Anna and Elsa Knockoff Dolls From China

I have to admit that I am still obsessed with the global Frozen doll shortage, and I spend a certain amount of time every week checking the Disney Store inventory and browsing secondary market sales online.  EBay prices on these dolls have come down a little bit since my last Frozen doll review, but it can still cost $40 for the Disney Store Classic Elsa doll, and closer to $70 for an Anna and Elsa pair.  

While I was browsing eBay a few weeks ago, I noticed a two-doll set of Anna and Elsa selling for $18 with free shipping.  This is actually lower than the original Disney Store retail price for this sister set.  On closer inspection of the dolls, however, I realized that they are not authentic Disney Store dolls, but rather knockoffs selling directly from China.  They did look like reasonable imitations, though, complete with a high level of articulation.  Because I am inexplicably fascinated by cheap knockoffs, and because I noticed that a lot of people seem to be purchasing and bidding on these dolls, I figured it might be a good idea to do a quick review.

Counterfeit Elsa and Anna dolls from China.

I got what I paid for with the free shipping in this auction, because these dolls arrived from China in nothing but a plastic envelope, and the box was completely crushed and mangled:

The box is a copy of a regular Disney Store doll box.  Since I don't have the Disney Store version of this particular set, I will show you a comparison to the Classic Elsa doll's box:

Elsa's box has the Disney Store logo in the upper right hand corner:

The dolls from China have a familiar-looking purple oval with a different name inside of it.  I am not exactly sure what it says, though:

Dongs?

On the bottom front of Elsa's box there's a decorated label that says, "From the movie Disney Frozen."

 The knockoff box has a similarly-decorated area that says only, "from the movie Frozen."

Featuring the hit song, Do You Wanna Have a Lawsuit?

The back of the Disney Store Elsa's box has portrait cartoons of Anna and Elsa:

The back of the imitation box has portraits of the two Disney Store dolls:

On the bottom of the back side of the Disney box, there's a small area for warnings:

Choking hazard.  Small parts.

The translation to English on the knockoff box is actually quite good--except for maybe that last sentence:

Hey kids, have your parents remove the staplers before you play with them!

A few hours after this box arrived in the mail, I found my smallest dog, Monkeypants, chewing on one of Anna's hands.  I guess it fell off the doll and then slipped out of one of the crushed areas of the box.  I really hope it's not toxic.

Looks like kibble.

The dolls had mostly come loose from their wire restraints by the time I opened the box.  I only had to cut the plastic ties in Anna's head and loosen the wire that was holding her feet.

The backdrop of the box is made out of thin cardboard and has a blurry picture of Arendelle:

One of the things that impressed me about this set from what I could see in the auction photos was Elsa's fancy, glitter-decorated train.  Both my J.C. Penney Elsa doll and my Disney Store Singing Elsa have very plain trains, and so I was excited to get a more elaborate version of the famous ice dress.  

Unfortunately, while the train is nicely decorated, the dress as a whole is pretty bad.

The first strange thing I noticed about Elsa's outfit was her shoes.  They're bright green and have nothing in common with the rest of her outfit.  They also don't fit her very well--you'll notice that her toes don't make it all of the way down to the ends of the shoes:

A new import from Weselton?

These are copies of Barbie Fashionista shoes.  I don't have any doll shoes exactly like these to show you, but I know I've seen them before.  They're made out of a shiny soft plastic and feel a little sticky.

I guess neon green is the new blue.

Elsa's braid was tied to her neck with a clear rubber band:

She has a very nicely painted face and smooth, shiny hair:

The dress is a bit of a disaster.  It has many of the right components--a silky skirt (no slit, though), a glittery tulle train, and a princess-seamed bodice, but the construction is terrible.

The bodice, in particular, looks hastily made and very sloppy.  The two front seams are uneven and don't define the shape of the doll's chest at all.  It's more like a princess-seamed sack:

The neckline has an exposed raw edge that sticks up with a crooked row of stitching underneath.  The back of the dress closes with a strip of unattractive, stiff dark velcro that sticks out around the edges of the dress.

