In December 2015, I ranked the Ever After High signature dolls from least favorite to most. I'm not going to repeat the entire list here, but the top 5 were Melody who barely beat out Raven, then Duchess, Cerise and Lizzie. (And Ginger was #6. I love Ginger.)
Since then, more characters were added, so I thought it might be fun to revisit this.
I'm not sticking to just the signatures, but looking at the dolls' entire body of work, so some may shift based on a stellar non-sig, but I'm still looking at the design on the whole, so Melody, who got a lone doll, is still going to place up there with Raven, who has 5 stunning dolls on my shelves.
Alistair was the bottom the first time and he remains the bottom now. I redid the hair on mine to make him more handsome, but the animated character is far better-looking than the doll. His main use to me was as a body donor for the basic Daring doll. He and Bunny are cute together, but the fact that he got a doll and Hopper and Sparrow didn't will always irk me, too.
Poor Dex will never be a favorite of mine, because I despise his awkward relationship with Raven, who said very early on that she was not interested in relationships because she had so much of herself she had to figure out. That's respectable and mature decision and it was tossed aside for a stupid weak romance. Sorry, Dex, but you suffer because of that.
Crystal was a pretty doll, but not enough to hold a candle next to the more established characters. I do love her color combination and she draws me in, especially her face, but then Mattel went and put their stupid everpresent brown eyebrows there and she's weaker for that.
I was excited for this doll, but her execution was not so good. Every single one I saw had at least one wonky eye and something like that brings a design down a lot. She's got a lot of amazing elements, but all I see is that wonk. And the brown eyebrows. Again.
Blondie has never interested me as a character. I don't think every single girls' property needs a gossip, which is a type of person I dislike. And she's another blue-eyed blonde, so she never stood out. I used to have her sig and the cupcakey one from Target, but both got sold. Now I only own two Blondies: this one and Birthday Ball with the neat blue hair. This doll is really nice though, which actually puts her above Mira and Crystal. She would have been farther down if not for this Back to School doll.
Poor Meeshell. She has a stunning animated version, but the doll doesn't look a thing like it. Her outfit is rather a mess and her hair color really disappointed me, because not only is it not coral (like in the book) or a more coraly-pink (like in the cartoon), it resembles Mira's too much. What puts her above Blondie is actually her only other doll, the Back to School one. That one is so different from the sig that it made me appreciate the sig a lot more. Plus, Blondie has the original standard EAH face and Meeshell has a cute different mold.
Justine is another poorly-handled character. Not in the same devastating way as Meeshell, because Justine looks like her animated self, but just in general. The doll itself is stunning, but her outfit is the worst of all the signatures. It is SO BORING. It's such a shame to see a pretty doll wearing something so dull in a line of lovely dresses.
Bunny has gotten wayyyyyyy more dolls than her character deserves. The fact that she got several while poor Faybelle got only one makes me angry. Faybelle had lovely designs in the show and was the antagonist so many times. Bunny's done very little in comparison. And her sig doll was always wonky. I only have two Bunny dolls: this Archery one and her sig. The Archery is actually a really cute doll. They finally fixed her poor eye. So this doll with her adorable face is the reason she's above some of these other girls.
I've never been a huge Rosabella fan. Her sig doll was pretty, but she didn't hold my interest for long as a character. I find her with Daring to be kinda meh. This doll however earned her a higher place than others, because the new smile really suits her and I love that neon melon color. It's one of my fave colors and she does it well.
Nina is adorable and I'm always a sucker for a flower fairy-type theme. She would have benefited from painting on her necklace and belt and not just everything else, but at the point the line was at during this time, I'm pleased enough she got her flower crown, shoes and purse painted. She might have ranked higher if she'd gotten more dolls.
I don't have solo photos of my Epic Winter girls. Argh. We're looking at Maddie here, not Ashlynn. She'll place a lot higher.
I always liked Maddie, but never loved her. She's too much for me. I love that she can hear the narrators though. That's hilarious. But she's one of those characters that suffered from the original EAH mold. it didn't capture her essence one bit. I love the Legacy Day doll, but she looks too serious! So when the smiling ones began, they were perfect for Maddie and finally there was the character we knew. I only have the EW doll for the smiling versions, because it's the best. I skipped Epic Winter when it came out, except for Crystal, but I bought all but Blondie and the 2-pack on sale after they'd been out awhile, and they're quite lovely.
Darling is one of those popular characters that I don't get into much. She very quickly started to appear in everything. I like her concept, but I never cared for her sig design and I honestly can't remember if I still have her doll or not. This Dragon Games doll though? I mean WOW. She's absolutely perfect. She's actually prettier than several of the ones who will rank higher than her, but I'm taking entire doll body of work into consideration here, as well as my attachments to the character, and in both of those, she can't hold up.
