Never Grow Up: A Mom's Guide to Dolls and More: July 2014

Wow, I can't believe the huge response to the giveaway! Obviously, an international giveaway is something a lot of you have been waiting for. :) Keep the entries coming! Remember, you have until this coming Friday, the 1st, to enter the giveaway. I'll choose the winner on Saturday. :)

In the coming weeks, I'd like to really start attacking my posts in draft and get as caught up as I can. For today, though, I had to share some more recent finds because I'm SUPER excited about them! ;) Everything I'll review today is made by the Funko company.

First up, we have the Funko Disney Vinyl "Mystery Minis" from Series 2. I saw these in Hot Topic with my aunt a while ago, and LOVED the fact that there were Belle and Beast characters to collect. I decided not to try for them, though, because I didn't necessarily want the other characters (even though they were cute).

Shortly after we first saw them, my aunt bought one, hoping to find me one of the Beauty and the Beast figures, but she ended up with Timon instead. ;)

Well, my aunt and my mom decided to try one more time this past week. They picked two random mystery boxes and ended up with: Belle and the Beast!! How cool is that? :D They were thrilled that those were the ones they found, and they surprised me with them at the end of last week. :)

Here's what the box looks like from the front.

Side view

Back view. This one has a different background because my original picture I took was really fuzzy. ;) This shows all of the figures from Series 2 available at Hot Topic. Elsewhere, there's an extra Wall-e figure and two Wreck-it Ralph figures instead of the three Ariels.

Other side view of the box.

Bottom...

...and top of the box.

Now we can take a look at the adorable figures! :)

I really love the Beast. He has such a cute look. I'm assuming this face is a reference to the "Come, show me the smile" part of the movie. :) He's right around 2 1/2 inches tall.

Here's a look at his other angles:

And here's adorable Belle. I love all the details of her dress and her pretty red rose. She's also right around 2 1/2 inches tall.

Belle's other views:

I thought I'd show you a closer look at the cover art to show the slight differences. In the art, the Beast's head is tilted slightly more, but overall, the look is pretty much the same.

Belle looks a lot different. I think my Belle figure is really cute, but honestly, I think her concept art is even cuter. I kind of wish they'd gone with the lower, wider-spaced eyes and lower nose of the artwork. It gives this Belle a sweeter, softer look than the actual figure. Both are cute, though. I just thought I'd show you the differences between the art and the figure so you'd be aware if you guys try to find one of these for yourselves.

These are the other Beauty and the Beast figures. I love the village Belle too. And while I don't mind "mad" Beast, I'm glad I got the smiling one. ;)

The Funko Mystery Minis range from around $8 to $10 each. I've seen them at Hot Topic and Barnes and Noble. You can also find them at Amazon.com. And if you aren't into the mystery thing, a lot of them are currently on eBay (search Disney Mystery Minis).

The figures I have are from the second Disney series. You can see the first series of figures HERE. The full set of Series 2 (without the three Hot Topic exclusive Ariels) can be seen HERE. There is also a Comic Con limited edition series (which you can see HERE). My mom saw the Comic Con ones at Barnes and Noble yesterday, so if you hurry, there might still be a few at your local store.

I would LOVE to find the SDCC Belle and Beast figures to go with these ones. :)

So, it's time for my overall thoughts. As before, I'll be using my new rating system to evaluate all of the items in this post. I won't be getting thoughts from the girls on any of the items today since the girls aren't really the target audience.

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5

I was very pleased with both of these figures. They are cute, well-made, and have a lot of fun detail.

Posability: N/A

None of the Mystery Minis are meant to be posable, so this category doesn't apply to them.

Playability: N/A

These figures are meant to be collectibles, not toys, so I didn't think this category applied either. I would not recommend giving this to anyone under eight unless they were super careful. Especially Belle, who has delicate arms and a small neck that could easily break.

Price: 4 out of 5

At Hot Topic, these were around $10 each, which to me is a little spendy. Still, the quality is high enough that I wouldn't be opposed to spending that much if it was for a figure I really wanted. That being said, the "mystery" aspect does make it a little trickier to go for specific figures. I'd rather go for the $3 My Little Pony blind bags...that's a cheaper gamble. ;) Speaking of which, is there any site online that has cracked the code for the Mystery Minis like Strawberry Reef has for the MLP blind bags? That would be awesome! ;)

Overall, I'm very pleased with these two figures and happy to have them as a part of my Beauty and the Beast collection. :)

Next, we have my Hot Topic exclusive Lumiere:

I got this guy a little over a month ago and am just finally showing him off. ;) Lumiere has always been my favorite sidekick from Beauty and the Beast, so when I saw him at Hot Topic, I knew I wanted him for my collection. I think he translates really well into a Pop figure. :) As you can see from the box, he is exclusive to Hot Topic, and also glows in the dark.

