A Quick Look at the New Rapunzel Doll from the Disney Store

In my Brave Merida review, I praised the new articulation of the Disney Store dolls, and also wondered if the latest 12" version of Tangled's Rapunzel has a new face mold.   Even though it feels like I just recently reviewed a Disney Store Rapunzel, the "2 for $22 sale" at the Disney Store made it hard to resist investigating this slightly newer version.  Rapunzel arrived the other day:

The newest version of Rapunzel and her predecessor.

The Toy Box Philosopher on eBay...and Portraits of a Philip Heath Doll

I'm taking over the internet!  Today it's eBay, tomorrow--the world!  Bwahahaha!  Seriously, though, I have my eBay page up and running.  My call sign is "toyboxphilosopher." There's a button on the right hand side of the blog which is a bit annoying, but it should take you to my auctions any time you want.  My plan is to start all auctions at $1 with actual shipping.  I'll probably need to tweak things and try different selling methods (Buy it Now?  Longer auctions?), but I'm hoping this can be a way to clear out reviewed or extra dolls at fair prices.  Please feel free to offer advice or suggestions in the comments.  I am not a very experienced eBay seller.

To avoid this being a totally boring post, here are a few pictures of a favorite doll from my collection (who is not for sale on eBay).  She is Leisandra by Philip Heath:

Philip Heath's Leisandra.

The "Diamonds" Marilyn Monroe by Tonner Doll

I never thought I would own this doll.  I watched with interest when she was released at the Tonner Doll Company's Flights of Fancy convention back in May, but knew I couldn't swing the $350 price tag (which, of course, translated into $500 on eBay).  I was drawn to her not because she depicts Marilyn Monroe, but just because she is a rare type of release for Tonner--a 22" inch doll with a new face.  And it's a beautiful face.

On the discussion boards, this doll was met with a ton of criticism for not looking enough like Marilyn Monroe--specifically for not having Marilyn's voluptuous curves.  I am not a Marilyn expert, nor am I interested in finding the perfect Marilyn clone, so I'm a pretty easy audience.  I picture the real Marilyn as having had a tiny waist and a large chest, and this doll fits that image just fine.  She might be a bit too tall and long-legged, but that's about the only critique I can muster.  Despite the online discontent, collectors who saw this doll in person at the convention seemed to think she was lovely--some even used the word "stunning," and this made an impression on me.  Furthermore, I was downright haunted by her unique face.  I kept gazing at pictures of her online, wondering what she might look like in person, waiting to see if her price would drop.  She struck me as something special.

My favorite pictures of this doll were taken by Alison of The Fashion Doll Review.  Alison's pictures are colorful and artistic, and they triggered in me the doll collector's version of falling in love.  That sickness where you know you have to find a certain doll for your collection--somehow.  Coincidentally, Alison put her Diamonds doll up for trade, and I happened to have something I could offer in exchange.  So, in a dream-come-true moment, I got my Marilyn--and I even got the very doll in those gorgeous pictures.  So, with a million thanks to dear Alison (who is a total sweetheart and a blogging superhero...), I have this tall beauty in my house:

"Diamonds," 22 inch tall Marilyn Monroe by Tonner

The Limited Edition Merida Doll from the Disney Store

I posted these pictures of the 18" limited edition Merida doll from Brave over on facebook and on my Flickr photostream, but some of you asked me to show them here, too.  I'm leaving this doll in her box for now, so I can't really do a full review yet, but I did snap a few quick pictures of her.  The pictures aren't that great, since the box casts some weird shadows, but just in case you are interested, here she is:

18" Limited Edition Merida.

