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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion

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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion
Someone had requested side-by-side comparisons of LE Snow White and LE Alice next to LE Elsa & LE Anna. The most immediate thing that I notice when I look at them together is that LE Elsa and LE Anna show a greater level of design than some of the less-designed LE doll offerings from 2012 (in 2012, I think that only LE Wedding Rapunzel and the individual LE Merida dolls had really great detailed designs that year), which is always a good thing. LE Elsa and LE Anna also retain the look of their film's art design with their head sculpts, which is fantastic, but they do not have that same timeless-doll-look that LE Snow White and LE Alice have. All four of these dolls are incredibly stunning and I think that they will be top favorites for many years to come.












 

Great pics Shiva! I agree with you in that whilst Elsa and Anna look amazing they just dont have timeless look like Snow and Alice share. I genuinely think that it really comes down to the face of the dolls. Both Alice and Snow have very soft features and much smaller eyes than Anna and Elsa who really look like their cartoon counterpart. Which is something that I noticed with the LE dolls for some reason Snow White and Alice look more like a rendition of what their characters would look like as dolls whereas most of the other dolls are just the characters in doll form (big eyes and some exaggerated features especially with the shape of the face) so yes they look more like their characters but at the same time lose that classic look about them. This was made very evident with Cinderella who I say time and time again just looks like Barbie in a Cinderella outfit, it is crazy but if you compare the two they do look very much alike. It is sort of hard to explain but I sort of hope you guys get where I am going with this and I think with the help of these photos taken by Shiva you can really see the differences a lot clearer than just looking at each doll individually.

I do hope that Disney does a classic looking Aurora rather than a "cartoon" like version of Aurora that is based on her new look rather than a rendition of what Aurora would look as a doll. In other words base the character or a classic looking doll rather than basing the doll on a cartoon character.
 
Great pics as always Shiva thank you so much for taking them as I was interested to see the differences. I've never really been a massive Snow White fan but I just adore that doll which now reading what you say Mike I totally agree with you. The you can certainly see how different the dolls are now from when they started out looking more classic.

As as a side note are you guys who are lucky enough to own the older dolls a fan of the accessories? Is their a reason why they stopped them?
 
cocosianelle said:
As as a side note are you guys who are lucky enough to own the older dolls a fan of the accessories? Is their a reason why they stopped them?
Click to expand...

Well it is interesting as most of the newer dolls do not have accessories such as Cinderella and Ariel. I think Disney is being a little more conservative with their accessories. So where it doesn't fit then they won't give the character an accessory. For example Merida had a bow but then again with her outfit the bow would work. In Cinderella's case I guess her accessory was her glass slippers? But other than that nothing else would have suited Cinderella. In terms if the Frozen girls I haven't seen the movie yet but I just can't see an appropriate accessory to give them? To be honest I would prefer that Disney did only give the dolls accessories where it would suit the doll so like in Merida's case the now and for Ariel I think a fork to represent the single hope would be cool as that would sort of add a bit of personality to the doll. But for some other dolls like Anna and Elsa they look fine without any accessories.
 
Lovely pictures! I can't wait to receive elsa she is so stunning!( the prettiest after Aurora) And while I haven't seen frozen yet I'm not a big fan of Anna's design( she's not as gorgeous as Elsa) but the doll looks lovely and the background reminds me of Sleeping beauty. While I agree they don't look as timeless I think it suits the characters as they are modern day princess's and I like that they look exactly like their film characters. If I could afford Snow I'd buy her in a heart beat! She's stunning. I honestly think Snow and elsa are the most stunning LE dolls. But I'm not a fan of Alice(the film & doll) she just looks like a old barbie with a Victorian/ old fashioned outfit! But I can see why others like her!

I would love if Aurora had a timeless look to her and not a modern take like Cinderella! All the older princess's should be timeless looking and not based on their redesigns were as new characters should look modern especially CGI characters like Anna and Elsa.
Shiva if you could would you compare Elsa with Ariel?
 
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I just got my LE Elsa... I was planning on selling her, but she's beautiful and so big! She's my first disney doll. Now, do I go back and get Anna too?
 
Thanks all! The LE Anna and LE Elsa dolls are definitely a good finale to the 2013 DS doll season (and I don't mean the shipping issues with them). It's been a hectic few months, but it will be nice to settle back and not have to worry about doll releases for a while. Personally, I'm not sure if I prefer one doll bonanza season each year or more sporadic releases throughout the year.

