Tuesday, September 2, 2014

2013 and 2014 "Ariel" and "Merida" from the Disney Store--A Joint Review!

The Disney Store tends to release their new versions of the Classic Princess dolls every summer, and I have been slow this year in taking a look at the new lineup.  I assumed that Anna and Elsa would be generously re-stocked (and perhaps re-designed) as part of this summer release, but I am amazed to see that the Frozen dolls are still only fleetingly and unpredictably available online.

All of the other Princesses are readily available, and there are even some new deluxe sets that look appealing.  I have plans to review the Rapunzel Deluxe Talking Doll set that I bought, but today I am going to look at two of the redheaded Classic Princesses--Ariel and Merida.

I am always curious to see what differences there are in the Disney Store dolls from one year to the next.  Some years the releases are very similar to their predecessors, but other years bring big changes--like new face molds, or (as in 2012) completely re-designed legs.  Last summer I chose Rapunzel and Mother Gothel to review, so I don't have the 2013 Ariel and Merida dolls here for a direct comparison.  Fortunately, my friend Morgan (who you met in the first Fusion post) has both of these dolls and agreed to help me write up this review.  Morgan will show you the 2013 Ariel and Merida, I will show you the 2014 dolls, and then Morgan will end the review with a side-by-side comparison.

2014 Ariel Disney Store
2014 Classic Ariel from the Disney Store.
Here's Morgan to start things off!

2013 Ariel and Merida

Hi guys! I am so excited to do my SECOND (ohmygosh!) guest review for Emily, and even more excited to be doing it as a joint review with her!! I am sorry for any lighting problems, I was using a sheet draped over the couch as my background. :) 

So, without further ado, here are the 2013 Merida and Ariel dolls, in all of their glory: 

Merida (left) and Ariel (right).
Let's start with Ariel: 


Ariel has deep blue eyes with a very thin line of periwinkle shading underneath her pupil. She has thick, medium brown eyebrows, and thick, dark grey lashes. She has a thin line of silver shimmer above her eye, followed by some very light pink eyeshadow. Her cheeks are very rosy, and her lips are a beautiful bright pink. She also has a very flat forehead and a ski jump nose. 



She has beautiful red hair, with her classic wavy style.


Her top is a purple seashell bra, and her tail is green-teal with scales outlined in glitter.  She has a seafoam green tulle fin, and a matching tulle ruffle at the top of the tail. 



She has eleven points of articulation, counting her click knees.  This is the best way I thought of to display her articulation:



(Her body is just like 2013 Rapunzel's).

Now, on to Merida! 


Merida has a very perky, alert face. She has light blue eyes with a cobalt blue outline, and lime green lines running through them. She has a dark lash line, and many thin, drawn eyelashes.  Her eyebrows are detailed and she has random and realistic freckles.  Her lips are a shiny coral color that go with her rosy complexion. 



She has the same articulation as Ariel... 



...but her click knees are broken. 


Her hair is a beautiful orangey-red, and was very curly when I got her, but has lost some of its oomph over time. 


Her dress is a floor-length, deep greenish-teal with tons of glitter all over (even after around six months of having her, the glitter is still all over everywhere she goes!).  The bodice is cut slim, but the skirt is very roomy, quite like a circle skirt. The neckline of the dress is edged in sheer golden ruffles, made out of the same fabric as the mid-arm accents on the sleeves. She also has a small v-neck covered with a lighter opaque gold material. All of the edges are seamed. 


She comes wearing medium brown flats.

  
I love these girls! they are so cool! I don't, however, enjoy the over-use of glitter. I mean, come on! They are already decked out in overly feminine dresses (or bras) why all of the glitter???

2014 Ariel and Merida

I reviewed the first edition Disney Store Merida back in 2012, and so I was quite interested to see how this character has changed in the last few years.  The first edition Disney Store Princesses are often fancier than the subsequent releases, so I wasn't surprised to see that neither Morgan's 2013 girl nor my 2014 doll have a cape, a bow, arrows, a quiver, or the same level of detail on their dress.

