New Disney Store Beast/Prince Doll

Now I must do a post on my disappointing Disney Store purchase.  I bought their newest version of the Beast/Prince doll because all of the dolls were on a good sale.  I must say I was hoping for more than I got, especially after being so pleased with Rapunzel and Eugene (Flynn).  WARNING:  this post will contain a few pics of Disney Prince dolls in their skivvies to compare body styles (they basically look like they're in Speedos).  If this is offensive to you, skip this post. :} 

This guy is not nearly as great of a doll.  There are moments when he slightly resembles the Prince, especially in profile.  Even then, though, they just didn't quite get his face right.  He has enormous lips, a huge nose, a strange shape to his face, and his eyes don't seem like they're placed quite right (these pics actually make him look better than he does in real life...I guess I can be thankful that at least he's photogenic).

He also has a hard time standing on his own, as if he's overbalanced or something.  And he's not nearly as tall as I thought he'd be.

Probably the worst disappointment is his Beast costume.  His Beast head is proportioned way too small for his body.  Even worse, the Beast's neck doesn't even touch the shoulders of the doll, so there's a gap between his shoulders and neck.  As for his paws, they are attached to the sleeves of the blue jacket, which is typical for these dolls.  What's not typical is having to twist the sleeves of the jacket around so that the Beast's "thumbs" are in the right place.  The thumbs were pointing down when I first put it on, and it didn't look right. 

His head is rather thin compared to Belle's head.  It makes her look like she has a really big head.  I can actually sympathize with this because I have a big head and my husband has a small one.  It drives me crazy looking like a balloon head in pics with him! :}

Slightly better with the profile view.  Here he almost looks like himself.  By the way, Belle was completely mortified having to pose for this pic (she just met him today). ;)

I also have the older version of the Disney Store Beast/Prince doll, so I took some pics next to my new one just to compare them.  This version has a much better Beast head design.  Unfortunately, that part is in storage somewhere.  If I can find it later, I'll add some pics to this post.

So here are the guys.  You'll notice that while my new Prince has a fairly narrow head, the old Prince doll's is even smaller.  

I think they did a better job with the new Prince's eyes, but the old Prince is better looking overall (despite his somewhat cheesy grin).  I think a big problem is the new Prince's nose:  it just looks humongous!  

 WARNING:  UNDIES PICS COMING UP!!!

So here we have the Princes in their skivvies.  You'll notice that the Disney Store has changed the Prince doll body style dramatically in the past few years.  The older doll is just about fully poseable.  He has elbow, knee and wrist joints, and his head and waist move up and down as well as side to side.  It's too bad they changed this, because it would have been fun to have a fully poseable Prince doll to match the new poseable Princess dolls.  The newer Prince does have jointed elbows, but other than that resembles a Ken doll in poseability.  You'll also notice that the older Prince is much more built than the newer one.  I'm not sure what prompted this change either...maybe giving little girls more realistic expectations and little boys better self-esteem? :}  Another reason could be that all those joints wear out quicker than a few simple joints.  My daughters have the old version of Prince Phillip, and it's getting hard for him to hold any pose because his joints are so worn out.

The above pics show the differences in the two Prince's arms.  One annoying thing about the old Prince is they used two different shades of plastic to make all of his parts.  What's up with that?  

Leg details.  The new Prince looks like he hasn't worked out his legs quite as much as the old Prince.   

Notice the difference in their feet.  I much prefer the older mold for its detail.

A profile comparison.  Once again, here in profile, the new Prince looks much more like himself, but something is still not right, at least in my humble opinion.  Maybe I'm just too picky. :}

Here's a profile shot from the movie for comparison.  In all fairness to whoever sculpts the Disney dolls, this would not be the easiest profile to recreate.  It's actually pretty close.  Huh...he kinda has big lips in the movie, too.

Here are the two sets of clothes.  The newer Prince's outfit is all one piece.  I think it is slightly better quality.  The pants are fully lined with a mesh or veil-type material, and the gold trim on the sides of his pants looks nicer.  The blue "jewel" on his cravat is pretty pathetic, though. 

The older Prince's outfit consists of three pieces.  He has a nicer vest, but no cravat.  

Their boots are exactly the same.

Overall, I wish I'd held out for the Mattel Prince doll that came out when the Blu-ray was released last year.  But it's funny.  I couldn't bring myself to return this guy when my main complaint was against his looks.  It just seemed cruel somehow, when "Beauty and the Beast" is all about looking past appearances and finding the beauty within.  I know there's no "within" with dolls, but I'll probably still tough it out with this guy.  It could make a good story for my "Belle's Bulletins" segment on Tess and Maggie's blog.  (You can get there by clicking HERE)  

So, I'd give this guy a 5 or 6 out of 10, just because he was such a disappointment.  Who knows, though?  Maybe I'll like him more once I get to know him better. :)