Dolls and Doll-related Items for Sale

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Ginny Weasley by Mattel, the Mysterious Case of the Odd Body

I've been looking forward to the new Harry Potter line of Mattel dolls, although only for doll rebodying, as the dolls looked well articulated. I honestly couldn't care less about the Harry Potter story itself. What I was hoping for was an articulated body that was similar to the modern day Stacie or even Skipper body. I have no idea why or how Mattel ended up with the body design they did for Ginny. Let's look at it, under the fold

Here's a line-up of dolls that I own that I feel could have or should have been close to the Ginny body. Notice that Ever After High's Madeline Hatter is also pictured. Her body is the one that actually turned out to be the most similar to Ginny.
Older Stacie, Maddie, Ginny, current Skipper, petite Barbie body
For starters on comparing Maddie to Ginny, let's look at the hands. Mattel seems to have straight up just used Ever After High arms and the left hand, for the new Ginny doll. Ginny's right hand is molded so that she can hold her wand. That is sensible from a play standpoint, but although the two hands may have the same actual proportions, they don't look very well together, in my opinion. Perhaps it's because the knuckles are so well defined in the posed hand, but hardly visible at all in the regular hand. For that matter, it would have been fun to have a regular right hand and a posed right hand to swap out, although that would have just tacked on to the cost.
Ginny top, Maddie bottom
The left hand is one of the most obvious similarities between the EAH and Ginny bodies. The knees are another. There's been a slight adjustment to the rotation post. Although the lower section of Ginny's leg has a new sculpt, the way the leg is articulated and attached to the body looks pretty much like EAH.
Ginny left, Maddie right
And although the new Ginny torso is not exactly the same as an EAH body, it's closer to Maddie's than to any of Barbie's family or friends. Ginny has the same curved back as Maddie, although not as pronounced. She also has a nipped-in waist, similar to the adult Petite Barbie, but also similar to Maddie. Ginny can even wear EAH clothes, whereas the dress of one of the Babysitting Skipper and Friends line kind of sags on her.
None of this is necessarily a big issue, although if you're like me, and expected a body that fit in easily to the current line of Barbie family and friends, you might be disappointed. The real issue starts when it comes to shoes. They have a slight arch, unnecessarily, I think, since the girls appear to be wearing simple, flat Mary Janes. They're close to the length of EAH feet, but Ginny's feet are wider, and nowhere near as arched. They're kind of close to modern Skipper, except they're a bit too long.
Ginny's feet are enormous compared to Petite Barbie
Ginny's feet are close to modern Skipper
But Ginny can't wear modern Skipper shoes
Also, since Ginny's feet have that weird-arch-for-no-reason, modern Skipper can't wear Ginny's shoes either. This picture is me trying to stand Skipper up in one of Ginny's Mary Janes. However, Skipper just can't stand up straight in these shoes, because of her flat feet. Her body gets pushed forward.
Oddly enough, modern Skipper can wear Ginny's school uniform, although the sleeves are short.
Foxy Belle on Flickr has put two Skipper friend heads onto girl Harry Potter bodies, and in their school uniforms, they look cute, and they will make good additions to a setting with the original Harry Potter dolls. However, in my opinion, if you try to move a rebodied Skipper head into modern Skipper's world, it's not such a great match.
The new body is just so tiny! Not to mention shoe choices are so limited. I'm really unhappy with Mattel about this. How often have collectors said they would like better articulated Stacie and Skipper bodies? This was Mattel's perfect chance to articulate Skipper; instead, they designed from scratch some weird body more like Ever After High, with feet that can only wear the shoes that come with the doll. Maybe collectors will only keep these dolls in the box, but girls may very well want to redress their dolls, to do something else. You know, use their imaginations, take their dolls to new places.

Since we're talking bodies here, I'm also going to mention that I'm really frustrated about getting my hands on the new articulated curvy body. Mattel is already sold out of *all* the floral yoga dolls on its website. I can get the darkest skin doll on Amazon for $15.99, but the curvy one is currently $46.99. And to add insult to injury, the two featured dolls from the 2018 Barbie Convention both have the articulated curvy body. Sure, shove it my face, Mattel, that I can't get my hands on a freakin' play doll.

