I got my Ballgown Cinderella in, so here's a quick review (as well as a general review of the 17" line in general, and the direction it's taking). Just some thoughts that have been rattling around in my head...
First, it should be said that I haven't seen a lot of the older 17" dolls in person, so when I say "my favorites of the line" and things of that nature, keep that in mind! Also, I'm a casual doll collector, so there are definitely people here who know more about this stuff than me...I have my Disney dolls, some Barbies I've liked, a couple of Madame Alexander, and a few Marie Osmond Disney pin dolls. So I am by no means an expert!
With all that said...I am not a fan of the Ballgown Cinderella. The presentation is fine (box, details, etc.). In fact, I think almost all of my issues with it can be summed up with her face/head. I've actually never been a fan of dolls and action figures that try and mold faces based on real people. With the exception of a handful of people (like that one amazing OoaK guy), no one can seem to get it right. For one thing, they almost always make the heads too big. I'm not sure why...? Maybe to emphasize the actor's face? But they look like they're one step away from being bobble heads to me.
She doesn't even particularly look like Lily to me. For one thing, Lily's eyebrow game is STRONG in that movie...the doll's are toned down quite a bit (perhaps for the best, really).
But all of that kind of takes backseat to the fact that she's not smiling? Like, my doll looks DEPRESSED. It's such a strange decision to make for a joyful, Disney doll. Even on Wedding Cindy (which I like much better in general), if you look closely, her actual mouth line is down-turned, but they painted a very slight uplift in the corners, to mimic a slight smile. Even though the line of her mouth is turned down.
So not very happy with the face or head at all.
Her hair is nice, no issues there. But her gown...is sort of dull? Like, in the movie, it was a vivid, VIVID shade of purplish-blue, with lots of shades worked through it. And while it's not a BADLY done, it's definitely not vivid or eye-popping.
So my overall opinion is "meh". I'm hoping Emma Watson's Belle will be much nicer, and might actually have a smile on her face.
The dolls this year have been kind of disappointing for me, in general. While I loved the costumes on the new Frozen dolls (I don't own any of the previous releases, so for me, it was nice to see some more), the shine really detracts from them. I assume they're trying to make them look like porcelain dolls or something? But the coat is far too heavy, and ends up making them look like they have oily faces instead. They look very weird sitting with the rest of the line, so I think I'm going to have to isolate them from the other dolls (they're not so obviously bad when they sit on their own).
On my magic "make it how I like it" list, the only two other things I would fix would be variety in the dolls (which I think will happen over time, since we're getting Jasmine this Fall), and the eye sizes. Large eyes work on Ariel and the CG princesses, like Rapunzel and Frozen. But the eyes looked a little big on Aurora. To me, Cinderella looks GORGEOUS (yes, I'm one of the freaks that likes the Cinderella...in fact, she's my favorite). And one of the things I liked about her was her eyes were smaller. Basically, just make sure to match the eyes to the movie style.
I hope Disney doesn't do what they've done before in other collectible lines. Once they realize they've got a hit, and anyone will buy their items, they stop putting effort into the designs, and quality control goes to crap. Snow White looks amazing to me, and partially because they took some liberties with her design and didn't do an exact replica. I hope they keep that spirit. Both Ariel and Eric look amazing, as well, and they were later in the line. As long as we keep that level of design and care, I think we'll have a line we can love for years...
:io:
I've always respected other people collecting dolls, they've just never been 'my thing', so to have this desire to get one has taken me by complete surprise! Honestly reading the nail biting stories of people getting them is part of it I think. That adrenaline when you nab one! It's so exciting! I don't get much of that since I buy most of my pins on eBay, except for the occasional competitive auction or raffle pin at an event. I'm sad I missed the days of online pin sales.
I have no guesses as to the edition number though, maybe 3500? I guess they might make 2 like they did with Cinderella but I'm not sure if they would. I feel like Cinderella is a much bigger deal.
