Funville Sparkle Girlz 11.5" and 4" Minis

Hey, Hey...today I wanted to do a quick peek of the new (are they new?  I have no idea) Sparkle Girlz dolls I found in my local Walmart last week.  I had originally picked up the little mini Fairy doll  at my old, smaller Walmart last month before we moved and thought they were such darling little squirts.  Coincidentally, one of my favorite toy review blogs, did a great review on these mini dolls recently, which re-sparked my interest so I decided to pick up a few more since they are really cute and very affordable.  

NOTE:  Please bare with me as I had to take all these photos with both of my girls in the room with me, so I forgot to take some photos/was rushed/distracted...you get the idea :}

This week I went to a different, bigger Walmart that is closer to our new house. When I approached the toy isle (at 630am Sunday morning, which is the only time I do my grocery shopping so I can go in peace while the Littles are still snoozing) I noticed these larger dolls right next to the minis.  What I really noticed was that their price tag said $4.97!  Yup.  The mini dolls were still at their lovely, sweet price of $2.47.

First I'll take a look at the ladies.  These gals come in a few different styles.  Shown above is the brunette from the Fairy Tale Collection (obviously Belle-inspired) and the blonde is from the Fashion Collection.  At my Walmart there was also a Ballerina Collection, which you can see an example of here.  She looks bored.

UPDATE: 10/9/15
I found this cute Fairy Tale Collection on Amazon as well: Sparkle Girlz Fairy Tale Collection

ae well as this "Elsa" one:Sparkle Girlz Winter Princess Deluxe Set (blue)

Anyway..back o the review!

Here are the other dolls in the Fairy Tale line-up that were all in my store.  They are clearly Cinderella, Belle, Snow White and Aurora.  This line had 2 different face molds, one with a closed mouth smile and one with a big open smile.  I actually had Snow White in my cart at first, but there was something about her big toothy grin that was a little off-putting to me personally, so I swapped her for the sweeter, more sensible looking Belle.
As for Blondie...I usually steer away from blonde dolls in general because we are "the brunette brigade" over here and I like the girls to play with dolls that look like them (not always, but I like to be mindful when there are lots of options.)  This little goldilocks was actually the only one I saw in the fashion line that had a closed mouth smile and I really liked her dress so into the cart she went. 

The packaging is a dream.  The dolls are basically shoved into this little cardboard cone and  held on by a few plastic ties around her waist.  Very easy to remove.  The girls are still using the cones as little doll beds at night :}

Yikes, I didn't realize how short her dress was at the store!  

Here are both dolls in their get-ups. I was very pleased with the quality of the doll clothes.  Let's remember that they cost less than $5 each.  (!!!)  "Belle"s dress is very cute.  I think if I can find some Barbie tights or leggings to put on Blondie, I would feel better about her.  I would even be fine with purchasing a different one of these dolls with a nicer outfit and just donated the doll itself to goodwill. 

Here's a look at them from the side.  The head shape is a bit odd.  Her forehead seems to be very round and just a bit too far forward at the top

The hair is quite long in the back, but very shiny and attractive despite the kinks that were left from the plastic ties holding her in place.  Both dolls had the back of their hair secured in a low ponytail.  

   I am very impressed by her face.  I also like how they styled her hair in the front.  I think she has a very sweet expression and the painting is nicely done for such a cheap doll. Here eyes are a bright emerald green with a subtle smokey gray shadow on the upper lids only.  She has two tiny white hearts in each pupil representing the natural light reflection.  (Love that.)  

I like the length of the eyelashes and the lighter toned bottom lashes that extend from the corner of each almond shaped eye.  Her eyebrows are pretty basic and I thought the light flush/blush on her cheeks added to her charm. 

Here nose is delicately sculpted extending down to a surprisingly detailed philtrum (little ridge between nose and mouth.)

Her lips are painted very well, and are a bright hot pink (which is a bit much, but I think it works well with her green eyes and rainbow colored dress.) I think they extended the upper lip paint a bit high, but this could be just my particular doll. 

Her face kind of reminds me of our other little friend...;)

But I'm the fairest....

Here's a closer look at "Belle".  Her face mold is the same. You can see a bit more of the irises here and I like how they painted tiny lines to give the eyes a tad more depth.  Belle's eyes are a pretty similar smokey color but her lips are more of a frosty pink. Again, I feel as though the make-up compliments her dress and coloring quite well.  The ears are perfectly placed along the sides of her heart shaped face.  

You can also see that her hair is rooted pretty closely along her forehead.  Belle's hair is wavier, and the styling of the front is different then Blondie. 

