Pullip, Moxie Teenz, and LIV Doll Articulation Comparison

Okay, as requested, here is the comparison post you've been waiting for. :)

Let me just start out by saying that this post will have a TON of pictures of undressed dolls with developed figures.  The easiest way to show points of articulation is to photograph the dolls without their clothes on.  So if this is an issue for you, I'd suggest you stop reading right now and wait for my next post. ;)

So here we have Moxie Teenz Bijou, Pullip Peter Pan, and LIV Daniela.

And here they are showing off for the camera. ;)

Front view of the three lines

Since I had a few extra undressed LIVs and an undressed Moxie Teenz lying around already, I decided to use them for the actual comparisons rather than taking the time to undress my other dolls.  "Pete" (still unnamed at this point) is still here because she's my only Pullip. ;)

Back view

For this post, I'll take each doll a section at a time and compare them to each other.  We'll start with the arms.

Here is Moxie Teenz Melrose with her arm extended as far and as high as it will go.

The Pullip can lift her arm much higher when completely extended.

Another LIV Daniela with her arm extended.  

[Side note here:  I had a third LIV nearby, and later, when I noticed that Daniela's arms seemed more limited in their movement than I remembered, I tried the other doll's articulation and noticed that she was much more flexible.  As a result, throughout this post you'll occasionally see two different LIV dolls pictured. I included pictures of both when there were differences in the range of motion between the two of them.] 

Moxie Teenz with her arm turned upside down and fully extended.

At first glance, it looks like Pullip's arm is just straight at her side, but this is actually how far her arm will go when it is turned upside down.  It can rest all the way against her body! (Ouch!)

A closer look at her shoulder joint.

LIV doll with her arm upside down and fully extended.

Her shoulder joint.

And here's the first picture of the second LIV doll to show how far her elbow can extend!  The elbow joint seemed to be the main difference between the two LIVs.

Here is the Moxie Teenz with her arm fully extended but bent inward at the elbow.  This is as far as her elbow and wrist will bend towards her body.

As you can see, the Pullip is much more flexible.

I thought I'd show a top view of this photo as well, since from the first picture it looked like her hand was touching her shoulder.

This was when I first became suspicious that something was up with this LIV's articulation.  I remembered them being much more flexible in the elbows.

Sure enough, when I checked the other LIV, my suspicions were confirmed.  The blonde LIV's pose is much more typical of the LIV dolls, at least in my experience.

[Another side note here:  You might notice the difference in lip color on the brunette LIV doll throughout this post.  You're not going crazy, and I didn't swap dolls. ;)  Her lips turn red when exposed to the cold.  As I handled her throughout this photo shoot and she warmed up, her lips went back to their natural color.  When my mom first brought me this doll (another Goodwill find), I seriously began to doubt my mental sanity.  I saw her bright red lips on the first day, but when I looked at her the next day, they were a different color.  I'm glad I discovered the mystery before too long.] ;)

I wanted to see how well the dolls could reach the top of their heads.  This is as far as the Moxie Teenz could get.

And the poor Pullip just didn't have a chance with such a big head. ;)

LIV #1...

...and #2.  She can actually reach a little farther than this, but her elbow still has to be bent or her hand no longer touches her head.

As a doll photographer, one of the most important things to me when it comes to doll articulation is how easily I can express emotion through a doll's poseability.  I thought I'd give a few examples of typical poses I would use for my photography and see how the dolls compare to each other. :)

So here's the "I don't know" pose (either that or the "So anyway, here's what happened next..." pose) for the Moxie Teenz. ;)

And a closer look at the arm.

Pullip's version.  As before, you'll notice she has much more flexibility in her wrist.  

And here's LIV version #1...

...and #2.  Once again, the blonde LIV's pose is much more typical of what I've seen with other LIV dolls.  There's obviously just an issue with LIV #1's elbow joint.

And here's the "Oh my goodness!" pose.  Unfortunately, the Moxie Teenz just doesn't quite pull this one off...

...especially when you see it from the side view.

