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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion

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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion
Shivatopia said:
Nice review & pics, disneygirl333! I like that you took her unsoiled slipper and put it in her hand. It looks great! And she really needed a hand prop. I'll post my pics and a mini-review in a bit (just my thoughts about the final product).
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Shivatopia! I agree about the prop, the dainty lifted arms pose was not going to please me for long! :lol: Your review is great! I can't wait to get my own wedding Rapunzel one day so I can do a fair comparison of the two. I hope Disney accommodates us in some way for the damaged slippers, that should never have happened.
 
Thank you Disneygirl1333 and Shivatopia for your photos and insightful remarks. I love the doll but agree the quality is slipping. As a long time collector my feeling has always been about Disney is they never give us the perfect anything because then you will always buy another. It works on me! I don't think I can ever be satisfied because an animated character can never be truly captured and owned. Just my theory.

I agree with Shiva's assessment of the variations from the film (and I admire his encyclopedic knowledge and total recall of the images on film). I wish Disney issued this line as the ultimate tribute doll and not done as much re-imagination. The theme of the designer 12 inch dolls is re-imagination and I love that , but I think they confused the two themes in regard to the 17 inch line. I think the Rapunzels and Meridas are faithful tributes, but this one is glammed up too much. But I love her and she is my favorite Cinderella-until the next Cindy doll.
 
hello im just getting started collecting and i wanna do the designer and the 17' dolls ....can someone tell me how to post a forum for these or what i need to do...also if you have any dolls for sale please message me !!!
 
Shivatopia I always love reading your reviews about the dolls thank you so much for posting both that and such wonderful pictures
 
here is my video of the doll
[video=youtube;LlP6A4Svfgc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlP6A4Svfgc&feature=player_embedded[/video]
 
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here is my lady tremaine
[video=youtube;e29gk_Kz6sQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e29gk_Kz6sQ&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
2012 Singing vs LE Cinderella Dolls

Posing the 2012 Singing Cinderella Doll side by side with the 2012 Limited Edition Cinderella Doll. The singing doll is listed at 17'' and the LE doll at 18'', but they are both actually 16.5'' tall to the tops of their heads. On her doll stand to the top of her updo, the singing doll is 17 1/4'' tall, whereas the LE doll is 17 3/4'' tall. The singing doll was released online in the US on June 30, 2012, for $29.50. The LE doll was released on October 2, 2012, in an edition size of 5000, for $99.50. They both have the "new look" face and hair, but with substantial differences. First a review of the features of the two dolls, then a series of photos illustrating these features.

Face: They have the same newly designed head mold, and very similar faces that are more youthful and lively than the old look Cinderella. Their light brown eyebrows are very similar, but the singing doll has slightly darker and thicker eyebrows. They both have the same glittering silver eyeshadow. The singing doll has three thick long eyelashes above each eye, whereas the LE doll has six short thin ones. The LE doll also has long curved rooted eyelashes over each eye, with extra long lashes at the outer ends. They have the same bright blue eyes glancing to their left side (our right), with slightly different painted highlights. They have the same small round noses. The rouge on the LE doll is slightly darker and lower on her cheeks than on the singing doll. Their lips are both pink, but the singing doll's is bright or hot pink, whereas the LE doll's is pale or pastel pink. The teeth area of the singing doll is much smaller, so the LE doll has the appearance of a much wider or more open smile. I prefer the look of the singing doll's lips over the LE doll.

Hair: They have the same color light blonde hair. They both have curly bangs, but the singing doll has straight curls, whereas the LE doll's curls are slanted to her right. They both have a single long side curl. The singing doll's is on her left side and curls around counterclockwise against her left cheek, but the LE doll's is on her right side and curls out clockwise away from her head. They both have their hair in high updos. The singing doll's updo is very movie accurate and neatly done, topped off by a round bun on top. The LE doll's updo is very elaborate and consists of a bun surrounded by two layers of stiff curls. It is also very neatly done, with the ends mostly hidden between the bun and upper ring of curls.