The box design has also changed slightly.  The box still has a plastic cover and a cardboard back, but the size of the box is smaller, the construction is different, and there's a picture of the doll on the back--not a picture of the movie character from Brave.



I opened up the bottom of the box and thought I might be able to slide the doll out...


But the back of the box is actually made out of a single piece of cardboard that folds at the top.  The inner side of this cardboard holds the attachments to the doll, and the outer flap has the back-of-box decorations:


With that back flap open, it was pretty easy to detach the plastic front of the box and also access the wire ties and threads that held the doll in place.  

The only thing that was hard to remove was a single large wire tie around Merida's waist.  This was looped through her dress, and so the dress has to be unfastened in order to pull the tie out:


I could tell right away that this doll has rubbery legs with internal knee joints.  Bummer.  I don't like this style of joint very much because the flexibility is limited, the dolls can't stand on their own, and I don't think the internal plastic joints are very sturdy.  Not only did Morgan's Merida have two broken knees, but last year my Rapunzel's knee broke during a very low-stress photo session.  There are so many nice knee joint designs out there--why, oh why doesn't Disney try one of them out?? 

Anyway, I had to use a doll stand for Merida because of her wobbly legs, but that only caused some mild annoyance.  How could I possibly stay irritated with this cheerful, quirky face?


Well, actually, I got irritated again pretty quickly, because this is what Merida's glorious red curls look like from the back:

Mega rat's nest.
I remember that my first Merida had a patch of hair in the back without much curl, but it wasn't this bad.  The hair on the back of this Merida's head is matted, tangled and not curly.  I can't think of a good reason why they'd skimp so tragically on such a small section of hair.

Why not just have the same curls all of the way around?
Furthermore, there are several visible bald patches at the top of her head:


The hair is also quite flat in profile, but this is just from being in the box:


I used my fingers to try and comb out Merida's messy hair.  This is what it looks like with some of the tangles worked out:


And this is as nice as I could get the hair to look by using the good curls to cover up the messy area:

I need to cut that horrid bottom part off.
Merida's dress is packed with white tissue paper...


...lots of white tissue paper!

Goodness!  Where did all of that come from?
Here's Merida with all of her packaging removed:


2014 Merida Disney Store

I pulled back Merida's hair so that I could get a better look at her face:


She looks very similar to my first edition Merida, with the same large ears, uneven eyes and lopsided grin:


I don't have the first Merida anymore, but I still have all of my photos.  Here's an old photo of the first edition Merida (left) next to the 2014 Merida (right): 

Disney-Merida-Doll-Face

The angle of these photographs is different, as is the lighting, but you can see that the dolls' features are almost identical--even the detailed way that the eyes are painted.  It looks like the original Merida has pinker lips and less facial blushing.

Merida's eyes are very wide-set, and so it's easier to see their detail in partial profile:


My doll has a small blue paint smudge under her left eye, but it's not too noticeable.




I like how this doll's crooked smile creates different expressions on either side of her face.  From the right she looks really happy, and from the left she looks more serious and thoughtful:


Merida's dress is quite similar to the first edition doll's dress, but it is missing the detail in the right sleeve's cuff, the skirt is not as full, and it has a glittery Celtic pattern along the hem:






I bent my Merida's legs so that she could sit in a chair, and her right leg snapped.  The very first time I bent it.  After my experience with Rapunzel last year, I was being pretty careful, too.


You can see the unusual bump under her right knee--that's the broken part.


As if that wasn't bad enough, Merida's left (unbroken) leg doesn't move properly.  It can click into the most flexed position, but won't stay there--it pops right back.  This decreases the already limited flexibility of the joint:


Maybe this next picture will show the problem a little better: below I have 2011 Belle posed (on the left) with one of her knees bent as far as it will go.  On the right, Merida is trying to do the same thing...but can't.

