The newest version of Rapunzel and her predecessor. |
Saturday, July 7, 2012
A Quick Look at the New Rapunzel Doll from the Disney Store
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Live Action The Little Mermaid Ariel by Disney
Okay, so I know that Disney live action remake movies are not everyone's cup of tea. I have a few of the naysayers in my own family--and I agree with some of their points. For example, I'll happily admit that some of the autotune singing in Beauty and the Beast is cringey. Still, I can't help but get wrapped up in the excitement of seeing these beloved stories re-told. I mean, there could be a new movie version of Cinderella every year and I would not object. But because of my mixed feelings about re-makes, as the release date for the live action Little Mermaid came closer and closer, I wasn't sure how excited I would be. Finally, last week, I took a minute to find a trailer online. I watched it, riveted, with tears in my eyes. When I heard the snippet from Halle Bailey's rendition of Part of Your World, I straight-up cried...and I knew exactly how excited I was about this movie: very excited. Very.
I wasn't quite excited enough to head to the theaters on Friday night, release day, but I was there first thing Saturday morning. The movie is incredible. In fact, I think it's the best live action re-make so far (even considering my Cinderella bias). Halle Bailey is luminous, Melissa McCarthy is brilliant as Ursula, and I love Daveed Diggs' take on Sebastian. In addition, the hair animation is mind-boggling, and the underwater scenes are immersive...and breathtaking. I think my husband will love this movie simply because of the diversity of sea life that's depicted during Under the Sea. I feel like the end dragged on for too long and was a bit awkward, but that's a small complaint. The movie as a whole was magical and I can't wait to see it again.
Unfortunately, even when Disney has a hit with these remake movies, the accompanying dolls aren't necessarily good. The Disney Store's interpretations of Belle and Cinderella were strange, and ultimately disappointing. This time around, both Mattel and Disney have released a collection of The Little Mermaid dolls, and the promotional photos look very promising. So, today I'll review the Disney Store's version of Ariel, and next time I'll compare and contrast her to Mattel's deluxe Ariel doll. And I'll tell you right up front: I am even more excited about these dolls than I was about the movie trailer:
Live Action The Little Mermaid Ariel doll by Disney, $34.99. |
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Sadness Figures from Pixar's "Inside Out"--A Comparison Review!
As some of you might remember, my oldest son is getting ready to leave home and go to college, which is hectic, exciting, scary, wonderful...and sad. Frankly, I walk around most days feeling emotionally stunned. So this is a good year for me to latch onto a movie that deals with emotions and kids growing up. And a good year to appreciate the delicate balance between joy and sadness.
I wanted a memento of Sadness from the movie, preferably one that would repeat some of the lines that made me laugh so hard. As far as I know, there are only two large (non-plush) talking Sadness figures, one by Tomy and the other from the Disney Store. I bought both to see which one captures this melancholy blue heroine the best:
Tomy's Sadness ($24.99) and Deluxe Talking Sadness from the Disney Store ($19.95). |
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
2013 and 2014 "Ariel" and "Merida" from the Disney Store--A Joint Review!
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 Classic Ariel from the Disney Store. |
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
"Musical Magic Elsa" Doll by Mattel
I reviewed the Disney Store's 16" Singing Elsa doll a few months ago, and so today I want to give you a quick overview of one of Mattel's musical dolls, Musical Magic Elsa. There is also a Musical Magic Anna, and these dolls have a retail price of around $26 each. Musical Elsa, like every other Elsa doll on the planet these days, has become quite scarce, and so her current asking price is more like $50-$60.
