REVIEW: Descendants CJ

FINALLY. To say getting CJ here has been frustrating is an understatement.

We first saw CJ at last year's Toy Fair, I believe. However, she kept not being released. KMart/Sears and Walmart eventually got listing pages for her, but she never came in stock. 

I wrote to Hasbro about 3 months ago and asked them about her. I saw that she'd fully released in the UK and wanted to know when she was coming to the US. I was told that she was just starting to ship to retailers. 

So I waited. 

And waited. 

And still waited. 

Yikes! Not pretty box art.

After a couple months of not seeing her, I wrote to them again. The first time, I got no response, yet they sent me a survey as if they'd answered me. So I wrote AGAIN. This time I got an answer that basically just said the rep had forwarded the question to someone higher up. About two weeks later, I got a phone call. It turns out I was lied to. American retailers did not pick up the CJ case. She was never on her way to retailers here. To make up for it, they sent me a $10 coupon, which was nice, but wasn't going to get me a CJ. 

So off to ebay it was. I'd been casually bidding on her from a seller who kept listing her for low starting prices, but I never won. Well, now I knew I had no choice but to import, so this time, I won. She arrived today! 

CJ is splendidly gorgeous. I think she's one of the most beautiful in the line facially. I'd put her up there with Freddie, Ally and Lonnie. 

From head to toe, she's got good and bad. The design and color scheme of her outfit is excellent. The biggest problem? The outfit is all one piece!I was pretty shocked, because that's not typical for Descendants. I at least thought the shirt and jacket would be one piece and the shorts and tights another, but no. That's all one thing. No mixing and matching for poor CJ.

I do love her little details. The hook belt and the pattern on her tights are awesome. She has no jewelry though, which is disappointing, because she's a pirate. A pair of golden earrings would have been an obvious yet nice touch. The only hint of jewelry she has is some colored rubberbands on her hair twists to represent the beads in the character's animated design. 

I do love the pattern on these tights! It's so cool! Ugh. That makes it even more frustrating that they're just legs sewn onto shorts. I don't like this new trend of making everything one piece and it is not just Mattel that's doing it. Although I suppose it's not like we're going to see another CJ doll, so there's nothing for her to mix and match with anyway.

I do want to give more praise to her color scheme. In a line filled with jewel tones and pastels, it's a nice change to see an outfit that's mostly shades of brown with a white shirt and red jacket. 

CJ's face is super gorgeous! I love the red-lipped wide smile and her big brown eyes. Her hair is a lovely honey blonde with brown streaks and the hairstyle is a bit more complicated than Descendants usually gets, but it works well. 

The brown plastic scarf fits okay, even without the plastic band that held it down. It was strapped around there so many times that it looked really ugly, so I chanced taking it off. 

CJ's profile is really cute. Descendants has an excellent array of face sculpts and noses. I always love varying nose shapes. 

She comes with the typical sticker. Her accessory is a little treasure chest purse, I think, but it opens like a book. It's a neat design though. 

CJ is a gorgeous addition to the Descendants line. I'm really not a fan of her character, at least not from the Wicked World webisodes so far, but her doll is stunning and belongs in any Descendants collection. I only wish I could tell you a good way to buy her, but if you're in the US, you're going to have to import like I did. I paid around $30, which is actually not bad for a $20 doll. She was worth it, but I hope this doesn't become a habit for Descendants!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

REVIEW: American Girl Melody Ellison

I didn't take any boxed photos of her or ones with her beadband in, but those are plentiful on Google. I didn't plan on reviewing her, but I figured why not?

I haven't bought myself an American Girl since Beforever Rebecca back in October 2015. I did get Lea this Christmas but that's not a self-purchase.

I've been rereading my AG historical books and I got to Melody. I'd only read part of her first book when it came out and then decided to get back to the reread, so she got put off, because she's more modern and I was rereading chronologically. But I finally made it to her and finished her two "classics." I found both very good and she's a great character, so I decided to get her doll.

I ordered Melody from Amazon, so I got my free Prime 2-day shipping. She arrived on Tuesday.

