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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Disney's Rapunzel Deluxe Feature Doll- 16 inches



Disney Deluxe Rapunzel Doll 

There's been a lot of hub-bub online regarding the new Disney Villain Limited Edition Dolls that have been released this Autumn.  I did not end up getting any of them as I couldn't completely justify spending the money on any particular set that I didn't totally LOVE.  I'm a huge Disney fan and really love all of the characters, but I didn't want to get one "just to get one".  Normally I don't collect the limited edition dolls as they are a bit out of my budget and they always get released in clusters. There is usually a scramble to get them and then they are always so much more expensive on the secondary market if you miss out.

The only Disney Limited Edition dolls I currently own are the Anna and Kristoff Frozen Fever dolls as well as my favorite Disney Fairy, Fawn.  I have yet to do reviews on them, but they are on the list!

Anyway, as I was browsing the Disney store website, a little bummed that I didn't end up getting the Ariel and Ursula LE dolls, I happened to notice two new Deluxe dolls that I hadn't heard about and was amazed to see Rapunzel and Ariel!

I was especially impressed by Rapunzel as I think her promo photos looked absolutely stunning.
I ended purchasing her and here is my quick mini-review in case you were interested in purchasing her for yourself!
(I also caved and got Ariel, but I'll do a separate post on her another day.)

So here she is:


My first impression as I took her out of the package, was amazement at the size of her.  I knew she was going to be 16 inches tall, but I guess I didn't really expect how big that would actually look.  Her packaging was much nicer than I expected.


This Deluxe Feature doll retails at $49.99 and can be found here at the Disney Store website as well as in-store, I'm guessing.
This version of Rapunzel is from the village scene where she is able to dance and interact with people for the first time.  Some of the little village girls transform her long locks into an elaborate braid and decorate it with lots of flowers.

Screenshot of Tangled.  Image found on Pinterest


Although she is not advertized as a "singing doll" she has an interactive feature where she sings the "Healing Song" from the movie and her hair and lantern subsequently light up.


Here are the back and sides of the box.  The box is really nice for collectors that want to keep their dolls safe inside.  The colors are really pleasing and she is posed very nicely.



Here she is next to my Limited Edition Anna doll, just to give you an idea of how big she is. 


On the outside of the box is a button you could press to test out her singing and light feature.  Rapunzel sings a line from her "healing" song and it is the original voice of Mandy Moore who did Rapunzel's voice from the movie Tangled.
My lantern didn't appear to light up, but I'm not really sure I have figured it out yet.  I have only been using the tester button so far!

UPDATE:  It does light up as long as the lantern is positioned over the bulb in the palm of her hand.  She also sang the whole song!



Rapunzel's hair was definitely the biggest feature about this doll that drew me in.  It's rooted hair and a gorgeous golden color, very nicely styled with strands of gold tinsel to give it the appearance of extra shine.


It's arranged in one long braid with two smaller braids woven into the hairstyle.  She has a cluster of plastic colorful flowers intertwined with larger red flowers which are the actual light bulbs that light up when activated.


Her dress is extremely detailed and well made in my opinion.  It's close to the movie version, but much fancier.

Here's a look at the movie verison:

Image found here


Here are two other version of her dress we have from the 12 inch Disney Classic 2014 Rapunzel and the Disney Palace Pets Rapunzel (review of them coming shortly!)


Tonner Nu Mood Jess modeling another version of the dress. 

There were  two previous 17 inch singing doll versions of Rapunzel (2011 and 2012) and here is the dress from the 2012 version we have.  I have no idea where our actual doll is. We may have donated it OR it's somewhere buried in the girls room. :)


The inside of the box shows an image of Rapunzel's tower.


Classic Rapunzel decided to show up and see this beautiful version of herself. :)


Here she is out of the box.  That long cord to the left is the button you press to make her sing and light up. It was attached to the front of the box as a "tester" button. I haven't had time yet to figure out the exact mechanism of how it all works, although I would assume it has to do with the little button on her hand.

One thing I wanted to point out is that she has less articulation than I expected.  She can only move her head from side to side, and has movement in her hips and knees (hinged).  She can not twist at the waist.  She can move at the shoulders, elbows and wrist of one hand. She has no articulation in her ankles or the wrist of her "singing" hand.


When you put Rapunzel's braid to the back of her, you can see the braid in more detail.  There are only flowers on the front of the braid, unfortunately.


Rapunzel shares a similar face mold as the 2015 Classic Rapunzel.  Hannah did a great review of her here on her blog Never Grow Up.


She has big two-toned green eyes with brown highlights.  Her eyes are forward facing and she has more eyelashes then previous versions.  Her eyebrows are thinner and darker and her freckles appear softer and more realistic to the animated version.  She has a touch of pink eye shadow and nicely done pink lips.  Although her make up is heavier than her animated character, it is still nicely done and I prefer this natural look over her overly done Limited Edition versions.

Her expression is sweet, but to me, they still haven't been able to capture Rapunzel's incredibly sweet and charming personality:

Image found here

A look at the 2011 and 2012 singing dolls faces can be found here  (great Flickr page if you love Disney!)


The previous Rapunzel face ups.  Here's the 12 inch 2014 Classic and Palace Pets Rapunzel. 


Here's a look at her from a few different angles.  I'm not quite sure I like the forward facing eyes as much as the side glancing ones.



