Disney Animator Alice in Wonderland Dolls--16" and Mini!

I love Alice in Wonderland...she's one of my favorite Disney characters.  I have been waiting a very long time for Disney to finally add her to their line up of dolls...and finally, they have!  Here is the 16" Disney Animator version:

Still in the box.  But not for long.  I never leave my new dolls in boxes (gasp!), and most times, I even throw the boxes away (double gasp!)  I want to be able to enjoy my dolls, and that means being able to touch them.  Play with their hair.  Maybe change their outfits.  Pose them for pictures.  Anyway, you get the idea.

Back of her box.  Besides the cute graphics, there's an short biography written about Dale Baer, one of the main animators of "Alice".  I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to reading the history about things, so this really interested me.

Finally out of her box!  I tell you, I HATE the way these (and many other) dolls these days are packaged.  So many fiddly little twisty ties and threads to snip, just to get her out of her restraints!  It took me probably at least 10 minutes to finally get her free.  But that wasn't the end of it...oh, no...there were still MORE threads to cut from her head where they had sectioned off pieces from around her face into small pony tails, two on each side.  Not sure why they do this...the back of her hair was secured nicely in a hair net--why couldn't they just forgo the pony tails and put it all in the hair net, I wonder?

Here you can see the back of her hair still in the hairnet, while the sides of her hair are free.  By the way, those side pony tails were coated in something that made them so stiff and crispy!  I hate that stuff!  Why do doll manufacturers do that???  I suppose it's so their hair doesn't get mussed up in the box, but I just don't like it.

Side view.  You can kind of see how crispy the ends are on that section of hair.  I couldn't stand the "crispiness" any longer, so I grabbed my trusty, metal, pet comb and gently worked it through the strands.  I didn't get all the hair product out, but it certainly looks and feels much better.

Her hairband was secured to the top her head with a thread, so I clipped it in order to make it removable.  The part that slips under the back of her hair is elastic, so it is easy to adjust on her head.  I took those side sections of hair and adjusted the headband so that all her hair is now behind her ears, like Alice is supposed to wear it.  She holds a little stuffed animal which is supposed to represent her cat, Dinah, I'm sure.  Her pinafore looks removable but it is not--it is secured to the dress.  I suppose this is a good thing in the long run, since little children might lose it.  One nice thing I noticed about this doll--there is tissue wrapped around her torso underneath her clothing.  I'm guessing this is to keep any dye transfer from her clothing from happening.  I've picked up many of these animator dolls from the thrift stores lately, and a lot of the older ones have dye transfer marks.  So maybe this is Disney's way of taking care of the problem.

Hair brushed out

Back view after I brushed it out.  Very pretty but so easily tangled!  These Disney Animator dolls are so adorable...but their hair quality is horrible!  Adult collectors can keep it looking nice, but imagine giving this doll to a child?  Her hair would be a matted mess in no time.  I really wish that Disney would consider a better option for hair.  I mean, it's not like they don't have the money to do something a bit nicer!  And besides, I'd be more than willing to pay a few dollars more for a doll with nicer hair.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Now, onto the other Alice I had to bring home:

Disney Animator Mini Alice!  She's so cute, I almost can't stand it!  Like the other mini dolls in this line, she comes in a plastic carrying case with many accessories.

The hang tag

Free from her packaging!  Again, there were many, Many, MANY wires and threads to clip before everything could be removed.  But just look at all the cute things that came with her...the Queen of Hearts (shouting "Off with her Head"!), the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, a rose bush with white roses, a paint brush, a hedgehog (I think?) that turns into a croquet ball, a hairbrush (which I'll never use because everybody knows that plastic brushes are horrible for doll hair!) and a pink flamingo croquet mallet.

She can actually hold the paintbrush and flamingo!

A nice feature with these mini dolls is that they have jointed knees.  Here she is, sitting in peony blossom.

The peony bush that I planted several years ago in my garden finally bloomed this year.  It's blossoms are gorgeous and PINK--my favorite color.

Her legs are painted as if she is wearing tights.  Her shoes (and clothing) are removable!

Because it wasn't raining, I decided to take the dolls outside for some natural lighting shots.

Big Alice liked standing among the sage and rosemary plants which are both covered in heavy, purple blossoms.

Wait...what's that?

Why, it's the White Rabbit, of course!  I couldn't buy Alice without also bringing home the White Rabbit, now could I?

"Mr. Rabbit, where are you going in such a hurry?"

So, while big Alice was chasing after the White Rabbit, Little Alice decided to climb the sage plant in the hopes of getting a better view of her situation.  If only she still had a piece of cracker to nibble that would make her tall!

"Perhaps I'm supposed to paint these flowers red?  I can't find any white roses!"

"Oh, dear!"  Look what Alice found grinning at her from among the branches...

The Cheshire cat!

"Mr. Rabbit, why does that cat keep grinning at us?  It's like he knows a secret!"

I am fortunate (or maybe not, considering how easy it is to spend money there!) to have a Disney Store within 20 miles of my home.  I don't go there very often, but if I find something in their online store and want to see it person, I make a special trip.  On this particular occasion, I only meant to bring the two Alices home with me.  However, Disney was having a special sale, "buy one stuffed animal, get a second of equal or lesser value for $1".  There was only one White Rabbit left in the entire store.  So of course, I grabbed him.  How could I not?  And then I got the cutest little "Marie" kitty from the Aristocats as my bonus.  I will have to show her in an upcoming post, as I forgot to take a picture of her.

I have a few other Alice things I'll be sharing in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!  Who's your favorite Disney character?