Review: Disney Princess Fashion Dolls
Posted by Lindsay
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One of the things I love about traditional animation is the need for style. I really enjoy the “animated” look that’s so popular in statues and toys recently, going back to the continuing popularity of Batman Animated/JLU. I like the art deco cleanliness of it.
When Disney Princess dolls first arrived in stores, I was less than impressed. To me they just looked like another Barbie clone with different styled clothing. Time passed, and more lines came out. I started to notice the newer dolls’ stylized look for their faces. I picked up two for custom projects, and liked them so much that I got a bunch when they hit a sale. So I’m going to look at 5 dolls today, Sparkling Princess Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, and Mulan, and Shimmer Princess Sleeping Beauty. |
Important note: All but one of these dolls are from the Sparkling Princess line (more about that below), and are available in regular toy stores. Like Barbie, these are produced by Mattel. I am intrigued by the Princess and Friends line, which is brand new, but these are not the same. More on that later.
(Update November 09: New "Sparkling Princess" dolls spotted in Toys'R'Us that have new dresses, and some have slightly different faces than pictured here. Choose carefully.)
Appearance:
General notes: What these dolls mostly have in common is a hairdo shellacked to within an inch of its life, and a dress roughly similar in appearance to their most girly look in the movie. Said dress is coated in glitter, and they have identical shoes in different colors.
What I most appreciate here is that each one has a slightly different face, a different sculpt for the eyes, a different shape to the nose. It’s a very nice touch that sets them apart from most Barbies and their clones.
What I most appreciate here is that each one has a slightly different face, a different sculpt for the eyes, a different shape to the nose. It’s a very nice touch that sets them apart from most Barbies and their clones.
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Snow White: 8/10
We’re starting with Snow White because she’s first, but I also think she’s prettiest. I love her wide eyes, round face, and sweet turned up nose. The dress on mine has an issue, the collar is sewn on crooked, but overall the dresses are decently made for this price point. Snow's dress especially has a good amount of detail, and fits well.  |
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Cinderella: 6/10
Cinderella looks great from the front, the pearlescent shoes are a nice substitute for “glass”, and if she has a slightly vapid look, well, Cinderella isn’t the best movie, either. The dress isn't bad, if slightly lopsided. Her big problem though, is the back of her head. The hair is twisted up in an awful tangle which started messy, and just got worse the more I handled her.  |
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Sleeping Beauty: 5/10
Poor Aurora. I picked her up separately, which is why she’s from a different line. Her dress is much less pretty, and her hair! Look at the back of her head! Those ugly crunchy curls are her biggest handicap. Her face is not bad.  |
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Ariel: 7/10
Ariel is pretty cute. Only a small bit of her hair in the front is gelled in place, her expression, though slightly dopey, is good, and they didn’t go too far outside the lines of the character design to give her a “dress”.  |
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Mulan: 7/10
Aside from the wrongness of putting this character in a pretty princess dress, I quite like this doll. The pared-down style of her character design translates well to three dimensions. The lilac glitter eyeshadow is an unfortunate choice, but much less of her hair is trapped in a ridiculous style than some of the others.  |
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FYI, this line also includes a Belle and a Jasmine, but they were out of Jasmine the day they were on sale, and I have plenty of brunette dolls.
Packaging and Extras: ---
The packages are fine here, standard fashion doll issues extricating them from the plastic tabs in the back of the head.
Most of the girls were packed with paper tissue up their dresses to keep them puffed out.
Most of the girls were packed with paper tissue up their dresses to keep them puffed out.
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Each Sparkling Princess package has a movie-appropriate landscape behind the doll, and a picture of the character with her romantic lead in the front right corner.
I found it amusing that the tense of the back text is inconsistent among the different girls, Snow and Cindy “will meet” their boys. Ariel seems to be looking back: “After risking her life....are married and live happily ever after”, despite clearly still being a mermaid. Meanwhile Mulan is living in the moment: “...goes far from the paths of tradition and acheives her dream.”