I'm going to say right off that I am not a fan of the Sonali mold. I just don't care for it on any of the previous dolls that have used it, but for some reason, Melody makes it work. I think it's her face-framing hair.

Melody did have some major box hair. I spent probably an hour working on her hair. I originally wanted to mimic the braided style from the promo pictures of her wearing her PJs. She looks so cute in those pics! But I struggled getting her braids to look right because she has an angled haircut. It's shorter in the back, so you get all these loose bits popping out of the braids and I am just not that good with hair. Or that patient! I did finally manage the braids, but wasn't happy with them. I dressed her in her PJs and tried adorable pigtails, but then decided they didn't look right. My Melody looks a little older to me, so I just kept brushing her hair until it laid how I wanted. I don't like the flip hairstyle for girls that young. I don't care if it's historically accurate or not. I don't like it.

The back still has a little flip, but it's not the exaggerated giant frill.

I tried putting her headband back in, but man, that thing sucks. It has very little give and I hate forcing things over a doll's face, especially an eyelashed doll. I'm going to buy her a couple Alice bands on ebay and try those for a pop of color in her hair.

Her dress is gorgeous. I've liked it since we first saw it. Excellent colors and I love the material. I'm glad that it covers her well, because her body is oddly a lot lighter than her vinyl parts.

I don't really care for the super high white socks, but when I took them off, her shoes fit a bit too loosely for my liking so they're staying on.

Those are my only cons for this doll: badly-designed headband, shoes can't be worn without socks, and body is weirdly light.

Pros: Gorgeous dress in excellent colors, wonderful hair, adorable shoes, best use of the Sonali mold ever.

As mentioned, I also got Melody's pajamas, and they've provided Ivy with her first new outfit in probably 9 years. The PJs are so cute! I love the cut, the color and the pattern. The buttons are a lovely shade and the little Tink-esque shoes! I just love it.

So I give Melody a good recommendation. She'd be a nice addition to an AG collection or the start of one. She's definitely made me want to get another girl soon. Addy will be bought as soon as I can manage it!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

OVERVIEW: Callie 'n' Friends

Callie 'n' Friends is a small line by Creata. They were produced in 1995 and there were 6 sets of 4 figures each, plus 3 larger playsets.

The figures are very little, only about an inch and a half for the tallest ones. Their faces are really cute in a unique way.

I can't remember how I got into the line, but I know I had the tan horse from the Western Round Up set for years. I'm guessing I got it during my pony-collecting days.

Years later, I'd amassed quite a few of them, and I finally learned in 2011 what the line was called.

The 4-packs are pretty easy to find on ebay for reasonable prices, but no one seems to have any of the larger sets right now. This isn't a very popular line, but they do turn up a lot more often than other obscure lines, so I don't imagine it would take too long or cost too much to collect them all.

I think they're really cute, especially the Native American set and the campout girls.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

OVERVIEW: Alpha Critters

Moot

The Alpha Critters were an obviously alphabet-themed line produced in 1986/1987. They had a plush line made by Creative Innovators while Applause handled the PVC figure line.

The plush are relatively easy to find. It didn't take me too long to locate them all. The PVCs took much longer to find.

There was also a set of bedsheets made that I totally had and slept on in college. Heh. And if you look on Youtube, you can probably find the brief cartoon featuring them. It's kinda scary!

I grew up with the Letter People, who never got toys. I remember one of my teachers having inflatable ones, but they weren't on the regular market that I knew of. So I was happy to randomly discover the Alpha Critters and finally have some goofy letter-themed toys.

If you're looking for Alpha Critters, ebay is your best bet. I got most of mine from there. There are loads of reasonable plush on there right now. If you want the PVCs though, you'll have to be patient, because for all the plush listed, there's only one auction for PVCs.

I actually prefer the PVCs because they show the shapes of the letters better. I wouldn't part with either of my collections though. Not yet anyway!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

NEWS: Descendants CJ

If you're like me, you've spent months wondering where in the world Descendants CJ was. Well, the UK finally got a load of her in, but no one in the US seemed to be finding her, so I emailed Hasbro. They took a good couple weeks to get back to me, but I finally received a call today. I had been told over two months ago that she was shipping to retailers then. That was a lie. They told me today that no retailers in the US picked the doll up. And they're sending me a coupon, which is nice for a future purchase, but doesn't make up for the extra I'm going to have to spend to import her.

