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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion

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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion

Thanks, Polaris! Just as with several of the DS collector dolls in the past year, I had to modify my LE Ariel somehow and she just seemed to be missing a hand-held item. The 'dinglehopper' just seemed like the most logical choice! I have also seriously run out of display space. I have a few of the 17" LE dolls and about half of the 2011 Designer Princesses packed away in their shipper boxes, and no where to put the DFDC dolls! When I receive him, I plan on keeping LE Prince Eric close to LE Ariel. I'll make it work somehow.


LittleMermaidAriel said:
Shiva, I love that you added a dinglehopper! where oh where did you find such a small one to go so perfectly with her? Please share, that was genius!! :like:
Click to expand...

Thank you! My LE Ariel's 'dinglehopper' is actually a metal pin in the shape of a fork that was found from an estate sale, so unfortunately I have no idea who manufactured it or if that company is still in business. It measures about 2.5" inches for scale.
 

Oh darn! Well I'm sure if I really wanted I could probably find a suitable replacement dinglehopper. Maybe when I have some spare cash. I have to recoup from buying Ariel first xD.
 
I'd love to see Ursula next to the Ariel and Eric Designer Set. The sizing would look better to me with a large intimidating Ursula. The pics are great, thanks!
 
Hottopic has dinglehopper earrings that are the right scale for Ariel. The only downside is they have a loop on the end for the earring hook.

It's $6.50 for the set.
 
Nice photos!!!

About dinglehoppers...... that is the best idea! it's so good that I'm surprised she wasn't supplied with one
 
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The Disney Princess LE Dolls - core group as of 10/01/2013 - 02 by Shivatopia, on Flickr

It is the 2013 doll season at the Disney Store, and the 17" LE Ariel has joined the group of 17" LE Disney Princess Doll Collection, bring up the total to six from the original ten Disney Princesses. I did not include LE Merida in this group photograph, because she is being stored at a different location and I also still have not mentally changed gears to not think of her as a Pixar character (albeit the first Pixar princess lead character) as opposed to a Disney-Pixar character (which she is). Based on the remaining Diamond Edition films yet to be released, of the first ten Disney Princesses, it is anticipated that there will be a LE Aurora doll and a LE Jasmine doll to add to this group eventually, but the chances of a LE Pocahontas or LE Mulan doll seem very slim.


I have done everything possible to keep up with the 17" LE doll collections based on the Disney Princesses and Wonderland since I started collecting them in early 2012, so of course this is just a fraction of my actual 17" LE Disney doll collection. However, these shining beauties really do stand out, some more than others for me.


My favorite will always be the 17' LE Snow White doll. Snow White is my favorite princess and of all of the 17" LE dolls, she received the most in terms of an actual transformation of her iconic outfit while still retaining the spirit of the character and even the spirit of the era that her film was made. The fact that she is the first doll of this type to be produced is probably why she seemingly received so much more personal attention to her design and construction. To me, her classic beauty is comparable to the glamour of 1930s Hollywood. Her more fitted empire-waist gown is also more chic and sophisticated than Snow White's regular iconic gown from the film, though the colors, collar, sleeves, and cloak make her identity absolutely unquestionable. I still believe that the most attention was provided to LE Snow White over all of the LE dolls since, in that she has more well-crafted accessories, more hand-sewn details (with no glue-on gems), and more of an original design (while still keeping close to the spirit of the character) than any of the dolls released since. Truly, she is still the reigning queen of the 17" LE Disney dolls.


To my great surprise, LE Ariel has taken the second spot in my ranking of the six LE Disney Princess dolls so far. The stock photos showing her over-designed seashell bra, yellowish eye shadow, and the petal scales of her fish tail made me very nervous about everyone's favorite redhead mermaid. However, when I finally received my doll, I was very impressed by her beauty and the fact that she blends in so well with the LE Princess doll collection even though she is not wearing a gown. I did have to give my doll a hand-held prop: a dinglehopper, which only made her more complete. For me, one of the most endearing qualities of LE Ariel is that she exudes a modern style and flair in the same way that LE Snow White shines brightly with her classic old Hollywood beauty, so that the dolls of these two princesses truly reflect the epochs of their important films which both saved the Disney Animation Studios.


