Disney Faces Revamp
I have not been to the Disney store in forever, so I don't know if they've done this also, but the retail Disney dolls, which have less articulation and less quality clothing, have had a serious face revamp. It's like they've taken them away from a human look and turned them into their younger cartoon images by making their eyes ginormous. Not that I have a problem with that, but some of the changes were more successful than others.
If I had an older version of the doll, I've added a pic so you can see the difference. Also, most of my dolls are from the thrift store, so I don't know if my version is Disney Disney or Mattel Disney.
Tiana's face seems more narrow and those big doe eyes give her a charming appearance. She almost appears elfin. This one I like. It has a high cuteness factor.
Rapunzel looks better as the doll, than she does in that art rendering. She has freckles and I'm a sucker for freckles so again, I approve. I still haven't watched this movie. I heard it was pretty good. It's on my list of things to watch that I never will.
I am in love with that Merida rendering. It's fierce and gorgeous. The doll has never really floated my boat so I have no opinion on this change one way or the other. Meh.
Who approved this?! Snow, what did they do to you? Girl, no. I do like the detail added to the bottom of her dress. It's kinda dark and foreboding.
I rather dig this Jasmine. She looks... spunky. My versions look... regal and less inclined to ride carpets.
Before anyone thinks they lightened Pocahontas into another race, my phone amped up the lighting, not the doll maker. Having said that, that doll does not look like the character. I mean, I love how the doll looks, but that aint the Pocahontas I saw in the movie.
Uh, Aurora. Something isn't right but I cant put my finger on it. If you take the features individually and compare them to the drawing they are the same. But put together on the dolls face they don't look right to me. Hmm.
Lord love a duck, no. Another one where it compares point-by-point to the drawing but doesn't come together well.
I almost prefer the new Belle. She looks more mischievous and her lip shape is adorbs. I never did understand why the dolls' eyes are green when Belle's eyes are brown.
I like my old Cinderella so much better. She looks like she's been through some ish. Had a hard life, cried a few tears, but always kept her hair on point 'cause she's a mf-ing lady. New one looks like she's straight out of charm school. She aint even met them step-sisters yet.
There was no Mulan! What the heck? Well, I'll throw in the three versions I have anyway. I wonder if she's still getting darker.
If it was their intention to make these be younger, teenish versions of the characters, which they have done plenty of times but usually making them babies or toddlers, then that's cool. However, if that was the case, they should have made the art renderings younger too and then I would have not felt this overwhelming need to compare the two. You know I have issues! *twitch*
It's interesting what a difference the eyes make, isn't it? To my eye at least, most of them look younger and maybe perkier now.
ReplyDeletePerkier is a good word, jSarie! Yes, they all have a little pep in their steps.
DeleteI prefer Hasbro's version of the Disney princesses, but I wouldn't buy them until they are fully articulated because is frustrating to play with a Merida that can't use a bow and a arrow, or a Belle that can't hold a book.
ReplyDeleteYelinna, until the Disney Descendants, I had never seen Disney articulation in retail stores, just at the Disney Store itself. If these do get articulation I would totally want that Pocahontas.
DeleteI was going to say, before I saw Kristina's comment, that they are made by a completely different company. But Kristina already told you. :-) I'm iffy on the new fashion sized dolls, though I got Jasmine because she's my favorite. I agree, some don't look quite right, but I'm hoping that as Hasbro works on them, they'll be able to improve them. And add some articulation. Of course, the old ones from Mattel couldn't move much, either. What I do love that Hasbro did was with the 3" dolls. My daughters and I all love them. Their faces are very cute, and their clothes are cute and easy to play with (though some of the tops tend to not stay on well). We got all of the little ones.
ReplyDeleteHi, DannyScotland! Thanks to Kristina's comment I looked up more info on the Hasbro/Disney deal and found this great article at Bloomberg. I think you are right and Hasbro will have plenty of time to improve the dolls and, if sales go well, to add more features.
DeleteWhen I looked up 3 inch Hasbro dolls all I found was Strawberry Shortcake. Were those the dolls you meant?
Thanks for that info, Kristina! I'm not up on companies/manufacturers so I had no clue. So far, with a few exceptions, I like how Hasbro is proceeding.
