Thursday, July 2, 2015

Disney Store Classic Belle 2015 Doll Review

 I decided it would be best to give each of my four new Disney Store dolls their own review post to keep things as simple as possible. Today, we'll take a look at Belle. The Beast will be next, then Rapunzel, then Eugene. :) My goal is to publish all four posts by the end of next week. So we'll be all Disneyed out by then. (If there is such a thing.) ;)

Also, since I have four posts to do this year instead of two, I probably won't be as wordy as I usually am on these yearly comparisons. I've done these for so long, you guys know just about as much as I do by now anyway. ;) I still took lots of comparison pictures for you, though, so don't worry.

Here's beautiful Belle in her box. :)

Box views and details:

Belle out of the outer shell.

Now I just have to tackle the thread and twist ties. ;)

Like many of the previous dolls, Belle's hands are held in place with plastic and rubber bands. I didn't get a picture of it, but she also has those annoying plastic ties in her head again. :(

She is held in place by a twist tie at the waist.

Like most DS dolls, her skirt has paper in it to make it look nice and poofy in the box.

And here she is out of the box. :)

I love her beautiful face! Like I said before, I'm so excited that she doesn't have angry or snarky eyebrows this time around. :) 

Belle's bodice...

...and skirt.

I love the gathered material at the top...

...and the beautiful glittery rose accents. 

Like the most recent Belle dolls, 2015 Belle has yellow flats held on by rubber bands. I didn't take any other pictures of her legs, but they are the "click-knee" variety, not the hard plastic with knee and ankle articulation.

Belle from the back.

She has Velcro closure at the bodice.

It always makes me happy when the pattern of the skirt continues all the way around. :)

Belle's hair is a pretty good length, but it looks a little funny from behind. 

The little short part in the middle is the leftover bit from the bun.

It looks a little better when the two big sausage curls are pulled together.

I love the hairline on this year's doll! It's much closer to Belle's movie style than any of the other Disney Store dolls from 2010 on.

And her face! Not only is it happy-looking and a nice representation of Belle, but it's so beautifully painted. 

I mean, check out the eye detail! Great stuff here. :)

Per a reader's request, here are some screen shots of Belle to compare:
(Images found on disneyscreencaps.com.)

The only major disappointment with my particular doll is that she has a defective wrist joint. When I try to move it up and down, it only goes to the side like this. And as you can see from the picture, there is a good-sized crack in the ball joint. 

I've decided not to exchange her since she will spend most of her time on display in my curio and not be played with. However, I know from past experience that the Disney Store is really excellent about returns, so I'm sure an issue like this would be no problem if I chose to exchange her.

So as is my tradition, let's take a look at the Belle dolls from the past few years and compare them with the newest edition. :)

Here's the complete lineup.

Now for a closer look at their faces. Since I did a lot of explanation on the faces in last year's post, I'm pretty much going to let the pictures speak for themselves this time around. (I'll link to last year's post at the end of this one for anyone who's interested.)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014 

2015 

Here's a closer look at each of the dresses through the years:

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Here they are from the back. I always find it interesting seeing the differences in hair length and style.

And here's a closer look at each of the hairstyles from the back, year by year:  

2010 
2011 
2012

2013

2014 

2015

I also love to see each of the dolls right next to the newest one each year, so I thought I'd share some pictures of each version next to each other. 

2010 and 2015
My two favorite Disney Store Classic Belle dolls...so far. ;)

2011 and 2015
This Belle has a sweet face, but the "year of tulle" was definitely not my favorite year for dresses. ;) To me, though, these two have faces that look the most like the movie character.

2012 and 2015
I still think that the 2012 dress is my favorite. I like 2012 Belle's hair, too. But I don't care for her eyebrows or her articulated legs.

2013 and 2015
Poor 2013 Belle has looked played-with since I took her out of her box, with her flyaway hair and crooked bodice embellishment. I do like all of the pretty rose designs on her skirt, though. :)

2014 and 2015
I didn't realize until I lined everyone up that this year's Belle has almost the exact same dress as last year's. The only differences are that the top embellishment on 2015's is not sheer material and she has little jewels added to the roses on her skirt. It makes me wonder how many of the other princess dolls have almost identical dresses to last year's versions. To me, 2014 Belle looks like she could be 2015 Belle's sophisticated older sister. 2015 Belle looks more young and innocent with her big eyes and softer eyebrows. 