On the accessories topic, I agree with Polaris that it is best to include them only if it is relevant to the character. Most characters do have accessories that are appropriate to put with a doll, but if a doll is loaded down with random items, the doll could end up looking cluttered or less like themselves. Using the Cinderella example, the glass slipper is her main iconic symbol, and they are on her feet (though for most dolls, they fell victim to that weird chemical reaction with the doll stand and are ruined). I suppose they could have put in Jaq or Gus, but that would not make much sense with her ballgown, since they were turned into horses before her gown was transformed and they all reverted back to the way they were after the twelfth stroke of midnight, which goes back to the "extraneous items on dolls" point. It would be very interesting to observe the complete journey of a DS collectible doll's creation from start to finish, including the brainstorming and design processes, in order to understand why certain decisions are made.

I also support LE Aurora having a classic doll look as opposed to a modern rendering. It's not so much that I think that she will look like Barbie (as it's kind of tough for any blonde doll to not be compared to Barbie), but I don't want her to just look like a dressed up 17" singing doll (like LE Cinderella). I agree that the Disney Store should capitalize on the "classic" label for Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora whenever possible.

I will take pictures of LE Ariel and LE Elsa together and post them soon.
 
I know everyone has seen a thousand pictures of Anna and Elsa, but I just have to share! These are the first 17" LE dolls that I have deboxed without having a double of them.





I'm very happy that I picked an Anna that had the part in the bangs - when I was at the Disney Store I couldn't remember off the top of my head if she had the part in her coronation outfit, so I'm glad I went with this one!





After opening them and having had them for a good week I can say that I actually do prefer Elsa. At first I preferred Anna, but I think that was in part do to me feeling bad that everyone seemed to prefer Elsa to Anna. They're both just gorgeous though, and I am more than elated to have them both in my collection. I need to re-think all my favorites now with these two added in!
 
Ahhhh! You have the Snow and Alice that I want!! :drool:




 



Omg can I just say that last picture of Elsa is stunning! Love all the pictures. Elsa has got to be the second prettiest Disney girl after Aurora.Anna looks super cute too, I love her dress. Is Elsa's dress dark blue or light blue? In the top picture it looks dark and then light at the bottom.
 

Thank you! And agreed! I just think that Elsa is so amazingly gorgeous. She might take the spot as my favorite 17" LE Doll (given that I don't have Snow White - one day!) - or until Aurora is out!

Her dress is light blue, I had the box on in the first picture so it dulled the flash on her gown.
 
Although Snow White and Alice are more classic looking, I feel like Snow White's face does not reflect the full round shape she has in her movie. Alice is very classic looking and is not based off of the animated movie so she shouldn't and doesn't need to look like animated Alice, however I do think she looks a lot like a Barbie. A softer sweeter version of Barbie, but her face is still very "Bob Mackie". I think this looks suits her and it is different enough for me to be really happy with Alice (and want her big time!). Cinderella and Belle are completely unlike themselves and don't look like the movies at all.

With Anna and Elsa and some of the more recent movies they seem to capture the animated look much better than they did with the earlier dolls such as Snow White and Belle. So I think Anna and Elsa have perfect faces that reflect what they really look like in the film even if it is not a classic doll look. They should have done this with Belle and Cinderella and created a version of them that look more like the movie version rather than modern designs and Barbie.

As for accessories, I wish they had put a crystal snowflake in Elsa's hand. I don't know what they would give Anna, but I haven't seen the movie yet. Ariel needs a fork! Cinderella should have had bare feet and a shoe in her hand. Or one bare foot and one shoe in her hand. I think a pumpkin would be a nice touch too. Even though the pumpkin turns into a coach while she is in her ball gown the idea is symbolic and there were surely more pumpkins in the patch.

I would love to see Aurora in her blue dress with a spinning wheel in the box! I doubt they would do that though.
 
"There isn't a boy
Who won't enjoy
A-workin' for Captain Hook:
The World's Most Famous Crook!"