Click for the large images of Ariel and Snow for some.. interesting grammatical choices.
At least Mulan’s text doesn’t mention her man.
I found it amusing that the tense of the back text is inconsistent among the different girls, Snow and Cindy “will meet” their boys. Ariel seems to be looking back: “After risking her life....are married and live happily ever after”, despite clearly still being a mermaid. Meanwhile Mulan is living in the moment: “...goes far from the paths of tradition and acheives her dream.”
Click for the large images of Ariel and Snow for some.. interesting grammatical choices.
At least Mulan’s text doesn’t mention her man.
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Shimmer Vs. Sparkling
Now I want to talk about the two similar lines. I had picked up an Ariel previously (last Fall), who was a Shimmer Princess, like the Sleeping Beauty here. Note, however, that her package style is similar to the Sparkling girls.
(I think this Aurora had been sitting in a warehouse for a while.)
Now I want to talk about the two similar lines. I had picked up an Ariel previously (last Fall), who was a Shimmer Princess, like the Sleeping Beauty here. Note, however, that her package style is similar to the Sparkling girls.
(I think this Aurora had been sitting in a warehouse for a while.)
 Shimmer Princess Ariel |
 Shimmer Princess Sleeping Beauty (Old Package Design) |
Note that the Shimmer Ariel and the Sparkling Ariel are the same, except for the costumes.
I’m not sure whether or not that holds true across the line.
L Shimmer Ariel's dress, R Sparkling Ariel's dress
Let's look at the Sparkling costumes together, vs. Shimmer.
 Sparkling Snow White, Sparkling Mulan |
 Sparkling Cinderella, Sparkling Ariel |
(Yes, I am a fabric/costume nerd.) Okay, enough about dresses, moving on! |
 Shimmer Sleeping Beauty, Shimmer Ariel |
Every girl but Ariel comes with shoes. (From L to R: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan)
Crowns L to R: Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty; Wand and Necklace Sleeping Beauty
Every girl comes with a crown. Most of them are cute, but slightly silly looking and have nothing to do with their character designs. Let’s not forget, of these “princesses”, only Aurora, Ariel and Snow White are the daughter of a king, and only Aurora wears a crown in her movie. At least Mulan’s “crown” lacks a rhinestone, and is actually a prettily molded ornamental band featuring a flower. FYI: Once you cut the clear rubber bands holding these pieces to the doll's head, it is hard to get them to stay on.
Also the Shimmer dolls come with extra accessories; a plastic choker with a rhinestone, and a hideous “wand”, which comes apart into a flimsy plastic ring and a... stick.
All of this frippery is bare minimum for a doll of this type. No points here.
Also the Shimmer dolls come with extra accessories; a plastic choker with a rhinestone, and a hideous “wand”, which comes apart into a flimsy plastic ring and a... stick.
All of this frippery is bare minimum for a doll of this type. No points here.
Play and Display: ---
All these girls have Barbie-style joints, that is, ball joints or partial ball for the neck, shoulders, and hips, and 3-click joints at the knees.
Another interesting note: Snow White and Ariel are a different body style than the other girls. They are a full inch shorter, with a more slender, younger looking figure. Their hands are held at a slightly different angle from their arms. Cindy, Aurora and Mulan have Barbie-style bodies and a more womanly look. Why? I couldn’t tell you. Here's the lineup, with a Swan Lake Barbie on the end for comparison.
Another interesting note: Snow White and Ariel are a different body style than the other girls. They are a full inch shorter, with a more slender, younger looking figure. Their hands are held at a slightly different angle from their arms. Cindy, Aurora and Mulan have Barbie-style bodies and a more womanly look. Why? I couldn’t tell you. Here's the lineup, with a Swan Lake Barbie on the end for comparison.