Be careful when you cut the plastic ties out of her head...as you can see I snipped a few hairs!  I will have to figure out how to smooth them back into place- gel or hairspray?


Rapunzel's singing and lighting up features do require batteries.  (5 button cell batteries are already in the doll.) 




16 inch and 12 inch Rapunzel just to show a size comparison. :) 

And here's a few more details.  





Overall, I am really pleased with her and so happy to add her to my expanding Disney collection.  The only other version that I own is the 2014 Classic doll (Pumpkin Pie got the Palace Pets one for Christmas.)


Well, I hope you guys enjoyed my mini-review of the newest Rapunzel!  Sorry, it's not as thorough...I feel a bit rushed as hubby and I are leaving this morning for a 2 night stay in Mystic Connecticut.
I'm sure someone else will do a much more detailed review in the days to come!
I shot a video of her singing, which I will upload later when we get back.  Hubby is literally prying me out of this chair so we can get moving! ;)

UPDATE:  Here's the video review we made where you can see her singing :)



I'll see you all soon and hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!
xoxo Farrah 

Friday, October 23, 2015

In-store Report October!

Hi everyone!  I hope your week has been going well.  These days I only make it to our local Target about once a month, because I have found that I tend to go a bit overboard in my shopping when I am there.  I could spend so much money as I love all of their home decor, clothes, decorations, etc. This month I was good and only bought one item on my toy hunt (from Target).  
I ended up also getting a few couch cushions and storage bins I had my eye on as well as some Halloween decorations that I thought were cute. 
No more Target until November!  ;) 

Here are the new dolls I spotted this month: 


Jaaks Pacific Fawn.  
I actually think she's really cute!  I love her dress and I think she's the most pleasant of all the Disney Fairies I've seen to date.


These Rapunzel dolls seem to have a new face mold.  The above is the cheaper one with a molded on bodice and the below one is one with a removal dress.
Her face shape comes the closest to what I feel her animated character looks like.



Frozen Fever in the hiz-ouse. 
Their faces do nothing for me, but I think the dresses are really nice. 


Now this was really cute!  It's a Frozen Musial Jewelry box and I love how they portrayed little Elsa and Anna.  I would actually consider getting this for Little Button for Christmas to keep all of her "jewels" in. :)


Any Star Wars fans out there?  I AM!  I am not into the "Bop It" game but this mini version of R2D2 is really cool and I would get it just to hear the real sounds!
By the way, have you guys seen the new trailer for the movie?  It looks so good!


"Ahhh banana!"  Gotta love Kevin. :) 

Tween Scene Dolls

The new Tween Scene dolls are really cute.  These ones are Valencia, Kimani and Lena.  Emily from The Toybox Philosopher did a great review on them here!


  Looks like Chuck and the gang are making a come back! This collector's figure set is really adorable and they did a great job capturing the personality of each character.  I'd be interested to see if this would actually appeal to kids or not.  I know people my age and older might appreciate it more due to its nostalgic essence, but I can't imagine a kid necessarily just picking this out.  Although, most kids probably do watch the Charlie Brown specials that are on each holiday season so maybe I am wrong. :)



 I love that little Woodstock. :) 

Target also had this display of "retro" toys that I was excited to see.  


Strawberry Shortcake!!  


George in the box. 


We definitely had this. 


We also had this Etch-A-Sketch, although I could really only make "stairs" lol. 


I remember having a Raggedy Ann and Andy (that were homemade by my mom's friend) growing up. So classic!


These would be fun to get again! 

Our Generation also had a few new faces.  I love their African American face molds. 


This one is so cute, but her eyes look a little crazy.  Her name is Nahla and I love her face, hair and dress.  She comes with a little garden set.


Abrianna is sweet as well. 


I think her name might be Willow, but I can't remember.
PS...they finally have the OG mini dolls on the Target website!!!

As for Babs and the gang... there were a few new ones I hadn't seen before. 


Cute dress, but why can't they make her knees bend?  I've always loved Teresa. 


 Horrible bangs, but I love the lipstick! 


I love this one's dress.  She looks like Marcia Brady.  I really had to laugh at the dog's positioning in the box.  I don't think this dog poops either, which is a plus!  Just strollin'. 

Below are some new Fashionistas I saw:


She's so cute and I love her bold brows.  This year's Barbie face mold is so pretty. 



Gorgeous, but I think they could've done a better paint job on her lips! 



Anything that includes a cat wearing glasses is good in my book. 



Meh...this one does nothing for me, but I really appreciate all of these different face molds!



And finally, my favorite...Red Ruffles...

Here are the 2015 Holiday Barbies on display:



Both beautiful. 

I'm in love with this Sister Snowy scene!! 
Look at those cozy winter sweaters.  I don't have a Skipper or Stacie yet, so I may end up getting this for myself this year. :)


Here's an additional stand alone Skipper. 

This one has bangs. 

And last, but not least, the 2015 Festive and Fun Barbie.  
Pretty cute.  I was hoping the Halloween one would still be there, but she was gone!  I should've grabbed her last time.  :(



Well, that about wraps it up!
Can you guess what I ended up with?
Red Ruffles! :)
All of these Christmas dolls are reminding me that the holiday season is quickly approaching.
Our family Halloween party is tomorrow and I don't have my costume yet!  Hopefully it will all come together.
Happy Friday and hope you all have a nice weekend.
Farrah xo