OVERVIEW: Disney Fairies Part 2 (The Movie Fairies)

Fira's rare playset

I wanted to start off by finishing up the book fairies a bit more properly. The problem with the book and movie transition is that it wasn't clear cut. Playmates was releasing movie character products with new designs alongside older designs for the book only fairies. 

Fira got this playset that only one person I know of ever found. Likewise, there's a smaller Iris playset that appears to have been sold only outside the US. I had completely forgotten this existed! 

Iris's rare playset

I don't have an accurate release date for the Iris set, but figure sometime during 2007. 

That sadly does it for the book fairies. Poor things. They did get a ton of merchandise that I didn't cover. My overviews are by no means comprehensive. They're my experience with the line really. But there were Lenox figurines, pins, Polly Pocket-like dolls, and loads of non-toy products.

Disney Store movie set

  

In November 2007, the Disney Store dolls for the first Tinker Bell movie came out. These were a completely different style than the original book fairy dolls. They were taller with much sturdier bodies and flat feet. 

Disney Store Silvermist

I loved the dolls at first, even though they were different from the ones I still loved from before. They had really beautiful faces, especially Silvermist and Rosetta. I'd end up selling them off though, all except for Silvermist, who was too beautiful to part with. 

In summer 2008, Playmates was back with new style movie characters. I ended up with a few of them, but I don't have any left. They did the 8" dolls and 3.5" dolls again. Queen Clarion appeared in the line this time in her movie look, which I find completely underwhelming compared to her book style. Her 8" doll had a huge unfortunate head. In spring 2009, Playmates released the same dolls but with larger and slightly prettier heads. 

I swear I have old pictures of my dolls, but Photobucket is not cooperating right now and I have no patience. They're not cute anyway, so let's just skip ahead. 

Playmates ended up being replaced by Jakks Pacific for the Disney Fairies line that was sold in regular stores. My first encounter with them was the smaller doll line for the second movie (Lost Treasure) which were pretty cute and had light-up wings. 

I also stumbled across Giochi Preziosi making Disney Fairies dolls and bought the set of five for Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. 

Giochi Preziosi Lost Treasure Silvermist and Fawn

I ordered Silvermist and Fawn, my two favorites that weren't Vidia, first, but when they arrived, I ordered Tink, Rosetta and Iridessa right away. These girls have similar bodies to the 10" Giochi Winx and they're delicate and lovely. Giochi Fawn is my favorite Fawn and Tink is my second fave after her original Disney Store doll. 

Giochi Preziosi Lost Treasure Tink

The way they did Tink and Fawn's faces in particular perfectly captured the characters. Silvermist turned out to be my least favorite of the five, maybe because her outfit is more lackluster. I think I judge Silvermist dolls harshly because it would be years before I found one that surpassed the original movie Sil from the Disney Store. 

Giochi Preziosi Lost Treasure Iridessa

The outfit quality on these girls was also splendid. 

I hated having to import dolls once again, because I was doing that a lot with Winx at the time, which is why I only ever got these five girls and then a Vidia that was sold in a cardboard tube, something Giochi frequently did for budget dolls. 

Giochi Preziosi Lost Treasure Rosetta

I was happy to see Vidia included, but Giochi didn't quite capture her. She looked too happy. By the time I got her, I believe I had some of the Jakks Vidias, who were very pretty, but still got some of that Vidia sass in there. The Giochi doll doesn't. And she's wearing an odd little nightgown/dress bit that's just weird, but she was the only Giochi Vidia I could find at the time. Much later, I learned they did a regular one for her, but I never got her. 

Giochi Preziosi budget Vidia

The Jakks dolls for Lost Treasure, both large and small, were an improvement over the final Playmates dolls. Fawn and Rosetta were about the cutest ones, with Tink and Silvermist never looking quite right for me. Iridessa was good, although occasionally hard to find. 

