Review of Project Mc2 Adrienne Attoms Doll with Volcano Experiment

PRODUCT DETAILS

Recommended Age:  6+ (small parts--choking hazard should be heeded)

Produced by:  MGA Entertainment, Inc.

Manufacture Date:  2015

Made in China

Safety Tested

UPC:  035051537588

Price:  Lowest price I've seen is $19.88 at Walmart.

Websites:  www.mgae.com; www.projectmc2.com

Doll Size:  11.5 inches without heels, 12 inches in heels

Box contents:  1 doll with plastic headband, white sweater, blue-green garland necklace, pink dress, black bow belt, socks, shoes, flask, volcano, pipette, comb, doll stand, glasses, and instructions.

Nationality:  Hispanic

Hair Color and type:  Honey blonde, knee length, straight

Eye color:  Brown (doll has real eyelashes)

Doll movement:   Head goes side to side and nods up and down.  Arms can go back and forth and up-down on the sides.  Elbows and hands bend, but torso does not twist.  Legs go back and forth and up-down on the sides.  Bends at knees but not at ankles.  Doll can't stand on her own, but she is pose-able and can be self supporting sitting down.

Availability:  The doll is still being sold at this point (July 2016) in some stores like Walmart--and of course they can be found on places like Amazon and ebay.  Be sure to shop around for the best price.

What it says on back of box:  People say girls are made from a pinch of sugar and spice but I, Adrienne Attoms, have a more complex recipe.  Following in my abuela's (means grandmother in Spanish) footsteps, I am a culinary chemist.  Science is so delicious! My family recently moved from Spain for my diplomat father's job.  I love rescuing animals and hosting dinner parties.

______________________________________________________

I'm getting to be more choosy these days about what dolls I buy.  I've sold off most of my collection, mainly because in my old age I'm starting to value an easier to clean house than my collectibles.  However, when I saw this doll in the Christmas catalog, it was love at first sight.  The doll is based on the television series Project Mc2 on Netflix, which though I am a subscriber, I had not seen it at the time.  The main appeal of the doll was her prettiness, the lovely dress, and the fact that she came with a science experiment.  I did later take a look at the TV show, but it was a bit too tweeny for me.  Though I am often influenced by my inner child, inner teen, and inner sociopath...I could not get into the show.

I got the doll from Amazon for about twenty dollars.  It didn't occur to me to shop around, but fortunately for this item I didn't live to regret it.  Amazon, because of the fees they charge their sellers, tends to be more expensive because sellers have to raise the prices to make up for what they pay in fees. Amazon can give you good deals, and if you are a prime member, sometimes it saves because you don't pay shipping even if you pay a higher price for the item.  Still, it is good to adhere to the rule of shopping around--particularly when it comes to Amazon.

When I got the doll, I have to say I was disappointed.  She looked liked she suffered from jaundice.  Her skin had an orangish hue as if she had overdid the spray-on tan.  My tablet camera doesn't quite pick this up very well--and I don't know if her coloring hasn't improved since being taken out of box.  The outfit also didn't seem quite as impressive in person.

This year has been rather rough for me.  I've really had a bad case of the blahs.  I blamed it on the forties catching up with me.  However, deactivating my Facebook account and getting off social media in general has really improved my mood--so maybe it isn't the forties after all.  Anyway, the point was at the time I didn't feel like doing a review on the doll--so I put her away in storage for a while.  She was in an air conditioned room, but when I took her out recently, I was dismayed to see that she seemed even darker--and the outfit had also darkened.  She is supposed to be Hispanic, but I'm not sure if this coloring problem is intentional.

Taking her out of box was slightly difficult, but not quite as bad as removing Disney items from their boxes.  The doll is rather cheaply made, though she is nice for what she is.  The vinyl is very soft, and you have to be careful.  While removing her from the box, I cut some of her ties and accidentally cut her skin.  You have to be careful about how you move her limbs.  I had read one review by an angry parent who claimed that her daughter had snapped off a leg the first day she got the doll.  You often hear these complaints with this style of doll.  I heard the same thing about Monster High dolls.  Monster High dolls that I've seen are a bit better quality than this doll.

The one thing I do love about the doll is her hair.  It is a beautiful honey color.  Little girls will enjoy brushing and styling this long hair, which reaches the doll's knees.  However, the instructions do warn that you shouldn't get it wet, put hair products in it, or expose it to heat.

The outfit, though disappointing compared to the advertisement I saw in the catalog, is still cute.  If a real person wore it, it might actually look strange.  The dress has two prints and two types of fabric.  The top is a silk-like floral print.  The bottom is a transparent sheer with a bird print, which wouldn't be decent to wear.  Adrienne would be sent home from school if she wore such a thing.  Underneath, she has plastic underwear that is flesh colored.

Accessories that come with the doll

She is wearing lace socks and Lady Gaga shoes.  Some reviewers complained that this is not at all a practical outfit to wear in a science lab, which is true.  Wearing Lady Gaga heels and carrying a flask of hydrochloric acid is a recipe for a disaster that would make a good beginning for a deformed superhero movie.

Still, this did not bother me too much.  Dolls are not meant to represent reality.  To me, they represent an ideal.  In this case--you can be smart and beautiful, and you can wear a fashionable outfit and impractical shoes without accident.  Doll companies and parents have in the past tried to introduce reality into dolls, wanting to teach their children about life and to make sure they don't set them up with impractical ideals that they could never achieve.  While I can appreciate this, the sad fact is that people don't want to play with realistic dolls.  Every realistic doll I've seen has been a huge flop...well, except maybe the ones that are anatomically correct.

This doll can be considered a learning toy as well as it does come with an experiment.  You may also want to check out the website, which is nice.  It has games and other science experiments.  Adrienne has friends that come with their own experiments:  Bryden Bandweth, McKeyla McAlister, and Camryn Coyle.  There also seems to be other releases of the same dolls with different clothes and experiments.

Adrienne comes with the classic volcano experiment.  Instructions on how to do this is found on both the back of the box and on the instruction sheet.  However, there are differences.  I'm sure both will work, but maybe the end result is slightly different.  It may make a difference in how much the volcano bubbles.  One thing I should stress is to make sure you perform this experiment in a place where you can clean up easily--and you may want to keep the dolly away from it so her clothes don't get stained.  Basically, you will need baking soda and vinegar (or lemon juice or soda).  It might also be nice to have dish detergent and food coloring, but the experiment will work without them.

The instructions on the back of the box are probably more of a quick start version:

1.  Put volcano a plate.
2.  Add 1 tsp. of baking soda into the volcano.
3.  Add two drops of red food coloring if you want it to look like lava (this is optional).
4.  Fill the pipette with vinegar, lemon juice, or soda and add to the volcano to get it to erupt.

The instruction sheet gave these steps:
1.  Put the volcano on a plate.
2.  Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda to the volcano.
3.  Add two drops of food coloring.
4.  Add two drops of dish soap to the volcano.
5.  Fill the pipette with vinegar and add it into the volcano.

The food coloring makes the eruption look more like lava.  The dish soap makes it more bubbly looking.  Neither are actually necessary to make the experiment work.  Personally, I found 1 tbsp. to be a bit too much baking soda.  It filled the volcano, and most of it didn't get touched by the vinegar, even when I poured more vinegar in from the bottle (which made a much more impressive explosion).  It was rather a pain to clean out.

This little dolly did grow on me, and somehow she looked less jaundiced once she was exposed to air.  She is going to be added to my collection.  Despite her problems, I do think it is nice they are introducing science in a fun way.

I did a demonstration of the experiment: