That Creepy Beauty and the Beast Belle Doll

Last month while perusing the Hogwarts Running Club Facebook page someone posted a picture of an unknown Emma Watson Beauty and the Beast Belle Doll, comparing it to Justin Bieber.

A simple "beauty and the beast justine bieber doll" search will yield several news and blog posts on this subject, talking about the Belle doll being a great fail.

Many people in the Hogwarts Running Club thought it was a fake doll, that surely Disney wouldn't mess up this badly.  They posted a few other pictures of another Belle doll, claiming the official doll was better.  I then wrote that the pictures being posted were of a Hasbro doll (Hasbro is not living up to the standards of Mattel, but that's another subject), and that the Disney Store releases a doll not made by Hasbro, and this "Justin Bieber" doll is most likely the Disney Store version.

I was right.  The Disney Store is now selling the doll, and the product photos on the online store do not match what is shipped or found in the store!  On the site the doll has 3 out of 5 stars, though the last several reviews are single star ratings.

My big complaint is the hair line and her high forehead.

My Mom bought the doll and let the bun down to try to help her look better, but it only helps a little bit.  Then there's her jawline and face shape, the lack of detail when it comes to her face painting and sharp freckles, and her face size looks odd in proportion to the dolls body.

 She looks a little better in her blue dress, but still creepy.

I like the blue dress with different fabric textures, prints, and details.

Gaston looks good.

But other than that, seriously, Disney, missed opportunity!

17" Frozen LE Collectible Disney Store Dolls + Winnie the Pooh LE Bee Tsum Tsum Plush Set

 These are the limited edition Frozen dolls I went early to the Mall for yesterday.  They were each $119.95, which is a $20 increase from past dolls released from the Disney Store.  Anna and Elsa are 17" with a production of 5000 units each.  Kristoff is 18" with 3,500 units worldwide.

All three dolls are now Sold Out in the stores and online, but you can find them on Ebay for crazy amounts of money.

And yes, I took mine out of the box!!!  A collectors "no, no", but I've been collecting dolls since the 6th grade, and decided then, after much internal debate, that everything I collect will be taken out of the box, because I collect what I love and never plan to resale.

Dolls in boxes are sad.  Have you never watched Toy Story 2?

 What the dolls look like in the box.

 The boxes are designed so you can actually take it apart to examine the doll and then put the box back together.

this is the 3rd release of Elsa.  The previous releases were Elsa as the Snow Queen and Elsa in her coronation outfit. I would have LOVED the Snow Queen doll, but she was released before the movie came out, and only 2.500 units were available.

When I first saw stock pictures of this Elsa doll wearing an outfit from the beginning of the movie I was disappointed, and considered not getting her at all.  She is prettier in person.  My pictures don't even do her justice.  The reinstones and embroidery is gorgeous.  Her skin actually has a purple like metallic shine, which is the same type of shine used on the Tinker Bell LE dolls.

This is also the 3rd release of Anna, the first two releases had Anna wearing her coronation outfit and then her main movie outfit. This Anna is wearing the dress she wears at the end of the movie.

I love it!  I was so excited to get her, and she does not disappoint.  Once again the reinstones and embroidery is gorgeous.  It's my favorite dress of hers from the movie.  So cute.  I would totally cosplay wearing a costume modeled after this design.  That might sound silly, but I'm always looking for modest, cute Halloween costumes.  Her hair even has shiny red material to help it shine.

My only complaint is the skin.  Like Elsa it's shiny/shimmer, without the purple undertones, but it doesn't look right.  It makes it look like Anna has an oil control problem.  I want to get my blotting cloths to fix it.  Tame that t-zone!!  It's a shame.

And Kristoff!  I believe this is the first time he's been released as a LE doll.  The lute is a nice touch.  And I love the embroidery, which makes the doll feel special without going overboard.  And he has hair, unlike last years Prince Phillip who sported plastic hair, which just looked wrong.  I was really close to not getting him, but Anna needs her Kristoff.  P.S., no shiny skin!!

 Certificates of authenticity.

The other two Disney Store LE dolls I own:

Merida from Brave and Rapunzel from Tangled.

 Another item that was released new yesterday was this Winnie The Pooh tsum tsum plush set, which is $34.95 and available for a limited time.

 It has four mini tsum tsum's inside!  So cute.

Piglet, Pooh, Tiger, and Eeyore looking like bees!

My nieces are going to have fun playing with this :0)

The Indifferent Looking Disney Store Cinderella Prince Doll

Over the weekend I went to the Disney Store to peruse any new items they may have received, and I was excited to find new merchandise for the Cinderella movie coming out in less then a month.

I'm so excited!

Last night I was watching Ever After.  I'm such a huge fan of that movie (saw it in the movie theater 5 times back in the day), and, even though Cinderella looks gorgeous, it's going to have stiff competition in comparison.

Ever After is Epic.

It's always fun looking at Disney Store merchandise, trying to gleam any spoilers or sneak peaks when new movies are about to be released.

 Though, after looking at the dolls I was pretty amused and shocked to see how Prince Charming was modeled.

He does not look happy!

Here he is, getting married (spoilers for those that don't know the story!) . . . (really, does anyone not know how Cinderella ends?), and he looks seriously indifferent, as if this is an arranged marriage or something.  As if he's counting down the minutes in his brain until he can get away from his new princess and go off to do whatever Princes enjoy doing.

It's not romantic.

 Unlike the picture on the back of the box which is clearly romantic.

 There are three other dolls in the series.

 I'm somewhat mixed on how the Cinderella doll came out.  She's beautiful, but they didn't quite get her face right.  There's a whimsicalness the actress processes, as evident in Downton Abbey and the Cinderella trailers, that this doll is missing.

 Now the evil stepmother Lady Tremaine, Cate Blanchett, doll is absolutely stunning.

Seriously, she's gorgeous.

The best doll modeling I've seen in a very longtime.

 And the doll for the Fairy Godmother is very fun.

I liked her so much I got her for my Renaissance doll collection.

She fits!  Even though she doesn't look like a barbie clone.  Heh.

 Here's an image of more Cinderella merchandise the Disney Store is selling.

I'm getting excited for March 13! :0)

Am I the Only One Disturbed?

 I love Pixar's Brave.  LOVE it!  The movie features a Scottish princess, after all, and I'm proud of my Scottish roots.

 But the doll set, featuring Queen Elinor and the Bear, that was released before the movie came out Freaked me out a little.

 You open up the bear.

Put Queen Elinor inside.

And close it.

SPOILERS!!!  And the Disney Store didn't even place a "Spoiler Warning."

Toys do seem to give away a little too much . . .

And just holding the bear feels weird.  It looks disturbing, yes, but holding it . . . holding it . . . it's hard to describe.  "It just feels strange," I told my sister-in-law Krista one day when she was in my room.  "See, hold it."

She took the bear from me, shifting it from hand to hand before clutching the middle.  "Oh, that is strange."

I got the set before it was discontinued, the store had it on sale for $10, because I already had a Merida doll.  Merida needs her Mom, after all.  That's the point of the movie.

Now when you go into the Disney Store Queen Elinor is sold by herself, without the bear.