The Classic Merida Doll from the Disney Store

You might remember how excited I've been to see the Pixar movie, Brave.  My excitement stemmed mostly from my enthusiasm for Disney's last masterpiece, Tangled.  I haven't enjoyed a Disney movie that much since I was a kid.  I had high hopes for Brave, and for the the Disney Store doll line that would inevitably accompany it.  The Brave dolls have actually been out for way longer than the movie, which just opened last week.  Not only are the Disney Store shelves packed with Brave dolls right now (including the limited edition 18" Merida), but brand new versions of all of the other princess are available for $14.50 (or 2 for $22 with the current sale).  These new dolls are worth a look because they have different articulation and, it looks like at least Rapunzel has a new face mold.  I'll have to check that out.

I saw Brave on the day it was released.  I'm no movie expert, but I really enjoyed this movie.  It's not Tangled caliber in my eyes, but it's very, very good.  The Scottish accents and music are wonderful, there are numerous laugh-out-loud moments, and I almost cried a few times.  The animation of Merida's hair is incredible, as is the fur animation on all of the creatures.  Merida's horse Angus is amazing and realistic, though he doesn't have a personality like the Tangled steed, Maximus.  My kids and I agree that the plot could have been developed for another 15 minutes or so.  Also, I found myself wishing the movie would slow its frantic pace and let me look at the beautifully rendered characters and scenery a bit more.  I wish Disney movies weren't so frenetic--it's as though they assume kids have no attention span and the visual frame rate of a hawk.   In any case, I liked the movie well enough to be delighted that I have the doll.  She's a charmer:

Classic 12" Brave Merida from the Disney Store.

Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze Lagoona

Many of you voted on which Monster High Roller Maze doll I should de-box next, and Lagoona won with a whopping 48% of the votes!  I'm so glad you picked her because she is my favorite Monster High character.  Ghoulia was the second most popular pick with 18% of the vote, and poor Frankie came in last--but just by a hair (16% of you wanted me to open her).

Here's the lovely Lagoona!

Skultimate Roller Maze Lagoona.

La Dee Da Dolls by Spin Master

Well, I got my hands on a few of the newest dolls from Spin Master.  These girls have been causing a stir since they were displayed at the Toy Fair in New York last February.  They are called "La Dee Da" dolls, named after Dee, who is the fashion-forward leader of the pack.  The name of the line confuses me, though, because although it's catchy, don't people usually say, "well, la dee da" when they're being mocking and dismissive?  Sometimes even "la dee frickin' da?"  Are these dolls dissing me from inside the box?  Presumably not.  Perhaps it's just meant to be an upbeat, sing-songy name in keeping with the cheery appearance of the dolls.

Spin Master has a knack for manufacturing trendy products.  Bakugan toys, Tech Deck mini skate boards, the adorable Zoobles--these have all been highly sought after and impossible to find at times.  Spin Master is also, of course, the company that introduced us to the innovative and highly articulated Liv dolls in 2009, and then recently announced the discontinuation of that beloved line.  Given the company's track record,  I feel pretty sure that the La Dee Da dolls will be trendy, at least for a little while.

Because it seems like the La Dee Da line is being rolled out to take the place of the faltering Liv dolls, it is hard for me to evaluate these new dolls without directly comparing them to Liv...and Liv dolls are the sole reason I became interested in play dolls as an adult.  So.  I will try very hard to step away from my disappointment about Liv's discontinuation and cast a fair eye on these new kids, but you should keep in mind that I probably have a pretty big chip on my shoulder.  Anyway, meet Cyanne from the "Runway Vacay" line, who I bought for $19.99 online at Toys R Us:

La Dee Da "Runway Vacay Cyanne."

Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze Dolls Arrive!

It's been a while since I've seen a new Monster High doll--there hasn't really been anything new since the great granite Rochelle Goyle, who I reviewed back in April.  I guess April wasn't actually that long ago, but given the typically furious release pace of the Monster High dolls, it felt like a long gap in the action.  Today made up for that gap, though, because all of the roller skating Monster High dolls arrived at my doorstep.  I tried something new this time and pre-ordered an entire case of dolls from Entertainment Earth.  If you're not familiar with it yet, Entertainment Earth is a fun store with a huge variety of merchandise including Monster High dolls, Pullip dolls, Living Dead dolls, Tonner dolls, Littlest Pet Shop toys, a huge diversity of action figures and lots more.  My transactions with this store have always been reliable and professional.  They have excellent communication, which is especially nice with pre-orders.  I've also had a lot of fun just recreationally browsing their site.  Anyway, a case of Monster High dolls sounds impressive, like it should be a hundred dolls or something.  It's actually six dolls--the four dolls in the release and two duplicates.  I paid $80, or about $13 per doll, which isn't too bad.  Here they are:

Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze from left: Ghoulia, Lagoona, Frankie and Operetta.

