Okay, once again I'm interrupting our Lala and My Little Pony-themed posts, basically because I'm in total geek-out mode and need a place to get it out of my system. Plus, this is my blog and I reserve the right to interrupt already scheduled stuff. ;)
Fear not, Lalaloopsy and My Little Pony fans! We'll get back on track tomorrow afternoon or evening with the Lala-Ooopsies review. ;)
Before I begin my extremely long fangirl post, I want to apologize for possibly repeating things I may have mentioned earlier. I posted some things on Facebook about "Frozen", but I couldn't remember whether or not I'd done much here. Sorry if I end up telling you things I've already shared. ;)
So I've been really interested in "Frozen" since I first heard about it, but I've been waiting to get more info before I went into full-on geek out obsessive mode (my normal pre-movie state). :} Last week, I found out that one of the characters from the movie, Hans, is voiced by Santino Fontana, who is currently playing role of Prince Topher in the Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella". That got me excited. The next day, I totally caved and read the Frozen coloring book in Barnes and Noble, discovering the entire plot of the movie in the process. :} In this case, I'm kind of glad I did, because there was a HUGE plot surprise I was not expecting and I might have had a hard time not knowing it going into the movie. (And no, I will not reveal it here, even though I've been DYING to tell someone!) ;) Even with the plot twist, I was super impressed. (In fact, the plot twist was actually one of the things I liked once I got over the shock of it...but I need to stop there! I am determined not to give away any spoilers!!)
Suffice it to say, this is going to be an incredible movie. I feel like I'm going to explode waiting for it to come out! Thankfully, there have been all sorts of fun things to tide me over in the meantime, like an incredible new trailer that was released today (I've already watched it five times). :} You can see the new trailer on Facebook HERE. For those of you who do not have Facebook, you can see it on YouTube HERE.
Totally amazing, right? :D Anyone else geeking out, or is it just me?
I had some Frozen stuff I was going to review at a later date, but seeing the trailer made me want to go ahead and dive in today! So, fasten your seat belts for an incredibly long, picture-heavy post!! We'll take a look at the Frozen merchandise I've added to my collection in the past month. :)
First off, just this morning I found a fun mini coloring book at Walmart for just $1.79. I love the fact that it is strictly a coloring book with pictures that tell the entire story. No crossword puzzles or other activities. (I've never been into coloring and activity books, to be honest.)
The coloring book is titled "Radiant Heart".
And here's Kristoff with a guitar!! I'm sensing a musical number to look forward to. ;)
I thought I'd share just a few pictures from the coloring book. Don't worry, I only selected spoiler-free pics and didn't include the text. ;)
The coloring book also included two pages of mini stickers.
Unfortunately, they weren't printed very well, so some of the stickers look a little odd. I couldn't capture it on camera, though.
My other Frozen treasures are the four classic dolls from the Disney Store: Hans, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, pictured below.
Here are Elsa and Anna together.
I decided to just open Anna and Kristoff for starters, so I'm only going to share boxed pictures of Elsa and Hans.
The sides and back of her box:
Elsa's pretty face. You can't really see it in this picture, but my Elsa has eyes that are not quite looking in the exact same place. :}
Elsa's beautiful, glittery dress.
Bodice and sleeve details
A closer look at her skirt.
Other box details:
Elsa is a beautifully detailed doll. :)
That's all of Elsa for now. :)
We'll get to my pictures of Anna in a bit... ;)
Here are the two men from Frozen, Hans and Kristoff.
Handsome Hans, voiced by Santino! I hope he gets a song. :)
The sides and back of his box:
I must say, I was a bit disappointed with his freckle paint. It didn't look quite as natural as Kristoff and Anna's freckles (coming in a bit here).
Box details:
I really love his outfit and the detail in his face. We'll have to wait for more pictures for now, though. ;)
Here is Anna in her box.
I must say, I am super impressed with this beautiful doll. I think they captured her perfectly. :)
Side one
Back
Other side
Anna's beautiful face. I really like the way they painted her freckles.
Beginning the deboxing process. :}
Anna was held in by just a few twist ties and some thread. That's always a nice thing. :)
One of the things I was most thrilled about was the way they attached Anna's head to the box. They put twist ties around her braids...
...and a rubber band around her neck. No annoying little plastic thingees attached to her scalp. Hurray!!! :)
A quick look at her adorable boots. We'll take a closer look in a bit.
I was amazed at how well her box held up to opening. I don't think I actually ripped anything, which is amazing for me! ;)
Anna's cape was attached to her skirt. I went ahead and snipped it free.
And here she is, all free from her cardboard prison. ;)
Her braids were attached to her clothing with plastic ties. This was actually the most difficult thing about Anna in doll form. The plastic ties were attached to her cape, which was made of a thick felt-type material. They were attached so tightly that it was almost impossible to cut them free without either cutting her hair or cutting her cape. Thankfully, I was able to get them removed without incident.
