"Give me what's been mine for all this time!"
From The Count of Monte Cristo by Frank Wildhorn, song: All this time
Mulan is one of my favourite Disney Princesses, I planned to order her for Christmas but sadly, she was sold out when I wanted to place it and she was taken from my basket. It keeps happening to me, I want something and I end up with a quite different version, since when I get to it, the one I originally wanted is not available anymore. (Happened with Elena this time) But I'm happy I got another chance and was able to get her. Mulan came in the package I posted about not so long ago. She is from the series that came out in 2016 and has a friend that comes along the doll. Mulan for example has Mushu but there are birds, teacups, bearbrothers and more guarding the princesses.
Let's take a look at the box. It is all pink to match the main color of her dress and the cherryblossoms. The tree serves as a background, we will take a better look at it when Mulan is free.
The front of the box has Disney Store in the upper left corner and +3 at the upper right corner. The bottom part has Mulans name in a somewhat heart shaped sign.
It is adorned with a little heart and a crown. Some cherryblossoms and shimmer and pixiedust complete the look.
The sides and the top of the box is decorated among other things with leaves and cherryblossoms.It goes all up and continues on the top of the box.
On the top of the box, Mushu can be spotted as well. This decoration is mostly red, only the lower part on the sides of the box is white.
The backside in this series has a handdrawn version of the characer and not a photo of the doll like a year earlier. It has Disney princess written over it and some white flower-ribbon-princessy decoration under the picture. And lot's of sparkle. It is pretty but for Mulan, tha tomboy of the Princesses, I would have chosen something else but I understand they wanted something that could be used for all of them and it gives the boxes the feeling they belong together. The portrait is a 2D picture, even if the character is 3D animated in his or her movie. This picture of Mulan doesn't really look like her in my opinion. And her little pet dragon seems quite off, too. Some portraits turn out better and others worse. For example Tianas picture is quite pretty, you can have a look at it
here. (It is a review and photoshot of Tiana by Manta) Now let's debox her. Just a moment, I only need my faithful helper, Dorothea.
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| I'll get you out in a minute |
She is an expert, she had freed some Frozen dolls, a Beast and her friend Hannah, the 2015 Rapunzel doll and more in the past. She uses this little blade she brought with her to help with deboxing.
Back to Mulan. She has the usual Disney Store packaging, elastics and plastic around the hands and a tie around the waist. The only thing she didn't have was a plastic tie in the head like this: I--I but this is great news. But she had some in her dress and another around her feet.
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| uhm, it might take a bit more than a minute |
Although mostly kind and helpful, Dolly can be naughty. She insists that sitting on a box that still has the doll in it is the right thing to do. She does that all the time.
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| Really? Dolly, you should get off |
Once out of the box there was only this tie around her waist and the tissue paper making her skirt poofier left. I had to take off her dress to remove that waisttie safely. Mushu was freed as well.
I was lucky since right after this tie was removed, her dress lay perfectly on her back. It often happens that the hole is wisible and needs some time to adapt to the dolls form insted of the ties' form.
The picture behind the doll is revealed, it is the cherry tree and the bench Mulan sits on with her father. I think they used the perfect background for her, that represents her relationship to her family, especially her father. And she went to the war to help her father. (Not only, but this was a reason as well)
She has a pretty face, the head is maybe a bit longish but that's something I saw on other dolls as well. I'm really picky aboout faces. Here is a screenshot of Mulan from the movie, to compare the faces:
Picture is from disneyscreencaps.com, it is not mine. Mulan has one of the roundest faces among the princesses. She has the flower as well, attached to her red hairband. It's a little bigger than in the movie but then again this dolls hair is way longer than in the movie. It's pretty and fairly soft, apart from a little hairproduct, around her face and a section in the long part.
She has some nice details like the collar but there are quite a few details missing, the darkred part of her dress beeing the most noticable. I never understood why they removed it after the first year. The colors are different, too. The middle section, her sash(? I'm not sure what it is called... if someone knows, please let me know) doesn't go all around.
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| backside |
She wears darkred flats that go well with her glittercovered dress. In the movie they are black but this is one change I like. I left the elastics on so the shoes don't wander off on their own.
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| pretty and practical cherry colored flats and a paper petticoat |
You can see the paper that is supposed to help her skirt hold its shape. Unlike Rapunzels or Elenas it wasn't a lump of paper, but a papercone fastened around her waist. I had to tear it to remove it. I'm not sure this was a wise decision but now at least she can sit down. She has klick knees, so she is not very good at it. But her shoulders, elbows and wrists move nicely even if some of them are a bit loose.
The pink part of her dress (so almost her whole outfit) is covered with glitter. It sheds a bit but it's not that noticable and I don't move her around as much as a child her favourite doll. I like the other outfits she has in her movie better, I'm planning to make her a new outfit someday. Now let's have a look at her friend.
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| Greeting the new members |
Looks like Mushu is a bit shy, he hid behind Mulans skirt. Come on, Mushu, there is nothing to be afraid of.
He is a nice figure with molded details and some of them are even painted.
His left elbow is moulded to his tail so he can be hanged up.
Horns, ears and tails from the backside.
He is a nice little figure and about the right scale for Mulan to carry him around on the shoulder. A great idea to include him as well.
All in all, Miss Mulan is a pretty doll and I'm happy to have her in my little collection and the little dragon is a nice little addition. She sits right now between Elsa and Rapunzel on my shelf. :)
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| a last look at her face - she seems to be a kind lady |