Outfits: They both have versions of Cinderella's ball gown, with the singing doll's dress in darker shades of blue than the LE doll. The singing doll has a single layer dark blue glittering satin bodice and skirt. Her sleeves are light blue organza, as is her peplum. Her skirt has a central section of light blue satin, with a light blue organza panel over it. The LE doll's dress is much more elaborate and also closer to the movie version. The bodice is light blue and covered very densely in clear rhinestones of various sizes. The sleeves are very short and off the shoulders, of white organza. She has a large puffy peplum of white organza lightly studded with rhinestones. Her floor length skirt has many layers, consisting of light blue satin, covered with two layers of fine light blue tulle, and finally covered with an overskirt of light blue organza densely studded with a cascade of multi-sized clear rhinestones. There is a 3/4 length still white tulle petticoat to help keep the skirt full, which the singing doll lacks. Unboxed, the skirt is much fuller and more impressive than when it is fitted into the display box. They both have blue headbands. The singing doll's is a lighter shade of blue; the LE doll's is studded with many rhinestones. The LE doll has long white rhinestone studded gloves made of a stretchy knit, so are easy to take on and off, and fit very nicely. The singing doll has no gloves, since the sound button in the palm of her right hand has to be touched by your bare hand to activate the soundbox.

Shoes: They both have clear plastic high heeled shoes that approximate the glass slippers of the movie. The singing doll's shoes have the same design as those Snow White and the other singing dolls with high heels - that is they have bows (not hearts) on top, the heels are relatively thick, and the toes are rounded. The LE doll has newly designed shoes that have thinner heels, more pointy, extended toes, and no decoration on top. Unfortunately, there is a defect common to almost all the LE Cinderella dolls where the insteps of the shoes have brown stains where they made contact with the support rod of the doll stands while they were boxed.

Accessories and Special Features: The singing doll has black cloth choker. The LE doll has a beaded black cloth choker, with a set of black beaded necklaces hanging from it, which is a more elaborate version of the choker on the Designer Cinderella doll. The singing doll can sing ('A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes'), and the LE doll can't. The LE doll has clear rhinestone stud earrings, and a rhinestone studded hair clip. The LE doll has a doll stand, her box is reusable as a display case, and she comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.


2012 Singing vs Limited Edition Cinderellas by the Disney Store - Full Front View by drj1828, on Flickr


2012 Singing vs Limited Edition Cinderellas by the Disney Store - Full Rear View by drj1828, on Flickr


2012 Singing vs Limited Edition Cinderellas by the Disney Store - Portrait Front View by drj1828, on Flickr


2012 Singing vs Limited Edition Cinderellas by the Disney Store - Closeup Front View by drj1828, on Flickr


2012 Singing vs Limited Edition Cinderellas by the Disney Store - Lifting Skirts - Midrange Left Side View by drj1828, on Flickr
 
Group Photos of 17'' LE Disney Store Dolls

My collection of the Disney Store's seven Limited Edition Disney Princess 17'' Collector Dolls so far released in a group portrait. Then they are joined by two LE Disney Villain 17'' Dolls in the next photo. They are all produced and sold exclusively by the Disney Store. I purchased all of them new in their original boxes. They are , in the order of their release, with their movies and release year:

Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 2009)
Tiana (The Princess and the Frog, 2010)
Belle (Beauty and the Beast, 2010)
Rapunzel (Tangled, 2011)
Mother Gothel (Tangled, 2011)
Wedding Rapunzel (Tangled Ever After, 2012)
Merida (Brave, 2012)
Cinderella (Cinderella, 2012)
Lady Tremaine (Cinderella, 2012)


17'' LE Disney Princess Dolls - Magnificent Seven by drj1828, on Flickr


17'' LE Disney Dolls - Seven Princesses + Two Villains by drj1828, on Flickr
 
Hello Do Any of You Think or know if the Disney Store will be releasing some New Winter Boutique Dolls this Year?
 

