Vanessa vs. Ariel - The Little Mermaid Deluxe Doll Gift Set - Review and Photos
Vanessa and Ariel from the The Little Mermaid Deluxe Doll Gift Set have been fully deboxed, and are standing next to each other. The head and body of both dolls are actually the same (and are a mix of the 2013 Classic Ariel head and the 2012 Classic Princess body), so they could be considered as sisters. But their appearances are strikingly different, in addition to the fact that Vanessa is human and Ariel is a mermaid. Following is a detailed comparison of their features.
Face and skin: Vanessa has deep violet eyes, that are large and round, and slightly glancing to her right. She has no eyeshadow, and six thin, short lashes over each eye. Her eyebrows are dark brown, long, thin and arched, with the arch being more pronounced on her right side. She has thin, bright red lips in a sexy smile. Her skin is a pale purple color (much paler than Ursula's purple skin), that can pass for pale pink or gray in low light.
Ariel has dark blue green eyes, that are big and wide open. They are bigger and rounder than Vanessa's. She is making a strong glance to her right. She has silver eyeshadow, and four short thick lashes over each eye. Her eyebrows are light brown, thick, mostly straight, and end well before the bridge of her nose. She has fuller lips than Vanessa, with a correspondingly smaller opening in her mouth, forming a happy open smile. She has medium light flesh colored skin.
Hair: Vanessa has medium length dark brown hair, down to the middle of her back, with gentle curls at the ends. The hair surrounding her face is gelled to keep it neat, but otherwise the hair is soft and smooth. It was easy to even out after deboxing, using just my fingers. Her hair frames her face and shoulders beautifully.
Ariel has long red hair, down to her hips. The botom half has gentle curls. The hair above her forehead is stiffened with gel to keep it out of her face. The rest of her hair is soft and smooth. The hair was never divided in the box, so it is easy to even out and make neat after deboxing, without combing. Her hair falls straight past her shoulders, and looks very nice both from the front and the back.
Outfit: Vanessa wears a simple purple satin dress that is glitter free. It is dark purple on top, with straps over her shoulders and no sleeves. There is a small V-shaped panel over her chest, and the waist line is V-shaped as well. The skirt is floor length, not very wide, and made of single layer of light purple satin that is hemmed at the bottom.
Her shoes are black flat heeled slippers.
Ariel has a her mermaid outfit on, with a glittering purple shell bikini top (supported by clear plastic shoulder straps). Her legs are completely covered by a glittering bright green satin tail, with smooth organza fins above her waist and below her feet. She is standing tippy toed in the tail.
Accessories: Vanessa's only accessory is a necklace made of dark purple string, with a golden conch shell hanging from it. The shell holds Ariel's voice. The accessory is the same as that worn by Designer Ursula, except that Ursula's necklace had a golden chain.
Ariel has no accessories.
Body: Both Vanessa and Ariel have the 2012 Princess body, so they are fully articulated. They have ball jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and ankles, and hinged knees. Their hips make them sit with their legs about 90 degrees apart, and their wobbly knee joints tend to make them bow legged. But Ariel's tail hides her legs, so their deficiencies are not apparent, unless she attempts to sit down.
With her ankle joints, Vanessa can wear flats with her feet flat on the ground, so she stands at only 11 1/4 inches tall, about 1/4 inch shorter than if she wore high heeled shoes.
Ariel is on tippy toes to fit into her tail costume, so she stands at 11 3/4 inches tall, 1/2 inch taller than Vanessa, and 1/4 inches taller than Princesses with high heels.
Summary: Vanessa, as the human form of Ursula, has a sultry, cunning, devious look to her. She doesn't look out and out evil, but rather has a come hither look, and is definitely out to cause mischief. Her dark soul is reflected in her dark features. She is stylish looking in her neat hairdo and simple glitter free satin dress. She has the purple skin of Ursula, but it is much paler.
Her face is rounder than the movie character, and her features are no fully movie accurate, but she is a gorgeous doll, and has the look of villainy in her soul.
Ariel has a cheerful, innocent look, with her bright, wide open eyes and happy smile. She is the most movie accurate Ariel that the Disney Store has made so far. I also think she is the most beautiful DS Ariel.
The Little Mermaid Deluxe Doll Gift Set
I purchased The Little Mermaid Deluxe Doll Gift Set from a local Disney Store on Friday, June 21, 2013. It is rather expensive for a 5 doll set, at $79.95. Last year's Cinderella Deluxe Doll Gift Set ws $79.50, but it had 6 dolls, two dresses and a dress form, as well as some small figures of animal sidekicks. It would have been nice if this TLM set also had additional outfits for Ariel.
The box consists of a cardboard tray to which the dolls and figures are attached. The tray slides into a sturdy cardboard case, with a handle. The front has a large clear plastic viewing window, with the names of each character over the corresponding doll.
The set contains dolls of Vanessa, Ursula, Ariel as Mermaid, Prince Eric, and King Triton. Also included are small figures of Ariel's friends Scuttle, Flounder and Sebastian. The Disney Store has never made a doll of Vanessa before, and she is exclusive to this set. All the dolls besides Vanessa are different from the previously released Disney Store dolls. Ursula and King Triton have had small changes to their faces, and the king's trident is a different design. Eric has a new longer head mold and different face paint. Ariel has the new head and hair, but the old (2012) outfit and body. Vanessa has the same head mold as the Ariel doll (new for 2013), but of course different face paint and hair. She has pale purple colored skin, and the 2012 body, with fully articulated hard plastic legs.
Vanessa vs. Ariel - The Little Mermaid Deluxe Doll Gift Set - Disney Store - Full Front View by
drj1828, on Flickr
Vanessa vs. Ariel - The Little Mermaid Deluxe Doll Gift Set - Disney Store - Full Front View by
drj1828, on Flickr