• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!

Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion

Status
Not open for further replies.
Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion
BethDarleen said:
Hi! - I'm a newbie here :) - I've collected Disney dolls for about 20 years now (mostly Mattel). I am at that point where I many have to slim down my collection. I pretty much have them all from 1991 (I am making a book) but I am running out of room fast....The OOAK dolls are so much fun and you are fortunate to have so many. I have created a few OOAK dolls, my favorite is my Pocahontas 2 doll or My stepmother Lady Tremaine doll.
My favorite that Mattel created is the 10th Anniversary Belle :)


pocahontas2doll.jpg
stepmotherboxopen.jpg
[/
QUOTE]

I love these dolls. There very beautiful.
Click to expand...
 
I haven't been able to find that Charlotte ANYWHERE! I think I'm just going to have to give in and eBay her... (or is she still available at Toys R Us???)
 
I found it at a Wal-mart. You might want to check Target as well. Toy-R_Us still has online just search Charlotte for 12.99. She is hard to find in stores though.

disneycrazee said:
I haven't been able to find that Charlotte ANYWHERE! I think I'm just going to have to give in and eBay her... (or is she still available at Toys R Us???)
Click to expand...
 
My girls.

Got Mulan off ebay.:eek2: But got it for a good deal. Happy with her. Thought about ordering her but sold out before I could. And Snow White of course I was one of lucky few that's orders from Disney Store Online did not get cancelled. Snow White is the Princess that started it all.

DSCF0629.jpg
 
Last edited:
LE 18" Jack and Sally

Here is an action photo of my Limited Edition 18" Jack Skellington and Sally dolls from the Disney Store. Jack is strangling Dr Finklestein, Sally is leaning on Igor, and another Sally (part of the large figurine) is behind the Doctor's wheelchair, looking very glum. I got the large Doc and Sally figurine from Disneyland about eight years ago. The top of the Doctor's skull opens up like a teapot lid, and you can see his brain inside, as in the movie.

At first, I was a little put off by the unhappy expressions of the LE dolls, but I figure that they match the fact that they are buried alive in coffins. Sally looks positively scared to death! LOL. Both of them have very movie accurate details. They are both LE 2000, and both still for sale online. They both come with metal and plastic stands, and a cardboard and cloth coffin.

Sally is a wonderful doll, with silky smooth rusty red hair, nicely painted face and body, and very nice clothing. She is actually only 14" tall. She is very heavy (heavier than Jack) and very solidly made. Her head swivels 45 degrees in each direction from straight ahead. Her arms rotate 360 degrees around her shoulders. Her hips rotate about 75 degrees forwards and 15 degrees backwards, so she sits tilted slightly backwards. Her joints are very loose, so she feels like a marionette when holding her loosely in your hands. That also means that there is no way she can stand up on her own, without considerable support.

Jack is very skinny and stiff, so provides a stark contrast to Sally. He is 17" tall. His head swivels about 90 degrees to the right, and not at all to the left. This might be a defect, but it doesn't bother me enough to want to complain about it to Disney. It is also fairly loose, as is Sally's head. His other joints are very stiff, but seem to loosen up somewhat with use. His elbows pivot about 120 degrees in each direction. His shoulders pivot about 90 degrees in each direction. His knees and hips swivel about 90 degrees in each direction. His coattails are wired, so even they can be posed. So cool!


Limited Edition Jack and Sally Dolls with Large Figurine of Sally, Dr Finkelstein and Igor by drj1828, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
^^^Wow those look great! Thanks for posting such awesome detail about the figures. Kind of makes me want to collect NBC, but then I think about all the collections I already have. ;) Somewhat off-topic (well, non-Disney) but these made me think of the wonderfully accurate 14-18" Corpse Bride dolls (I have Emily, Victor, and regular Victoria). :D
 
"Listen well, all of you...!" With the Disney Princess Designer Doll release madness over and Halloween approaching, I would like to introduce some of the Delightfully Devilish Diva dolls from the Disney Universe into this thread. When I visited WDW in the first week of October, successfully escaping from the worries of the problems of life and TDS, I was able to hobnob with many of my favorite characters from Disney at Mickey's No-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. For the first time in my life, I was able to meet Maleficent, which was a major highlight of my vacation. When I got back home, I just had to finally purchase 2 dolls that I have had my eye on for 13 years (Maleficent and Queen Grimhilde), so I found and bought them to go alongside my Cruella De Vil doll. Again, I usually keep my dolls in the box, and these pictures have been borrowed from other online sources and do not belong to me. So without further ado, let me present:

