee...



Could it be true...?


...alas, it's not another joint.  It's just a fixed seam in the plastic:


In addition, Rapunzel has an extra joint in her hourglass-shaped torso:


But let's start from the top and work our way down in the normal way.

Rapunzel's head can spin all of the way around...


...and it can also tip from side to side for a great range of expressive head movements:



Rapunzel's torso and legs are made out of hard plastic, but her arms are vinyl, so they have some bend in them.  I also notice a color difference between the arms and the rest of the body, although this is hard to capture in photographs.  It's not a glaring difference:


She has fairly typical Disney Store doll arm movement, with jointed rotation in her shoulders, elbows and wrists:


Her elbows do not bend to 90 degrees, though, and they have to be oriented correctly in order to even bend this far:


Her wrists have excellent movement...but those hands still look claw-like to me.

Even with all of her joints, Rapunzel is not able to fold her arms in front of her body:


A small tweak in the shape of the elbow joint would make a huge difference in flexibility here.

The torso joint moves mostly from side to side, like this:



But it also has a small amount of front-to-back movement:


Best of all, the torso joint can twist!


I think some of the problems I was having with Rapunzel's balance at the beginning of the review were because her ball-jointed hips have some vertical movement...meaning she can cock her hips like this:


This movement gives her legs different functional lengths.  When the dress was hiding her body, I couldn't tell when the hips were misaligned like this.

When the legs are fully visible, it's easy to make sure that the hips are level and the legs are firmly planted on the ground:


Not surprisingly, the ultra-flexible hips also allow side-to-side splits:


And front-to-back splits:


Sitting flat on the ground is a breeze:


In addition, one leg can turn outwards while the other remains facing front:


Here's a peek at the joint itself:


I've showed you the double-jointed knees already, but I'll show you a little more of what they can do.

My doll's knees are messy-looking, with some plastic shavings hanging off the back of the joint:


There are also some unattractive seams along the back of the leg--the one on the back of the thigh that you can see, above, and another one just above the ankle:


The movement of the knees is hard to fault, though.  They're wonderful Liv-like double joints with a proper knee cap and everything:


These joints are great for kneeling poses (although they don't bend enough to let Rapunzel's calves touch the backs of her thighs):




The knees are pretty awesome (SO much better than anything Disney has come up with before...), but they still lack rotation.  This means that some of the natural-looking poses that Made-to-Move Barbie does with such grace...


Are just not possible for Rapunzel:


Rapunzel does have flexion and rotation in her ankles, which helps a little.


Here are the feet rotated out to the sides:


The feet are funny-looking, though.  They're really big and have simplified, angular toes:


I wonder if some of the seam lines on the bottoms of Rapunzel's feet contribute to her difficulty in balancing on her own?  It might be worth my while to try and sand those down a bit.

The feet may be funny-looking, but they're certainly accurate to the show:



Rapunzel is a fun doll to play with.  Her repertoire of unassisted poses is not as vast as I expected, though, and this is mostly because of the extreme flexibility in her hips and the unusual bulk of her hair.  She's at her best when I can see all of her joints and when her hair is being used as a strategic counterweight for the rest of her body:


In fact, I had the most fun with Rapunzel when she was undressed, and when her hair was loose--acting almost like another appendage.





This doll isn't even designed to look like the character in the original Tangled movie, but I feel like she exudes more of that Rapunzel's personality than any of the Classic Princess dolls ever have.



The copious hair might be impractical for play...but it's excellent for photography!

Toy Box Philosopher

Here's Rapunzel alongside one of my older Classic dolls so that you can see the difference in height:

Classic Rapunzel with Tangled: The Series Rapunzel.
The new Rapunzel is an inch or so shorter than her predecessor.  She's more like the size of a Disney Store Fairies doll, like Periwinkle:

Disney Fairies doll with Tangled: The Series Rapunzel.
Here's the new Rapunzel with my dressed doll from 2013:

Classic Rapunzel (2013) and Tangled: The Series Rapunzel (2017).
In addition to the height difference, these two have dramatically different hair.  The new Rapunzel's yellow-orange hair is coarser, with more of a synthetic feel.  The older doll's wheat-blonde hair is silky and smooth and much less prone to immediate tangles.

