Review of Disney Animator Doll Belle (Yellow Dress)

PRODUCT DETAILS

Recommended Age:  3+

Box Contents:  One doll dressed in a yellow dress, carrying a stuffed tea cup, white socks, and yellow plastic shoes.

Model Number:  BX1123A

Original Price:  $24.95

UPC:  NB15 460708239155 60

Product Still In Production (in 2015):  Yes

Where to Find It:  The Disney Store, Ebay, Amazon

Doll Height:  15 inches

Hair Color, Length, and Type:  Wavy, butt-length brown hair

Eye Color and Type:  Painted on hazel eyes

Skin Color:  Caucasian

Composition:  Soft Vinyl

Movement:  Head moves side to side.  Can move up and down a bit.  Arms have limited movement going up and down on the side, but they can freely go back and forth front to back.  Elbows and wrists do not bend.  Torso does not twist.  Legs cannot go up and down on the side, but they can go back and forth front to back.  Knees do not bend, nor do ankles.  Doll can stand on her own.  She can sit down, but does need her hands to prop her up a bit.

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Beauty and the Beast is not one of my favorite stories.  Actually, as a general rule, I'm not big into Disney Princess stories.  I prefer the more action pack Disney films like Robin Hood and Alice in Wonderland.  One thing, though, I do have a gripe with when it comes to Beauty and the Beast merchandise, though, is how often they make Belle dolls look totally moronic.  Belle is an avid reader, so she should look intelligent.

When I looked at the doll in the box, I wasn't that happy with her.  For one thing, I didn't like the open mouth.  You have to be very careful with open mouth expressions.  Do it wrong, the doll can look like an imbecile or just plain evil.  In Belle's case, she looked a little buck-toothed...and dim-witted.

Out of box, she looked much better.  She is actually quite cute.  I love particularly the blush on her cheeks.  I realized what expression they gave her.  I guess the best description is a shy curiosity.  You see this look when you meet a kid for the first time, and they are just about to ask you a ton of questions...as soon as they are absolutely certain you are not a murderer.

She has a little stray curl in the front.  The hair is nice, though a bit dry--so it may become a mess later or if exposed to water.  They have twisted the sides, which go back into a ponytail.  The hair is a lovely shade of mahogany brown--with just a touch of reddish highlights.  It is wavy and butt-length.

I like some of the details of the vinyl body, though unfortunately the softness of the vinyl does allow for the plastic ties to leave indentations.  The doll has the chubbiness of a toddler, with cute little dimpling where the elbows are.  The belly protrudes just a bit, which is often common with toddlers when they are first learning to walk.

I think I like the blue dress better than the yellow one this Disney Animator doll comes with.  It is supposed to be the ballgown, though it has been simplified into an everyday play dress.  There isn't much to it.  It has some cotton lace around the neck and arm bands.  There is a golden sheer fabric for the overlay petals.  The dress can have some dark areas that make you think you see a stain, but upon closer inspection it is not.  It can also wrinkle in unattractive places.  It definitely could use some sprucing up--maybe some purchased flowers or something.  She has painted on yellow underwear.

All Animator Dolls come with a little stuffed animal.  Belle carries the teacup Chip.  Chip seems to have grown an extra handle from what I remember.  The back of the box gives a bit of the biography of the animator responsible for animating the movie, which in this case is Mark Henn.

My next objection to this doll is her shoes.  She has clunky, yellow shoes that remind me of the walking shoes they used to put on toddlers in my day.  Maybe they would look better if they weren't yellow.  I know the dress is yellow, but do the shoes have to be?  Why can't she wear some nice black Mary Janes?  Yellow is my favorite color, but not everything can carry it off.  Of course, the clunky shoes makes it easier perhaps to stand her up.

I've started a new channel on Youtube.  I will continue to do doll reviews on my other channel, as well as this new channel.  However, this new channel is geared for a younger audience, though adults may like it.  Why I created it was that I attracted a younger audience with some of my interests.  However, I do many educational videos on my first channel, my biggest money maker being the medical terminology video.  I foresaw a potential problem, though.  Medical terminology will eventually get into the reproductive system and all the nasty things that can go wrong with it.  I was worried parents may complain about attracting younger viewers to a channel that shows that stuff as well, so I created a PG friendly channel...mostly for the parents than the kids.  I'm pretty certain kids see worse things on prime time TV or their video games.  When I was a kid, I was always getting offended that adults acted like I didn't know anything...but now I realize, as an adult, that you worry about the other adults might say.

Anyway, the doll reviews on my new channel will be less technical--and I may have more fun with them.  Though it will be more work for me, it will be interesting to try two different presentation styles.  The first channel will be more technical and give more information.  The second channel may strip things down more.

Here is a video from the new channel.  It is less technical, but I do have a fun skit at the end:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J3TwzRW-XY