The Sylvanian Families Water Mill Bakery--a Quick Look.

One of the very first toys I reviewed was the Li'l Woodzeez Tickle Your Taste Buds Bakery.  Ever since I found that delightful and inexpensive diorama playset at Target, I have had a heightened interest in the Li'l Woodzeez and their more expensive counterparts, the Calico Critters.  After I wrote the comparison review of the two different brands of toy animals, it occurred to me that the Calico Critters might have their own bakery playset...and it might be awesome.  While there doesn't seem to be a Calico Critters bakery set sold in North America, there is a Sylvanian Families bakery set available in Europe, and I found a used one on eBay.  It looks like you can also buy a version of the set at the Sylvanian Families website for 40 pounds (about $60 dollars).  It's called the Water Mill Bakery and it does, in fact, look awesome:

Sylvanian Families "Water Mill Bakery."

The William and Catherine Royal Wedding Barbie set by Mattel

The only dolls that followed me home from Manhattan last weekend are the William and Catherine Barbie dolls that I found at the massive Toys R Us in Times Square. I had seen this set in pictures online and been slightly interested, but never interested enough to shell out the currency necessary to buy them. I don't know if it was seeing them in person that won me over, or that I was caught up in the excitement of the big city, but they seemed like the perfect set to buy at the time--certainly the most special of the numerous Barbie sets that were on display. The problem with getting caught up in a moment is that you loose track of things like the little fact that while I paid $127, this set actually only costs $109 if you buy it online...and I mean if you buy it online at Toys R Us.  So I paid a premium for the experience of buying it at the flagship store, but I guess I am okay with that.  It's a really fun store.

Incidentally, the other Barbie set that kept catching my eye on this trip was the Pillow Talk set with Rock Hudson and Doris Day.  You can get these dolls on Amazon for 40 bucks right now.  If I could remember anything about that movie, I would definitely have purchased this set.  I can only remember Doris Day from the Hitchcock movie, The Man Who Knew Too Much.  Anyway--the dolls look great in real life.

I chose William and Kate because I love the British royal family, I am a sucker for wedding dresses, and because the William doll was grinning at me and I found it kinda irresistible:

William and Catherine Barbie Gold Label set

Toys "R" Us and FAO Schwarz in Manhattan

I am back from a short trip to Manhattan and I'd love to share a few pictures with you while I get unpacked and organized for the next review.  My mom lives in New York City and so we visit every now and then--although nowhere near as often as I wish we did.  When my kids were little, trips to FAO Schwarz and the massive Toys R Us in Times Square were nice rest stops in between more educational outings.  Now that they are older, my two are more interested in the Apple Store and the jazz scene, but I am still drawn to these two behemoths of toy retail.

I think Times Square is impressive no matter how many times you've seen it or how old you are.  Between the massive screens and billboards, the throngs of fascinating people, and the sidewalk sideshow-like attractions, there's always something unexpected.  On this visit, the scene that had me stopped in my tracks was this:

A Review of Hayden's House...as the Last of the Liv Dolls Leave the Shelves.

For a few months now, there have been whispers that Spin Master is shutting down production of the Liv doll.  A friend on Flickr warned me about this a while ago, and it was confirmed on Dana's blog last week.  Now, even Wikipedia reports the sad news (although I read Wikipedia with a skeptical eye).