Belle (left) with "fully" bent knee, Merida (right) with bum knee.
Merida's shoes were strapped to her feet with clear rubber bands.  These left behind some indentations in the soft feet:


I was disappointed to see that this doll comes with plain brown slippers, rather than the neat boots that accompanied the first edition Merida.

Bo-ring.
With two broken-legged Disney Store dolls in a row, I decided to take a closer look at what was going on.  Warning: some grisly doll anatomy pictures are coming...

I slit Merida's right leg up the back seam so that I could peek at the armature (legature?):


Under the vinyl, there's a white plastic "skeleton" with a ratcheting joint at the knee.  My Merida's leg snapped just below the knee joint, as you can see here:

Displaced oblique fracture.

I tried to fix this break with super glue, but the glue would not adhere the two sides of the leg...even after about 20 minutes of holding it very carefully in the right position.  Grumble.

For curiosity's sake, I stripped the vinyl completely off Merida's non-broken leg so that I could get a nice clear look at it.

2014 Merida Disney Store
It's a spider-robot leg!
The plastic is pretty thin in spots, and I am not very surprised that it broke.

No wonder they break!
2014 Merida Disney Store

The knee joint actually clicks through eleven different positions, but the vinyl restricts this movement to only four positions in the completed doll.





Here's a nice look at the rotating t-shaped hip joint while we're at it:


The plastic skeleton has several spikes and ridges that help it anchor the vinyl.


  The spikes just above Merida's knee, here:


...explain why several of my Disney Store dolls have little holes in their legs just above the knee:

It's just the skeleton poking through. That's normal...right? 
As much as I adore this doll's spunky, lively face and flame-red curls, I am disappointed by the quality issues with her hair and articulation.  I simply can't understand the rationale for the tangled hunk of hair that hangs lifelessly down the back of this doll's head.  Worse than that, though, a doll that irreparably breaks within an hour of coming out of the box is simply not okay.

Merida looks wonderful in pictures (from the waist up...), but she would need a new body before she could be used as a doll again.


2014 Merida Disney Store

2014 Merida Disney Store

2014 Merida Disney Store

With a fair amount of apprehension left over from my experience with Merida, I opened Ariel's box.  


I really like the large portraits on the backs of these boxes--the dolls look great:


I also like that the picture on the back of the box isn't misleading.  The real Ariel looks just as nice as the picture...if not better:


I think this doll has a perfect Ariel face.  She looks just like the character from The Little Mermaid, and her bright blue side-glancing eyes give her great personality:

2014 Ariel Disney Store


Ariel's hair is an even more vibrant red than Merida's.  She has scarlet-red hair that falls in loose curls to just below her waist:


This hair feels soft and is very easy to brush and style.  Ariel does have a fair amount of styling gel in one area--to create the signature flip of hair that falls across the left side of her face--but the area is small and the gel can be brushed out pretty easily.

2014 Ariel Disney Store

This doll has a much more animated face than my older Ariel dolls.  She has large, side-glancing blue eyes and an open-mouthed smile:


Ariel has a thin line of silver eyeshadow with a thicker band of pink above it.  I like how the pink shade around her eyes matches her lips:


Both my 2014 Ariel and my 2014 Merida have nice color in their cheeks:


Ariel's irises are bright blue with teal rims.  She has four dark, thick, flirty eyelashes over each eye:


Unlike Merida, Ariel's expression is pretty much the same on both sides of her face:


Ariel is wearing a glittery lilac tube top with thick clear shoulders straps.


The top closes in back with velcro and has a slightly awkward bow-shaped decoration across the front:


The fish tail bottom is made out of a green fabric that has shimmering metallic threads knitted into it. This gives the tail a sparkly look without having a glitter-shedding problem.