The new doll's hair is longer, though, both relative to the doll's height and in terms of absolute length:

Classic Rapunzel (2013) and Tangled: The Series Rapunzel (2017).
I took the older Rapunzel's hair out of its braid so that I could remind myself of the texture and appearance:


She has really lovely hair:


The extreme length and cartoon-like color make the new Rapunzel's hair unique and fun, but it doesn't have anywhere near the natural feel or glossy flow of the older doll's hair.


There was one more comparison that I wanted to make with this Rapunzel, but in order to do that I actually had to buy another doll:

Hasbro's Tangled: The Series doll.
This is Hasbro's version of the Rapunzel from Tangled: The Series.  She costs around $11.  I decided that while I was unboxing this doll for a comparison shot, I might as well do a really fast review!

This Rapunzel has a much more elaborately decorated box than the Disney Store doll.  There's a large graphic of Rapunzel and Pascal on the front:


And several extra photographs showing how the doll's hair styling feature works:


The back of the box has a bright outdoor scene from the television show, with a portrait of Rapunzel along the left side:



There's a short paragraph about the show, translated into several different languages:


The backdrop has a colorful picture of Corona (thank you for the correction, Genya!):


Once again, this doll is tricky to balance.  In this picture she's tipped forward to try and compensate for the weight of her hair:


I manipulated her limbs and managed to get her to stand a little straighter.  The problem is that when she's standing up straight, her eyes look way up to the ceiling!

Looking for lanterns, Raps?
She has long hair, but it's nowhere near as long as the Disney Store Rapunzel's hair.  This hair is also a more traditional yellow-blonde color:


Here she is from the back, with her hair held out of the way:


I had to get a pretty extreme downward shot in order to have Rapunzel look at the camera:


She has a section of hair that's braided tightly around a stiff wire:


The wire is concealed at the bottom with a plastic flower decoration:


This hair is soft and pretty...


...and much easier to manage than the Disney Store Rapunzel's hair.


The rooting is dense, too, with no bald patches:


I quickly braided the hair, leaving the wired braid loose:


This wired section of hair can be wrapped around the braid, which I think looks nice:


This doll's face is quite different from the Disney Store doll's face.  She has upward-glancing forrest green eyes and a wry, toothy smile:


Her features are more angular than the Disney Store Rapunzel's features, so she reminds me a lot of the television character, but I'm not actually sure that she bears a better resemblance to the TV character.  Here's a comparison:


Here she is with the Disney doll:


They're both drawing from different elements of the television show character, I guess.  When I'm watching the animated Rapunzel speak and move, I'm reminded of the Hasbro doll.  When I'm looking at still shots from the television show, I think more of the Disney Store doll.

Rapunzel's molded bodice is painted in two shades of purple with white accents.  The vinyl arms of the doll are molded in purple to make the sleeves of the dress.  The painted areas look nice, with no obvious errors:


The intersection of the bodice and skirt does not look so nice:


This is the same basic design idea as what we saw with Mattel's Enchantimals, but the Enchantimals do it better.

The skirt looks ok where it follows the molded curve of the waistline...


...but the fabric of the skirt is pulled too tightly just below the waist, creating a crease in the drape of the fabric.  The velcro seam in the back of the dress tends to look bulky and crooked, too:


When I tried to loosen the velcro in the back of the skirt--to relax the fabric--the skirt just slipped around and ended up pointing the wrong way most of the time:


The skirt is easy to get on and off, but it's not a precisely-made item of clothing.  Notice how the velcro seam creates a pseudo-pleat down the back:


The fabric of this skirt is cool, though.  It's made out of iridescent purple and pink woven strands:


Under the skirt, Rapunzel's painted bodice continues down to approximate purple underwear:



The back of the underwear even has some molded texture:


Unfortunately the backs of the legs have some staining from the purple skirt:


Rapunzel has hinged, rotating shoulders:


And super-flexible, double-jointed elbows!



Unfortunately, she does not have any rotation in her elbows, nor does she have rotation in her wrists:


This makes many of her poses look robotic and stiff.

She has a small amount of side-to-side mobility in her hips:


And can do full front-to-back splits:


She also has double jointed knees (this is my lucky day!), which allow her to kneel beautifully:



There's no rotation in the knees, but there's some in-and-out rotation at the hips, which helps compensate for this:


Rapunzel still can't sit as elegantly as a Made-to-Move Barbie, though:


Although she can sit on the ground with her legs crossed to varying degrees:



And even though her balance isn't great, she can stand on her own in a relaxed walking pose:


The wired section of hair looks pretty when it's wrapped around the larger braid, but I couldn't find too many other uses for this feature.  I tried to wrap it around Rapunzel's head, which looks ok:



But that's about all I could come up with.