The fairies were now all about the movies. Each year, things would be the same. Jakks would produce small dolls and larger dolls for the movies and then a few other random lines. The Disney Store would have varying dolls for the movies, too. They had plush ones a few times. Terence showed up in a few lines and both remembered to include Vidia. 

Disney Store Great Fairy Rescue Vidia

The dolls for the Great Fairy Rescue movie from the Disney Store looked drastically different than the originals. Vidia here has a much smaller head and smaller build than the Silvermist from several photos up. Her wings flap with the push of a button on her back. This Vidia's probably my least favorite one. She's almost blank-faced and doesn't really feel like Vidia to me. 

Jakks Pacific original Vidia

Whereas the Jakks doll here on the right defiitely has that sass I talked about. Her outfit is well-designed and her face is really pretty. I have three or four of these bigger Jakks Vidias just to display a few different outfits. 

Jakks mini Vidia

The smaller doll line from Jakks was also doing Vidia justice. The earlier versions of these girls had excellent outfits, although as the years passed, they'd eventually end up in fully plastic clothes. 

My only problem with the small Jakks dolls is the shoes! Tracking down teeny tiny shoes is not fun.  

Jakks did a good job of releasing different characters from the movies, although that would take a nose dive during the most recent years. 

Jakks Pixie Hollow Games Chloe and Glimmer

Chloe and Glimmer, two of the new girls from Pixie Hollow Games, got dolls. Chloe was a bit off, but Glimmer was Vidia-level stunning. Probably because they used Vidia's headmold! Marina, a water talent, was part of a small doll set that I never got. Sadly, there was never a big Terence for the Jakks line, so we never got Rumble from this movie either.

Jakks Sparkle Party Periwinkle 

The Secret of the Wings movie gave us the most popular new addition since Disney Fairies began. Periwinkle is Tink's sister who lives in the winter area of Pixie Hollow, which (rather out of nowhere) it was forbidden for the other fairies to go. Periwinkle showed up in line after line and was still in some of the most recent small doll lines. Even when she wasn't in the movie, there was Periwinkle. 

The best thing about Secret of the Wings for me wasn't Periwinkle. It was fellow frost fairy Spike! 

Jakks Spike

Spike quickly became a favorite of mine, because she was skilled and sassy, like a winter version of Vidia. Her doll uses Vidia's mold and like Glimmer, it turned out beautifully. If I could only keep one doll from my Jakks-made fairies, it would be Spike. 

I'm still surprised Gliss, the adorable bubbly frost fairy, never got a doll. Maybe they figured with her white hair, she was too like Periwinkle? Gliss had longer hair though. I would have loved her. 

Jakks mini Spike

Spike also got a mini doll and you can see from her picture that the dolls were getting rubbery plastic outfits now. I can't remember when they transitioned fully to these, because I didn't buy many small dolls. I have three Vidias, a Periwinkle and Spike, but I think that's it. 

Disney Store Periwinkle and Jakks Spike

The Disney Store also went nuts for Peri. I had her doll for awhile, but I had to sell her eventually. Her face looks like that of one of my old bosses and we didn't exactly get along, so I didn't want her looking at me from my doll shelf! I do have the plush Peri from the Disney Store collection, and up until very recently, I had the big pack of Secret of the Wings mini dolls. 

Disney Store UK plush Vidia and Silvermist

The Disney Store UK did smaller plushies for Secret of the Wings and I asked a friend to help me import two of them. I HAD to have Vidia! This was her first plush ever! And it would be her only plush. Silvermist was cute, too, but I ended up selling her a bit ago. Silvermist was my favorite of the Rosetta/Fawn/Iridessa/Silvermist group that got pulled from the books, but her appearances in the movies pretty much ruined her character for me. 

Jakks Winter Vidia

I think Jakks handled the doll line pretty well in the earlier years. There were several exclusives, like this winter-themed Vidia to the right. She was sold in a 2-pack with Tinker Bell, who I believe was spring. I remember almost buying the cute pajama party Periwinkle a few times, but I never did, and I'm still kicking myself a bit for not getting the pajama Vidia. Maybe someday! 

