Sunday Surprise: Bitty Pop! Disney Princesses by Funko!

I'm still in the process of gradually adding links to the List of All Reviews page, which is fun because it helps me remember some of my older stuff.  There are dolls on this blog that I'd completely forgotten about over the years, like Mattel's charming Kuu Kuu Harajuku Girls (they didn't last long...) or those strangely-colored but environmentally friendly AZIAM Girlz.  A pattern that I've been noticing as I go through the list is that I used to write more Sunday Surprise posts.  Or I feel like I did, anyway.  There was a period back in 2017 where nearly every other review was a Sunday Surprise!  These days, I'm lucky if I squeeze in three or four per year.

Some of my very favorite reviews (like Sweet e.Baby and WuvLuvs) have been Sunday Surprises, so I decided that I should try to remedy this deficit by adding more surprise-themed toys to the blog.  I'm eager to review the Disney Princess Surprise Tower sets that were recommended to me a few weeks ago, and have those in the queue, but I've been looking at so many Mattel dolls lately, I need a change of pace.

So, with Disney Princesses on my mind, I went on a hunt for more surprise dolls.  And guess what?  I discovered that Funko makes mini versions of their Disney Princess characters!  Eee!  I love minis, and I love Funko and their Disney figures!  Even better, each set of tiny Princesses comes with a mystery character.  Perfect.  So, today I'll take a look at Funko's Bitty Pop! line and uncover a few adorable mystery Princesses:

Funko Pop! Cinderella 222 with a pyramid of Bitty Pop! Princesses.

I Love VIP Pets "Gwen" by IMC Toys

One of the toy lines I found on my trip to Scotland is called I Love VIP Pets...which I will just call VIP Pets for short.  VIP Pets are 5 inch tall vinyl dog figures with oversized heads and colorful rooted hair.  They are made by the Spanish-owned IMC Toys company, which also seems to hold licenses for several popular toy themes including Disney Princesses and Monster High.

These dog figures appealed to me not just because I had never seen them before, but also because I like the idea of fashion toys for animal lovers.  I am quite fond of Pinkie Cooper, the fashion doll with a dog's head, and am saddened that she doesn't seem to be selling very well--at least in my part of the world.

There are eight different VIP Pet characters to choose from (all Chihuahuas), each with a different vinyl and hair color combination, and each with her own pre-assigned personality trait.  The dogs cost £9.99 at Smyths and can be imported to the United States for around $25 through Amazon.  Alex (the orange-haired photographer) and Juliet (the red-haired romance novelist) are my two favorite characters, but neither was in stock at Smyths during my visit.  I decided to purchase the rock star, Gwen, with her white and pink hair:

VIP Pet, "Gwen," by IMC Toys (£9.99).

Funko POP! Cinderella

I got a tip a while ago about the presence of a Funko POP! Cinderella figurine.  This captured my attention for three reasons.  First, Cinderella.  Second, the name: "Funko Pop" sounds cool and is fun to say.  Third, I had never heard about Funko before, and I love learning about doll and toy companies and their products.  I decided to investigate.

Funko is a 15-year-old Washington-based company that is best known for making bobbleheads.  They also make a variety of pop culture items including action figures and plush toys.  The POP! line is a series of large-headed vinyl figures that are about 3 1/4 inches tall.   These toys have the proportions of bobble heads, but their heads don't bobble.  The figures cost anywhere from $1 (used) to $800 (discontinued), but the average price is about $10.  Cinderella was $8.99 at Amazon.

To me, Cinderella toys that cost under $10 are a special kind of awesome, so this funky princess quickly found her way to my house:

Funko POP!  Cinderella, $8.99.