Frozen Dolls from J.C. Penney and The Disney Store: A Quick Update!

Well, I got distracted from the review I was working on by the arrival of a few J.C. Penney Frozen dolls that I ordered right after my Singing Elsa review (did I mention I was obsessed?).  This will be a brief post, but since I recommended the J.C. Penney dolls in the comments section to several of you (with incomplete information) I wanted to post a summary of my observations as soon as possible.

My understanding was that the J.C. Penney 12" Frozen dolls are exactly the same as the dolls being sold at the Disney Store, just wearing simpler outfits.  That's what it looked liked in the pictures, anyway.  This is not the case.  The dolls are actually different in ways that I think are important.

At the risk of inflicting Frozen overload, I will (quickly!) show you my 12" Elsa from J.C. Penney.  I will also show you the basic differences between the Animators' Collection toddler Anna from the Disney Store and the version of young Anna that is being sold at J.C. Penney.  Here is the Animators' Collection Anna...and her friend:

Animators' Collection Anna from Frozen (Disney Store).

The Disney Store's Singing Elsa Doll from the Movie Frozen

Well, I finally went to see Frozen last week, and have become completely obsessed.  I took my whole family to see it again last night and then rushed home and pre-ordered the DVD.  I sing Let it Go in my sleep, cry when I hear Do You Want to Build a Snowman, and laugh every time I think of Olaf's face as he says, "I don't have a skull...or bones."  What a great movie!

I'm grateful to Julia for writing her guest review of the Disney Store's Anna and Elsa dolls, because if she hadn't taken the initiative, I never would have purchased any Frozen dolls right away, and now they're sold out almost everywhere and insanely hard to find for a reasonable price.  Of course the dolls I really wish I owned are the Disney Store's limited edition dolls--especially the set with Anna in her coronation dress and Elsa in her ice dress.  I always at least consider purchasing these Disney collector dolls when they are first announced, but all four of the Frozen dolls sold out in minutes and I was too slow to get one.

Fortunately, the Disney Store's 16" singing dolls (like the talking Merida I reviewed last year) occasionally share a face mold with the limited edition dolls.  The singing dolls are play quality and therefore not as nicely made or as highly articulated as the collector dolls, but they're still a decent, affordable alternative for anyone who likes the larger size or the face mold.  When I learned that the singing Elsa doll features a verse from Let it Go, I knew she was the doll for me:

Singing Elsa Doll from Frozen, $39.95.