By and large, Captain Hook is certainly not one of the most menacing or truly evil villains in the Disney Villains roster, but he is quite memorable for being a rather comedic, foppish dandy. When watching Peter Pan, you never really get the sense that he is actually capable of winning. The Disney version of Captain Hook is a bit of a deviation from author J.M. Barrie's concept of the character, who he described as being a handsome man with elegant speech and clothing similar in style to King Charles II of England. Disney's version has the elegant diction and the 17th century English look, but I certainly would not describe him as handsome. Charismatic, perhaps, but not handsome. Actor Colin O'Donoghue's version of Captain Hook in Once Upon A Time is probably a lot closer to what Barrie envisioned.

In any case, there are only really two Captain Hook dolls based on the animated Disney version worth speaking of that are in 1:6 scale and with rooted hair: the Disney Parks' Disney Villains Captain Hook doll from the early 2000s and the 1999 Masters of Malice Captain Hook doll (which was a series that never progressed beyond the first doll). I chose to get the Disney Parks Disney Villains Captain Hook doll for one reason: the doll has both of his eyes open. The Masters of Malice Captain Hook doll has one eye closed, as his factory pose has him looking through a spyglass with his open eye, which really limits one's options with that doll. The Masters of Malice doll appears to actually have a better-made and designed outfit with nicer fabrics/trims and his hair is nicer looking. However, that closed eye really bothers me a lot.

So what about the Disney Parks Disney Villains Captain Hook doll? He's decent and relatively easy to find at a good price. His accessories are probably his best features: his hat, his sword, his hook, and his shoes. His face is quite goofy looking, which is still consistent with the Disney version. Unlike the Masters of Malice doll, the Disney Parks Disney Villains doll is clean-shaven. His hair looks somewhat kinky, kind of like the Disney Store Mother Gothel dolls. His clothing is not poorly made, even though they are not as nice as the Masters of Malice doll's clothes. The Disney Parks Disney Villains doll's clothes are made of velveteen, stretch tricot, and some satin. If the Masters of Malice doll did not exist, I would probably hold this doll's outfit in higher esteem.

Given the limited options for a Captain Hook doll, the Disney Parks Disney Villains Captain Hook doll is a decent addition to any Disney Villain doll collection. I'll be honest that I was only inspired to get him after attending this year's WDW Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. I already have some great dolls representing all of the villainess characters that you can meet at the MNSSHP (well, for the Queen of Hearts, the only available doll is the Designer Queen of Hearts, who is of course not a film-accurate doll of the original film design), so I figured that I would get whichever available male villain dolls that I could get. I am not holding my breath that they will make a Dr. Facilier or a Judge Claude Frollo doll any time soon...


Disney Villains Captain Hook by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Disney Villains Captain Hook by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Disney Villains Captain Hook by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Disney Villains Captain Hook by Shivatopia, on Flickr
 
That's a really cool doll! When did it com out Shiva? I love that you cover a lot of other dolls not just princesses because I'm more of a princess fan it certainly opens your eyes!
 
cocosianelle said:
That's a really cool doll! When did it com out Shiva? I love that you cover a lot of other dolls not just princesses because I'm more of a princess fan it certainly opens your eyes!
Click to expand...

Thanks, cocosianelle! Yeah, I love both princesses and villains, which is both a blessing and a curse (a curse, because then it makes me want to collect more things!). For me, it all started with the princesses, and then it branched out to their villains, and then villains in general. Never did I imagine that I would have expanded my collection so much in only a few short years.

This Disney Parks Disney Villains doll series was released in the early 2000s and was a Disney Parks exclusive. This series has been retired. They made dolls for: Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, Queen Grimhilde, Jafar, and Captain Hook. Of this series, Maleficent and Queen Grimhilde really pale in comparison to the 1998 Great Villains Mattel versions of them (so I never bought, or have plans to buy, the Disney Parks Disney Villains versions of them). Captain Hook does have that other doll (made by Mattel) in the abandoned Masters of Malice series, but his closed eye is an eyesore for me, given his very limited posing options. Who wants to have a doll that always has to be looking through a spyglass? And as for Cruella de Vil and Jafar, the Disney Parks Disney Villains dolls are the only collector-worthy dolls of their animated designs to date (not including the Designer Cruella de Vil doll, since she is Designer). I have a deboxed Cruella de Vil from this series and a boxed Jafar (who will be seeing a photo review soon, but the pictures are already posted on my flickr account).
 
"You're tall and dark, well-dressed, and I love those... eyebrows! They're so arched.*
And those gorgeous, cute little gaps between your teeth...
And your beard is so... twisted!"