The train is attached to the dress under the doll's arms, and again, it is simply sewn on with a single row of stitches that leave the raw edge sticking up:

The dress doesn't fit very well and so the neckline gapes open:

Here is the new Elsa next to my J.C. Penney Elsa and my Musical Magic Elsa by Mattel.  I think even Musical Magic Elsa's collared half-dress is better than the knockoff dress:

JC Penney Elsa, knockoff Elsa, Mattel Elsa.

I will only compare this new Elsa doll to my J.C. Penney doll since the Mattel doll is quite different.

Standing next to the lovely J.C. Penney doll, the knockoff Elsa's dress looks even frumpier:

The contrast between the two bodices is striking.  I just watched the movie (again) and was reminded of how super-slinky and dramatic this dress is supposed to be.  Looking at this knockoff doll, I get an image of the ice castle scene, but with Elsa singing her heart out while shuffling around in a stiff sack dress.  It kind of ruins the moment.

The J.C. Penney Elsa doll has the same face as the Disney Store's Classic Elsa doll, and the knockoff doll seems to have basically this same face:

*For all of these comparison pictures, the J.C. Penney doll will be on the left and the knockoff doll on the right.

The head molds are not exactly the same.  There are tiny differences in the length of the face, the bulge of the eyes, and the shape of the forehead.  The knockoff Elsa has a flatter forehead, a longer mouth area, and flat eyes:

The eye paint is copied pretty accurately in the knockoff doll, but there isn't as much shine in the eyes and the purple eyeshadow does not have a pearlescent shimmer:

The dolls have the same smile, but slightly different shades of lip color.  They also both have blue glitter all over their faces:

I didn't notice this until I was looking at close-up pictures, but the knockoff Elsa has a funny texture in the vinyl of her head.  If you look closely, you can see tiny clear dots all over her face.  I changed the contrast in this next picture to make it even more obvious.  I have no idea what this doll is made out of, but frankly it scares me a little:

Those are not freckles.

Next, here is the knockoff Anna doll right out of the box:

She is wearing a one-piece dress, and a pink hat and cape.

The hat is plastic tied into the doll's head, but it also has a gold elastic band that fits under her chin.  The cape closes in front with a small square of white velcro.  The construction of the hat and cape is simple, and many of the edges are unfinished, but the hat does have a small folded brim and the cape has a shorter shawl section and an upright collar:

Anna's dress fits her better than Elsa's dress, but it still has some big problem areas.

The bodice's princess seams actually improve the fit of the dress in this case, and the black shiny fabric is decorated with some nice green scrolls:

I think maybe the bodice was supposed to intersect with the skirt in a midline point, but my doll's dress has the blunted point sticking off to one side, making the whole waistline look crooked.  The blue skirt is gathered at the waist and the pleats are unevenly spaced, adding to the overall confusion in this area.

Anna is wearing black plastic boots that don't fit all of the way onto her feet.  Her heels are sticking up at the bottom of the slit in back, which makes it impossible for her to stand up straight, and also keeps the back seam of the boots gaping open:

I wonder if Wandering Oaken's accepts returns?

The boots have molded scrolls decorating them, but the scrolls are not painted.  The boots have rough seams on the bottom that make them unable to stand upright without support. 

Here is the knockoff Anna with my Mattel Anna and my Disney Store Classic Anna:

Mattel Anna, knockoff Anna, Disney Store Anna.

I almost don't want to admit this, but of the three dolls, I actually like the knockoff Anna's face paint the best.

Once again, I will only compare the imitation Anna to my Disney Store doll, since these two have the most in common.  The Disney Store Anna came with mittens, too, but they're not shown here.

Disney Store Anna, knockoff Anna.