Maleficent - Great Villains Collection
attachment.php

There are two different Maleficent dolls on the market, and this one is definitely the better of the two. This doll was released in 1998 as the fifth doll in the Great Villains Collection and features a very unique doll head sculpt specifically made for Maleficent. As you can see, she perfectly resembles the Mistress of all Evil in every way. Her horns are part of the actual head sculpt and not a removable headdress. Her flowing robes are meticulously reproduced from the film, resembling dark flames in black and purple. In her left hand, Maleficent holds her gold scepter crowned with a translucent green orb that really appears to glow when struck by the light. Her pet raven Diablo is included with the doll. Far better than the majority of Disney's princess dolls, this doll is a perfect recreation of the character. Elegant, cold, beautiful, taunting, and proud, this Maleficent doll is one of my favorite dolls.


Queen Grimhilde (The Evil Queen) - Great Villains Collection
attachment.php

Vain, beautiful Queen Grimhilde (also known as the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) translated just as well into doll form as the fourth in the Great Villains Collection. Like Maleficent, a special head sculpt was made for Queen Grimhilde, which perfectly exhibits the cold, untouchable beauty of the vain queen. From her green eyes filled with envy for the fair Snow White, to her chiseled cheekbones, to her flawless makeup, she is perfect. She is dressed in her signature purple satin gown with long hanging sleeves, with a red and gold tasseled silk cord secured about her hips. Her beautiful face is framed by a sleek, black wimple, extravagant white collar and golden crown. Completing the dramatic look, a voluminous black velvet cloak, trimmed with white fur and lined in bright red, cascades down from her shoulders, secured by a stunning jeweled broach. The doll also comes with a tiny replica of the decorated box that Queen Grimhilde gave to the Huntsman to place Snow White's heart (not shown in the picture above). I do not think that a better doll could be made to represent the glamorous queen.


Cruella De Vil
attachment.php

Cruella De Vil is easily my most favorite Disney villain ever, and I always have the best time meeting Cruella at the Disney parks. This doll comes from a totally different series than the two dolls above (the two Cruella dolls that were part of the Great Villains collection were patterned after the Glenn Close movie version, of which I was never terribly fond). This doll has a more "cartoony" feel to her, but Cruella's actual character design from 101 Dalmatians actually allows for that quite well. Her clothes are absolutely fabulous, from her black satin gown to her trademark white mink coat (made, of course, from faux fur here) lined in red. Her red gloves are painted on her hands and arms, allowing for her to have detailed definition in her hands, and she holds her socially offensive cigarette holder elegantly in her fingers. Her other accessories include her fur purse, red shoes, and turquoise ring and earrings. Again, a special head sculpt had to be made for Cruella. Probably the one thing I am not fond of with this doll is her hair. The color is right, but they stiffened it so much that it looks like a bubble, instead of the free-moving shoulder length hair she had in the movie. Nevertheless, I think this is a great doll that does capture the essence of the politically incorrect Cruella De Vil.


There is a fantastic Ursula doll that is part of the Great Villains Collection that I may also get at some point, but she looks huge! The Sea Witch was never a tiny gal, and this doll is no exception, and she looks so fantastically drag! However, I need to pull back from doll buying for a while...

 
Last edited:
I LOVE those villains dolls. I remember admiring them when they came out, but because of lack of funds, I couldn't afford to start on another doll collection. They are definitely fabulous with their unique molds, but I think Ursula is actually my favorite, just because she's sooo different! But yes, she is huge, which is why I never bought her! lol
 
Is there a picture of the Ursula? I have the Simba one which no doubt pales in comparison. I must have the other release of Maleficent as her staff has Diablo on it, not the fancy green one and her stand is plain rather than the one you've shown.
 
You have some really wonderful dolls - all of you. I'm looking for a class to help me learn how to paint the dolls. Do they sell eyelashes and earrings?
 
swim2sea said:
You have some really wonderful dolls - all of you. I'm looking for a class to help me learn how to paint the dolls. Do they sell eyelashes and earrings?
Click to expand...

Eyelashes are more often rooted/sewn onto the doll for OOAK projects, but I do believe that there are some companies that do make ready-to-apply doll eyelashes, like denverdoll (they have a website) who has some in 3-7 mm length on a 5.5" strip that you can cut up to use as needed.