A view of his box from the other sides, top and bottom:

Here he is! He stands at a little under 4 inches tall.

My plan is to keep Lumiere in his box, but as I've mentioned in earlier posts, the nice thing about the Funko figures is that they can easily be removed and then put right back in the boxes since they have no twist ties or anything else holding them in place.

I really wish toy companies would do this with doll boxes. I understand why they don't, but it would be nice if they could. Then my constant "to debox or not to debox" struggle would be solved! I could take the dolls out of their boxes to photograph and enjoy for a while, and then put them back in the boxes to keep them nice. :} Maybe someday toy companies will try this... ;)

Other views of Lumiere:

As the box states, his candle head and hands glow in the dark. I tried to get a picture of him glowing, but couldn't capture it with my camera. He does glow quite nicely, though.

So, here are my thoughts on Lumiere.

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5

This has to be one of my very favorite Funko Pop figures EVER. :) He's completely adorable, and I love the detail of his little see-through flames and his shiny brass body.

Posability: N/A

Just like the Mystery Minis, the Funko pops aren't really meant to be posable, and Lumiere doesn't move at all.

Playability: N/A

Again, these are more collectibles than toys. I wouldn't give Lumiere to anyone under eight years old either, just because of his small arms and flames that could easily break.

Price: 5 out of 5

I felt that $12.95 was a reasonable price, considering Lumiere's size, quality, and uniqueness. :)

As I said before, this is one of my absolute favorite Funko Pops. I'm thrilled I have him and would definitely recommend him. :)

And now, for the most exciting finds! Yesterday, my mom was at Barnes and Noble and picked up a Funko Pop Anna and a Comic Con Limited Edition Elsa for me as a special "blog gift" (as she called it):

Thanks a bunch, Mom!! :D

We'll start with a closer look at Anna.

Box views:

Anna deboxed. I thought it was interesting that Anna came with a clear stand. I guess she's a bit top-heavy...or maybe it's more of a "just in case" accessory. As you can see, my Anna stands up just fine by herself.

Anna's white stripe almost has a green tint here, but it doesn't seem that way in person. I think it's just my goofy camera. ;)

I love all of Anna's little freckles. :)

A closer look at her dress. It's interesting. It looks like a really sloppy paint job in this picture, but it's not as noticeable in person.

And here's Elsa. Barnes and Noble carried limited quantities of the San Diego Comic Con exclusive Elsas. The only difference between this one and the one actually at SDCC is that the little limited edition sticker on the front has the Comic Con logo instead of a "convention exclusive" label. There was only one Comic Con version left at my Barnes and Noble. I'm so glad my mom got there when she did!

Box views:

I'll be keeping Elsa in her box, but I wanted to give everyone a better look at her for this post. :)

I really love how pretty her dress looks. The difference between this Elsa and the regular Elsa is that the regular Elsa has a solid plastic dress (you can see her HERE).

I love the snowflakes in her hair, too! :)

A look at the top of her head.

Elsa doesn't have light freckles, even though she had them in the movie (though not as noticeable as Anna's). My Elsa has a few shiny spots. I'm assuming those could be worked on, but since I'm just going to put her back in the box, I'm not going to worry about them right now.

A closer look at her dress and her snowflake.

Elsa and Anna together. Both dolls are right around 4 inches tall.

You can pick up your own regular Frozen Pop figures on Amazon.com HERE. You should also start being able to find them at places like Barnes and Noble or Hot Topic. In stores, the prices will range from $9.95 to $12.95 ($14.95 if you happen to find a SDCC Elsa).

I hope to add Kristoff and Sven to my Frozen Funko Pop collection. I'm still deciding on Olaf. I think I'll have to see him in person first before I make up my mind. :)

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5

I LOVE these figures!! :D Funko did a great job of capturing them in Pop form. I think the only thing I would change if I could would be Anna's eyebrows. They're a bit severe...and the eyebrows on the other Anna at Barnes and Noble were even more severe-looking! I think she would look more like herself with high, raised eyebrows or something along that line. Other than that, though, no complaints. :)

Posability: N/A

Again, these aren't really meant to be "posable", but their heads do move from left to right.

Playability: N/A

These aren't meant to be toys either. However, I wouldn't have a problem giving these figures to my six year old (although I'd probably find a regular Elsa instead of a limited edition one, just in case). ;) My girls all have Funko Pop princess figures, and they've held up really well to normal play.

Price: 5 out of 5
Anna was only $9.95, which is a great price for a Funko Pop. Elsa was a little more expensive at $14.95, but considering her limited availability, I think she was worth the price. I would definitely recommend either one for Frozen fans. :)

I hope you enjoyed this review of these fun new figures. Which ones are your favorites?

Pages

Thursday, July 31, 2014

One Last Day to Enter!!

Monday, July 28, 2014

Funko Fun