I tried it another way...

...but the result was still less than satisfactory.

The Pullip wins this pose hands down (or would that be "hands up"?). ;)

I love the fact that she can easily touch her mouth.  This type of pose can convey so many different things in a photo story, from amusement to bashfulness.

My first attempt with LIV #1 looked great from the front...

...but not so great from the side.  (By the way, in case you're wondering, I'm really not a fan of her skull earrings!) :}

So here was attempt #2.

Much better, but still not as great as the Pullip's pose.

LIV #2 with her more flexible elbows was able to pull this post off...still not up there with Pullip...

...but pretty close. :)

This is supposed to be the "Oh, great!" pose, but with the Moxie Teenz it ended up being more of a "gazing off into the distance" pose. ;)

You get the illusion of frustration or embarrassment a little better with the Pullip.

A side view.

Daniela looks like she just found out she forgot her homework or something. ;)

Side view

LIV #2, also having a bad day. 

Side view

And this is either the "This can't be happening", "Worst day ever!", or "I'm completely crushed" pose.  Take your pick. ;)

It's difficult to get the Moxie Teenz doll to touch her face because of her limited wrist poseability.

The Pullip is once again the winner in this category (especially since she can close her eyes in addition to covering them with her hands).

Side view

The LIV dolls still do a pretty good job at portraying this emotion, even if they're not quite as flexible as the Pullip.

From the side...

 

...and the other side.

LIV #2

...and her side view

And of course, we can't skip the crossed arms pose, conveying frustration, annoyance, or defiance.  Unfortunately, this pose doesn't work very well on the Moxie Teenz doll.

But the Pullip does a pretty good job of it.

In a later picture, I even got her one hand to fold completely in the crook of her elbow. :)

The LIV almost pulls this look off, but the Pullip definitely wins this round.

Now for head articulation.  This is also important for doll photography.  The ability to tilt a doll's head slightly to one side can add so much character to a photo. :)

Moxie Teenz:

Straight

Left Tilt

Right Tilt

Down

Up

Full turn to the Left

Full turn to the Right

Here's one instance where the Pullip does not get full points.  Her head does not tilt from side to side or move up and down.  It simply looks straight ahead or turns to the right and to the left.  Of course, the fact that she has eyes that open and close and look different directions does make up for this at least a little. ;)

Pullip:

Straight

Full turn to the Left (You'll notice that when turned, her head has a slight upward angle.)

Full turn to the Right

LIV:

Straight

Left Tilt

Right Tilt

Down

Up

Full turn to the Left

Full turn to the Right

I didn't include LIV #2 in these photos because I felt the dolls moved about the same in this category.  Photos of both would have been repetitious.  

Now we'll move on to the legs and their flexibility.

The Moxie Teenz is surprisingly flexible in the legs.

The Pullip is actually a little less flexible, which surprised me.

The LIV wins for poseability in this category!  I wish I could do the splits like that. ;)

The Moxie Teenz sitting.

Pullip

LIV #1

LIV #2 (I included both this time because it seemed like this LIV was able to put her legs just a bit straighter.  Now, looking at the pictures, I can't tell if that's the case or not!) ;)

I also wanted to show how each doll sat with their knees bent.  Honestly, all three dolls did well in this category.  They all looked very natural in this pose.

Moxie Teenz side view

Front view

Pullip side view

Front view

LIV side view

Front view

I also tried posing them in a partially sitting, partially lounging pose.

The Moxie Teenz technically pulls it off, but looks like she would be uncomfortable if she stayed in this position for too long. ;)

The Pullip looks pretty comfy...

...but the LIV takes the cake again with her amazing knee joints!

And speaking of which, the LIVs were the only ones capable of this:

(Of course, the hip joints had a huge part to play in this pose as well).

They can also sit very naturally on their knees.

A closer look at these amazing knees.  They're not the prettiest doll knees to look at, but if you're looking for a doll with the best leg pose options, this is definitely the one you want to get. 