This decision is surely based on low profits, so my question is--why weren't Liv dolls more successful?  Well, I want to hear your thoughts on this, but here are mine for starters.  First of all, the beauty of Liv dolls is that they are highly customizable.  In theory, you could buy just one Liv doll and then change her wig and outfit every day for endless new looks.  At most, it seems like you might want one of each character, and then you could focus your spending on accessories and new wigs.  Two problems with this from a marketing standpoint--first, people don't feel the need to buy very many dolls, which is good for buyers but bad for business.  Second, Spin Master didn't make enough outfits, wigs and accessories for these smaller items to carry people's enthusiasm or turn a profit on their own.

My second thought is related to the first.  The earlier waves of Liv dolls were all very similar.  Except for different outfits and wigs (and some small changes in face shape and eye color) the dolls were almost identical.  This contributed to consumers feeling that they didn't need every single doll that came out.  In addition, I can imagine some resentment in people who felt like they had to buy a whole new duplicate doll just to get a cute outfit or wig.  Spin Master seems to have tried to remedy the sameness in their dolls by making some drastic changes to the most recent doll's bodies.  In my opinion, these changes were a big mistake.  The Twist and Dance dolls' gimmicky bodies are virtually impossible to play with, and the Liv for Color and Brites dolls, while not awful, have definitely lost the Liv magic.

My last hypothesis is much simpler--Monster High dolls came out right after Liv and these creative and seemingly rare creatures stole everyone's attention and allowance.

So.  Whatever the reasons, the news is sad.  The silver lining is that Liv merchandise is on clearance everywhere and I am taking advantage.  I have always wanted the Toys R Us exclusive Hayden's house:

Hayden's house playset

"Flamingo" from the Tonner Doll Convention

From what I have heard, Tonner Doll conventions are extremely fun.  I have never been to one, but when there's a convention going on, I follow the excitement through Tonner's high-coverage blog, the Prego message board and Terri's blog.  Photographs from these events always include lots of big smiles, lots of people in elaborate costumes, lots of creative decorations and centerpieces...and of course tons of gorgeous dolls. This year the convention was in Chicago and the title was "Tonner Air."  Dolls from the event had an aerial theme, including airline staff characters and dolls dressed as different colorful birds.  How fun does that sound?

My primary objective when I am watching a Tonner convention from afar is to scope out any Cinderella-faced dolls.  Because, you know, I am a bit obsessed with this face.  Some of the most beautiful Tonner Cinderellas and Camis have come from conventions; Christine Daae, Lady G, Blue Fairy, Delight, Fare Game, Party All Night and Silver Splendor to name a few.  While I adore Cami, my heart belongs to Cinderella, and so I like it when Tonner revives this sweeter, less modern version of the face mold, as he did with Nu Mood Jess.  I also prefer that my Cinderella dolls be in ball gowns, rather than the more modern wardrobe of the Cami line.  So, considering all of that, you can picture my glee when I saw this year's convention Cinderella-faced doll, "Flamingo:"

Tonner convention "Flamingo," LE 300.

Emily the Strange by Ashton Drake

Nicki asked to see my Emily the Strange doll, and I happen to have a few pictures of her, so here we go.  I think Emily provides an interesting contrast to my Little Apple Doll, Erro.  Both are white vinyl dolls with black features and black hair, and both have a gothic edge to them.  The difference is that while Erro's character is caught in between the living and the dead (and is therefore a bit creepy), Emily is fully alive and just...strange.

I have liked Emily the Strange since her emergence in 1990.  I remember that when she first appeared, it wasn't clear who she was.  She was just this girl who wore black and liked cats and lurked on tee shirts.  I used to buy Emily the Strange tee shirts because, you know, she and I share a name (and the tee shirts are pretty awesome).  Nowadays, you can buy a ton of Emily the Strange merchandise, including books, stickers, comics, clothing and dolls.  I think there's even going to be a movie.  But this isn't a full review, I just want to show you the doll really quick, if I can manage that.

Ashton Drake made their 12" vinyl Emily the Strange doll in 2010.  She retails for $60, which is too high, but I decided to buy her anyway.  She is still readily available.