"Musical Magic Elsa," by Mattel. Not worth $50. |
Friday, April 6, 2012
A Review of Rapunzel from the Tonner Doll Disney Showcase Collection
Anyway, I have been on a bit of a Disney kick lately because of the availability of the Tangled: Ever After short film. You can watch it free online as many times as you want (4 for me so far). There's been a huge selection of Rapunzel dolls on the market for a while now, but with the release of Ever After, a whole new crop has been introduced. I decided I should review a few of these dolls--old and new. I am going to start with a unique Rapunzel doll made by the Tonner Doll company:
Tonner Doll's Rapunzel from Tangled |
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The Disney Store's Singing Elsa Doll from the Movie "Frozen"
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. |
Thursday, January 22, 2015
The Animators' Mini Elsa Playset from The Disney Store
The first release of Animators' mini dolls includes Anna, Elsa, Cinderella, Ariel and Jasmine. All of these characters come with several cute movie-themed accessories. For example, Cinderella comes with a flocked Bruno (as a puppy), Gus and Jack the mice, and several smaller accessories. Ariel comes with Flounder, Sebastian, a glittery starfish, and a seahorse pulling a carriage. I was tempted by all of these sets, but ended up purchasing Elsa. I didn't intend to review yet another Frozen doll, but I found the mini Anna and Elsa to be the most appealing of these newcomers.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The Anna and Elsa Ice Skating Set from the Disney Store--A Guest Review!
I first met Zoe back in June, right after Samehch's Bratz doll overview. Not only does Zoe know a lot about the early Bratz dolls, but she also shares my passion for Liv dolls and fairy tales. Zoe's fairy tale fondness enticed her into collecting Ever After High dolls, and also many of the Disney Princesses, which gives her some great reference points for this review. Thank you so much for sharing this rare sister set with us, Zoe!
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Endless Hair Kingdom Barbie by Mattel
Amidst all of these changes, evidence suggests that Mattel might be doing well--recovering from their multi-year financial slump. I don't have a lot of data to support this, but the Toys R Us doll section in South Portland is certainly dominated by Mattel these days: there's Barbie, Ever After High, Monster High, My Mini MixieQ, DC Super Hero Girls, Loving Family...and of course the whole American Girl mini-store. The only chink in Mattel's armor seems to be the fact that Hasbro scored the Disney Princess license.
Mattel's dominance doesn't bother me the way it used to. I think this company is starting to make a lot of great changes. While I've all but lost interest in Monster High and Ever After High, I'm very excited about some of American Girl's new releases: the WellieWishers, Melody, Gabriella, Logan, Z and Nanea. The Barbie aisle is more exciting to me now than it's ever been, too, with the brilliantly-articulated Made to Move characters and the diversity of body types and skin tones in the Fashionista line. In fact, the most interesting doll I found at Toys R Us last week is a Barbie doll. This doll is from Mattel's Endless Hair Kingdom collection. She caught my eye because of her size (about 17 inches), her great articulation, and her very long hair:
Endless Hair Kingdom Barbie, $24.99. |
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Ily 4EVER Fashion Dolls by Jakks Pacific
First of all, I want to thank Hannah for stepping in and reviewing the 18-inch ily 4EVER dolls last week! I've been learning the ropes at my new job (and bringing home rag-tag foster animals in the process...) and was grateful for a helping hand. I thought it was especially fun to learn about all of the different face molds. I love the newest Stitch face, and because that doll is a freckled redhead, of course I had to add her to my collection. Her presence in the house will probably prompt me to watch Lilo and Stitch, finally, which is something I'm embarrassed to say that I've never done. So thank you to Hannah for that enrichment, too!
Since we're on the topic of ily 4EVER dolls, I want to take the opportunity to talk about the newest 11.5 inch fashion dolls from that line. For anyone unfamiliar with the brand, ily 4EVER dolls are characters dressed with inspiration from their favorite Disney character. So they're not meant to be Disney Princesses or anything like that, just Disney fans. Anyway, I reviewed the original Shop Disney version of these dolls already, but the new dolls, which are made by Jakks Pacific, are different enough that I think they deserve their own review. I decided to focus on a doll from this collection who is inspired by a sweet character who stars in a movie that I have no desire to watch again, Bambi:
11.5 inch ily 4EVER Bambi doll by Jakks Pacific, $29.99. |
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Disney's Ily 4EVER 18-inch Dolls--A Guest Review!
Dear Toy Box Philosopher blog readers, I’m Hannah, an adult doll collector from London, United Kingdom, and the author of The Toy Gems blog site. I have been collecting dolls since I can remember - which dates back to the age of two when my happiest photographs are with my dolls. I am also a writer/screenwriter and an English graduate who loves collecting dolls and figurines to surround my writing desk. My favourite toy brands growing up included these doll lines: MyScene, Liv dolls, Monster High, Moxie Teenz and of course the popular brands - Barbie and Bratz.
