Review of Disney PIXAR Animators' Collection Merida
Recommended Age: 3+ (Choking Hazard)
UPC: NB15 460708238653 60
Made in China
Material: Vinyl doll, polyester fiber, plastic
Produced by: The Disney Store, Ltd.
Available at: www.disneystore.com, amazon.com, ebay.com
Price: $24.95 and up (depending on the place)
Doll Height: 16"
Race: Caucasian
Hair Color: Flaming Red
Eye Color: Bluish Green
Nationality: Scottish
Contents: 1 doll dressed in a teal silk-like dress with gold trim, waist band, and decorative design on the bottom; a black and silver horse toy, white tights, and light blue plastic shoes.
Doll Movement: Standard baby doll. Clothing interferes with movement just a bit. Head moves side to side and can go up and down a little bit. Arms go up and down. Legs go up and down. No bending at elbows, knees, ankles, or wrists. Torso does not twist. Eyes are painted and do not close. Doll can stand on its own and sit if propped.
On the back of the box: Celebrating the heritage of classic Disney and Pixar Animation, these young renditions of your favorite Disney princess characters were imagined by and created under the guidance of The Walt Disney Animation Studio and Pixar Animation Studios' most renowned Animators and Artists, bringing the characters to life in the most authentic way possible.
A principal talent at Pixar Animation Studios since 2004, Matt Nolte began as an animator and then character designer on the award-winning features Cars and Ratatouille. Since then, Nolte went on to act as character art director for Disney-Pixar's feature film Brave, an adventurous tale of true bravery set in the mysterious highlands of Scotland. Nolte brought the film's free-spirited heroine Princess Merida to life, adding a new and vibrant twist to the Disney Princess legacy.
I've never seen the movie Brave. These days, I rarely feel like going to the movie theater. I used to say, "I'll wait until it is on DVD." These days, I say, "I'll wait until it is on Amazon Instant Video." The problem with that is that I often forget about it unless I see it advertised at the store or on Amazon. Another problem is that I have to be in a particular mood to watch a Disney movie...and I'm not in that mood very often. I do better with story lines that involve living inanimate objects, such as Cars and Toy Story. Put "Disney Princess" anywhere in the title, and my enthusiasm dwindles a bit. It isn't that the films are terrible. They usually are good. I just really am not into princesses. Even as a child, I did not like princess stories. I never wanted to be a princess. Princesses lived a terrible life, as far as I was concerned. They were usually forced to marry someone they didn't like. There was usually some evil sorcerer or sorceress trying to kill them for some reason. A dragon usually was trying to eat them, or they had terrible relatives. Then on top of that, they were wearing some uncomfortable outfit and even more ridiculous shoes. I mean, seriously! Glass slippers? Of course, they had their happily-ever-afters, we assume. Then again, the stories suspiciously ended right after the wedding. We never got to see Prince Charming and Cinderella during the famous seven year itch that tends to doom many marriages.
Though I am no longer collecting dolls, I still like them. I liked the idea of the Disney Animator's dolls. I didn't exactly like many of their expressions, though. They looked abused (Pocohontas), idiotic (Ariel), or like a thug (Mulan). Merida looked mischievous, but she was pretty cute. I admit I did worry about what she would look like in person, particularly with that unnaturally red hair.
She was hard to get out of the box! She was even harder to get back into the box, much to my dismay--as I plan to sell her. I had to throw out some of her packaging innards because it was just too impossible to get her back in there.
She is a very cute doll. Though she looks full of mischief, and maybe occasionally bratty, she doesn't look evil. My mom always hates red-headed dolls because she says they are evil. Actually, she says the same thing about red-headed people. Yep, mom is a gingerphobe. I don't seem to be going the same way, though. I just realized that every doll I bought from the Disney store has some shade of red hair. Ah, well, this just shows that whatever a parent is prejudice against, their child will find it attractive.
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| The styling of the hair can show bald spots |
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| Doll hair looks sparse in some areas, probably again due to styling more than loss of hair. |
Though I liked the color and the style of the hair, the hair is going to be a problem--particularly if you are going to give this to a child that likes combing a doll's hair. Combing will probably remove the curls, for one thing. However, the hair is very dry and rather coarse. Get it wet, and it will probably turn into a snarly mess. Whether you are a collector or a parent, you have to consider this problem as part of the equation when debating on whether to buy this doll. The style of the hair can cause it to have bald spots, and further down it can look rather sparse. This is because tons of hair are clumped into curls. The doll actually probably has a lot of hair, or at least enough, but the style can make it look otherwise.
Many people often object to freckles on dolls. Merida has freckles, but they are tastefully done. Of course, I don't know why they gave her freckles on her forehead.
The clothes are really nice. The dress has a Velcro back. It is of a silk-like material. It has a gold trim collar, a gold band around the waist, and a gold decorative trim at the bottom of the dress.
The doll is fully vinyl. The stomach is rather bloated in appearance, giving her the same look as the kids we used to see on those "Feed the Hungry" commercials. However, as the doll is supposed to depict a toddler Merida, the stomach may be the way it is because children--when they are learning to walk--have a tendency to balance by sticking their stomachs out. Also, milk babies can develop a bit of a poochy stomach.
She comes with a plush horse in a vinyl-like material.
If I still was collecting, I probably would definitely start a collection with these dolls...despite some of my prior objections. As a collectible that will become valuable...that I'm not sure of. These dolls apparently have been re-released. I was very surprised to see the first edition Rapunzel go for $175.00 on ebay when she was used and had horrible hair...but she was a first edition. Usually when things are re-brought out, they tend to lose value. Another problem is that I don't think the hair is going to withstand time, though possibly a gel like Luster's S-Curl Moisturizer might help (I've never tried it, so I can't say for sure. I know that I used it on other doll hair, and it did help).
But Merida is a very cute doll. She almost makes me want to start collecting again. Then I think about the cleaning, and my mind says, "Eh, no."
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