Strangely, that last quoted line from Princess Jasmine when she works her seductive distraction in Aladdin is probably one of the best lines ever to describe Jafar, the scheming vizier of Agrabah. Devious, manipulative, cruel, and well, twisted: Jafar is indeed one of the most dark-hearted villains of the Disney universe. There are actually very few redeeming features about him. He is not beautiful like Queen Grimhilde; he is not elegantly evil like Maleficent; he is not humorously wicked like Cruella de Vil, Hades, or the Queen of Hearts. He is certainly a Disney villain that you just really want to be defeated. Don't get me wrong--he is a rather good villain in that he exudes such overt sliminess and level of despicable greedy plotting, as well as providing more than adequate challenges for the heroes. But his creepiness certainly prevents him from being a generally public favorite character that one would to want to have around.

Like Captain Hook, Jafar has only received a few dolls since Aladdin was released in 1992, but to me there is only one doll that can be considered to be in the collectible-doll class. All of the other Jafar dolls are appropriate for play, as they resemble him well enough, but the Disney Parks Disney Villains Jafar doll possesses the highest level of detail and film-accuracy that boost him up into the same level as the Mattel Great Villains dolls from the late 1990s.

Jafar is certainly a character with a rather unique face and figure. His long face and tall, lanky body require a doll manufacturer to specially make an entirely new head and body for him, which the Disney Parks Disney Villains doll has (see Peter's Toy's picture of the unclothed doll on flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/50158021@N05/8013715964). His face is a perfect rendering of Jafar's smugest expression, as if he knows that he is going to get everything that his dark heart desires, with his smirk, half-lidded snake-like eyes, and haughtily cocked eyebrows. He is just downright wickedly arrogant! One thing: his beard is actually not quite as twisted as it should be. That is perhaps one thing that the 2013 DS Classic Jafar has that this doll does not.

As I mentioned, his body is unique and very skinny, though with extremely limited articulation only at the shoulders and hips. Unfortunately, that does mean that his stance is rather static and he is not a great candidate for creative reposing. That said, his pose with his right hand on his hip and his left arm held out holding his cobra staff is perfect as it is.

His outfit is stunningly film-accurate in a thick, textured black fabric, red satin, gold cording, and a tan woven fabric (for his cowl). His turban is tall and well-shaped, as the fabric is stiff enough to keep its shape at all times. The gold decorations on his turban are shaped in gold cording, which encircles a faux ruby in the front and does encircle the entire turban to the back. A red feather shoots up from the faux ruby to add even more height to this lanky vizier. Red satin drapes down from the turban and lays about his shoulders. Jafar's tan cowl covers his neck and bald head, framing his haughty face. His robe is also nicely film-accurate, with a really broad-shouldered top-line that sharply narrows into his slender waistline, which just makes him look intimidating. He has puffy red satin sleeves that go down to his elbows, which then transition to black sleeves that are painted onto the doll's arms to ensure a super-fitted look. It is actually a very clever and effective illusion. He has a cloak of the black material, lined in red satin cascading down from his shoulders. On his feet, her has reddish curl-toed shoes made of a felt-like material.

So in addition to him being an amazing doll, he also has two additional accessories: one which is good, but the other which is fantastic. The first is a scale-sized Iago. He's a good inclusion, as his presence does add to the overall look. Iago is initially sewn onto the left shoulder of Jafar's robe. The second accessory is Jafar's cobra staff, which to me is one down-right impressively film-accurate doll accessory. It is moulded out of gold-colored plastic with painted red eyes. Just looking into its malicious glare reminds you of the scene when Jafar was mesmerizing the Sultan. The staff fits perfectly into Jafar's left hand.

Jafar is certainly not one of my most favorite villains, but this doll became a must-have once I decided to obtain the best Disney Villain dolls released to date. He is rather rare to find at an inexpensive price, but he is a stunning doll to have in any Disney Villains or Aladdin doll collection. Some resellers try to squeeze out prices of $300 or more, but those listings never sell. I would say that he is definitely worth the $100-$150 range that he seems to consistently sell for, as I do not forsee another Jafar doll to be released with this level of detail and film-accuracy any time soon (especially if the DS Classic doll is any indication of what Disney is now willing to put out for him).