The wired section looks fine when the hair is down...


But I think the hair looks even better when the gimmicky braid is hidden:


This is another cute doll from the Tangled: The Series show.  Her face is quite different from the Disney Store doll's face.  I feel like both are drawing from different elements of the television character's appearance, but I like the Disney face better.  The Hasbro doll has molded clothing and a strange-looking skirt, but her hair and articulation are great.  I bought her as an afterthought, but I enjoy her much more than I thought I would.  Overall, she's a lot easier to manage than the Disney Store doll.

Yay me!
Another discovery from my Times Square wanderings was a fun Hasbro set that includes both Flynn and Rapunzel.  Rapunzel's face and clothing are different here:


For anyone who's curious, I found Rapunzel and Flynn at the temporary Toys R Us store that's currently on the corner of Broadway and 42nd street.  This new location opened in response to customer demand after the wonderful Times Square flagship store closed in 2015.  The smaller store is only expected to remain in place through the holidays.  First FAO Schwarz...now this.  It's the end of an era.

If you'll indulge me one more tangent...I made another interesting discovery at the temporary Toys R Us:

The Journey Girls!
$46.99, though!  Wow.
I though the Journey Girls had been discontinued.  They're completely absent from my Toys R Us store in Maine.  I almost bought one out of nostalgia, but resisted.  I now see that they're still available online, too.  My mistake!

Anyway, after all of that--finally here's the comparison shot I wanted to offer you:

Hasbro and the Disney Store's Tangled: The Series Rapunzel dolls.
The Hasbro doll is 8-inches tall, which is about 2.5 inches shorter than the Disney Store doll.

Hasbro and the Disney Store's Tangled: The Series Rapunzel dolls.
These dolls are both nice options for fans of the television series.  I wish that the larger doll had the same elbow articulation as the smaller doll, and I wish that the smaller doll had a better skirt design.  I wish both dolls could stand up on their own a little better.  The Hasbro doll has wonderful, soft hair that would be a good choice for kids...but it's hard for me to resist the extravagance of the Disney Store doll's super-long hair, no matter how impractical and tangle-prone it is.

Here are a few more pictures of the Disney Store's Rapunzel with her dress back on:


This is what the hair looks like when I haven't brushed it in five minutes:


It still looks fine at the top (a little stringy, maybe), but it's starting to get tangled and clumpy towards the ends.

As long as there's a sturdy brush on hand, though, it's really fun to play with this hair!


Toy Box Philosopher

Rapunzel's limited arm movement makes it hard for her to hold Pascal with both hands:



But she can hold him up with one hand just fine:

Disney Store

The two make an adorable pair:

Toy Box Philosopher

Bottom line?  I've been hoping that the Disney Store dolls would get upgraded knee joints for a long time now.  The unsightly, fragile joints that Disney has been rolling out year after year have become a elephant in the room for me.  I can no longer see past this flaw to enjoy the colorful lineup of beloved characters.  However, with this new Rapunzel doll, Disney has given me a break.  Rapunzel has newly designed knee joints...and they're great.  In fact, the new leg design is very similar to that of the Liv dolls, who set the standard for play doll articulation back in 2012.

But I'd be romanticizing the situation if I tried to pretend that the new knee joints make this Rapunzel a perfect play doll.  In fact, the knee joints themselves fail to live up to the current standard for play doll articulation: Mattel's Made to Move Barbie dolls.  This is mostly because there's no rotation in the knees, and no rotation in the thigh to compensate.

There are some other flaws with this doll, too.  Most notably, her hair is too long and tangle-prone for a play doll.  The coarse, frizzy ends of the hair aren't even ideal for display.  Also, I think the new body mold has underperforming arm articulation and unattractive hands--with claw-like thumbs and an assortment of molding defects.  The last main flaw is that Rapunzel does not balance well on her own.  Her hips have some vertical movement, which is realistic, but allows the legs to become uneven.  Also, even though Rapunzel has large feet, the surfaces of the feet don't root her to the ground very well.  Last, those new knee joints buckle quite easily, making Rapunzel prone to a backwards tumble--especially with the added weight of her hair.  There are a few other small problems with my Rapunzel--like her mismatched pupils and her unraveling dress seams--but these are incidental and to be expected from most play doll lines.