Great pics! No surprise, but I still love LE Snow White the best. Also, the more I see LE Tiana, the more I like the details of her outfit. Poor LE Cinderella's dress looks a bit plain compared to the rest, despite the sparkles on her gown. LE Cinderella's face is very glamorous, though, far more so than LE Belle.
 
Lovely pictures! It's so nice seeing these collections, they will me to aspire to get the ones I'm missing eventually!

On impulse I picked up the newer Ariel classic doll, and I intended to put her in the pink dress (my other Ariel is in the blue dress). However, when looking through my Disney Store Princess Classic Doll outfits, I found that I rather like how she looks in Rapunzel's green dress from her clothing pack.



 
Tiana is wonderful, she was my first LE purchase in store, I just couldn't put her down! I only have two Tiana dolls, this and a smaller one in her blue gown.

Selithel - your Ariel's hair looks so vibrant with Rapunzel's dress.
 
Wow, they look so beautiful all together, it's my dream to own every single 17" doll, I'm still in the process of trying together them all, but of course since I started late I'm buying second hand on eBay, for more than retail, but sure enough, when I finally get all of them, I will post pictures of my collection too!
 

Gorgeous collection!!! I'm still kicking myself for not getting any of the Rapunzel dolls!! They look beautiful all together!!
 
Review tiiiime! So as many of us know, today was the retail release date of Designer Mother Gothel. She is one of the two Designer Villains that I really had the itch to debox. Originally, I was hesitant in trying to get her at my local store, because 1) the Designer Mother Gothel pin went pretty gross in terms of secondary market price which could have impacted on the sharks wanting to try to cash in on the doll, too; and 2) it was Columbus Day (i.e. more people would be off work to try to get her). Well, I did take a shot, because I really did not want to wait another week and a half or so to get my deboxer. Luckily, only about ten people seem to have come in today to get her, so there was no lottery and everyone got a doll. My doll is #04973/13,000.

Designer Mother Gothel (10/08/2012)

Ok, let's be perfectly honest here: Designer Mother Gothel has been something of a hot topic for a while, with some people loving her and others not so much. With her fancy embroidered train to the plain-looking bodice of her gown, to the "Marge Simpson" beehive hairdo... there's a lot going on here. Top that off with the fact that she was posed in the worst doll pose ever in the factory packaging, maybe it's not so surprising that people were not flocking to get her today at my local store. Oh, and then there seems to be a good number of people who had no clue as to who she is (?!?). That is a huge FAIL for all of those people who claim to be Disney Princess fans or even parents of Disney Princess fans...

Well, Murphy's Law did hit me a bit on this one. The factory glued the plastic cover to the base at the front release tab, so after struggling with it for about 10 minutes, I had to break the tab off to open the case. I hated doing that, but this is my deboxer, so I got over that real quick. Keep in mind that I have opened up all of my Designer doll cases at one point or another to readjust things in my boxed dolls, and this is the first time I had trouble with opening the case. Designer Mother Gothel, however, is the first Designer doll that I have deboxed fully, and that was a real experience! So on to the review:

Designer Mother Gothel is made from the same base doll as the Classic Mother Gothel doll. No surprise, there, considering that she has a very distinct face. In the factory packaging, it's really all about angles with her. For the Classic Mother Gothel doll, she looked great from pretty much all angles, with that crooked smile of hers that could look like a sneer, depending on the angle you are looking at her. I think her cloud of black curls really helped with her overall image. Designer Mother Gothel does not have the luxury of the character's traditional hairdo, and the awful Frankenstein-pose they put her in did not help her cause at all. Her green eyes are side-glancing to her right (which is opposite of all the other Mother Gothel dolls so far), and her eyelids are cloaked in lavender and purple with a line of burgundy above each eye. Her rooted eyelashes are pretty and not wonky-looking at all, lending an air of sultry mystique to her face. Her lips are a dark burgundy color. For some reason, they painted two tiny extra lines above the inner ends of her eyebrows, which makes it look like she is frowning to me... I'm not sure if I like that or not. Those tiny lines are subtle, but they give her a very different look than the Classic Mother Gothel doll.