The fins at the bottom of the tail are made out of tulle:


Needless to say, I was very, very careful while bending Ariel's legs.  I didn't break her, and I discovered that she is able to sit in a chair while wearing her fish tail:


The tail has an elastic waist and is easy to get off.  

Here's Ariel sitting without her tail--you can see that even with legs that function correctly, these dolls can't strike the best sitting position:


My Ariel had white powder all over her legs:


I'm thinking (hoping?) that this was just talcum powder, perhaps to help slide the tail on and off the rubbery legs.


The tail is lined with a sage green fabric...and there's quite a bit of power stuck to that, too:


I have two other Ariel dolls for comparison--one of them is the bride doll that was released in 2011 (she also has rubbery legs).  Look at how much more lively and colorful the new Ariel's face is!


The other Ariel I have is still in her box.  She came in the big gift box of Princesses that was released in 2011 (the year before the hinged knees were introduced).  I bought this set for $50, thinking that the switch to hinged knees would be permanent, and it might be nice to have a full set of rubbery-legged dolls before they disappeared.  I guess I needn't have worried about that.

We'll be baaack!
This Ariel also has a relatively blank face, but I like her outfit better. 



She has a similar top to the 2014 doll, but it has a satin purple bandeau with the same glittery purple decoration.


I like her tail a lot more--it has a fish scale print like the 2013 Ariel and no frilly waist band:


Here are a few more pictures of the 2014 Ariel:



2014 Ariel Disney Store


2014 Ariel Disney Store

I really like this version of Ariel, and am relieved that her knees didn't break.  I haven't bought a new Ariel doll in several years, and I am delighted by the changes that Disney has made to the face.  This Ariel's large, side-glancing eyes and high color make my 2011 Ariel dolls look blank in comparison. The only thing I don't love about this doll (aside from the style of her knee joints...) is her fish tail.  It's not bad, and it was easier to get on and off than I anticipated, but I prefer the older fish scale fabric tails of the 2011 and 2013 dolls.

After I got a good look at Merida and Ariel, I shipped them off to Morgan so that she could examine all four dolls in person.  I actually sent Morgan a new Merida, since mine's body had been donated to doll science. 

So...I'll turn the review back over to Morgan for a bit, and then pop back at the end to give you my final thoughts.



2013 and 2014 Comparison

Emily was nice enough to send me her 2014 Ariel and Merida dolls to compare to my 2013 dolls! Thank you so much Emily!!


Once again, let's start with Ariel 


The Ariels have similar faces, with the 2014 Ariel having slightly darker face paint. The dolls have the same face mold. They also have very similar hair that is almost identical.

2013 Ariel (left) and 2014 Ariel (right).
They both have the same bra, but 2014 has an extra seashell cutout (it looks like bow-tie pasta...) on top of it. 

2013 Ariel, 2014 Ariel

Their tails are extremely different.  The only thing that is the same are the tulle fins at the bottom. With the ruffles at the top going in different directions (down for 2013, up for 2014) The colors are brighter and greener on the 2014, and the fabrics are different (2014's feeling to me like a soft scrub brush). 

2013 Ariel, 2014 Ariel.
The 2013 and 2014 dolls have the same bodies


Next, here are the Meridas: 


The two Meridas look a little different to me, which might just be because the 2014 doll has side-glancing eyes while the 2013 doll's eyes face front. I think it's the same face mold, but I'm not positive. Also, 2014 seems to have slightly lighter face-paint (is this just me?). 


Their hair is, again, very similar, but the newer doll's curls are tighter:

2013 Merida, 2014 Merida.
The main difference in their outfits is the material.  The 2014 Merida has a silky fabric dress with a golden, glittery celtic knot around the bottom, while the 2013 doll has a full glitter dress. They also have the same shoes. 


To me, the 2014 dolls look more mature--like the 2013 dolls 5 years later. Does anyone else get that vibe? Thanks for reading! 