***************************

I'm very pleased with my latest addition to the Belle lineup. But before I go into my official thoughts, I thought I'd give you a little preview of some of the other dolls to come.

For one thing, I have to keep my tradition of taking pics of the newest Belle and Rapunzel together. Because in this house, Belles and Rapunzels tend to be besties. Just ask my first 2010 Belle. ;)

2015 Rapunzel and Belle


I had a difficult time getting both dolls to look in the same place. For many of the Belle and Rapunzel releases, they've both had a sideways glance, so I could make them look at each other. Now Rapunzel is looking straight ahead and Belle is looking over and up. It makes photo shoots with these two a little challenging. ;)

And, of course, we have to see some shots of Belle with her Beast. ;) 


I have some mixed thoughts on this newest Beast doll. It's super hard not to just go into them now...which is why I decided to do his review next. ;) Stay tuned for more info!

*******************************

So let's get back to this year's Belle. It's time to share my thoughts on this latest edition.

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5
   I'm thrilled with this newest Belle doll. I'm so happy they gave her a more pleasant expression and a more accurate hairline. I love the extra detail they put into the face paint this year and her lovely complexion. Her dress, although not necessarily the most accurate one ever, definitely gives the idea of the original dress and is lovely to look at. I'd love to see them try to create gloves for Belle's gold dress again. I'd also love to see them release her in some of her different dresses sometime, like they did with Tiana this year. Overall, though, I'm very happy with her.

Posability: 4.5 out of 5
   The posability is the same on this doll as it has been for most of the previous years' releases. I love their extra posable arms and prefer the click knees since I don't care for the Disney Store's articulated legs. I'm docking half a point for my particular Belle doll because of her faulty joint. Without any issues, she would have a perfect score.  

Playability: 4.5 out of 5
   Overall, this gal would be great for playtime. I docked half a point because the curly-haired dolls from the Disney Store tend to have pretty messy hair after they've been played with for a while. The good news is, this Belle doesn't have a bunch of crunchy product in her hair like some have had in the past, so she has that going for her. 
   Oh, and like many of the past dolls, if you don't like glitter, you'll want to find this doll a new outfit. I had glitter all over me after taking pics of her and Rapunzel. ;)

Price: 5 out of 5
   The "2 or more for $10" promotion is a great deal, especially for detailed dolls from beloved movies. Since I can't afford the super expensive LE dolls from the Disney Store, I'm thankful that there are less-expensive alternatives for my collection. ;) I would prefer to spend $10 instead of the regular price of $16.95, but for dolls I really wanted, I would be willing to pay the full price. I would pay full price for this year's Belle and this year's Eugene, definitely. More on the other dolls later, though. ;)

Thoughts from the Gals:
(Typed exactly as dictated to me with no changes. Italicized clarifications are added by me.) :)

Oldest Gal (age 11):  
   This year's Belle doll is gorgeous. Her eyes and eyebrows are just right, and her lips and nose are pretty good too. Her dress is beautiful, even though it's a little short and not quite poofy enough. :( It looks a lot like the movie minus all the rose designs and jewels. 
   Her hair is pretty, but it looks a bit strange from the back. There are these two ginormous locks and then a short little wavy piece of hair in between the two. Her bun is pretty well done, down on the head instead of looking a bit detached from the head. I love what they did with her hairline! It looks just like the movie, except for the two strands that go up, then back down, in the front. Overall, I am very pleased with this Belle doll. 

Which is your favorite Disney Store Belle doll so far?
   I'm going to have to separate it into categories because this is so tough. For hair, I like the 2013 doll. It's short and the bun doesn't look too conspicuous. For face, 2015 and 2011 have to tie. 2015 is beautiful and movie accurate, but 2011 is really pretty too. If you're going for realism, 2015 and 2012 tie for the dress. My personal favorite is 2015. My overall favorite is 2015, as you can guess. It's such a realistic doll with the hairline and the beautiful eyes and eyebrows and the gorgeous dress. 
   