Earrings are also more often than not hand crafted, but there are many people on eBay who make them and their prices are often very reasonable. You can also take the earrings off of a Barbie to use on your own projects, but beware that they usually have a piece of the earring post on the inside part of the doll's head that would normally prevent the earring from falling out that you would have to break in order to remove the earring to use for your own dolls.
 
Ok, well, I never like to leave things half-done, so I will now continue on with my reviews and personal thoughts about the Princess Designer Dolls. I finally received three of the last 5 dolls yesterday evening from TDS via UPS, and the last 2 are due on Monday (Halloween), so I will only be reviewing Rapunzel, Pocahontas, and Jasmine today. Once I get the other two, I'll wrap up this mini-series. I am sure that many of you are exhausted with the Designer series, and I don't blame you. What should have been fun and exciting became a nightmare for us all. Still, the dolls are lovely and, in my opinion, worth the trouble we went through to get them. I apologize for the "Sold Out" logo on some of these pics. They come directly from TDS website...

Disney Princess Designer Rapunzel
6070040900134

Our 10th official Disney Princess seems to be hit or miss with a lot of people who are collecting these dolls. Many feel that Designer Rapunzel does not really look like Rapunzel from the film, and many others absolutely love this rendition of her. I am in the latter group. I really like the way Designer Rapunzel turned out, because she is, without a doubt, stunning. She has the longest hair out of the 10 princesses, despite some stiff competition from Designer Ariel and Jasmine, which is appropriate given her legend. The style is free-flowing, except for the thin braid details, which do enhance her overall appearance to be more elegant-looking than her normal style. The gown is beautiful with its voluminous satin skirt, purple laced-up corset/bodice, and frilly "crumb catcher" (I really hate that name... it makes her sound like a messy eater!). I was very pleased that the frilly fabric is really a mauve color, and not pink, like the pictures suggest. I always was of the opinion that Designer Rapunzel needed to feature shades of purple and violet more, instead of pink. The gemstone embellishments on her corset and the ends of the silk cord lacing are very tastefully done. The hand mirror is still an enigma to many as to why it was given to Designer Rapunzel, but it is very pretty and actually has a reflective face, which I think is a neat touch. Ok, at first when I saw the pictures and the sample dolls at the retail Disney Stores, I thought Rapunzel looked very smug, which does not fit her character at all. Now that I have one of my own, and I have seen Tangled a few dozen times more, there are times when Rapunzel does briefly make the same side-glance look (like when she and Pascal are playing hide-and-seek in the beginning of the film). Every time I look at my doll, I love her more, even with the antennae eyelashes. As a side note, as a Classicist, I find that Designer Rapunzel really reminds me of a modern-day Aphrodite, with her long blonde hair, somewhat sensual knowing look, hand mirror, the colors of her dress, and the scalloped fabric of the bodice... and for me, that's a good thing!

Disney Princess Designer Pocahontas
6070040900133-1

I chose to post the promotional Disney out of the box picture for Designer Pocahontas, because their boxed picture of her is one of the worst pictures ever. Designer Pocahontas has also brought up a good share of debates about whether people like her or not. Overall, I like her, with the only exception that the fabric of her gown needed to be something more luxe. The brown felt was seemingly chosen because it resembles the visual texture of doeskin, but on the doll, especially upon close inspection, the dress looks very cheap. Ok, so moving past that, Designer Pocahontas is very pretty, though when I look at her face I see Padma Lakshmi instead of Pocahontas. I can't help it! I can just see her saying, "So-and-so, please pack you knives and go." :p I would have also given her a hairstyle that was loose and free instead of the bound ponytail, but the ponytail does not look bad...just not what I feel is appropriate for the free-spirited Pocahontas. The design of the gown is good, and the best feature for me is the rows of beads at her left shoulder, which are copper colored with iridescent green flashes. The copper gem accents throughout the dress are also pretty and somewhat distract from the bad choice in the base material of the gown. Similar to Rapunzel's mirror, I do not get the significance of Pocahontas' clutch purse. Some people have speculated that it is a chestnut, and the color is certainly "chestnutty," but conceptually, it makes no sense! Pocahontas is a doll for whom I would love to design a completely new gown. Designer Pocahontas is not terrible, but also not one of my top 5 favorites from this collection.


