Brrr, Elsa! Enough with the cold and snow already! I'm
frozen solid here. ;) Welcome to the Hobby Haven.
As you might recall, the last review was of the
Disney Store's Queen Elsa "classic" doll. I'll be reviewing her little sister, Princess Anna, today. (As a clarification, I am not getting the classic dolls of Prince Hans or Kristoff, just the two heroines.) I've already gone over the background of this doll in the last post, so let's get right to it!
Anna comes in a box very similar to her elder sister:
I was in a hurry to open her, so I didn't set it up nicely like I should have. ::shrugs:: She's in the same type of box as Elsa, though, just with a picture of her at the bottom.
Ah, that's better. You can see that the box is virtually identical. There's Arendelle Kingdom in the background.
Anna can kind of stand on her own, thanks to her sturdy boots. I was able to get her to stand for a bit to take this picture. She's wearing the outfit she bought at
Wandering Oaken's Trading Post (Ooooh! and Sauna), which she wears for most of the movie. It looks very comfortable and warm, perfect for tromping around in the snow and hunting down your sister. Er, what?
Anna's pale, but not as pale as Elsa. She has a much warmer skin tone, and lots of wee freckles. They're scattered around her face asymmetrically, which I appreciate. It looks more realistic. She's looking to the side like Elsa, but at the opposite side! Their faces are very similar, but not 100%. Anna's mouth is slightly fuller and a little lopsided, like she's smirking at something. Her eyes are a lovely soft two-toned green, with a smattering of brown and green eyeshadow. Her hair is a warm gingery red, and Disney didn't forget her platinum streak! Great facial detailing all around.
And here is her outfit! She's wearing a mint-green satin blouse with a black bodice overtop. The shirt and bodice are actually one piece, so you can't separate them. Her skirt is a rich royal blue, and very full. Both skirt and bodice are decorated with a traditional Scandinavian design called
rosemaling. It adds a great, authentic touch that helps tie the characters to the setting. She finishes the outfit with a two-layered magenta cape and matching hat (both very soft), fuzzy blue mittens, and tall black boots. The boots are slit up the back to make removal easy.
After removing the mittens, you can see that her sleeves are rubber-banded down. This is to help slide the mittens back on, otherwise they won't fit.
Anna's hands are wrapped in plastic inside the gloves, probably to prevent dye leakage. In my case, the plastic slid into the gloves when I took them off. I had to use tweezers to get them out, which took forever, And they still don't fit nicely back on her hands. Grrrr.
Anna's braids are also inexplicably plastic-tied into her cape. WTF Disney Store? Cutting them free is a bit of an operation since you're trying to prevent cutting the cape as well. The hat, thankfully, is secured to her head with a clear rubber band. Much easier to take off. The cape, by the way, attaches via a hook and eye clasp in the front. It's actually pretty easy to open.
Anna has the same bowlegged issues. Clearly it's genetic. Same articulation as Elsa.
My feelings about Anna are pretty much identical to Elsa: this is a wonderfully detailed doll that's pretty sturdy with good play and collectible value. I may consider getting some to keep NIB once the scarcity issue is fixed. I'm not crazy about how difficult it is to get her cape removed (cutting the teeny little plastic ties), and that's something an adult would have to take care of immediately before giving it to a child. I look forward to seeing what else Disney does with this franchise.
Miss Scarlett suggests: Frozen, Disney, and fans/collectors, snap these up if you can find them!