With those issues out of the way, I can admit that I really like this doll.  The bright playfulness in her expression is hard to resist.  She has huge eyes and exaggerated features that manage to remind me not just of the Tangled: The Series character, but of the original Tangled Rapunzel.  In fact, I think this doll conjures the 2010 movie heroine's personality more than any of the Classic Princess versions have.  As for the new body design, it might have some flaws, but overall it's a big leap forward for the Disney Store.  The knees look great and have wonderful movement, and the extra torso joint is very fun.  I also love how this doll's head moves.  Her outstanding neck joint--coupled with those side-glancing eyes--allows for some wonderfully expressive poses.  Even Rapunzel's unruly hair makes me happy.  It requires constant attention, but the bright color and ridiculous length make it special.  Intentionally or not, the hair maintenance required for this doll makes me sympathetic to what life must be like for Rapunzel as she grapples with her extraordinary hair.

Perhaps the biggest endorsement I can offer is that I want this Rapunzel's body to be the new norm for Disney Store dolls...with a different hand and foot mold.  Unfortunately, at this stage, only two Tangled: The Series characters have this body.  The entire 2017 Classic Princess lineup has been cursed with flat-footed rubbery legs.  The whole situation feels like one step forward and two steps back, but maybe--just maybe--Rapunzel's new articulation is the test-run for some great changes on the horizon for the Disney Store dolls.  I hope so.

Toy Box Philosopher

21 comments:

  1. Arendelle? I think you've mixed up your princesses, but it's fine! The second doll is just...not appealing at all, to say the least. Looks like a funny photoshop. And Cassandra reminds me of Duchess from EAH!
    -Genya

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  2. Not only did I not know there was a DS exclusive T:TS Rapunzel, I think this is the first playline doll i've ever seen actually take a kneeling position with one knee on the ground and the other at an angle.

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  3. The Disney one definitely looks better than the Hasbro one. I wish companies would just stop with the molded on, painted on clothing.
    We've been debating Tangled the series at our house. (We've not seen it though) If it was before she got out of the tower - it'd be fairly dull. But if it's after (and as you said it is) Why does she still have the long hair?

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    1. That's the mystery they'll need to solve in the series, her hair grew back after Cassandra brought her to the place where the flower was found(now a monument), where they were chased by magical glowing spikes. Her current hair lost their healing ability and gained invincibility.

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  4. The Toys R Us stores here have clearanced some Journey Girl stuff, but have never gotten rid of them. I like JG, so I'm glad, but the prices! Ouch!

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  5. After all of those photos of the T:tS Rapunzel, I looked at the 2013 doll and immediately said, "Jeez, that older doll's eyes are TINY!" Lol, they just look shrimpy compared to the new doll's GIGANTIC eyes...

    I'm now debating whether or not I want a new Rapunzel. I've got an older one (Pre-2017 Disney Princess Classic; I think I got mine back in 2015) whose hair is--as you mentioned--absolutely gorgeous and wonderful to touch and play with. However, the new one seems so cute and spunky. Maybe there's room for BOTH of them on my shelf?

    Super-petty nitpick: I really DO NOT care for the nameplates and plain backs on the boxes of the 2017 dolls. They just look so plain and boring! I get that the designer was probably going for more of a "modern" and "minimalist" vibe, but I honestly think that they just look like placeholders you'd use for a prototype design. Makes me glad I display my dolls unboxed...

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  6. I saw these Rapunzel dolls in the Disney Stores around here a while back, and never really got into it.
    I'm mostly a Monster High (or any creepy doll) collector, and I left Disney aside when I realized the dolls don't stand out to me that much.
    However, I may re-think the possibility of getting this new Rapunzel, specially after your review.

    Ach, you always make me want the dolls you review!

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    1. Ok, I got the doll in the end, the DS one, and...wow. Is one of those dolls that you hav to "see to believe".
      THE HAIR! That is a Gooliope long hair! In fact, I put Rapunzel's hair next to my Gooliope and were the exact same lenght! I wasn't prepared for this.
      However, my doll came with a hip joint out of place (had to snap it back in its position), and while the hair didn't come as tangles as yours, I have to admit the arms articulations aren't exactly great.

      But the haiiiir!!!

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  7. Lovely review!

    I've been looking towards buying a Rapunzel from this series but the disney store versions haven't appealed as much to me and I can't find a hasbro one I like yet. Hrm.

    oh, and RE: Cassandra - she really is a sweetheart but Eugene/Finn and his antics (as well as his extensive criminal past) have her wary of him. Once we spend more time with her & Rapunzel over the first season you can see why they're friends and more sides of her personality.