Anna's cape closes with a hook and eye...
...which can be easily opened.
I love the detail on her bodice.
Her gloves were held on by plastic packaging and rubber bands. Once I removed the rubber bands, it was easy to get them off (not so easy to get them back on without making them look a little funny). :}
I was impressed with the fact that the Disney Store had a layer of plastic between Anna's hands and her gloves, presumably to keep them from staining.
She has the typical Disney Store hands, with arms articulated at the wrist and elbow.
A closer look at her skirt.
She has blue built-in underwear, and as you can see, they went back to the hard plastic legs with jointed knees and ankles.
I've gone into this before with my other Disney Store doll reviews, but I'm really not impressed with the fully articulated dolls. I really hope they improve on the design. My Anna in particular has a problem with her knee joint that makes her right leg shorter than the other. I found that if I bend her left knee slightly, she can stand.
Her boots are amazing. They're so cute and detailed. :)
I can't get over how perfectly they captured her face! :) Oh, but there was a purpose to this picture. ;) I wanted to show you her hat from the front...
...and the back.
The hat was attached with little plastic ties which I removed with scissors. Without them, it is kept in place by a thick, clear band that goes around her braids at the back of her head.
And here is Anna as we see her in much of the artwork from the movie.
Her profile
I think her ears are so cute! :)
Anna from the back.
As you can see, her shirt is all one piece, even though it looks like a shirt and jumper. It has easy Velcro closure in the back. I didn't get a picture of it, but her skirt is separate from her shirt.
I did appreciate the fact that even though the tops are attached, they used a different layer of material for the black bodice.
I'm so glad I got this doll. Even with her wonky leg, she's a lovely addition to my collection. :)
Now on to Kristoff!
Box details:
One side
Back of the box
Other side
Kristoff's box was a lot harder to open, partially because there was a lot more tape. In fact, getting his box open was the hardest part of setting him free. ;)
His box didn't survive quite as well as Anna's did.
Once he was out, though, getting him completely unattached was fairly easy.
His hat was held in place by a plastic piece attached with twist ties.
He had another twist tie around his waist (inside his clothing) and two more on his legs.
I was very pleased with the design of his hat. It came right off but also stayed nicely on his head when I put it back on.
Here he is completely deboxed.
A view from the back.
A few headshots:
This is my favorite angle. His face is so expressive.
Kristoff's clothing is very detailed. He has a suede-like top with faux fur trim. His gloves are leather-look and polar fleece.
His pants are polar fleece, and his boots are plastic. They stay on well and help him stand unassisted much better than the typical prince boots from the Disney Store. They also come off easily when needed.
A closer look at the detail on his gloves:
I thought it was interesting that his hair has a rather metallic look to it. :}
The detail on the hair mold is very nice.
Although his top looks layered, in reality it is all one piece.
I'm very pleased with Kristoff as well. His clothing has amazing detail, he stands up better than any prince doll I've ever purchased from the Disney Store, and he looks super cute with Anna:
The only thing I was a bit bummed about as a doll photographer is that it was very difficult to get a picture of the two of them looking at each other. The problem is they both have a sideways glance (Kristoff more so than Anna), so it takes some creative camera angles to make it look like they're in conversation.
This one actually turned out okay. ;)
In spite of that one nit-picky thing, they're very photogenic and I had a lot of fun photographing them.
I would highly recommend both dolls to any Disney fans or collectors. I think Kristoff would make a great doll for the kiddos he's marketed for. Anna would be okay as long as a parent helped with the deboxing and getting her braids and cape separated. However, be aware that the satiny material of her dress will fray easily and may not hold up well to a lot of play.
I wanted to end with a few pics of Anna with Rapunzel, especially since so many people were complaining that Anna looked too much like the previous princess.
As you can see, while there are some similarities, I think both are unique enough that they compliment each other. I don't feel like I have duplicate dolls whatsoever.
I think they have the makings of a great friendship. ;)
And one more piccy of Anna, just 'cause she's so cute. ;)
For those of you interested in a more detailed review of Elsa and Hans (as well as Anna and Kristoff), be sure to stop by Heather's blog, "The Doll Grotto". She has a review of Elsa and Anna HERE, and a review of Hans and Kristoff HERE. She included pictures of each of the dolls completely undressed. I just have a hard time undressing my brand new dolls...it's an obsessive mint condition thing I have. ;)
I hope you guys found this post enjoyable and informative...those of you who actually made it through the whole thing and are still with me, that is. ;)
Is anyone else as excited as I am about Frozen? :D
Have a wonderful rest of your week! Be on the lookout for more Lalaloopsy and My Little Pony fun soon! :)