The two capes and hats are constructed in almost the same way, but the Disney doll's garments are made out of thicker, nicer fabrics and have better details.  For example, Disney Anna has a purple fur brim on her hat and her cape closes in front with a hook and eye rather than velcro.  This is a functionally relevant detail because the velcro on the knockoff doll's cape was constantly getting stuck in her hair and messing it up.  The hook closure is much, much nicer and easier to use.

Disney Anna's cape is also more velvety in texture and richer in color.

The dresses are not as similar as the capes, but it's clear that my eBay doll's dress was copied directly from the Disney Store doll:

Disney Store Anna, knockoff Anna.

The Disney Store Anna has a silky blue collared blouse underneath her black vest, although this shirt is attached to the vest and is not complete--it stops about half way down her chest. The vest has a scalloped neckline and colorful decorations.  

The knockoff doll only has sleeves in the light blue color.  The black bodice of her dress has a plain crew-style neckline with the scalloped pattern of the Disney dress reflected in a faint glitter outline.

The print at the bottom of the two dresses is the same except for minor differences in color and size:

The boots are exactly the same shape, but the Disney Store boots have gold painted decorations and painted heels.  Neither of these boots fit well on either of the dolls.  I have yet to be able to get either dolls' feet completely shoved into a boot.

As with the Elsa dolls, these two have almost identical head molds and very similar face paint.  The knockoff doll's head is made out of a much yellower vinyl that I don't find very natural or attractive.

Here I folded the Disney Store doll's collared shirt down so that her neck is visible:

The knockoff doll has a slightly smaller mouth and chin region, flat eyes and a flatter forehead.  The imitation doll also has pierced ears, although I can't remember if Anna ever wears earrings in the movie. I'd better watch it again.

All of the same colors are used in the face paint, but the eBay doll has a slightly brighter palette.  Her irises are a lighter teal with chartreuse details.

The mouths are very similar, but it seems to me that the Disney Store doll has a more lopsided grin.  As I mentioned, I think I prefer the overall look of the knockoff doll's face, but I do like the Disney Store Anna's mouth the best.

I was very happy to take the low quality clothes off of these dolls so that I could examine their body styles.  I assumed that they would have some kind of generic articulated body or a copy of the Disney Store doll body.  This is what I found on the Elsa doll:

She seems to have a hard plastic Barbie Fashionista body, complete with its twelve points of articulation:

Barbie Midge (she has a Fashionista body), knockoff Elsa.

The torso joint was a surprise, but not necessarily a good one.  I can't see what kind of attachment this joint has, but it's very loose and wobbly.  It's hard to get the doll to stand up straight.

There's a funny mark on Elsa's lower back, just below the torso joint:

The hands are made out of a slightly different material.  They are shiny and bendable and very poorly molded.  These are not Barbie hands, from what I can tell, but probably Disney Store doll hands:

Here's a Disney Store hand for comparison:

Unlike the Disney Store doll hands, though, this Elsa's hands do not bend at the wrist.

Elsa's legs are not Barbie legs.  She has non-rotating hinge joints at her knees, and her lower legs are larger than a Barbie doll's legs:

Her lower legs look like boots.

At first I assumed that these legs were copied from the Disney Store dolls that have hinged knees, but the shape of the legs is very different:

Disney doll hinged knee (L), knockoff Elsa's knee (R).

Elsa's hips are attached with what look like small bands of soft vinyl.  The joints are quite weak and the doll cannot hold poses well.  She collapses in the hips very easily.

So, Elsa's body is a strange Barbie and Disney Store chimera, with hinged legs added in from a source that I cannot identify.

Barbie Midge, knockoff Elsa, Disney Store Anna.

The biggest surprise with this set was that Anna does not have the same body as Elsa.  She also has a Barbie Fashionista torso and arms, but the similarities with Barbie don't stop there:

These two also have the same hand mold, but Barbie's wrist joint is much thicker and stronger.

Barbie hand, Anna's hand.