I also hold American Girl close to my heart and as a British child I was always flicking through their digital catalogue and like any young American Girl, I grew up loving the doll brand. Before AG, other 18-inch dolls lines that made a big impact on me involved the BFC Ink Club dolls which were my favourite along with Journey Girls, My London Girl and Gotz. In recent years, I have enjoyed expanding my doll collection with dolls of varying heights including, the Ruby Red Fashion Friends/Siblies and the British brand A Girl For All Time.
Thank you to Emily for providing me with the opportunity to share a review of the 18-inch ily 4EVER dolls on this iconic site. Growing up, I read every single blog post from The Toy Box Philosopher and spent hours scrolling through images and reading reviews. It was especially exciting reading about doll lines that did not have a Europe/UK release and accessing this knowledge was only viable through this blog.
I am a huge fan and have been reading for more than ten years now. And so it may continue… It’s also great to see what the future holds as ten years ago I would never have guessed that I would be writing and publishing a guest review here of my very own.
Ily 4EVER Minnie (left) and Tinker Bell (right). |
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Fairy Tale High "Teen Rapunzel" by S-K Victory
The number of dolls that have something to do with princesses or fairy tales this year is shockingly high. I can count about nine different doll lines: The current Disney Store and Mattel versions of the Disney Princesses, La Dee Da Fairy Tale Dance, Cutie Pops Crown Cuties, Ever After High, Monster High Scary Tales, Once Upon a Zombie and Fairy Tale High. And I guess I could also include the Bratzillaz Witchy Princesses, but they don't really look much different from the normal Bratzillaz. Anyway, it's out of control. The question is, do we need all of these different princess characters? I mean, which ones are offering something truly unique?
I have been reluctant to review this particular doll because when she arrived in the mail, her face was a disappointment. I don't find anything appealing about her facial screening or her expression, and I tend not to review dolls that I know I won't like. Some recent conversations in the comments section and pictures on Flickr inspired me to reconsider. I decided that she was worth de-boxing, if only so that I could reference her as I review some of the princess dolls I am more excited about. Rapunzel cost me $17.99 at Toys R Us:
Fairy Tale High "Teen Rapunzel," by S-K Victory. |
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Star Darlings "Sage" from the Disney Store
The Star Darlings are characters in a series of Disney fantasy books geared towards 8 to 12-year-olds. There are currently two books available for sale and an additional four books ready for pre-order. Five of the characters from these books have been released as dolls, and they can be found at the Disney Store for the whopping price of $29.95 each.
I was drawn to the Star Darlings series because of the promising description of the dolls. They have inset eyes, colorful hair and plenty of articulation...and they don't look like typical Disney Store dolls. Fresh on the heels of the Disney Descendants dolls (made by Hasbro) the Disney Store has introduced yet another toy designer to their entourage: Jakks Pacific. I think the Star Darlings resemble the Jakks Pacific Disney Fairies quite a lot, but they don't use the same body or face. I'm always excited to see truly new things on the market, and so I eagerly ordered myself a Star Darlings doll the moment they appeared on the website. I chose Sage because she is the heroine of the very first book in the Star Darlings series:
Friday, April 26, 2013
Disney "Princess & Me" Rapunzel Jewel Edition Doll by Jakks Pacific
To be honest, I always walk a little faster past this section of the Disney doll aisle, purposefully avoiding eye contact with these huge princesses. Their oversized faces and round, staring eyes freak me out a little. Also, the price tag is a bit of a stunner. All of the dolls cost $50 except for the Diamond Edition Cinderella, who (because of a bigger dress?) is $60. That's really expensive for a Toys R Us play doll. So, I have been reluctantly watching for a sale, but secretly hoping that I would never need to bring one of these large, glassy-eyed girls home with me.
