Review of Disney Animator's 16" Doll Collection Elsa

PRODUCT DETAILS
Recommended Age:  3+ (Choking hazard warning for children under 3)
Put Out By:  The Disney Store
Made in China
UPC:  NB15 460708238738 60
Price:  $24.95+
Sold by:  www.DisneyStore.com, Amazon.com, Ebay.com
Doll Height:  16"
Hair Color:  White Blonde
Skin Color:  Caucasian
Eye Color:  Blue
Package Contents:  1 doll with a black headband, wearing a teal dress with flower and shape decor in different colors, teal colored tights, black plastic shoes with blue flower decoration, and carrying a plush snowman.
Doll Movement:  Classic baby doll.  Head can turn and nod.  Eyes and thick eyelashes are painted and don't close.  Arms have limited up/down movement on the side and can go forward and backward.  Torso does not twist.  Legs go up and down, but tights restrict movement.  Doll usually needs to be propped to stand, and she probably can sit down (if propped) if you remove her tights.  Elbows, hands, knees, and ankles do not bend.
Doll Composition:  Vinyl, polyester fibers
Written on back of box:  Celebrate the Heritage of Disney Animation with the Disney Animator's Collection, created under the guidance of Disney's most renowned animators, these young renditions of your favorite characters are brought to life with creativity and imagination.  Supervising Animator for Disney's Frozen, Wayne Unten is an accomplished animator with credits including Tangled, Wreck-it Ralph, and Bolt.  In his animation work, Unten strives to breathe life into his characters to make them believable and entertaining.  Character design supervisor for Disney's  Frozen, Bill Schwab is an award-winning character designer credited on many Disney hits including Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph.  Schwab began drawing at an early age and was further inspired by a Disney animation book he received on his 15th birthday.  Integral in bringing the Frozen characters to life on the big screen, Jin Kim is an accomplished character designer with credits including Tangled, Wreck-it Ralph, and The Princess and the Frog.  Beginning his illustration career in Korea, Kim joined Walt Disney animation studios in 1995.
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I had shown an interest in the Disney Animator collection as a former collector of dolls and online saleswoman.  I am planning on branching my business into toy sales this year.  I've never actually seen the movie Frozen.  The only knowledge I have of the plot came from a video I watched on Youtube from the How It Should Have Ended series.  Frozen was another movie that I meant to watch and just haven't gotten around to it.  I partially blame my lack of enthusiasm to see movies on the ridiculously stupid trailers that are usually put out these days.  Trailers seem bent on NOT telling you what the story is about.  I remember how they talked about people waiting in line for hours to see the new Star Wars trailer for this movie that will come out next year.  Everybody was saying it was totally worth it, that it was so cool.  I saw the trailer they supposedly saw on Youtube.  You saw a ship flying.  You saw the Tatooine desert.  Then some spooky Sith guy with his lightsaber walking through a forest saying, "The Force is coming back."  Or something like that.  I was like, "What the heck is that? Don't give me a trailer until you have something to say about the movie!"

What did I remember about the Frozen trailer? There was apparently snow where there shouldn't be.  Some girl was going to confront the source of it--which I think is her sister.  There is a talking snowman and some guy.  That is all I got from it.  It was not enough to pique my interest.  Actually, the How It Should Have Ended people did more for making me likely to watch the movie than the actual trailer did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dach1nPbsY8

I like the Disney Animator's Doll Collection, but I usually hate the expressions on the dolls.  They either look abused, vacuous, or like future criminals.  They are beautiful dolls otherwise.  I never thought I'd be a big fan of that large eye look, though I'm not sure that isn't part of the problem with the expressions.  You have to be careful with large eyes.  They can wrench your heart strings or totally creep you out.

I hadn't really been that impressed with Elsa online.  She was a little washed out.  I had looked at Anna, though she looked like she had found Mommy and Daddy's liquor cabinet or maybe their cough syrup.  However, then I saw Elsa on ebay.  Someone was selling a used doll.  They showed what I presumed was their kid holding the doll.  The child had that "But mommy, I don't want you to sell my dolly" look.  I don't know if that was the story, but that was the one my mind made up.  The picture was actually a good one, for it showed Elsa in better detail...and I don't know, maybe there is some psychological appeal when you see that someone else loves their toy.  There is that inner child that wants it too--preferably their toy.  Let's go grab it!

I gave up collecting not because I stopped liking the stuff, but because I hate cleaning it.  I've been selling off my dolls and other collectibles.  However, I just really liked Elsa.  So, wondering if this is the start of something, I decided to keep her.  My mom actually bought one for me.  I'm just very fond of the doll for some reason.

She is a very pretty doll, though she has big ears (like she could rival Dumbo...well no, I'm exaggerating a little here).  She is very pale and has a minimal of tastefully done freckles.

I love her outfit! The hair is a little nicer than Merida's was.  It is a little silkier and softer.  I still don't know how well it will last the long-term, but Elsa will probably look better than Merida will in a couple of years.  One reason why Elsa hadn't looked as impressive online is that she looked like she didn't have much hair.  The photo I saw on ebay showed her from the side, and she looked less bald then.  She has just below shoulder length hair that is done up in a braid in the back.  The front bangs...well, she looks like someone gives her home hair cuts.

The dress is beautiful! One of the best dresses, I think, of this collection.  It looks like a two piece from the front, but it actually is a one piece.  She has a Velcro back.  I was shocked to discover that they had put tissue paper on her upper torso. I wondered why they did that?  Does the dress rub color off?  This has become a problem with many doll brands.  I know with Journey Girls, I've gotten into the habit of removing their clothes and washing them, which usually gets rid of excess dyes.  However, the dolls often have rub-off marks on them from the clothes already.  This can be a nightmare for a seller, because this is most likely to result in a return.  It is best to sell toys new in box, but I have to admit I'm afraid to sell anything I haven't looked over--even if it is new.  I've had some nasty surprises in the past, the worst being a Darth Vader whose clothing totally disintegrated at my touch.  The flaking hadn't been noticeable in box, and since then--I've pretty much have made it a policy to open boxes.

The tights are a little paler in the above picture than they really are.  They are too tight, and they prevent much lower movement with the legs.  The doll should be able to sit down, but you will have to remove the tights.  I'm in a dilemma about that.  Part of me likes the appearance of the tights, and yet they really do restrict the doll.  The shoes are plastic and are very pretty.  I'm not sure if this doll stands well.  I've always had to prop her up.  Like Merida, she has painted on underwear.

As seen in some of the above pictures, she has a little plush snowman.  Of the plush toys, I didn't feel he was as well done.  However, his cocked smile makes it look like he is always whispering rude things in her big ears, which is rather amusing.

I think Elsa is my new favorite of this collection.  Eventually, sometime soon, I'm going to watch Frozen so I know her story...though I hope it doesn't turn me against the doll.