Anna's wrist joint is very thin and seems fragile.  The hands also fall out easily...much to my little dog's delight.

Anna's torso is not as loose as Elsa's and actually holds its position pretty well.  She does not have any markings on her back.

Knockoff Anna has rotating hinged knee joints that are very different from the clunkier hinges on the Elsa doll.

These legs are almost exactly the same as Barbie Fashionista legs, but the lower leg pieces on the knockoff doll are made out of a solid, bendable material and they don't match the color of the upper legs:

Knockoff Anna's legs.

Anna's hip joints have a hard plastic t-shaped connector, not the wobbly vinyl bands that the Elsa doll has.  These hips hold positions better.

Here are the Anna and Elsa dolls together:

With their different hands:

And different legs:

They both pose pretty well, but Elsa's loose joints and unbendable wrists make her the inferior doll:

These dolls are not as fun to pose as they should be.  Elsa was especially frustrating to handle.

I wrestled both dolls back into their clothes for a few more pictures.  The frayed edges of the cheap fabrics made re-dressing difficult--particularly on Elsa, whose hands can't be removed.

Once they were dressed, I took both dolls' hair down to get a quick peek at the rooting pattern.  Elsa's hair is scraggly and thin, but has a fairly nice texture.  It is shiny, smooth and easy to brush.    

However, the rooting on this doll was a huge disappointment.  As nice as she looks from the front, she has no hair whatsoever on the back of her head:

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know!

Well...now they know.

This rooting pattern (if you want to call it that) makes it tricky to re-braid the hair without leaving large gaps of scalp exposed:

Anna's hair texture is worse.  It is coarser and doesn't feel as nice.  It also shed quite a lot when I tried to brush it out.  However, at least she has a back part that gives her a bit more rooted hair:

There are still big areas on her head that are completely bare:

I finally got both dolls' hair back into decent braids and was able to take a few more pictures of them:

Bottom line?  Since the Disney Store can't seem to re-stock their dolls at the moment, part of me feels glad that at least someone is stepping up to offer an affordable solution.  However, these feelings are overwhelmed by how dishonorable I think it is to copy other doll lines this blatantly.  Both dolls have head molds that are virtually identical to the Disney Store doll heads, and both have bodies copied to varying degrees from articulated Barbie dolls.  

Although the shapes of these dolls' bodies are almost exactly the same as a Barbie body, critical elements of construction were not copied carefully enough to produce a doll with what I would consider good articulation.  Many of the joints are loose and fragile and the dolls are not as fun to pose as their Barbie equivalents.  Elsa, in particular, is disappointing with her floppy hips, tippy torso and unbendable wrists.  Anna is a little better, but her hands fall out very easily and her wrists seem too thin.

These dolls' worst features are their sparsely rooted hair and their poorly made clothes.  It's no fun at all to style their hair and the clothes are shapeless and cheaply made.  It might be possible for a knowledgeable seamstress to tweak the clothes and make them better, but the fabrics don't seem nice enough to make this worthwhile.  Once again, Elsa rates a little worse in these categories since the bodice of her dress is just awful and her single braid hairstyle doesn't necessitate as much rooting as Anna's pigtails.  I must say that I do like the glittery pattern in her dress train, though.

The best thing about each doll is her face.  Goodness knows what the heads are made out of, but the Disney faces are copied so effectively that the result is cute, attractive, and very reminiscent of the movie.  Anna, in particular, seems even sweeter to me than her Disney Store counterpart.  The imitation Elsa's eyes are bright and clear and less wonky than my Disney Store Elsa doll.  From a distance, and at some angles, I have a hard time telling these dolls from the Disney Store dolls...a reaction that I am sure the manufacturers were expecting.  

I am very glad I didn't pay more than $20 for this pair.  I bought them mostly because my silly curiosity got the best of me.  Even with their cute faces, I cannot in good conscience recommend these dolls to anyone, especially not young children.