Toy Fair Tidbits, Plus Cinderella and Frozen Fever Dolls :D

Hey everyone!  I wanted to leave you with one last post before I fade into oblivion for a few weeks. ;) This post will probably be a bit on the longish side, so bear with me.

First off, now that I've been home for a week, I've had a chance to check out some of the action from the Toy Fair.  Just like last year, I made a Pinterest board for the 2015 Toy Fair with links to interesting pictures and videos.  You can see it HERE.

You'll probably notice that many of the videos on the board are from Ashley, aka Kewpie83, the author of Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter.  She was able to attend the Toy Fair this year and get all sorts of videos and pictures.  I had such a fun time watching her videos...it made me feel like I was at the Toy Fair, too. ;)  Be sure to check out her blog, YouTube channel, and Flickr for more Toy Fair fun.

Sadly, Ashley had some disappointing news to share.  I noticed that I hadn't seen any information about the Hearts For Hearts Girls from the Toy Fair this year, so I asked Ashley whether she'd heard any news.  She told me that she found out the Hearts For Hearts Girls are no longer in production. :( I'm horribly disappointed, but I have to say I'm not all that surprised.  Their Facebook page has been very inactive, and it's super hard to find the dolls online.  It's really a shame.  As you all know, the Hearts For Hearts Girls were one of my favorite play dolls on the current market.

So, if you see any H4H dolls in your local stores and are still trying to decide whether or not to get them, now is the time!  Before long, they'll just be gone. :(  Another sad loss to the doll market.  

I think the things I'm most excited about are the upcoming releases for Strawberry Shortcake, Rosabella Beauty from Ever After High, the Tenth Doctor Funko Pop figure, and the Shining Armor and Princess Cadance Funko Vinyls. :) I'm not 100% sold on Disney Descendants, especially since it pretty much seems to be completely copying Ever After High.  I've never really been a fan of Disney Channel movies, either.  That being said, the fact that "Ben" (nice name choice, if I do say so myself...readers of Belle's Bulletins will understand), ;) the son of Belle and "King Beast" (really?) is one of the main characters makes me slightly interested in spite of myself. :}

My daughters are completely excited about "Hello Barbie" and are already asking me how much she costs so they can get one. ;)

Moving on from the Toy Fair, I thought I'd share just a few more detailed pictures of my Disney Store Cinderella doll, as well as the Mattel Wedding Day Cinderella doll I happened to order on Amazon.

Here's Ella in her pretty ballgown.

Side view

The back of the box features beautiful photography from the movie. 

I guess they were copying this more serious look for the doll. ;) 

Info on the back of the box. 

Other side view 

I really like the butterfly motif on the front of the box.

Disney Store logo

I found it interesting that my Cinderella doll had this sticker on the bottom of her box.  To the best of my knowledge, this means she was an online order, which also means she was most likely a return.  Not that it matters. ;)  She's in perfect condition.

I just had to show you the happy look her face has from an upward angle one more time.  I really wish they'd gone for a more pleasant facial expression like this.  She is going to the ball, after all! ;)  

Here are a few more views.  This is taken from above her head, which diminishes the look of her strong, square jawline.

Another view of Ella. 

Her dress is just beautiful, and is incredibly detailed.

A bit of her skirt. 

I really do love her hair, especially the pretty braid at the top.

I'm not planning on deboxing her at this time, so that's all the review pictures for now.  For an excellent, detailed video review of this doll, check out Chad Alan's YouTube review HERE.  

I'm not going to do a full rating of this doll since I'm not taking her out of the box.  I will leave just a few thoughts though.  I love Ella's hair, dress, and box.  I love her glass slippers (which you can't see, but I saw my daughters' slippers for their dolls).  I'm still not 100% sold on her face, which not only looks serious and a bit too angular, but also is a bit big for her body proportion-wise.  It's not quite as noticeable in this gown since it's so poofy, but you really notice it on the Disney Store Wedding Day doll (more on that later on).  However, as you've seen from some of the pictures, she can look quite pretty.  I ended up paying $17.00 for her between a return I made and the 25% off sale.  I definitely do not regret spending this much on her.  I don't know that I'd want to pay the entire $34.95 price for her, though...but that's just me. :)

So, yeah, after I got home from our trip, I placed an Amazon.com order.  I really wanted a Mattel version of Cinderella, too, and there were NONE anywhere on our trip!  When I got home, I saw that this doll was on Amazon.com and was only $24.99, so I went ahead and got her.  She came within the week and is just gorgeous!

Her face is a bit more pleasing.  Still not overly happy (what is it with all of these somber Cinderellas?), but it's got a calmer, more content look than the Disney Store doll.  This doll doesn't really look like Lily James (who plays Cinderella) to me, but it's not so different that you don't know who she is. 