Ashton Drake's Emily the Strange

Lalaloopsy Cloth Dolls and Lalaloopsy Littles

You might remember that when I reviewed the Lalaloopsy Marina Anchors doll, my biggest complaints about her were her price tag, her packaging and her unruly top-heavy body.  I was also conflicted about the notion of a plastic rag doll.  I appreciate the superior durability of a plastic doll, and I also admire how MGA gave the Lalaloopsy dolls floppy articulation to mimic a cloth doll, but it seems to me that a magical doll who, "comes to life when her last stitch is placed," should probably have some actual stitches in her.

In what seemed like an instantaneous response to my complaints (but could have been coincidence) cloth Lalaloopsy dolls showed up in Toys R Us right after I wrote that review.  These newer dolls are about 10" tall and made completely out of fabric.   They come in simple cardboard boxes, and they cost under $20.  I found mine at Target for  $14.99.  They are more expensive on Amazon.  I chose Mittens for my review because she has blue hair and black eyes, just like Marina:

Lalaloopsy cloth Mittens Fluff 'N' Stuff

The Little Apple Doll, "Erro," by Ufuoma Urie for Underground Toys

The reason I asked everyone to share a favorite doll during the Monster High Cupid giveaway is that I love learning about new kinds of doll.  I had a wonderful time learning about the dolls that were mentioned.  I think the Jude Deveraux Barbie is lovely, the Fisher Price My Friend doll looks like the perfect companion for a young child, and the Sleeping Beauty Barbie, whose eyes can close, is something I should compare to the Sleepover Party Liv dolls some day.  There was one doll mentioned, though, that stood out to me as something I should investigate immediately--the Little Apple Doll.

Little Apple Dolls are 14 inch vinyl dolls with an eerie, minimalist appearance that conjures Japanese kabuki theater and goth horror.  These spooks are the creation of British artist Ufuoma Urie ("Yurei").  Yurei's strange, otherworldly dolls were sold by Underground Toys until 2008, when the company decided to drop the L.A.D. line.  Currently, Little Apple Dolls are being made in small editions by Yurei and sold through her company, Screaming Matriarch (love that name).  The new dolls have clothes that are designed and hand sewn by the artist herself.

From what I can tell by looking at pictures, the difference between the Underground Toys dolls and the newer Screaming Matriarch dolls is mostly in the quality of the clothes.  The prices are also notably different, with the older dolls retailing for around $25 and the newer dolls selling for three or four times that.  I'd love to have found a newer Little Apple doll for this review, but price and availability forced me to settle for the Underground Toys version.  My doll is called Erro and is from 2005:

Little Apple Doll, "Erro."

The Poppy Parker and Chip "Baby It's You" Gift Set by Integrity Toys

Typically, when fashion doll pre-order season comes around each year, I select a few Tonner dolls with Cinderella faces to add to my collection and that's about it.  This leaves me in a position where I can get out the popcorn, sit back, and watch the chaos that surrounds the yearly Integrity Toys pre-order extravaganza.  I have tried once or twice (half-heartedly, I'll admit) to buy a new Integrity doll, but by the time I get my act together, the dolls I want are always sold out.  Why are these dolls so popular?  Well, the edition sizes are pretty small (400-600), and the dolls are also Barbie-sized, so they fit nicely into the collections of established Barbie fans.  Furthermore, Jason Wu is a brilliant designer and many people want to own something he has created (have you seen his clothes at Target, by the way?  They are very nice).  But I also suspect that there's another intangible element to these dolls that makes them so tempting--a kind of "X factor."

I do own a few Integrity dolls, but only ones that don't sell very well for some reason.  For example, I got my 16" AvantGuard dolls on a big clearance sale and I found my I.T.B.E. doll collecting dust at an online shop two years after her release.  I really like these dolls, though, and that got me thinking that if mine are the undesirable Integrity dolls, the hot dolls must be pretty spectacular.  So, this year I decided to put a little more effort into my quest for a popular Integrity doll.