Middle Gal (age 9): 
   I really like her face. I like the way they did the little top of the heart thing on her hairline. And I like the detail on her dress. I like how the glitter does not come off. Her hair is a little messy, and it's kind of weird how they did it in two separate things, but I really like how they made her happy. 
   One complaint that I have about this doll is her bun. The Disney Store doesn't do really detailed buns. I like how they did the fully posable arms and wrists, but I wish that the legs would be more posable, too. I like that body better. Another little complaint that I have is that, well, the ruffles on the front of her dress are so beautiful, but in the back, they didn't do that, and that is just, like, it irritates me that the Disney Store did not do detail on the back of her dress, except for the glitter. 
   Overall, I really like this doll, and I think you should get her. 

Which is your favorite Disney Store Belle doll so far?
   2015. I like this doll the best out of all of the Belle dolls because they finally got her eyebrows right and she is so awesome! 


Little Gal (age 7):
   So, for Belle, I really like the way they made her smile this year because they make her look mad, like angry, not mad like "crazy" (in previous years). She is very beautiful, but I don't really like how they made her hair separate in two. The bun is pretty cute, and for her shoes, I'm kinda disappointed that they never do high heels. That's basically what every princess has in the movie. And I don't really like it how her dress doesn't spin like it does in the movie, doesn't even spin at all. And I like the way they did her part. It's just like it was in the movie. It goes like up, curve, down, up, curve, down. And then the back of her dress isn't really realistic. And they didn't do the little balls on the front of her dress. And they made her have too much eyeshadow. 

Which is your favorite Disney Store Belle doll so far?
  Probably 2015.  

The girls were very detailed in their reviews for Belle and the Beast. Since we just rewatched the movie the other night, the original characters were fresh on their minds. ;)


I'm very happy with my newest Belle and would definitely recommend her for my fellow Beauty and the Beast fans. :) 


If you'd like to get your own 2015 Belle, you can purchase her on the Disney Store website HERE

If you'd like to check out my review post from last year, you can see it HERE

Stay tuned for more reviews! The Beast doll is up next! :)

14 comments:

Meritre said...

She really is a beauty. I think she is my fevourote for now. 2010 Belle has a special place in my heartso that can't be really compared. 2011 is a close second to 2015 Belle, facevise. But 2012 Belle has the dress I like most. :)

I'm curious what Hasbro will do with her, I'm secretly hoping for fully articulated, nice looking dolls. I hope all girls will look fine and will be reasonably priced.

Kaffrum said...

I was wondering how close the dolls are to the Disney movie Belle. Do you have any movie still shots that the dolls could be placed by?

MyLittleMegara said...

She's lovely! I don't know that I'll get her, necessarily, as my Disney collection mainly focuses on Tangled/ Frozen/ Hercules stuff but I'm somewhat tempted. I really like her hairline and her expression. Are you excited for the live action Beauty and the Beast that's coming out in a few years?

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Meritre! Like you, 2010 Belle is special to me, but I do love 2015 Belle, too. I'm tempted to put 2012's dress and gloves on her, just for fun. ;)

I'm really curious about the Hasbro dolls, too. I hope they do more articulation than Mattel has been doing. There are some review photos of the Disney Descendants dolls on Flickr, which are also made by Hasbro, and they seem to have pretty nice articulation and clothing detail, so that makes me hopeful for the future of Disney dolls. ;)

Hi KAF FRUM! I've added a couple of screen shots of Belle within the post so you can compare her. Hope this helps! :)

Hi MyLittleMegara! I know what you mean. I've limited my Disney doll collecting to Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, and Tangled...although I did grab a couple of dolls from the live action version of Cinderella. ;) You kind of have to set those boundaries or go crazy trying to get EVERYTHING. ;)

I can't even TELL you how excited I am for the live action Beauty and the Beast film! I don't know how I'm going to wait until 2017!! ;) I'm especially pleased with the cast. I'm THRILLED that Alan Menken is doing the music. I've even started a Pinterest board. ;) 2017 can't come soon enough! :D

Anonymous said...

