My New Belle Doll, Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray Review, Giveaway Reminder, and...a Surprise!!!

I'll start with the important stuff:.  Just wanted to remind everyone that TOMORROW is the last day to enter my Innerstar U giveaway contest.  So far, I have 14 entries, so your chances of winning are still pretty good! :)  And in case anyone is new or forgot, this is a contest (done the old fashioned way, with a name selected from a hat) in which the winner will receive an Innerstar U charm keeper necklace and Innerstar U online code, plus 3 extra Innerstar U charms for the necklace! :)  The winner will be announced on SATURDAY!! :D

In other news, I FINALLY got to watch my Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray, because my amazing brother and his wife bought my husband and I a Blu-ray player for our computer for Christmas.  All I can say is...WOW!  The picture quality is so beautiful!  There are some great special features, with lots of previously unreleased information.  The classic DVD special features are also included.  My favorites were "Beyond Beauty-the Untold Stories" and "Composing a Classic", an interview with Alan Menken about writing the songs for the movie with the late Howard Ashman.  They also showed an alternate opening scene, done by a crew that was sent to London to work on the movie before the current version we all know and love began.  I'm sooo incredibly thankful they pulled the plug on that version!  It was the most boring, dry, "trying too hard in the humorous parts" version of Beauty and the Beast I've ever seen...and I'm a big fan! 

Interestingly enough, I'd recently rented "Waking Sleeping Beauty" from Netflix, which was the behind-the-scenes story of the Walt Disney Company during the amazing Disney period that I grew up in.  This was the second "golden age" of Disney, when such great classics like "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Aladdin" were made.  I'm actually really thankful I had just watched that, because it played right into the special features on my Beauty and the Beast disc.  For anyone interested in how animation is made and what it takes to get these films done, or just a history of the Disney company, I would highly recommend it.  It's a bit bittersweet seeing some of the behind the scenes tensions that were going on, but I still was able to find it enjoyable overall.

The one complaint I had about the Blu-ray is that they used Lumiere on the menu.  He talks you through everything and makes witty comments as you make your choices.  You'd think that would be a good thing, right?  I mean, he's always been one of my favorite sidekicks.  The problem is that Jerry Orbach, who voiced Lumiere for the movie, passed away in 2004, and whoever they got to be Lumiere's voice on the menu...just doesn't cut it.  I know that he has the most flamboyant personality and everything, but why not use someone who's still around, like Mrs. Potts (played by Angela Landsbury) or Cogsworth (played by David Odgen Stiers), or even Belle, for goodness sake?  Did they have to choose the one character that isn't the original voice?  Maybe others didn't notice the difference, but it was painfully obvious to me.

Okay, I know that's a silly thing to get worked up over.  I'm done ranting now. :}  On to the next (and last) subject of this post:  my new Belle doll from the Disney Store! :)

I had seen this doll before Christmas, but she was $50, and I just couldn't justify spending that much on a Barbie-sized doll.  But when I got on their website the day after Christmas and she was marked down to $19.99, I couldn't resist! :)  She just got here yesterday.  Here are some pics...and by the way, it was like pulling teeth trying to get a good picture without glare!!!  I didn't take her out of the box because it's a great display box, so she's going to remain mint and NIB. :)

Here she is in her beautiful bell jar-shaped box.  I love the pretty golden roses on the plastic front! :)

Here's a side view of the box...

...and here's a view of the back, which gives a short synopsis of the film.

Here are some close-ups of her beautiful face. :)

 (sorry about the weird lighting...my camera was having issues!)

 

And here are some of the details of her lovely gown:

The only complaint I have about this doll is that they gave her real lashes, but they only put them on the corners of her eyes (see pic below).  It's a little odd looking...more of a Princess Jasmine look. :} 

Outtakes (due to the stinky, uncooperative flash!! GRRR): 

Belle has no mouth!!! 

In this shot, Belle decides to be an understudy for Ariel, when Ursula takes her voice.  Can't you just hear the vocals?  "Aaaaah, aaaah,..." 

Here it appears that Tinkerbell has paid Belle a visit.  See her sitting on Belle's shoulder so comfortably? :} 

Hope you enjoyed the pics! :)  Oh, and I almost forgot...sometime in the next week or so, I'll be doing a post on the fixer-upper AG doll I recently won on eBay. :)  Anyone want to guess who she is?  As soon as she gets here, I'll do a big post! :)  So keep checking back!!  And remember to check back on Saturday to find out who the Innerstar U winner is!! :D

UPDATE:  Okay, the cat is out of the bag for those of you who follow The Doll Wardrobe.  Apparently, Emma got on there and asked Nora if we could use her name for our new doll's middle name.  Unfortunately, she forgot that it was supposed to be a surprise!  So, follow the link and check the comments on Nora's latest post if you want to find out who our newest family member is. :)