So if you're waiting for CJ to hit shelves in the US, you can stop wasting your time. She's not coming.

OVERVIEW: Disney's Star Darlings

Oh, Star Darlings, you poor things. I have never seen a line be such a money-making gimme and then be so badly handled. But we'll get into that later.

In January 2014, I stumbled across an Amazon listing for the first Star Darlings book, but it disappeared, so I tracked down an advanced reader copy on ebay. Then we heard nothing further for over a year. It wasn't until September 2015 that the first books in the series officially came out.

Starland Libby

If you want the nitty gritty on how the books differed, check out my book blog (Red, Black and White) for a detailed analysis.

The dolls for the line appeared in Justice stores and at the Disney Store (both in store and online, I believe) in November 2015. I ordered all 5 from Disney. These early versions came with stands and bracelets you could put together. They cost a rather pricey $30 apiece, but I was so into the characters at the time that I wasn't going to wait for the regular versions to hit other retailers.

The two body types

Star Darlings art depicts a wide range of body types and the dolls did okay with that. They at least gave us two bodies right away.

The quality of the dolls was middling. The hair was good after a condition and the dolls themselves are gorgeous, but the range of motion in the joints was limited. They can't bend their knees very far, which means they can sit, but it's awkward. The clothing quality was quite good. I think they're worth it, because their faces are so pretty and I love all the colors and the different types of detailed outfits.

Starland Leona

The regular line of dolls (that came with rings, not stands or bracelets) made it into Toys R Us, Walmart and Target by the holidays and brought with them the first Wishworld versions of the characters. Wishworld is Starland speak for Earth, so these girls lost their pearly-sheened skin and almost all their unnatural colors. Scarlet and Piper were the first two released, followed by Sage and Cassie in March. I never saw the latter two in my local stores. They were easy to get online though.

Scarlet: Starland vs. Wishworld

So do I love these dolls? I do. But the majority of this overview is going to be how they bombed this line.

First of all, they released way too many versions of the same dolls. The deluxe $30 ones were okay, because those stores got the early releases and they were more "special." But then those same five dolls were released with books and then again with instruments. One of the biggest errors of Star Darlings was not utilizing the twelve distinct characters. Star Darlings had an excellent, diverse lineup of girls and they completely ignored that. I don't know who was in charge of the webisodes, but they chose to focus on the five girls who were in the SD band: Sage, Libby, Leona, Vega and Scarlet. Occasionally, Sage's roommate Cassie was featured, but the others were so greatly ignored that even when they had a short webisode featuring them, they were not given a speaking role!

Wishworld Piper

The band girls dominated the webisodes until the very last special and they dominated the doll line, too, appearing in so many different ways in the same outfits that no one bought them.

I do not know whose decision this was. I don't know if the webisode people chose this focus and then Jakks followed through or what, but it was the key factor in the failure of this line.

Star Darlings is an absolute gimme. You have TWELVE different characters, each with a different bright color scheme, diverse looks, and a tie-in to something that's always popular: zodiac signs. On top of that, you have twelve completely different looks with different hair, eye and skin colors for the same twelve girls when they go to Earth. That is TWENTY-FOUR dolls that people would have bought. And you could even make it more by adding the villainess Vivica and puppet character Ophelia.

Vega: Instrument version and original

The fact that neither Disney nor Jakks figured out that making all the characters was the way to go blows my mind. It's the easiest thing in the world. And different stores could have different characters. Release Sage, Libby, Leona, Vega, Scarlet AND Cassie at every store, but then give each chain a different pair of other characters. Justice could have had Astra and Piper. TRU could have had sisters Tessa and Gemma in a 2-pack. Target could have had Adora and Clover. Then we've got all twelve characters out at the same time and people would have been encouraged to go find them all. Then they could have done the Wishworld characters, too. And give the girls different clothes with each new release. They have loads of outfits in the books. Make Vivica and Ophelia special Disney Store characters. It just does not make any sense how they went wrong with this.