The Pullip has a unique knee joint as well.  Her knee ball joints actually pull down from inside her legs, allowing her to turn her lower legs sideways:

Here are the joints in their pulled down position...

...and here they are in their normal position.

Next we'll compare how the dolls sit on their knees.

Moxie Teenz

Pullip

LIV is the only one who can sit back in a more natural position.

I also wanted to see how far back each doll could lean while holding this position.

This was the absolute farthest I could get the Moxie Teenz doll to go.

The Pullip could lean pretty far, but kept tipping backwards because of her over-sized head.

The LIV doll had a lot easier time leaning back while remaining on her knees.

I knew that the Moxie Teenz was at her maximum, but just for fun I decided to see if the others could lean any farther.

The Pullip could have leaned a little farther if her head was smaller.

Wow...that looks painful!  And once again, another clear winner in this category.

Now on to the feet! 

Moxie Teenz:

Normal position

Tippy-toes

Bent up at the toes as far as possible (which is pretty much not at all...her feet were not flexible in the front!)

Front view

Feet turned to the sides

Pullip:

Normal position

Tippy-toes

Bent up at the toes as far as possible

Front view

Feet turned to the sides.  As you can see, she doesn't have swiveling ankles like the other dolls, but her unique knee joints allow both lower legs to turn outwards.

LIV:

Normal position

Tippy-toes

Bent up at the toes as far as possible

Front view

Feet turned to the sides

And a unique option for the LIVs:  feet turned completely backwards.  Again, ouch!!

So, after that extensive look at every inch of these three dolls, what are my conclusions?  

I have to say that the LIV doll wins by a landslide for overall poseability.  While the Pullip is slightly more flexible in the arms, this doll's amazing leg and hip joints give her the upper hand.

Best things about this doll:  

-super poseability 

-lots of customization possibilities with her removable wigs

-she can easily share clothing with Barbie

-she can be used as a "body donor" if you have a Barbie that you would like to give some added flexibility

Worst things about this doll:

-the LIV stare (Some of the LIVs have a VERY intense gaze because of the way their eyes are designed.  I tend to stick to the brown-eyed dolls because they look a little more serene.) ;)

-heads slightly too big for their bodies (if that sort of things bothers you)

-joints can become floppy with a lot of play (but still hold up longer than many other comparable brands)

-harder to find as they're being discontinued (check your thrift stores, though!)

The Pullip wins second place for her articulation.  Although her large head makes her top-heavy and her leg joints are not as phenomenal as the LIV's, her arm joints take the cake.  

Best things about this doll:

-her ADORABLE face!

-awesome arm and wrist joints

-eyes that blink and wink

-can share clothing with Moxie Girlz and some Barbies

Worst things about this doll:

-feels extremely fragile...NOT for children!

-a head that's WAY too big for her body (if you were bothered by the LIV, then the Pullip is really going to bug you) ;)

-slightly tipsy and hard to keep set up due to said head

-VERY expensive (unless purchased at an amazingly awesome Tuesday Morning sale price) ;)  

Sadly, the lovely Moxie Teenz earns 3rd in the articulation department.  Still, if you're looking for a unique doll, she's still got a lot going for her. :)

Best things about this doll:

-lovely face

-interchangeable wigs and layered clothing allow for a lot of variety and mix-n-match options

-high quality clothing and accessories (more in the first wave than the others)

Worst things about this doll:

-not nearly as flexible as the others

-aforementioned wigs tend to fall off if you look at her sideways ;)

-is a unique size, and therefore cannot share clothing with Barbie and other compatible lines

In conclusion, I think there are things about each of these three dolls that make them special, and I'm happy to have each of them in my collection.  Any of these would be a great choice for a fashion doll collector.  What you're looking for in a doll will determine which one is the right one for you.

If you'd like to see some of the other review posts I've done on these dolls, check out the "Fashion Dolls" section on my Doll Product Reviews page.

I hope you found this post helpful and informative.  If you have any further questions or if I missed something important, feel free to leave me a comment. :)