Some box details from the front: 

Side view

The back of the box features this gorgeous stock photo of the doll.  Mattel's stock photos of their dolls always look so breathtaking, which sometimes leaves me a bit disappointed by the actual doll.  When I told Hubby about this, he laughed and said, "Well, you know, most celebrities have their photos retouched." ;) 

The writing on the back of the box. 

Other side view 

I really love the fun artwork on the sides of the box, featuring things like the clock and the pumpkin coach.  It really does make this a beautiful box to display. 

Another look at pretty Cinderella. 

A closer look at her bodice.  The floral pattern is obviously just a decal overlay on the material. 

Cinderella's skirt features more of the same flowers. 

Her wedding tiara is "gold" plastic and features pink and blue plastic flowers. 

Her earrings are gold plastic with blue flowers.

I really like this doll.  She doesn't have articulation in her elbows and wrists like the Disney Store doll, but I think her face is overall more pleasing and a bit better proportioned to her body.  Her $24.95 price makes her an affordable option for younger fans with a tighter budget.  Her clothing is not as detailed or as well-made as the Disney Store dolls' dresses, but as a mint-in-box display doll, she works quite nicely.

Once again, Emily at The Toy Box Philosopher and I had the same idea for a post.  Since I'm not deboxing my dolls at this point, you didn't get as much detail about the dolls themselves from me as you normally do.  However, Emily compares both the Mattel and Disney Store Wedding Cinderella dolls, and also the Disney Store Prince doll in her post, giving us the same incredibly detailed review she normally does.  (You'll really see what I mean about the head proportions of the two dolls.)  Be sure to check out her informative and entertaining post HERE. :)

But wait, there's more! ;)  When I placed my order for Cinderella, I noticed that Mattel's Frozen Fever dolls were available on Amazon.com, too.

Now, most of you who have read my blog for any length of time will know that I'm not a huge fan of current Disney Mattel dolls.  Between their hard plastic, non-bending limbs, painted on clothing, and face paint that doesn't always do a great job of resembling the characters, there's just not much there to tempt me.

I mean, compare this Mattel Anna and Kristoff...

...with this Disney Store Anna and Kristoff.

For me, it's no contest.  To be honest, I'm really excited to see what Hasbro does with the Disney Princess line when their contract begins.  But more on all that in another post. ;)

Considering my feelings on Mattel versus Disney Store, I was very surprised when I found myself interested in the Frozen Fever Elsa doll.  But Mattel really stepped it up for this doll.  Take a look:

Her face is so pretty!  Much better than the other Elsa faces I've seen from Mattel. 

The box mentions that "Birthday Party Elsa" is from the Frozen Fever short. :) 

I love that Elsa's gown is all cloth.  The floral print is really pretty. :) 

A look at the skirt.

I can't get over her sweet face. :)

I love how Olaf is peeking out in the bottom corner of the box. ;) 

Side view 

The back of the box. 

A short summary of the doll and the movie.

Other side view 

She has really cute little shoes, too. 

Here's another look at them.

Softer, prettier face paint, all cloth clothing, nice shoes...if Mattel would have been doing this all along I might not have lost interest in their princess line!  Elsa still has minimal articulation in her arms and legs, but she's still a much more pleasing doll than Mattel's earlier offerings.

Usually, I focus on Anna in my Frozen collection.  However, I wasn't completely sold by her stock photo on Amazon and decided to wait to see her in person before decided whether or not I'd buy her.  Plus, I knew that Elsa would probably sell out quicker. ;)

I do have a strong hunch that there will most likely be a review of both of Mattel's Frozen Fever dolls over on my friend MyLittleMegara's blog, In A World of My Own, so those of you interested in seeing more about these dolls should stay tuned over there. ;)  UPDATE: The review is up!  You can see it HERE.

Interested in getting any of the dolls I've reviewed here for yourself?  You can find the Disney Store Cinderella doll on the Disney Store website HERE.  Mattel's Wedding Day Cinderella can be purchased on Amazon.com HERE.  Birthday Party Elsa can be found on Amazon.com as well, HERE.  (And Birthday Party Anna is available HERE, if you're interested in her).

I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy yet vaguely detailed post. ;)  I'm off for the next few weeks to write like crazy in preparation for Mount Hermon.  I may not respond to comments right away (I really need to stay focused!), but I'll publish them so you can all enjoy them.

I'm also hoping to get my vlog done, but since the girls and I have ALL got colds now, we kind of need to wait until we don't sound like croaking frogs. ;)  I'll most likely have it up sometime mid March.

As I mentioned before, March will probably be a bit sparse as far as posting goes, even after my official blogging break.  I have a feeling I'm going to be cramming in every last requirement down to the wire.  Once April hits, though, things should get back to normal around here with regular posting and such.  Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity, everyone!  I'll be back before you know it. ;)