I love their review, when you will post the revision of Rapunzel?

BlackKitty said...

I can see why you wanted to review her first, she's easily the best Belle! Rapunzel looks promising too.

DisneyWorksGirl said...

Wow.. She really is beautifully painted! Next time I visit a Disney store these two will be in my bag ☺

Farrah said...

Great review! I love seeing all of the comparison shots and I think it's really helpful to be able to see the differences. I am in love with this new version. To me it shows her sweetness and her strength. Interestingly, I asked my 6 yr old who her favorite was from the line-up and she picked 2011 (she said "she's the cutest" :) and my 3 year old chose the 2014 version. I'm sure your girls love this new one! Is your oldest still into dolls?

MyLittleMegara said...

Emma Watson as Belle is pretty much my absolute Disney celebrity dream casting so I was very happy when the news about her casting came out... and then they said it was going to be a musical and I seriously CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks, Anonymous! :) I'm currently working on my review of the Beast, which I hope to have up either tomorrow or Sunday. I'm hoping to get Rapunzel's review up by Monday, and Eugene's by Wednesday. My blogging plans don't always work out the way I hope, but even if things get a little crazy, Rapunzel's should be up by the end of next week at the very latest. :)

Hi BlackKitty! So nice to hear from you again. :) Yep, Belle is pretty amazing. :D I think she and Eugene are my favorites of the four, with Rapunzel coming in close second. ;)

I would highly recommend them, DisneyWorksGirl! :D

Thanks, Farrah Lily! :) I really enjoyed doing the comparison shots this time around, too. There's something so fun about seeing each doll next to each other. Like you said, it really helps you see the differences between them. :)

I agree, this doll does capture her sweetness and strength just right. :)

I love your girls' thoughts on the different Belle dolls. I'm hoping to get some of my daughters' thoughts on all of the dolls before I'm through, but it hasn't worked out the way I'd hoped yet this week. Summertime is so nuts! ;)

My oldest is still very much into dolls. (Yay!) It's tough, though, because none of her friends are, so that makes her a little sad. I'm glad she's still able to enjoy them, but I've also tried to be very careful about pressuring her to be into dolls just because I am. I want her to enjoy them for her own sake, not just because I do. ;) So far, it hasn't been an issue. :)

MyLittleMegara, it's funny...I've never been a big Emma Watson fan, probably because I didn't watch the Harry Potter movies. Please don't misunderstand me. It's not that I HATE her or anything, I'm just not familiar enough with her work to form an opinion about her. In some ways, though, I prefer it that way. Now I won't be thinking of Hermione every time I see her as Belle. ;) I'm THRILLED about Dan Stevens, though. But not because of Downton Abbey, like everyone else. I loved him in the 2008 version of Sense and Sensibility. :D He's got perfect eyes for the part of the Beast/Prince, too. ;)

I'm so incredibly excited!!! I'm looking forward to the dolls they bring out along with the movie, too! Hopefully they're not as stern-looking as Cinderella and Kit's dolls. ;)

MyLittleMegara said...

I much prefer the Harry Potter books to the movies, but I really love Emma's portrayal of Hermione. :) It will be hard for me to see her as Belle, though; she'll be more Hermione as Belle, so I think in some ways you'll have the better view of her. I, too, am excited for the dolls and REALLY hope they manage to capture some happiness. I still don't have a Cinderella because I can't bond with any of their faces. :(

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

I'm not a Harry Potter fan myself, but yes, I am looking forward to seeing Emma as Belle and nothing else. ;)

My Disney Store Cinderella has grown on me, but I do think it's a shame they all looked so somber. I'm hoping that the Disney Store will have taken the disappointment from many collectors and kids into account when they make the Beauty and the Beast dolls. ;)

Carrickters said...

She has such a sweet face. Thanks for including the movie photos. It is nice to see how close a replica she is. I think she will be one of my favourite Disney dolls.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

You're welcome, Carrickters. It was actually thanks to KAF FRUM for requesting it in an earlier comment. :) I really loved seeing the comparisons between the dolls and the movie stills too. :)

She is absolutely lovely, I agree. :)

Nice to hear from you! :)