ReplyDeleteI like some of the new Hasbro dolls, but a lot of them just seem oddly proportioned head to body-wise, in a way that you can't quite chalk up to just "stylization". The new Little Kingdom figures Hasbro's putting out are pretty darn cute, although some of the little fiddly bits are a big much imo.
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, there are deluxe versions of Anna and Elsa that come with two outfits which have (slightly) better articulation than the standard dolls.
Presto, I'm so used to variety in head sizes that I didn't even notice some were different proportions. I did see some new Elsa's at Walmart, but I didn't see a new Anna.
DeleteThanks for the comparison shots. They really are different. I was also puzzled about why all the faces had been changed until Kristina mentioned that Hasbro made the dolls now. I like most of them although Aurora's brows are too dark, Merida still has crazy eyes and Cinderella looks too mature.I didn't know they'd made Jasmine's without those big molded earrings that were part of her head.
ReplyDeleteI also just can't deal with the lack of articulation anymore, companies keep creating dolls with accessories or active backstories and then give them these stiff bodies. As Yelinna pointed out if Merida can't draw her bow or Belle can't read or bend her arms to waltz with the Beast it's a bit weird.
I read that now girls only play with dolls until they're 9 on average. I wonder if the fact that you can't make dolls do anything realistic has something to do with it because many older teens seem to discover BJDs and have no problem playing with them. I prefer play scale but only the Pivotal or Made to Move bodies are worth having unless you just want to pose your dolls like figurines. I'd probably buy Obitsu bodies if they came in more skin tones.
Maricha, I've only collected dolls as an adult and completely ignored them as a kid so I don't know how I would have felt about articulation as a child. As an adult it's a must, but I'm also willing to buy a doll just for its head. It's more hassle and more money to do that and frankly, I think companies know that.
DeleteHello there! I've just seen this in a store today, but I didn't pay much attention because Disney dolls are not my thing. There was a Mulan though, and she looked cartoonish. If I had known that you were interested, I would have taken a picture of her.
ReplyDeleteMonstercrafts, I had to do an image search to find the new Mulan. I liked her face actually and yeah, it was rather cartoonish, lol.
DeleteWell in comparition with old dolls maybe the are not so look-a-like to the princesses, however i think that they are well made. And in my shop there was no doll with bad facepaint. And last years when Mattel has Disney princesses it was hard to find one with good facepaint,
ReplyDeleteNatalia, good point that none of them had a bad face paint. I have seen some quality control issues with Mattel releases. Maybe Hasbro is keeping a tight ship since they are the new kid on the block.
DeleteMuff,
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the Pocahontas doll. She has a nice look, but she doesn't look like Pocahontas from the movie. I bought one of the new Pocahontas dolls, planning to change her clothes and turn her into a different character. I haven't found the right outfit for her yet, but I haven't had much time to look.
Signed, Treesa
Treesa, she definitely seems like a different character. Again, it's a pretty stunning face sculpt, it's just not Pocahontas. Even though I haven't seen Mulan in person yet, out of the revamps I've seen, 'not Pocahontas' is the one I would buy.
DeletePocahontas looks like Kim Kardashian
ReplyDeleteSergio, I'm not much of a Kardashian follower (no cable, lol), so I can's say yea or nay to that.
DeleteMuff, the Repunzel movie was cute. I liked it, along with Mulan. One of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI do think they are making quite a few interesting and inconsistent changes. I like your comparisons.
Janainah, I did see Mulan a thousand years ago. I think I saw it in theaters actually. Rapunzel just never interested me I guess.
DeleteI loved your blurb about Cinderella..haha! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Farrah Lily! ^__^
Deletebrakuje mi do szczęścia tylko Tiany -
ReplyDeleteale Ona upiera się wciąż nosić te
niemodne rękawiczki, niestety ;P
The Hasbro versions don't look like the cartoons, they have huge heads and seem like they might get off very well with the Queen of hearts ♥️ in the Disney live action Alice in Wonderland movies, the real reason they look so odd is Mattel already made dolls that were spot on with the animated movies and I don't think Hasbro did well with reinventing these dolls. They gave them all the body of 12 year girls and big bobble looking heads. Most of them look nothing like the cartoon versions.
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