Disney Fairy Vidia, SG Blondie and Barbie

The Sparkle Girls stand about 11.5 inches tall (this is what I read, I didn't actually measure them) and her body type is very comparable to an older Barbie we had lying around.  My doll's right leg was a bit wonky and it looks likes she favoring one of her hips.  Maybe she needs a hip replacement. 

I forgot to take a photo, but she can wear Barbie's dresses and shoes, which adds to her versatility.  Blondie's dress was a bit too short on Barbie.  No shock there. 

I have 5 points of articulation!

Another plus is that her head can also look to the side and has a bit of up and down flexibility. 

Cute dress and shoes. The dress appears well made/sewn and the shoes are just typical cheap Barbie-ish shoes. 

Belle's shoes

..she must've borrowed them from Cinderella.  

They are a flexible "gel" like plastic and the straps actually unbuckle (but not easy for little fingers.)

Again, I am really impressed with the details in this extremely low cost doll!

Overall, these dolls were a hit.  As a special treat for moving (I know...any excuse to make myself feel like I'm not spoiling them) I did give these to the girls to play with and keep for their own collections.  They loved these dolls immediately.  More-so then any other 12 in doll we have.  Pumpkin had first choice and picked Belle, while Little Button had first choice of the mini's and she picked the little princess.  More on the minis in a moment :)

They really enjoyed playing with the set, pretending they were Mommy/Big Sis/Babies.  

I tried to persuade Pumpkin Pie to keep Belle's hair in a ponytail, but she in so many words told me to stop being a control freak about doll hair and that it was her doll and that was that.  Her exact words were "no, Mommy, just let her be."  ;}

Little Button was glad to oblige and let me put Blondie's hair in a braid. 

Here's Belle the next morning.  

I hate to say I told you so...

                                                  Pumpkin Pie 0, Little Button 1

If you end up purchasing these dolls for a child aged 5 and under, I strongly encourage braiding their hair! :)

Now on to the toddler minis!  How cute are they?  For less than $3..I'd say DARN cute. 

This is going to be a quick overview of the minis, but if you want a more detailed review stop by this great post on Emiy's blog :)

These young ladies are about 4 inches tall and what impressed me the most was the details in their tiny outfits.

They also come in different "groups" (fairy, ballerina, and princess) and each group has different skin tones, eye colors and clothing colors and styles.  The variety to chose from is nice, but there were fewer black dolls and no Asian dolls that I could tell, so I wasn't completely impressed with the diversity of choices.  My store didn't have any 11.5 inch black dolls, but I have seen many online,

The 2 white gals have the same face mold and the black gal has a slightly different mold which was nice to see.  

Toddler Ballerina (Pumpkin Pie's 1st choice) 

Toddler Princess  (Little Button's 1st choice) 

Toddler Fairy (leftover for me) :}

  I'll just give you a quick look at their bodies and articulation.  She has the same 5 points that "Big Sis" does, except her head only really moves from side to side. 

The little shoes are painted on (one less thing to lose!) 

Here is a comparison of the two different profiles.  As you can see, Fairy has a rounded forehead while Princess's is a little flatter.  Besides having both hair in a low ponytail like Big Sis, Fairy has a cute little braid along her forehead creating a crown-like appearance, while Princess has two sections of hair from both sides brought together in a half ponytail on top. 

Again..super impressed with these little details and differences among the dolls. 

All three dolls sit and stand pretty well on their own as you can see in the photos below. 

Fairy comes dressed in a one shoulder, gauzy little number with little blue sparkle fairy wings that are attached (pretty well, I might add) to the back of her dress with Velcro. 

Princess comes in a pastel toned one shoulder ballgown.  I can't get over how cute these outfits are.  They alone are worth the $2.47!  Based on Emily's review as mentioned above, they can share clothes with other similar sized mini-dolls.  

At this point, the girls were getting a bit irritated with me for taking their dolls away for photos.  So I had to start wrapping things up.  

She is really fun to tuck along for quick walks and photo shoots. 

Hanging with Kelly

Chelsea's hair....Peg Bundy

Overall, I completely recommend these dolls.  They are just as fun and enjoyable as a higher priced Barbie, and you just can't beat the price.  I've seen them on Amazon for much higher, but they are definitely at Walmart for less than $5 (11.5 in)  and less than $3 (4 in) so be sure to check them out.  My store had a ton to choose from and it's really tempting to want to go back for more.

  We were able to get Belle's hair back to a respectable style, but I do recommend tying it back if you can. You can also take a peek down into the cone at the outfits as well to make sure you can see the length of the dress if that is a concern for you.  

My 2 and 5 year old still play with these dolls daily and still use the cone/pocket style packaging as little beds for them.  Double bonus!

Well done, Funville, for creating cute, affordable dolls with charming little outfits that this budget-tight Mom can afford.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely night.  

xo

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