It's time for the fourth and final review of my new Disney Classic dolls. :) I've saved one of the best for last. Today, we'll look at Eugene Fitzherbert. Or, as the Disney Store still likes to refer to him, Flynn Rider. ;)
Here he is in his box. :)
Box details and views:
I love how the box has Maximus in the background on the back.
Almost free!
Like the other dolls, Eugene is held in place with plastic, tape, and twist ties.
He had a twist tie around his waist and laced through his boots. He also had plastic on his wrists.
Here he is out of his packaging.
And here is his handsome face. I really love the changes they made to Eugene's sculpt. When the Limited Edition Designer prince and princess sets came out last year, Eugene was the doll I liked the most. The Limited Edition dolls are just not something I can afford at this season in my life, but I really hoped I could somehow find a limited edition Eugene on eBay or something. So naturally, I was THRILLED when I saw that they were using this same mold for the Classic doll. :D
My Eugene has a little brown rub mark on his nose, almost like a freckle.
Here are some pictures showing the detail of his sculpt from all angles:
I love the fact that his hair and his goatee both have sculpting detail. :) Interestingly enough, I didn't notice that his goatee has sculpting until my daughters mentioned it in their reviews. Yikes, I guess I'm not as observant as I thought! ;)
Later on in the post, I'll include similar pictures from the original Disney Store Eugene so you can see the differences.
Eugene's outfit is still very simplified and too green like the most recent versions.
His vest and undershirt are all one piece and have Velcro closure in the back.
His satchel is just a flap of material.
One interesting thing I noticed about Eugene's arms is that, aside from their normal range of motion to the front...
...and straight down...
...they also bend back past the elbow. Usually this is what happens when the elbow joint has worn out. I don't have another prince doll from this year, so I don't know if this is the new way they are articulated, or if it's just a defect in my doll. (The Beast's arms don't have quite the same range of motion because they're a little different, so I couldn't compare with him.) Either way, this looks quite painful! :{
Eugene's pants are a dark chocolate brown color.
I love his boots this year! ;)
They're a lot more detailed than the previous versions. The white markings on them are supposed to be scuff marks. I noticed the marks and didn't think much about them. My daughters had quite a bit to say about them, though, which you'll discover later in their reviews. ;)
So, how did the Disney Store do on creating a look consistent with Eugene's movie character? Let's take a look at some screen shots from disneyscreencaps.com and find out. :) Just like I did with Rapunzel, I tried to find shots of Eugene with a similar expression to the one he has in doll form.
I personally think they did a fabulous job and got a lot of things right. They could probably make his hair just a touch lighter and add a little more texture to the eyebrows, but all in all, I think it's a very accurate representation. :)
2015 Eugene is not quite doing the smolder, though, Presto. ;)
He still looks a bit smoldery...just thankfully without those goofy pursed lips. :} (I was never a fan of the smolder myself...on him or anyone else.) ;)
And here are a few more bonus pictures, just because they were too fun to keep out of the post. ;)
********************************
I decided to pull some Mattel dolls into this comparison, just like I did with the Beast doll. I have three different Disney Store Eugene dolls, but since they all look the same, I decided to just include two of them. I've included my two Mattel dolls with different face molds.
Here's the whole group together:
And a view from the back. (Side note here: I like the fact that the gaps in the backs of the boots make them easier to take off and put back on, but I do wish they weren't quite so gappy. At 2015's aren't as bad as the original 2010's.)
Here are close-ups of all of the faces:
Mattel 2010
Mattel 2014
Disney Store Kingdom Celebration "Flynn" 2010
Disney Store 2010
Disney Store 2015
Here they all are in side-by-side photos:
Mattel 2010 and Disney Store 2015
I was so excited about the Mattel "Flynn" doll when I saw his stock photo. Sadly, the actual doll looks very different from that first photo. He also has some major articulation problems (his hips like to pop out of socket whenever he sits down). I do think, though, that the Mattel Eugene has the most accurate movie clothing.
Disney Store 2010 and Disney Store 2015
The 2010 Disney Store Eugene was my very first Eugene doll and holds a special place in my heart. Even though his outfit is still a bit inaccurate coloring-wise, it has a lot more detail than the more recent Disney Store outfits. His satchel is an actual satchel that opens instead of of a flap of material. His vest is more detailed and even has the little metal brads along the sleeves. His pants are lighter, too. And even though I think the 2015 face mold is an improvement, I still really like my original 2010 doll. Especially since he is Rapunzel's husband in Belle's Bulletins. :)
As promised, here are the pictures comparing the head sculpts of 2010 Eugene and 2015 Eugene:
Even though 2015's hair is still a bit dark, at least it's not the jet-black hair of the 2010 Eugene's.
And the hair sculpt? Absolutely no competition. 2015 wins, hands down.
Disney Store Kingdom Celebration 2010 and Disney Store 2015
Kingdom Celebration "Flynn" has the exact same head sculpt as the original 2010 doll, but I wanted to include him anyway. He originally came in a special set with Rapunzel shortly after the movie was released. I happened to find him on eBay, labeled as a regular Flynn doll. The only thing he's missing is his belt. This is supposed to be the outfit he wears at the very end of the movie, after Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. I found it slightly frustrating that the Rapunzel who came with him, wearing her dress from the end of the movie, still had blonde hair. :(
Mattel 2014 and Disney Store 2015
The Mattel 2014 doll is one I purchased last year and still have yet to review. (His review is one of the many I have saved in my draft posts.) :} I like his head sculpt a little better than the 2010 Mattel doll's, but I'm very disappointed with his stiff, all-plastic legs with non-removable pants. :( He also doesn't sit very well. I hope to get to his more detailed review later this summer. :}
While I like the 2010 Mattel doll's outfit, my Disney Store dolls are definitely my favorite, with my 2015 doll in the lead because of his head sculpt. I suppose if I wanted the perfect doll, I'd combine the 2015 doll with 2010 Mattel's outfit, 2010 Disney Store's satchel, and 2015's boots. :) But I love all of them for different reasons.