This doll though. WOW.
Courtly is amazing. Her doll perfectly captures her wild character, except they gave her long hair. I soon took care of that, but I only have close-up shots of the doll with the hair cut, so I went with this one because it shows the full outfit. She isn't one of my favorite characters and she does only have the single doll, but as I said, it does such a good job of depicting her that she deserves a good placement here.
I don't have a photo of my one Daring Charming doll. I don't know how I never took one. I didn't get the 2-pack with Rosabella. I got the basic $9.99 doll with the less poseable body. So I body-swapped him with Alistair. He's wearing Alistair's pants and boots and an old Ken shirt. Heh. But he looks good because he's Daring. I actually am in favor of the molded hair because Daring's hair needs to be PERFECT and I'm thrilled he got his trademark grin. So imagine him in this spot.
And then Hunter is in this spot. Hunter's not my favorite boy, but he's pretty up there. Hopper, Daring, Hunter. Sometimes Sparrow's mixed in there, too. But Hunter is easily the best boy EAH doll. He's hot.
Holly and Poppy bored me at first, but after reading their book, they got more interesting. My issue with Poppy is her lack of consistency. She's got a decent sig doll, but not that great. The outfit is kinda meh. Her Through the Woods doll's outfit is great, but the lighter makeup was less interesting to me. Dragon Games brought her to life the best, I think. Great outfit, cute dragon, good makeup and hair. I own four Poppys though and the fourth is Fairest on Ice. I was very against her at first, because they lengthened her hair for no reason, but the doll is lovely, so I got her. I'm pretending she's just not cut it that day because it's cold or something.
Okay, I have no other photos of Spring Unsprung Holly. I must not have liked her when I got her, as she's not even in my shot of the line displayed by my laptop, which is where they've been sitting for ages. At some point, my feelings for Holly changed. It may have been after I read the twins' book, it may have been before. But she's actually my favorite Spring Unsprung doll and has been ever since I decided I liked her. Holly's body of work is not as strong as the girls ranked higher though, because while she's in a lot of lines, she has few standout dolls. I sold her sig, and I only have Spring Unsprung, Dragon Games (her other really strong doll) and Back to School.
Ashlynn's never been a fave of mine, because she's kind of flat. She's got interesting storylines and quirks, like her romance with Hunter and how her clothes turn to rags if she's late, but the character's never had a ton of dimension for me. Some of her dolls are stunning though like Fairest on Ice here. My favorite Ashlynn is actually Through the Woods, but my one photo of her has a stray piece of hair in her face and that annoys me, so here's Fairest instead. My third and final Ashlynn is Epic Winter, who's very pretty with her smile and has the best color combo of that line.
Legacy Day Apple is actually one of my favorite EAH dolls. She is beyond gorgeous. She's better than the super fancy special Apple Toys R Us had. The reason Apple ranks this low is because she's not consistent. She doesn't look like this nearly often enough. I only have three Apple dolls: this one, Hat-tastic and Epic Winter. (And maybe signature. I can't remember if I sold her or not.) It's because this Apple doll created such a high standard that the others that followed were not good enough. She also loses the red lips too often. If you're going to have a complex about being blonde and not "black as ebony" in the hair department, then always sport those "red as blood" lips. Hat-tastic is super gorgeous, too, but not to this level. Epic Winter is special because she captures the smiling, sweet Apple character better, but her hair and outfit are lacking compared to Legacy Day and Hat-tastic.
Faybelle is a unique doll and I love her look from head to toe, but she's ranked this low because this is her ONLY doll. Faybelle is one of the most developed characters in EAH, but they only gave her one, single, lone doll and that is wrong on epic levels.
Now this is getting difficult. I like Briar's character enough that I want to put her higher than this, but it did take me awhile to like Briar and her body of work is not that strong. She has a lot of dolls, but less variation than other characters, which isn't good. My four Briars are Legacy Day, Signature, Spring Unsprung and Epic Winter. Legacy Day has been my fave since early on. I think she's the third strongest LD doll after Raven and Apple. Spring Unsprung is stunning, too, and Epic Winter is very cute. It's her sig doll that gives her a lower ranking than the next girl, whose character I like about equally to Briar's and who also has four dolls in my collection.
So I basically outlined why Cedar beats Briar. Equal character love, but better body of work in my collection. Each of my four Cedars is strong, while Briar's sig is weaker. Hat-tastic will always be my fave for her. Look at her. She's spectacularly beautiful. Then there's her cute sig, her gorgeous Spring Unsprung and her wild and crazy SDCC puppet exclusive.