Disney Villains Jafar by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Disney Villains Jafar by Shivatopia, on Flickr


Disney Villains Jafar by Shivatopia, on Flickr


Disney Villains Jafar by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Disney Villains Jafar by Shivatopia, on Flickr

*I actually cannot make out the word that Jasmine uses to describe Jafar's eyebrows, as she is kind of drowned out by Aladdin and the Genie's conversation at that point. "Arched" makes the most sense to me, but when you try to make out what she's saying, it actually sounds like she's saying another word completely. I just have no idea what it is. I suppose only Linda Larkin really knows what she said for sure!
 
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OH MY GOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH. That is one impressive Jafar doll, waaaay better than the Disney Store release of him. I always wanted an evil looking Jafar doll but didn't like the facial expression that was shown on the Disney Store version. It just looked like he was thinking. but MAN this doll is amazing! I didn't even know they released a Jafar doll in that collection. But good to know now & will have a lookout for this sucker! Thank you for sharing & reviewing the details of this Jafar doll, Shivatopia! Makes me have hope in the future if they will release Aladdin here in North America soon.
 
When I first saw this Jafar doll a while back, I almost had a heart attack thinking that I missed a surprise release in our collection. I do really hope that they do make a surprise release doll for Jafar whenever they do re-release the Aladdin movie. Just...splurge on a new body mold for him too. Ok Disney?
 
Oh no Shivatopia, after reading your Jafar doll review, I ended up watching Aladdin that night. I think I watched it lots of times as a kid, but I really didn't remember much of it, so after re-watching it, I fell in love with Aladdin and Jasmine. And as a result, I ended up getting the DFDC Aladdin and Jasmine doll set *Facepalm*. It was the only set I was missing, but I won it at an auction at its retail price, so it was great!

I also finally got 17" LE Belle doll! I found an auction where the box was damaged, and since I'm a deboxer I really don't care for the box's condition. In the other hand most collectors do care for the box as they don't open the dolls, so I thought I would be able to win it a cheap price. I was surprised to found out that there was a bidding war for Belle, and although I won it, I thought I was going to get her at lower price for the box's condition. I got her at $255 and a regular one goes for $300 aprox. It looks like people will go crazy nevertheless because of Christmas.

Anyway I can't wait to receive both dolls to share some pictures with you guys! Good "Doll hunting" Holiday Shopping to everyone
 
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Thank you! I'm always glad to hear that my photos and reviews are helpful. This Jafar doll is indeed head-and-shoulders above the DS classic doll. His smug and overconfident expression is just 100% classic Jafar.


I also hope that the Disney Store does manage to redo their Classic Jafar doll, but based on what they did to Classic Gaston, I am not very hopeful that they will make a new thin body for the Classic play doll. A 17" LE Jafar doll, however... maybe?


Oh dear! I'm glad you were able to get DFDC Aladdin and Jasmine at retail cost, and you were able to round out the first 5 of the DFDC collection. As harmful as appreciating more and more Disney films is to the wallet, I always strongly support appreciating each Disney film for what it does have to offer as opposed to hating on Disney films, which just seems like a dark and negative way to go about things.

Congratulations on getting LE Belle at a decent current price, too, especially since you are a deboxer. I had bought mine for about that price back in February of this year, maybe? The older 17" LE dolls are only going to get more expensive as time goes on, sadly... Bidding wars, especially before Christmas, is always a potentially dangerous activity, because people are more impulsive to "win" the auction by dropping higher bids at the end. I've been guilty of that from time to time. :/ I can't wait to see you pictures!
 
Whilst I am glad that the doll season is over until early next year I find that now I have been filling my time in with pin collecting :S I think I need to stop going into the forum. I just got Designer Rapunzel, Aurora, Cinderella and Ariel. Also got the designer villains QoH, Maleficent, Evil Queen and Ursula. I need to stop spending my money!! Lol.

i think I need therapy for Disney spending haha. If it's not dolls that I am buying then it's pins! LOL. Anyway I do hope we get some information about the upcoming dolls but I doubt we will get anything until around February next year. Who knows with how fast this year has gone I wouldn't be surprised if we were talking about the next release sooner rather than later!

i wonder when the speculation starts up again especially around the designer 2014 set. I know people were saying it would be a part two of the DFDC set but I am still hoping for something different just so that we have a reason to speculate rather than anticipate because it is the anticipation that gets people worked up and nervous!
 
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