Lately, one of the most sought-after Integrity characters is Poppy Parker.  Poppy portrays a teenaged fashion model from the 1960s.  2012 has been an exciting year for Poppy Parker doll releases, because along with the usual 12" additions to the Poppy collection, there are new 16" versions of this character as well.  The 16" Poppy dolls are actually among the few Integrity dolls still available to order now, but the 12" dolls were typically scarce.  I managed to get my hands on one of the 12" Poppy dolls, the "Baby It's You" gift set that also includes Poppy's boyfriend Chip:

Poppy Parker and Chip Baby it's You gift set.

Monster High Cupid Giveaway Results!

The time has come to see who wins the elusive Monster High C.A. Cupid doll!  I love giveaways, but I hate that not everyone can win.  I wish you could all win.  I've only ever won one thing in my whole life I think--my dad and I won a quilt raffle once when I was a teenager.  That was pretty awesome.

Also, I loved reading through your descriptions of favorite dolls!  I learned about a few dolls I had not been aware of, and I added a few dolls to my wish list.  I got a new idea for the blog, too.  I think once a week I'll share a doll from my collection that doesn't need to be reviewed, but just wants to show off.  Kind-of and oldies but goodies feature.  We'll see how that goes.

Anyway--the good news is that I found a few more Monster High girls to join in the fun:

Monster High runner-up prizes.

A Review of the 12" Tangled Rapunzel from the Disney Store

I'd like to review a few more of the Rapunzel dolls I bought during my crazed Tangled obsession last month.  As a bit of an aside, the first Rapunzel doll I ever bought was actually Robert Tonner's 16" Rapunzel, who was an FAO Schwarz exclusive in 2008 (way before the Disney movie).  This doll was expensive ($200) and massively disappointing.  I actually sent her back to the store.  Her hair was thin and uneven and her outfit was of poor quality for such a pricey collector's doll.  She was nothing like the exquisite FAO Schwarz Cinderella Rose exclusive.  Anyway, the Tonner company redeemed itself big time with the Disney Showcase Tangled Rapunzel, but she's pretty expensive.  What about a Rapunzel doll in a more affordable price range?  Well, both Mattel and the Disney Store have a variety of 12" Rapunzel dolls based on the movie, and these range in price from just under $13 to about $30.  I prefer the Disney Store version of Rapunzel, mostly because her face is unique and more reminiscent of the quirky movie character.

When Tangled first came out, my niece got one of the $12.50 12" Disney Store Rapunzel dolls, and I was very surprised and impressed by the doll's articulation and quality.  I immediately bought one for myself, of course, but for some reason I have never taken her out of the box.  I was looking at the Disney Store the other day and noticed that the newer version of this Rapunzel doll is actually a bit different from the original.  This demanded further investigation.  I ordered the newer version and in this review I'll de-box the newer doll and compare her to the older Rapunzel...and I'll also compare her to the Ever After wedding version of the same doll.

Disney original 12" Rapunzel doll (L)  and the current version (R)

Monster High's Elusive Cupid Giveaway! (Now Closed)

Giveaway is now closed to new entries--winning names are posted, above! 
(May the 4th be with you!)
It's been raining in Maine for what feels like forever.  It's good for the flowers, I know, but after a while, it gets kind of old.  To cheer things up, I decided to do a giveaway!  The Monster High poll is now closed.  Thank goodness.  The all-caps heading on that poll was giving me a headache.  Anyway, with a healthy 64% of the vote, Cupid won the distinction of being the hardest Monster High doll to find in stores.  This isn't surprising, really, since she's a Valentine's Day themed doll exclusive to Walmart.  Skull Shores Frankie got second place, but if the five zillion Skull Shores Frankie dolls at my local Toys R Us right now are any indication, that information is slightly out of date.

I managed to get my hands on a Cupid the other day.  Here she is--and she could be yours!

Monster High C.A. Cupid