My third favorite LE Princess doll is LE Tiana, because as the second LE doll ever made, a lot of fine details were devoted to her too. True, the glue-on gems first started to be used with her, but they really do enhance her gown very well. Her gown is an excellent rendering of her bayou wedding gown, complete with many layers of fabric, which all have different textures and even color gradations. The white lily petals of her skirts are fantastic, and even better they are all separate petals as opposed to a single piece of fabric with several pointy ends. Of the six LE Princess dolls so far, I think that LE Tiana certainly is the most movie-accurate. Her shoes are also very specially designed and the frog Naveen is just adorable.


Ranking fourth is the blonde LE Rapunzel doll, who would have ranked higher if her face were a bit more accurate and if they had not given her those voluminous bell sleeves. I suppose that those sleeves were provided to give her more of a Renaissance feel, but they make her look bulky. Rapunzel's character design is actually rather slim and streamlined, which really brings out the sheer volume of her glorious magical hair. The LE Rapunzel doll's gown actually hides her hair. Still, her gown is otherwise very beautiful, from the puffed sleeves with actual piping details, to her fancy bodice and layered skirts. The fabric of her bodice and inner skirt were made just for her, which is always a nice detail to see. She is a beautiful doll and one of my all-time favorites, but LE Ariel and LE Tiana edged her out by being just a little more fantastic.


Fifth for me is LE Cinderella, who has only two things that I consider less than perfect: her hairstyle and her makeup. Her gown is gorgeous, even without her signature poofy shoulder sleeves. Her hairstyle is as far from classic Cinderella as they could have gone. The double-layered mass of pin curls around the central bun looks more "prom" than royal ball. They also gave her that random side curl on the side of her face, which I have tucked away back through her headband. For me, it was a huge improvement for this doll. Her makeup is very subdued and flat. For a blonde doll with a somewhat tanned complexion, the worst lipstick color is a pale pink. So what did they give LE Cinderella? Pale pink! For fans of the film, the fact that all of the Cinderella dolls that are made are always a pale blonde, as opposed to the sandy-blonde/strawberry blonde that Cinderella is in her own film, is already a sore point, but did they have to really make LE Cinderella look like Malibu Barbie dressed as Cinderella going to the prom? A darker lipstick color (like the coral color she has in the film) would have made LE Cinderella look more glamorous. Another problem with this doll for many people is that the material used to make her glass slippers seems to have a chemical reaction to the metal pole of her doll stand, which damaged the shoes by marring them with blood-red stains. The Disney Store in the USA was unwilling to replace them, so many of these dolls (my doll included) have this unseen flaw. Luckily, her dress is long enough to cover this up.


Finally, to round out the first six of the original ten Disney Princess LE dolls, is LE Belle. There is certainly nothing intrinsically wrong with this doll, but like LE Cinderella, there are a bunch of things that I would have done differently for her. First, her facial expression is that unusually worried look that a lot of DS Belle dolls received in the late 2010-2011 time frame. Part of it is the shape of her eyebrows and the other part is her side-glancing eyes. I think that if she were facing forward, that expression would have been avoided. Second, the silk rosettes on her bodice are fine from a distance or from certain angles, but upon close inspection, they look like a row of flashlights sticking out of her bosom. If they really wanted to go with the rosettes, they should have shaped flatter ones to avoid that. The same type of rosettes are used on her skirt with the organza draping, and there, they look fine. Several of the LE dolls have uncharacteristically long hair, and LE Belle is one of them. The Disney Store has never made a Belle doll with the proper hair length, and LE Belle is no exception. It does not look bad, but it also takes away from the elegant, sophisticated hairdo she had in the film. Last, I would have made her skirt more, well, bell-shaped. LE Belle's skirt looks like a cone instead of the full 17th century skirts that this gown was inspired from. I still like LE Belle a lot, but these details prevent me from loving her.