Cupid has fallen a bit for me. She was quite a favorite when she first showed up, but then her appearances faded and her dolls became more boring. Honestly though, Thronecoming is a hard act to follow. She had a stellar signature and then this stunning beauty. And her Heartstruck doll is excellent, too. She has three dolls on my shelves, but she doesn't quite compare to the ladies ahead.
A bit of an odd choice for such a high placement, but I love Farrah. She's a sweet character and her doll shows off that sweetness. If it's not obvious, I like it when a character's doll shows the personality we know and love (or hate) from the animated shows and books. To be honest, her animated design is about a hundred times prettier than this doll, but I love the doll just the same.
You would think Spring Unsprung would be my favorite Kitty with the dark lips and all, but no, it's signature. Her outfit is darling and the custom arm pieces from my friend Rayedelsol really bring her to life. What helped her grow in my heart is that I originally had her displayed sitting on the books on my shelf, mischievously peeking out from behind the dolls in front of her in typical Cheshire fashion. The only Kitty I'm missing is the book one. I may have to track her down someday.
I adore Jillian. I'm glad we got one last awesome-looking newbie before the line fizzled. (I'm still mad Ramona didn't sneak in there. I will always be mad because she was supposed to be made.) Jillian is not as obviously pretty as most of the other dolls in the line. Hers is a very unique beauty and I always appreciate things like that. In animated form, she's stunning, but in a more traditional way. I prefer both doll and animation for her. I just wish she'd gotten another doll before the line turned into what it is now.
I super adore Ginger. Excellent headmold, adorable outfit, GLASSES. Did I mention glasses? Because glasses are the reason I only have two Gingers and not all three. I almost bought that book doll so many times, but never did because they took away her glasses. Although I'm seriously sitting here right now kind of wanting all three from that line. Maybe someday. I wish they'd made a Hopper so he and Ginger could have hung out! Sigh!
Lizzie! I love Lizzie. I should just stop repeating that, because I really love every one of these top girls, but I can't help saying it over and over again. Red, black and gold is a fave color combo of mine and Lizzie's outrageous personality won me over from the get go. She's got a lot of depth and I like all of it. Doll-wise, she does not quite hold up to the four girls left above her. For example, I had to create her proper hair using gel. It didn't come this way. Her Spring Unsprung doll is dull compared to the looks she designed for the other girls. Her Tricastleon doll is cute, but nothing special, and the same goes for Way Too Wonderland. Her only really standout doll is the signature, but that single doll does stand out a lot. She has not left her spot beside my laptop since I got her.
I fell for Cerise with her first doll. While Lizzie has the better outfit and I favor her character by a hair, Cerise ranks higher because of her very unusual headmold and her stronger body of work. Every Cerise I own is a hit. I actually have more Cerise than any other character. She even beats Raven by one. Signature is my favorite and, like Lizzie, hasn't left my desk ever. Hat-tastic and Spring Unsprung are both stunning. Her Tricastleon doll is the weakest of my six, but still lovely. Legacy Day uses the eyes I don't like for her, but the outfit is strong. And Cerise Wolf is the best SDCC offering EAH ever did by a long shot.
Duchess has the most beautiful face in the entire line. There's just something about her mold and her facial screening that is so perfectly gorgeous. It's a shame then that she only got three dolls! Despite her sheer beauty, I've got to put Duchess in third place, because the two girls above her appeal to me as a full package more. I do love Duchess and her dedication to dance, but dance outfits aren't very interesting to me, so that holds her back. Her Fairest on Ice is spectacular, but it's basically another dance dress just with winter touches. And Birthday Ball being a basic line doesn't provide an outfit that can compete.
When I first did this ranking years ago, Melody won. Her headmold is second only to Duchess for beauty and even as I'm looking at her now, I'm honestly feeling like it's more of a tie. Sorry, Duchess, but Melody is that pretty. Melody has some of the best makeup in the line. Of course I would say that because I've worn her look before. If you remove the pink eyeshadow line, I've worn it A LOT. She also has a fun outfit, despite the fact that her vest, top and skirt are all one single piece. I think Melody is the most striking doll in the line and for that, she makes it to second place, despite only having a single doll.
I have five Ravens. Every one is stellar.
Dragon Games has phenomenal edge that she'd lost a bit with some of her other releases between the beginning and that point.
Thronecoming is a gothed out ballgown pleasure.
SDCC is a delight, although admittedly not as much as Cerise or Cedar.
Legacy Day is perfection.
And her signature is quite likely the EAH doll I'd grab if you made me pick only one to keep.
Despite some dolls in the line that are her but not quite, Raven's best looks are so good that she wins first place. She'll always be the face and heart of EAH to me.
PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.