As luck would have it, over April break, a really good sale started at Toys R Us. All of the princesses (including Cinderella) were $39.99 (sale ends May 11th). I headed over to my local Toys R Us and, with my teenaged son running in the opposite direction as fast as he could, I bit the bullet and settled in to inspect all of the dolls. While Cinderella was the obvious choice for me, especially with the $20 off sale, I actually found Rapunzel to be the most appealing doll in the group:
Disney "Princess & Me" Rapunzel doll. |
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Review Fusion #2
I am in the midst of trying to inject some order into my madness (in other words, rearrange my doll room) and so having the help of such wonderful guest reviewers is amazing. Today, I have two reviewers, George and Amanda, and they will be talking to you about a Mattel Winx Club Bloom doll and a Disney Store singing Cinderella (eeee!). The cover picture this week is an extraordinary photograph that I have been holding on to for months, waiting for the right moment to share it with you. This exquisite girl is a new Cutie Face Makie (like Effie) named "Ever." Ever is owned by Amy and was customized to Amy's specifications by Sioux. You can see more of Amy's pictures of Ever on her gorgeous Flickr photostream. I think Ever is magical:
Makie doll, "Ever." Photo by Amy, used with permission. |
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Disney Store Doll Articulation Update
Cinderella enchanted me from within her box, mostly because of her coy side-glancing eyes:
Charming, right? |
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Disney Descendants "Signature Mal" Doll by Hasbro
The Descendants movie plot centers around Ben, who is the son of Belle and the Beast. The teenaged prince decides to invite several of the villain's kids (who have grown up banished on the Isle of the Lost) to attend his fancy prep school...and then--if I am judging from the trailer correctly--promptly falls in love with one of them. The villain kids feel torn between the wishes of their evil parents and a growing fondness for Ben and his royal friends. Several things about this whole set-up are confusing to me (do all of the fairy tale characters live in the same kingdom? Are they all the same age? Why does Ben get to be the leader? Didn't most of the villains die before they got to reproduce?) but I'm willing to wait and see if everything is explained in the actual movie.
I thought that the 11-inch Descendants fashion dolls were being released just before the movie (on July 20th), so I pre-ordered a few of them and was eagerly anticipating their arrival. However, last weekend I was visiting a Toys R Us store up north and found four of the dolls already in stock! This was a nice surprise, so I jumped on the chance to do a review of one of the characters I didn't pre-order--who actually seems like she might be the star of the whole movie: Mal, the daughter of Maleficent.
Disney Descendants "Signature Mal" doll, $19.99. |
Monday, January 16, 2023
Ily 4EVER Fashion Dolls by Disney
Many of you (and most of Twitter) have been excited about the new Disney ily 4EVER dolls for a few weeks now, but it's taken me this long to produce a review. Sorry! I'm not good at doing things quickly. I'm especially not good at writing reviews quickly, and I fear that I'm getting slower over time. I think this is mostly because I obsess over photographs more than I ever used to, which can be a huge time suck. Ordinarily, my slow pace is not much of a concern; it suits my life, and the reviews get done eventually. However, when there's a hot new doll, a slow response can be incredibly frustrating. I want to give you information as quickly as possible, so you can decide which dolls (if any) to buy!
I can totally understand the hype and anticipation over these dolls. This new collection of 11-inch fashion dolls follows the same idea as the 18-inch ily 4EVER dolls that have been gracing the shelves of Target for a while now. Namely, they are styled as Disney fangirls who wear modern clothing that is based on color schemes and thematic designs inspired by the classic Disney Princesses. It's a very cool concept--especially for an 11-inch fashion doll.
The larger 18-inch ily dolls are adorable, and I've admired them at Target frequently, but they never managed to make it to the top of my review queue. In contrast, these smaller dolls grabbed my attention instantly because of their manageable size, inset eyes, normal-sized heads, lovely faces, and what looks like great articulation. They struck me as something that could be revolutionary for the play doll market, and also for the Disney Store which, as you know, has fallen out of my favor more often than not over the years. I purchased all of the new ily 4EVER dolls (and a few of the accessories) and will share them in one way or another over the next few weeks. The star of today's review is the Tiana-inspired character who was the winner of a Patreon poll. I've named her Tia:
ily 4EVER Tiana doll by Disney, $29.99. |
Friday, February 22, 2013
The Merida Talking Doll from The Disney Store
Even before I got her out of the box, I could tell that this doll has struck another important balance. She is not quite as serious as the limited edition doll, and not quite as goofy as the play doll. She has her own look:
Merida talking doll from the Disney Store. |