Snow White 0224 - 04 by Shivatopia, on Flickr
LE Ariel #0936 - 08 by Shivatopia, on Flickr
2010 - LE Tiana 0485 - 05 by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Rapunzel 4865 - 04 by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Cinderella 0038 - 06 by Shivatopia, on Flickr (This picture was before I tucked her side curl up through the headband and into her updo.)
Belle 4669 - 07 by Shivatopia, on Flickr

 
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You are so right in your descriptions. I think I would rank them the same. I wish Cindy was more like herself and less like Prom Barbie and Belle just looks funny to me. I don't even own her because I think she wasn't done well enough for me to hunt her down. Although I probably will eventually. I don't mind the longer than normal hair, but her dress just isn't as nicely done and her face is too narrow or something. I really need to get Tiana one day. She is exquisite!
 
Great review of all the dolls Shiva, I'm a little jealous of your collection there. haha. I agree totally with you on Belle by the way. I don't understand the weird obsession Disney has with the long hair. I understand it for the normal 12 inch dolls, kids play with them, but the LE editions could have been much closer to the original Belle, right?

Also, I'm not entirely convinced by Rapunzel either as the LE doll as she looks very uncharacteristic, almost static.

Very happy with your top two though ;-) would probably swap Ariel to first place, but she's the first LE doll I actually own in the series. ;-)
 
I always love the detail and devotion you put into your lists Shiva! Even if I don't agree with each thing, you put so much thought into it that I can entirely respect your opinion no matter what. You really are a joy to have around here and I always look forward to these sort of posts from you!

One day, Snow White. One day...
 
Beautiful collection pics and reviews Shivatopia! Very informative and I agree with your descriptions too, especially in regards with Belle. (wasn't too crazy about her worried look.) I hope to get Tiana and Snow soon!!! Thank you for sharing!
 
I was wondering, has anyone got dolls from Ashton Drake? They have a very exquisite Tiana but the site images for Cinderella are...weird. They look heavily photoshopped. This is her; http://www.ashtondrake.com/products/301312001_cinderella-doll.html
I found some user-taken images of the Tiana online, but can't find any for the Ariel and Cinderella. Reaaaallly curious if there are any online reviews/images for these two!!

Also....I hope Aston drake make more Disney dolls using the smae quality and style they used for Tiana! I am going to make an assumption that Tiana is not selling very well because the film wasn't too popular etc etc , I hope that does not put them off making more, I think if Cinderella and Ariel were made to the same standard they would be sold out by now!
Also, the thought of a Ariel, Mulan, Jasmine or Sleeping Beauty made similar to the Tiana doll would be overwhelmingly amazing!!!
 
The AD Ariel is on my wishlist. She looks beautiful in the pictures Ive seen.
 
So these lovelies came in today!!!! I took advantage of the %40 off last weekend as well as my gift card I received for the damaged Ursula and got them for a great price!!!! They are wonderful and I'm so happy!


IMG_3340 by ory.lopez, on Flickr
 
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I can't comment on the Ariel and Cinderella since I don't have them, but I can definitely vouch for Tiana. I have both AD Tiana dolls, and they are two of my favorite dolls that I own. They're gorgeous, even more so in person. I posted photos somewhere in this thread. Sadly, I don't think AD will be making any more Disney dolls. It really is a shame considering the care that went into designing Tiana.
 
So I got another shelf to display my dolls, so I did some rearranging and took more pics and just had to share!


DSC_6680 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6679 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6676 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6675 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6623 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6631 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6672 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6636 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6643 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6640 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6669 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr


DSC_6682 by Cobalt Avenger, on Flickr
 
Fabulous collection and display, Polaris! I totally need to find a good way of displaying all of my stuff. Space is so limited, not that it stops me from buying all of these lovely items! I am now reaching the point where things do have to be stashed away for lack of display space.
 
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