***

Thank you so much to Morgan for all of her help with this review!  I liked seeing the differences between last year's dolls and the new ones.  A few things stand out to me after reading Morgan's part of the review.  First of all, my 2014 Merida does not have side-glancing eyes, but her 2014 Merida clearly does!  I find that quite interesting.  I am a softie for side-glancing eyes myself, but I know some people don't like them, so it's noteworthy that the eyes have this degree of variation.  I also notice in the comparison picture of Merida's hair (just above) that Morgan's 2014 Merida appears to have decent curls while the 2013 doll's hair looks like what I saw on my doll.  Perhaps it's possible to avoid the dreaded lifeless shank of hair?  I haven't managed to.  The other thing to reiterate, of course, is that of the five dolls featured in this review, two of them ended up with at least one broken leg.

Merida and Ariel both have great faces.  There don't seem to have been any shortcuts taken with Merida's facial screening over the past three years: she has the same detailed opal eyes, feathered eyebrows, and natural freckles that she had when she first came out.  In fact, the newer Merida looks to me like she has rosier cheeks than the first edition.  Ariel's new face mold (introduced in 2013) is wonderful.  I think it's much better than my 2011 dolls' faces, and also an improvement on the 2012 face (not shown in this review).  I adore this character's lively new expression and heightened color.

The clothes are a mixed bag.  There are no major differences in the outfits, but I'm with Morgan about the over-use of glitter, and so I like Merida's 2014 dress better than the glitter-laden 2013 outfit.  With Ariel it's the opposite--I slightly prefer the 2013 Ariel's simpler (pasta-free) top, and I significantly prefer the older doll's fish scale tail.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again: I have no idea why Disney sticks with these flimsy click-kneed legs.  There are a lot of great knee options out there.  The company clearly recognized a problem back in 2012 when they re-designed the knees, but it seems that when the new design didn't work out, they gave up.  Personally, I am getting to the point where I'd rather buy bow-legged, crude-sitting, hinge-kneed dolls than end up with a bucket full of broken dolls (although dissecting them is kinda fun).  With everything Disney Store dolls have going for them--unparalleled character faces, near-perfect arm articulation, nice play quality outfits, and a great price...why leave the legs as such a glaring weakness?  It's a weakness that will make me, for one, think twice about buying any more of these dolls.

2014 Ariel and Merida Disney Store

30 comments:

  1. Wow, I love how Merida's review turned into a dissection :) I can't believe how horrible her hair appeared to be straight out of the box. Yikes. I am a face/hair person when it comes to dolls (even more so then articulation) and it is nice to see such a unique face on Merida. I like how they kept her quirky and young as well as unique and spunky-just like her character in the movie and didn't "beautify" her too much.
    I LOVE the new Ariel. From the photos, her face appears a little fuller in the cheeks and I agree that she really resembles the movie version very nicely. Thanks for the great review and I loved the side by side comparisons. Great job, guys! Ariel's going on the wishlist, lol ;)

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  2. Oh gosh... I never thought I would want a doll with click knees every again. As much as you warn against them I can't get over Ariel's face!!! However my favorite character, Belle, hasn't drawn me in. I love Snow White's classic charm, but I find it interesting that on Disney's website they left the clear elastics holding her shoes on for the picture. I recently saw the Talking/Singing dolls at the store near me, and I love Aurora's playset with her bunnies. However I have a thing against talking dolls (Too many batteries have corroded in my house for me to want them in a doll!!!). Perhaps if there's a sale I'll think about getting one of the classic beauties. Thanks for reviewing! (And for Showing us Merida's leg! She's like black widow almost... ;))

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  3. I love the new Ariel face mold! It's got a lot of character and it's really pretty.
    With the hinged knee, perhaps the issue is that if a hinged knee breaks, small bits can break off and cause a choking hazard? Even if a click knee breaks the broken bits are encased in vinyl, so it's still safe for little kids. I don't know if that's the case, but seems the most likely explanation to me.