Her hair... "Marge Simpson beehive" pretty much sums it up. She still has her three tiny curls in front, then they pulled her hair in the front tightly around her head and secured it in the back in a tiny nubby ponytail, which seems to plague this doll line. From a profile view, it kind of looks like the perky tail of an akita dog. Weird. Then the rest of her curly hair is swept up into the infamous beehive. It keeps its shape rather well, though I have identified that there are black rubber bands in there to hold her hair in place. She has a couple of intentional tiny curls at the base of her hairline in the back, which I think is a nice touch.

Her burgundy gown is a lot more beautiful when you debox her. She is posed to show off the craftsmanship of her train, which is fabulous, but the actual dress is very beautiful. You will be able to see it a lot better in my deboxed modified pictures of Designer Mother Gothel in a future post, but she has a fitted satin mermaid gown with a sleeveless v-neckline. I daresay that this gown is way better made than Designer Cinderella or Designer Queen Grimhilde's gowns, which are also mermaid tail gowns, but they have a seam at the waistline that makes the gowns look less streamlined. Designer Mother Gothel does not have that problem. Her gown is a solid piece of fabric from neckline to hem. Also surprising, since the stock photos never showed her actual dress hemline, is that her gown has a gold satin border along the entire circumference of her dress hemline, which certainly makes it a lot less boring than most of us thought her dress would be. The train is exactly as depicted in the stock photos. There are three separate panels, all of which have the magic golden flower embroidered in shiny gold threads. The center panel has a full gold satin border and at the end there is the golden fringe. I think it looks fabulous! Her train looks good from the back, of course, but it also looks great flared out around her when you look at her from the front. The more I look at her, the more I love Designer Mother Gothel. A last word on her dress: I am actually not crazy about the plunging back of the gown, but only because of the way it was constructed. The two side panels of the train are actually part of the back straps, and the fabric bunches up weirdly where everything meets in the back.

Mother Gothel sports burgundy pumps. Her hairpiece is pretty. It is a gold plastic headband that fully encircles her head. Above her left ear is the magic golden flower again with a pearl set into the center. Overall, I think it is a clever ornament. They did not give her earrings, which is a shame, because I really like Mother Gothel's dagger-shaped earrings, but oh well...

So to sum up Designer Mother Gothel, she is really best appreciated if you debox her. That is not to say that many of you will do that, but she looks very mediocre in the factory packaging. This doll needs to be let out. Her dress is a million times more fabulous out of the box, where you can see the svelte silhouette of the dress and the full effect of her train, which fans out kind of like a peacock's tail. I originally hated her beehive, and I was planning on restyling her hair, but now that I've deboxed her, I am actually starting to like it and I may not change it at all.



Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - 01 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - 02 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - 04 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr

Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - 05 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - 07 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - 08 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr

***Note: I do have several flickr accounts, because I don't want to pay for the service... But the flickr accounts for Shivatopia, Flynn.Rider, and Rathful.de.Vil all belong to me. ***
 
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Have you ever wondered how much difference an accessory can make on a doll? Hopefully, this little project can convince you that any doll can be made to look even better than the manufacturer intended with just a little imagination.

So above, you have seen my review of Designer Mother Gothel, who is without a doubt a very gorgeous doll once you get her out of the factory packaging. That side view of her in the factory restraints was to show you how awful she looks from that angle. It's like the Curse of the Mummy or something; she's leaning forward at an unnatural angle with her arms held out in front as if she were about to fall over. Not glamorous at all! DRJ1828 has posted some very comprehensive deboxed photos of Designer Mother Gothel, so I do recommend that you check them out on the Designer Villains thread.