In August 2013, Jakks did an awesome thing. They made a deluxe line of dolls with poseability that could compete with lines like Monster High. These dolls are 9" tall and have some of the best clothing and faces in the entire Disney Fairies line. 

The initial set was Rosetta, Silvermist, Periwinkle and two versions of Tink. I ordered them from KMart, but they sent me the four below and then another hoodie Tink instead of Silvermist. After not finding Silvermist repeatedly, I ended up buying her on ebay. 

Jakks deluxe 9" dolls

The deluxe Tinks are really cute, but the other characters are the standouts in the line. Periwinkle needed a bit of help, since her first doll had a long ponytail. I pulled it together with a band and then snipped the end off. Peri has short hair. The end. 

Jakks deluxe Silvermist

Rosetta was my initial favorite of my first four, but Silvermist very quickly stole that spot when she arrived. This is my absolutely favorite Silvermist ever made. She ignores the dumbed down movie character and takes you right back to the original calm, cool and collected book Silvermist. 

I absolutely adored these dolls. Still do! And I began to wait impatiently for the rest of the girls. 

And I unfortunately never got them. This was the beginning of the end for Jakks. 

Jakks deluxe Pirate Fairy Periwinkle

Jakks continued the deluxe line with the Pirate Fairy movie. Periwinkle was not in that, yet she got a doll and Vidia, Iridessa and Fawn all got left out. I do give them points for fixing Peri's hair though. Minor points, but still points.

New character Zarina got a doll and she's lovely, but I still wanted my original girls! Vidia, Fawn and Iridessa were in every movie. 

Jakks deluxe Pirate Fairy Zarina

The basic dolls started losing their quality. Zarina got one mini doll, but that one was hard to find, and her only basic was in a 2-pack with Tink that I think was a Toys R Us exclusive. The Disney Store did a better job with Zarina's outfits, but her doll was nowhere near as pretty as the Jakks deluxe one. They did give us a mini fairy multipack with the switched around talent outfits though, so points for that. Zarina and Tink would also be the first designer/exclusive/bottom line expensive Disney Store exclusive dolls from the fairies line. 

Jakks Great Fairy Rescue Fawn and Neverbeast Fawn

When the final movie, Legend of the Neverbeast, came out, Jakks had totally dropped the ball on these dolls. Oh, they were still producing the beautiful deluxe dolls, but now they were random exclusives of Tink and Periwinkle or gimmicky trios of Tink, Rosetta and Silvermist, who was always the hard to find one. The only dolls for Neverbeast had the most basic outfits, but they also had the deluxe line headsculpts. The kick in the teeth was that Fawn, the star of the movie, not only didn't get a deluxe doll, but she did have a headsculpt ready! Her Neverbeast basic doll has a beautiful new head. She should have gotten a deluxe doll. Iridessa and Vidia should never have been left out either. And we should have gotten at least Nyx from the movie in doll form as well. The Disney Store did some okay merchandise, including an expensive lovely Fawn, but no new characters were presented.  

Disney Fairies was over. 

Some of my many Vidias

Jakks gave us a couple more random lines of gimmicks and dull basics, but I believe the line is finally finished. 

It was a good run for awhile, but the movies limited the number of characters presented, and giving the same set of characters over and over is only going to sell dolls for so long. Jakks killed the line by ignoring important characters and not capitalizing on new ones. 

Each company made some stellar dolls. The Disney Store originals will forever be my favorites, but Playmates early book fairies were great, and Jakks deluxe dolls are stunningly beautiful. Even Giochi's brief foray into Neverland gave us wonderful dolls. I love my collection and Vidia will be one of my favorite characters forever. It's just a shame that the franchise went in the directions it did. 

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine except the Fira and Iris playset pictures (LJ user Wichita98).