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  4. I don't really like the Merida dolls, the heads are way too big. I know that almost all dolls have heads that are too big, but there's just something about Merida's that really bugs me. I don't really buy disney fashion doll with curly hair, long hair or both. ( I LOVE the new deluxe? Tiana doll from " almost there ". ) Glitter done well is beautiful, but the Disney doll glitter is usually overdone. Nice review. Reviews? Review? Eh whatever.

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  5. I love how you dissected Merida! You could pretend she was an amputee and that was a prosthetic leg! i saw some disney dolls once, but they weren't at a store. The one in our mall closed a while back. :(

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  6. Do you have any recommendation for alternative body for disney's classic dolls? My 2014 rapunzel's on her way, bought her because of her dress & face, I hope I get one with tidy face-up & stitching, and a full head of hair.

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    1. That's a good question, but not my area of expertise. I am horrible at swapping heads on dolls. I wonder if Liv bodies would work? I feel like I have read that somewhere before, and the head sizes are compatible. If I try it for Merida, I will let you know! Also, a lot of customizers use Obitsu bodies, but I have not had much luck or experience with those, either. Dana from Philly Collector might know... http://phillycollector.blogspot.com/

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    2. Liv bodies can work with Disney heads :-)

      I don't have any female Obitsu bodies, but I have Volks Who's That Girl bodies. I think Disney heads are too big, too overpowering for those bodies. The Liv bodies have a more substantial look. I would sooner choose a poser Barbie body (My Scene My Vespa dolls for example) or a female action figure (Johanna Dark, CyGirl).

      Thanks for the mention, Emily. Hope this helps.

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  7. I have the 2013 Merida and 2013 Pocahontas. I love them, but now I'm worried about the legs. Also, Pocahontas' hair is a rats' nest, and I may have to get it rerooted. :( I also own the 2012 Rapunzel, and she's held up so well, even with the wonky knee joints.

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  8. Nice review! The leg dissection was very interesting. Amazing how far the skeleton will bend as opposed to the vinyl covered leg. I agree with you on the leg articulation. The new Mattel Barbies are losing almost all of their articulation too. What is up with these manufacturers? I get having an entry level cheap doll for little kids, but it is ridiculous. Mattel also makes Monster High dolls who all have full articulation on wafer thin bodies, so I see no reason for the losing it on the Barbie dolls. Mattel and Disney wake up!

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  9. The only exspirence I've had with click knee joints are from alot of my Barbies. On them I never thought they could break and often clicked them just to hear it. In fact I remember the first time I found out the knees moved at all! The Barbie ones haven't broke as far as I can tell,but then do not bend as far as Belle's more like Merida. The only Disney store dolls I have at my house are the Anna and Elsa coranation day set ones. Oh and Emily you'll be happy to know their hand molds have in thumbs that don't catch on sleeves. :)-GEM

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  10. How interesting to see the inner workings of the legs! I would never have guessed that the "skeletons" would look like that, so it's brilliant to know what's actually under there.

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  11. The click-knee dissection rocks my world. (It also gives Merida that elusive Novi Stars vibe.)

    As with Anonymous 9:35, I don't remember my Barbie click-knees ever breaking, but mine were years ago, and who knows how similar the mechanism was back then. I should see if anybody among the Experimental Subjects has click knees, but I don't think they do. Click-knees are utterly forbidden in "keepers" who get names and dresses, and I'm not hearing anything that would change my mind about a strict policy of body transplants.

    The newer Ariel's face is truly fine -- very Disney, in the best way.

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  12. Nice to know that if your click-kneed doll breaks it can be turned into a cyborg.

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  13. Oooo, Merida is Steampunk now!

    Love this review!