Disney Princess Designer Jasmine
6070040900132

Designer Jasmine is a doll I really wanted to like, and her design sketch is definitely one of the most stunning of the series, both visually and conceptually. When I opened my Designer Jasmine doll's box, I was incredibly disappointed by the actual result of her conversion into doll form. Let us start with the positives, because there are a few good features of this doll, despite my disappointment. Jasmine's face is very pretty and true to the character, but that also means that she looks a bit more "cartoony" than some of the other Designer dolls. The character designs from Aladdin have unusually large eyes, so the doll naturally would share these features. Her accessories are also fabulous: her signature earrings with the new gem accents, the bejeweled lamp, and the fantastic gold chain belt. The colors and fabric choices are appropriate to Jasmine and very luxe-looking. Her raven colored hair is very long, and looks rather gorgeous. Ok, so now for the negatives... her rather large Tyra Banks "fivehead" (i.e. large forehead that measures the width of 5 fingers held together) added to the big hair style they wanted to give her on top make her head look disproportionally massive compared to her body. Also, though I am sure that her legs are the same length as the other dolls, the skirt makes the lower part of her body look very short to me. Somehow, from sketch to doll, something went wrong, and instead of the statuesque Arabian goddess that the sketch depicts, the doll looks like a little girl who put on her mom's clothes. Like I said, I really wanted to like the Designer Jasmine doll, but the flaws outweigh the merits.


Next week, I should finally get Designer Aurora and Tiana from TDS, and at that time, I will complete my thoughts about this series of dolls. Again, you may not agree with my opinions at all, and I totally respect that. But remember that they are only opinions, and you are certainly welcome to share what you love or dislike about the dolls, too! I may not like a doll that you absolutely love, and my opinions should never be seen as a slight to you or your favorite princesses. :)
 
Last edited:
This next doll is a great pleasure for me to share, because this doll is of my absolute favorite Disney character of all time: Megara from Hercules. I bought this doll back in 1997 (which is several years before I became a dedicated doll collector), and I have kept her close to me all these years. I did debox her almost immediately after I got her. Thankfully, she is still in perfect condition, especially her hair, which is made of very fine doll hair that has a tendency to tangle and get matted rather easily if you are not careful. This picture is an actual picture of my doll on display in my home. :)

attachment.php

Disney did release a couple of Megara dolls around the time the movie premiered, but they were the same base doll in different outfits. This doll is officially known as Fashion Secrets Megara, because you are able to restyle her gown from its classic look into a shorter chic style, as well as use the scarf and additional clips to restyle her look. I have never played around much with that, because I love her regular outfit as it is. Her violet gown actually comes in two parts: the base dress (which is the bodice and a skirt made of the fine pleated material that is visible near her feet) and the outer skirt, which detaches with a velcro closure. Her violet sandals are securely fastened with silk ribbons all the way up to her knees. The sheer scarf has two copper elastic bands which can be attached to her wrists or anywhere along her arm (I recently moved one side up to give the scarf a cape-like look). Her beautiful auburn hair is very long; her ponytail cascades down to her hips. They styled her bangs and side curls very well, as even after all these years, they are still held tightly in place. True to the movie, she has a very cartoon-look to her face, but she is undeniably Megara.

I love this doll for many reasons: I majored in Classical History at my university, I have owned this doll for over 14 years, she is very beautiful, and she is Megara (my #1 favorite). Like Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (of whom I also own the doll, but she has been tucked away safely into storage somewhere), Megara is probably not a character that Disney will release in doll form ever again. I did an eBay search today, and sellers are asking for at least $150 and as much as $250 for BIN listings for a boxed Fashion Secrets Megara. So, do I regret taking mine out of the box? No way! This doll is not going anywhere!
 
Random and off-topic- are we now using TDS for The Disney Store? 'Cause every time I see it, I automatically think Tokyo DisneySEA. Since Tokyo DisneySEA has traditionally been TDS, I always just used DS for Disney Store (plus, the whole not using articles thing). It keeps throwing me for a loop...I was like, wait, how did you get Designer Dolls in Tokyo? LOL!

It's like the HM Haunted Mansion/Hidden Mickey thing all over again...
 
Shiva -- that Meg doll is simply gorgeous!!!! They so don't offer up enough Meg merchandise if any at all.


Wow on the Poca 2 doll I had no idea it was a OOAK great work! I love seeing everyone's creations, I simply don't have the skills for that particular project.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top