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  8. Wow im so happy more dolls are starting to get the double knees! They are taking advice from the great success of the made to move. Monster high needs to doo this too. Actually i have noticed something sad in my stores. The monster high doll once spanned a whole isle but are now in one tiny corner. And the sale bin is full of them. It sadly seems that they are destined to follow ever after high. I have a question for you emily. Are you ever going to review another azone pureneemo doll again? I loved your k on review. Thank you for the great reviews!!

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  9. Journey Dolls are not discontinued. They are just not being sold in the stores that are selling American Girl dolls now. I'm guessing that AG must have had an anti-competition clause that prevents Toys R Us from selling both AG and Journey. However not all Toys R Us stores sell AG. I'm assume that all of the stores that DON'T sell AG are still selling Journey Girls.

    I love these little Rapunzel dolls. I think it's great they have so much articulation - even if it's not as good as Liv doll articulation. I keep looking at the little Rapunzel dolls everytime I go to the store - but I still haven't bought one yet. One of these days I will get one.

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  10. Thanks for the reviews. I do think this doll is cute but there's no way I'd buy a doll with unusual feet unless she comes with shoes. Making playscale shoes is far too much of a hassle. Quirky as her face is I like it better than the older Rapunzel's which seemed derpy to me.

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  11. Those double-jointed elbows look really freaky, though. And the Hasbro doll's face looks squished.

    As for Journey Girls, I actually think their quality has been getting better, and I've managed to get a ton of them on great sales. I would be so upset if Toys R Us went under. I think the Journey Girls have the most beautiful eyes of almost any play doll out there, and whoever designs the line has made some incredible dresses. They're a really great alternative to American Girl, whose falling quality and rising prices have pretty much turned me off to the brand. It'll be interesting to see what your Create-Your-Own doll turns out as.

    While I'm at it, allow me to reiterate that it would be wonderful to see some mini-reviews or just photos of the other dolls in your collection, especially your Karito Kids dolls. I'm just dying to know what else you have.

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  12. Ah, you got her. Thanks for the review!

    Visually I find her more appealing than I thought I would, and the body is a step up, but I'm disappointed to see the many slight lapses in quality and the articulation almost being great but not quite. I wonder what the future of the body will be.

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  13. I hate Cassandra too, she's hoarding Rapunzel for herself. I won't be surprised if it turned out she's Gothel, or at least evil. Also, now might be a good time to look into pureneemo dolls again. They debuted their new super articulated body for the current Ex-Cute girls line(only Lien has been up for preorder), it's back to basic this time around with the girls wearing their clothing brand with default eye & hair color. You can easily preorder them from AmiAmi, HobbySearch or HobbyLink Japan.

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  14. You are right, this Rapunzel is way more Rapunzel-y than the 12" dolls!
    BTW, the wired braid on the Hasbro doll reminded me of a doll I got from my childhood wishlist, it's called Trendy Bendy or Cool Lookz (Barbie). There are three dolls with ridiculously long hair shaped into strands with special stiff fibers. If you like playing with hair, those are a must-have :)

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  15. I saw the hasbro ones at target recently and it was hard to leave the 2 pack behind, I might have to get them soon since the joints are so nice plus I'm a sucker for a good articulated boy doll/figure <3 Your comparisons have helped me make decisions on many toys.

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  16. I don't really find the tangled cartoon dolls appealing, but the DS version does have some really pretty hair! I kinda love that she is actually shorter than the normal classic dolls. And can I just say, thank goodness for new knee joints from DS? I mean, finally!! I could totally get on board with the classic dolls eventually being like this rapunzel doll. It would be kinda cool actually!

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  17. Hello Emily!
    It's me, Meiyin. You might remember me from a few years ago! It's been a while since I read the blog, or since I have been active with dolls lately. I suddenly thought about your blog and I still enjoy reading your reviews a lot. ^^ I like it how detailed you are with the reviews.
    I hope you are doing well,
    kind regards,
    Meiyin

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  18. The Disney Store Rapunzel looks absolutely adorable and so much better than the Hasbro one. I like how long her hair is and the color is nice too. The double-jointed knees are great and I am so happy that more and more dolls are starting to have them. Thank you for the review!

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  19. I feel the same way: the classic dolls just don't capture her, imho

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