Sage: Mojo version and original

Also, Jakks did a poor job at turning the characters into dolls. They gave Scarlet, the character with the shortest hair, a long ponytail. I cut both of my Scarlet dolls' hair into her proper short cut, but why would you add long hair onto her, but leave Vega her bob? If one character can have shorter hair, TWO can. They also put Cassie, who is frequently referenced in the books as being so petite that the girls practically treat her like a doll or a small child, onto the tall body. And they gave her glasses, but made them fit so poorly that she can only gaze over the top of them. Those aren't a fashion accessory. She needs them to SEE. The webisodes left them off her a lot, too, and that was another poor decision. I'm betting Jakks got all their bad ideas from the webisode people.

Cassie: Wishworld version and Itty version

These bad decisions were reflected in the poor sales of the line. They shelf sat in my area. Jakks, who are notorious for making bad case assortment choices, put two Sage dolls in each case. So you know who never sold? Sage. Scarlet was also in every case, so I saw a lot of her, too. Then each case got either Libby OR Leona OR Vega, so you didn't see them as often, but I still saw them a lot. Except for Vega, who I only saw once. Other areas had a different doll they couldn't find. I know someone who never saw Leona.

The line made a few last ditch attempts. The band girls were released with instruments, which is how they should have come in the original release, not with the stupid stands and bracelets. Sage was released with a stage playset. And the UK saw two Toys R Us exclusive "pet" dolls. Cassie came in her Starland look for the first time alongside her pet, Itty. And Sage came in a new outfit with her botbot friend Mojo. Listings appeared on Amazon featuring gorgeous promos of Wishworld Libby and Leona, but the dolls were never released.

Cancelled Wishworld Leona

So the Wishworld dolls were cancelled and the book line appears to also be cancelled. The next two volumes are both marked as cancelled on Amazon. We'll never know how the story ends, which saddens me.

Star Darlings could have really been something special. They had a lot of great elements to work with and they had Disney behind them. I would have thrown my money at them continually until I had all the dolls. I love all their Starland and Wishworld looks, so that's a good chunk of change to spend!

I hate to say it, but I think Jakks is a line killer. They make bad decision after bad decision. Their Winx dolls had the worst case assortment I've ever seen. They did some good things, like creating the action figure line and including the Trix, but they failed to give fans the characters they really wanted like Roxy and the boys.

Cancelled Wishworld Libby

They also eventually killed Disney Fairies by failing to produce dolls of all the characters. As soon as they saw Periwinkle, they latched onto her and we never got the incredibly beautiful deluxe dolls of Fawn and Iridessa, who were in every movie, or Vidia, who was with the franchise from the beginning. Periwinkle just had to be in everything along with multiple Tinks, one Rosetta and one inevitably hard to find Silvermist. I would have loved some dolls of the new characters from the last movie, but nope. Just more gimmicky dolls of Tink, Rosetta and Silvermist. I do love the dolls I have, but not making the key characters was just stupid.

That's what they did with Winx. That's what they did with Disney Fairies. And now that's what they did with Star Darlings.

MAKE THE CHARACTERS, JAKKS. JUST MAKE THEM ALL.

Itty and Mojo

Companies need to stop giving Jakks lines with more than three characters, I swear.

Anyway, I did import the two UK exclusives and I have to say that Itty and Mojo are two of the highlights of this line. They are so cute. Mojo especially. The Cassie doll is pretty and the new Sage is actually really lovely, too. Both of them are a bit oddly tanner than their original dolls, but I can deal. Sage always should have been darker than they made her anyway.

So all in all, Star Darlings had incredible potential and was killed by an equally incredible number of bad decisions. What dolls we did get are lovely though, so check them out if you haven't yet.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine, except the Wishworld Leona and Libby promos. Those are from Amazon.

NEWS: Hearts For Hearts Girls

Tipi and Lauryce have been confirmed for this July!

Aya is still in "the development stage." She looked great at Toy Fair, so I'm hoping we'll see her in the fall or, at the very longest, before the holidays!