I am a bit sad that their hair is so inflexible. I know there isn’t too much to be done at this scale and price point, but I am afraid that if a little girl tried to comb it, it would turn into an unrecoverable tangled mess. However, I’m not going to dock points for that. I did have luck washing Mulan’s topknot straight for a custom project, so it’s probably possible to undo the hair to some degree, just not to restore it once that’s done.
FYI: None of these dolls come with stands. I was using an extra stand I had around. No points.
FYI: None of these dolls come with stands. I was using an extra stand I had around. No points.
Special Section: Discussion of Custom Potential
I’ve already turned two of these type of dolls into customs, and I’m sure there will be more. I like the stylized faces, they’re easier to paint than a more “realistic” looking Barbie. The eyes are larger and have less detail, fewer eyelashes, etc. To me, that means that I can give them a striking look for a better finished product with fewer headaches. Also, the sculpts are especially appropriate for keeping the look of animated designs.
 Mulan as Maleficent. More Pictures.
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 Ariel as Lina Inverse. More Pictures.
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I also find I really like these girls as dolls, once they're out of their princess frippery. Watch soon for a picture piece of Princesses done up in clothes from the extras bin. FYI: The taller girls fit normal Barbie clothes perfectly, the smaller ones are interchangeable with most smaller fashion dolls, for example, High School Musical, or the early 'Flavas' Barbie line.
Price Tag and Final Analysis:
In the end, no change from my initial judgement:
Sparkling Princess Snow White: 8/10
Sparkling Princess Cinderella: 6/10
Shimmer Princess Sleeping Beauty: 5/10
Sparkling Princess Ariel: 7/10
Sparkling Princess Mulan: 7/10
I'd say that overall the Sparkling Princesses are superior to the Shimmers, and other than that, your personal judgment has to be based on whether you think the design choices are justified in the name of pink sparkly merchandise, or whether you have an extra Barbie dress that would look stellar on one of these ladies.
These gals are available at Toys’R’Us and most toy departments, for 8-12 dollars. It’s not a bad price, and at 7-8 dollars on sale, I’d call it fair. They are definitely marketed towards kids, unlike the more collectible dolls I’d looked at here previously. But for customizing, I recommend these ladies.
For leave-it-on-a-shelf collectors, I’d at least check out the new Princess and Friends line from the Disney Store. I went down to the Disney Store to check them out in person, since you often can't tell much from promotional photos. Their costumes are nicer, but not extraordinarily so. The dresses are still covered in glitter. They are much more movie-accurate in the costuming, but we're not talking as nice as even a low end 'collectible' doll, and personally I don't find the faces as compelling. Those'll run you $16.50 each, or close to $30 for the multi-dress sets.
Sparkling Princess Snow White: 8/10
Sparkling Princess Cinderella: 6/10
Shimmer Princess Sleeping Beauty: 5/10
Sparkling Princess Ariel: 7/10
Sparkling Princess Mulan: 7/10
I'd say that overall the Sparkling Princesses are superior to the Shimmers, and other than that, your personal judgment has to be based on whether you think the design choices are justified in the name of pink sparkly merchandise, or whether you have an extra Barbie dress that would look stellar on one of these ladies.
These gals are available at Toys’R’Us and most toy departments, for 8-12 dollars. It’s not a bad price, and at 7-8 dollars on sale, I’d call it fair. They are definitely marketed towards kids, unlike the more collectible dolls I’d looked at here previously. But for customizing, I recommend these ladies.
For leave-it-on-a-shelf collectors, I’d at least check out the new Princess and Friends line from the Disney Store. I went down to the Disney Store to check them out in person, since you often can't tell much from promotional photos. Their costumes are nicer, but not extraordinarily so. The dresses are still covered in glitter. They are much more movie-accurate in the costuming, but we're not talking as nice as even a low end 'collectible' doll, and personally I don't find the faces as compelling. Those'll run you $16.50 each, or close to $30 for the multi-dress sets.
Care for further advice on extreme transformations for stray dolls? Come over to the Workshop and drop me a line.