But back to my point: after the stock photos of the Designer Villains dolls were released, I always felt that Designer Mother Gothel was missing something. The answer came to me about a month and a half ago. She needs gloves! I hate seeing exposed doll joints, and that horrid pose that Disney put her in the factory packaging only accentuated her bare arms even more. My first instinct was to look for burgundy gloves to match her gown. Well, those are not easy to come by. I do own a 2001 Mattel Scarlett O'Hara doll in the 1994-made GWtW red dress that has burgundy gloves, but I could never steal accesories from Scarlett! Then it dawned on me that the gloves don't have to match the gown's color at all. Look at Designer Snow White and Designer Cinderella: they don't have a lick of white on their gowns, but their white gloves look very elegant and totally work with the whole ensemble. Well, Mother Gothel should not be sporting white anything. She's dark, selfish, and cruel. So... I found a pair of black gloves for her. The end result is fantastic! After an hour of tugging the gloves over her hands and up her arms, here's the final result! Let me know what you think. I get a more glamorous vibe from her now, and even better, her beehive seems to match her overall look better, too!

I may still redo her hair, but for now, I really like the way she looks! What a difference a pair of gloves can make!


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - Phase One 02 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - Phase One 03 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - Phase One 05 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Designer Mother Gothel - 4973 - Phase One 06 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr
 
Will you mind if I ask from which doll you got the pair of gloves? Your idea is completely genious! She looks totally different with the gloves. More royal, classy and fancy. Congrats for your idea. Also your photos are really good, with the shadowy effect you really managed to capture both Evil and Fashion for Gothel . Thanks for sharing.

I would have loved if the Designers of the doll gave her the Golden Flower, just like Belle has her rose. She would've looked more complete instead of empty handed.
 

Thanks! I believe the gloves belong to a Mattel Barbie, which would explain why it was so hard to get them on Designer Mother Gothel's hands. The Disney dolls' hands have their fingers spread out more than Barbie does, so that was a bit of a challenge. I also have a pair of dark yellow gloves on hand that were custom made, but I finally opted for black on Designer Mother Gothel because I think the yellow gloves would have looked a bit too McDonald's! Plus, the black gloves are a bit of a tribute to her missing black cloak.

I agree that it is a shame that Disney did not give Designer Mother Gothel a hand-held item or gloves. The lack of either makes her look very bare. All of the other Designer Villains have one or the other, or in Cruella's case, both. I don't understand why Mother Gothel got shafted in that area, even though her gown turned out stunning and her headband is intricate.
 
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Love love your idea shivatopia! I also felt as if she needed an accessory! I picture belt like evil queen of something in her arms, it didn't occur to me to give her gloves! I'm going to look for gloves now lol! I'm in love with your idea and thank you for your creativity
 
Wow, Shivatopia your pictures are beautiful and adding the gloves is a brilliant touch. MG was not at the top of my list but the details you pointed out after deboxing the doll makes her look like a totally different doll, just what that bad girl would wear to rock the red carpet.
 
Thanks for all of the positive feedback! I'm actually kind of glad that Disney didn't give Designer Mother Gothel gloves, because it allowed me to exercise my imagination to improve on their product. Also, they probably would have given her a pair of those awful satin gloves, which just do not fit very well on dolls.

Stay tuned for my next fun project!
 
Born from an idea a friend of mine had to dress an Aurora doll in Designer Maleficent's outfit (which looks great!), I decided to dress up my 2011 Sparkle Rapunzel doll in Designer Mother Gothel's beautiful burgundy gown. So just in time for my 700th post here on DPF, may I proudly present: Dark Rapunzel!

I had a lot of fun with this photo shoot. I did not have any appropriate gloves for Rapunzel, so she had to do without, but her bare arms work for her. She has a free and unbound spirit, and I think her long cascading hair balances out the bare-armed look.


Dark Rapunzel - 03 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Dark Rapunzel - 08 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Dark Rapunzel - 09 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr


Dark Rapunzel - 12 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr



Dark Rapunzel - 11 by Rathful.de.Vil, on Flickr

***I do have more photos of Dark Rapunzel on flickr, so please check them out when you have time! ***
 
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