**********************************
Pleasing Qualities: 4.5 out of 5
I'm giving 2015 Eugene a 4.5 out of 5. The only thing keeping him from a perfect score is his unexciting attire. I almost gave him a perfect score anyway. ;) His sculpt is amazing and his boots are awesome. I'm so happy to have this doll in my collection. :)
Posability: 4.5 out of 5
His posability is consistent with the other Disney Store prince dolls. I suppose I should give him extra points for his double-jointed elbows. ;) I knocked off half a point because I'd love to see the Disney Store add extra articulation to their prince dolls, like they used to do. The prince dolls do not sit very well. The articulation in their hips and knees is pretty limited. However, they do stand and hold a pose.
Playability: 5 out of 5
2015 Eugene's simple outfit and posability makes him a great option for playtime.
Price: 5 out of 5
As I've said in the other reviews, getting a Disney doll for $10 is a good price, especially for a doll with such an amazing sculpt. I'd still pay the full $16.95 for him without hesitation.
Thoughts from the Gals:
(typed as dictated with no changes; italicized explanations by me)
Just like the Rapunzel review, this time around I added a question to the girls' reviews. I was curious if any of them were bothered by the Disney Store's habit of calling Eugene "Flynn" even though that's not his real name.
Side note: It was so funny hearing their Eugene reviews. I always have them review things one at a time and have the other two in another room so they aren't influenced by each other's opinions. It was hilarious to me how this time around, they all noticed almost all the same things. Especially the hair and those scuff marks. ;)
Oldest Gal (age 11):
I am very pleased with how they did Eugene this year. The previous years his hair looked like somebody had put a ton of gel in it and then put it in a ball. This year, it looks a bit more like real hair. And I love his goatee. It's so detailed! The boots are amazing, even though I don't know what the scuff marks are for. They're in the wrong places, because if he has been running all his life, and his boots have scuff marks on them, they're going to be right on the toe, not on either side of the toe and on one side of the heel. Other than that, they look terrific. His face is awesome. It actually looks like Eugene. His eyebrows and his smile are really good, and his eyes are beautiful.
Eugene's clothes, however, leave a lot to be desired. His pants are fine, nothing amazing about them, though. But his overshirt, which by the way is sewed on to his undershirt as usual, :( looks like something he made himself. It's just plain felt which is the wrong color and his satchel is a bit sad. I just noticed that his elbows can go completely back, which usually means they're broken. It bothers me a little bit. But other than that, he's a pretty good doll.
Does it bother you that they keep calling him a Flynn Rider doll?
It's a little bit annoying, but I find it more annoying that they keep doing Rapunzel in wedding outfits with long, golden hair. (Hint, hint. She's supposed to have short, layered, brunette hair. Kind of a cute hairstyle.)
Middle Gal (age 9):
I really like how they changed Eugene's hair. It's really nice, and I like it a lot better than the flat-haired guy. I think they did a better job making his face look like Eugene. I just wish that they would do a real satchel, because for a few years, the only thing they've done is just a little cloth...thing...not a satchel. Even if it was plastic, I would like it better than this satchel. One complaint I have about his face is that his eyebrows...I just wish they had done more detail on his eyebrows, but he really does look like Eugene this time. I like how they did the new Prince heads. They're really cool. His boots are more detailed, but I don't really like the scuff marks. I think they just put them in the wrong places. Like, some of my shoes have scuff marks and they're in the very front. I just wish that they would put them in the right spot. I like how the bottom of his boots are a different color than the part that you put your foot in. I really like what they did with him, except for the scuff marks.
Does it bother you that they keep calling him a Flynn Rider doll?
I didn't really notice, but it's kind of like a little pebble in my shoe, just kind of annoying.
Little Gal (age 7):
I like how they actually kind of molded his hair this time like the movie, because last time, they just did a little...they didn't do much. His clothes aren't the greatest quality compared to the Mattel one I got, because then they actually did a satchel. This time, they just put the belt on and just sewed a little fabric on it. And also, I would try to do the shirt a bit more closer to the movie color. And also, I'm a bit disappointed with the scuff marks. They just don't look very...they look like he painted silver paint on his boots. And I like how they kinda made him smile a bit more and they didn't do those weird eyebrows like they did on the Mattel one last year (the 2010 Mattel doll she bought last year). And I like how they did his beard, too. Last year they just painted it. This year they painted it and molded it, so I'm kinda excited about that. Overall, I do like him, and I really want to get him this year.
Does it bother you that they keep calling him a Flynn Rider doll?
Yes. It really bothers me because his name for the rest of the movie when Eugene told Rapunzel his real name, he was basically called Eugene for the rest of the movie.
If you'd like to purchase a Eugene doll for yourself, you can get him on the Disney Store website HERE.
I hope you enjoyed all of my new Classic Doll reviews. Which was your favorite of the four?