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  14. Oh my! O.o I never realized that was what a click knee looked like a doll, it doesn't even seem to be the same length as the vinyl. I have yet to buy any! And I mean any of the DS princess dolls since 2012 release, because as you say I CAN NOT STAND CLICK KNEED DOLLS and each year I keep hoping that they'll prefect the articulated kee but they never do. I mean its like you said there are so many knee joints to try, id love to have the joints on like the newer barbie fashionistas.

    They could even go back to the 2012 knee but instead of a flat foot leave them with the high heel foot! Is it just me or do others cant seem to figure out why on all their. LE dolls have the hinged knee perfectly on them and cant put that knowledge on their regular priced dolls?

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  15. The head on that Disney Ariel doll is absolutely gorgeous. I don't care for the seashell "bow" on the front of her brassiere, but, other than that, she's a winner. Merida is also lovely, but it's hard for a human to compete with a mermaid in the coolness department.

    I've always wondered what the internal mechanism of a doll's racheting knee joint looked like, and thanks to Emily's anatomy lesson, now we know! Hopefully Disney can get a handle on the quality control on those, as they really shouldn't be breaking that quickly or easily (I could see after several months/years of repeated flexing, but not right out of the gate like that). A double pin-jointed knee, that pivots both above, and below the knee cap (like Liv dolls have), is the best knee joint design in my opinion, followed closely by the pin-and-disk ball-joint. To date, I haven't had any of my dolls with clicky knees break on me yet (knock on wood), but I did recently pick up a secondhand MGA Moxie Girlz Avery that has a small hole in the vinyl of her leg, near the left knee, that exposes part of the joint when you flex it.

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  16. Aaaaah!!That was scary when you took of Merida's leg.It's a shame the legs are like that!
    I like the 2014 Ariel,she looks so bright and lively,I think I will add her to my collection.

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  17. a question that you do with Merida now lost his two legs

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  18. Have you taken a look at the Mattel Disney Signature Collection dolls? They really remind me of the 90s Disney dolls.

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  19. My daughter felt in love with 2014 Ariel. She WANT her!
    Super photos, I love your review!

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  20. the dissection was so cool, although really horrible to see so many of their dolls breaking. The new Ariel face is adorable. I think it has fantastic character to it. Thank you for the side by side pictures. Such detailed reviews really are helpful.

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  21. I was so, SO tempted to get a Jasmine the other night at the Disney store...After seeing how flimsy the legs are, I don't think I want any Disney Classic dolls until they lose the click-knees.

    Or maybe a metal mechanism instead of that horrible flimsy plastic? Since it's all internal, there wouldn't be any issues.

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  22. I really enjoyed your review! So much even it inspired me to buy the 2014 Ariel! She is fantastic, I love the new face! I haven't had any problems with the old articulation on the Disney dolls. Maybe you just have bad luck?:( Anyway, fantastic job on the review as always!

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  23. Do you have the same problem with Ariel? I think she's adorable and I would like to get her.

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    1. Actually, no. I think it has something to do with the tail keeping the legs in check. Be careful though, you never know with the click-kneed dolls :)

      -Morgan

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  24. About Merida's shoes though, to be fair it is the shoe she was wearing in the movie instead of those whatever-it's-made-of boots from the first edition doll, it just doesn't have the tight lace that covers her stockings :D

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  25. Sometimes kids behave like a emotional man. In that case a toy ca help them to break the emotion. So gift toy kids for make them happy.

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  26. hank you so much for your review of click-bend leg anatomy!!! It's what I've been wondering about so for long, but didn't have like totally damaged body to try it on, but I do have so many disney dolls with broken knee joints and you just saved my Merida from surgery to finally see why the click bend legs brake so easily! Now I'm wondering, if Disney dolls legs can be removed, did you experiment with that? Cos that sceleton picture of yours kinda makes me think it can be easily removed if vinyl is heated enough. So again thanks for your review so much!

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  27. Hello. I've been reading your blog, and had seen that you are not happy with the Disney store doll bodies. Do you have any Disney store bodies left?

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