I'm going to buy the darkest skinned yoga doll; I'm going to get at least a white skinned articulated curvy body to rebody one of my curvy dolls when I can find one, and I'll keep picking up Ever After High dolls if I find one that I want but don't have. Other than that, I'm done with Mattel, at least for now. I don't know whose money they want, but it's not mine. I was inspired to make this meme showing the frustration of a lot of collectors trying to find better bodies for their dolls.
If only I though Mattel cared that much. As for me, I'm going to look for other sources to rebody the heads that I have, and be happy with those. I wish that I could find another affordable doll line that I could move to collecting instead.

17 comments:

  1. Hello Barb!
    You don't know how much I needed this honest review! I was considering getting one Hermione doll to be a younger sister in my Barbie collection, but after reading that I would have trouble finding her clothes and shoes, I think I'm good. If I were a big Harry Potter fan, I wouldn't mind getting her just for display, but that's not the case.
    I just think that Mattel designed the dolls just for display, and they didn't thought that people might want this dolls to fit into their regular collection. I do agree with you that Mattel needs to start listening to their fans. There are plenty of bloggers and collectors out there that would be happy to give them their honest feedback. I wish Mattel started paying attention to what people are asking for. Where are the Made to Move petite and tall? Where is the Made to Move Ken? Why are the Barbie clothes still so cheap?
    Great review. Take care.

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    1. I'm glad that I was able to help! Mattel did a really weird thing with these dolls. The school outfit is definitely cheap like a play doll, but I agree that they seem to think nobody would do anything with these dolls but display them. I'm hoping that I'll at least be able to make back close to the money I spent, if I sell the doll and the clothes in separate lots on eBay.

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  2. We have the pink haired yoga with the boombox in every store, but I assume you're looking for the newer blonde one. I'm surprised Mattel is gleefully cutting the branch it's sitting on, making articulated light dolls needlessly hard to find. Remember Purple top from the first wave? She's going for crazy prices on the secondary market when they could have just rerealeased her when they did the rest and watched the money flow. I would really like for Mattel to be successful and put out a great doll once in a while, but damn... they keep making decisions that leave me and many customers scratching their heads

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    1. I could use a couple of the boombox ones, especially since I just got a new brown skinned curvy doll. That is, if the boombox doll skintone goes with the curvy dolls I have. I think the pink haired boombox might be slightly darker.

      However, yeah, the very first curvy doll I bought was the white skinned one with the blond hair, and I've been waiting patiently for Mattel to produce a white curvy body. Now it's finally out, and I have no place to buy one for retail. Maybe Target or Walmart will get the floral yoga dolls in when they do the toy reset for Christmas, but I'm not counting on it.

      It's amazing that people are actually paying such inflated prices for Purple Top. Mattel could have easily used another light-skinned Asian head mold on the Purple Top body and released her as a "new doll" with the floral yoga set, but no. I'd like to see great things from Barbie too, but Mattel doesn't seem to know what that is.

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    2. I totally agree with the two of you. Is it thad difficult to give people what they're asking for? Because to me, it looks quite easy. I do see in the MTM doll line some missed opportunities to do something more interesting. For example, they only released one baseball player doll when they could have easily released 2 or 3, just like they did with the soccer player. Or a dance crew line with diverse dolls, each one with an unique outfit.
      Purple top seems to be the one that matches most of the Fashionistas, so I don't understand either why they haven't released another MTM doll with that skintone. Instead of using all of their ideas on the stiff Fashionistas, save a few for an interesting articulated doll line. And if they're out of ideas, lots of people would love a re-release of the L.A girl with a MTM body.

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  3. Mattel sure makes odd decisions what Barbie and their other dolls are concerned. I wanted to buy the Katherine Johnson doll so much, but apparently she has bendable arms, but straight legs! Why, I wonder, do they do this? I don't want her anymore now, it's such a disappointment. The Harry Potter line looks so cute on the promo photos, what a pity that Ginny disappoints!

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    1. The bendable arms but straight legs thing was probably a cost decision. Apparently the poor doll will just have to do math calculations standing up. :)

      Yes, I couldn't wait to get these new dolls, but now I'm just turned off of Mattel in general instead.

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  4. In addition to the loss of Toys R Us, Mattel sent out a notice that they are no longer going to be selling directly to the public. I got an email telling me to cash in all my points soon. So it is really hard for those of us in rural areas away from stores. The people who are able to get to a store and scoop up all they see for resale make out like bandits. The price online for the Babysitters Inc. Boy has finally come back down where I can afford him online. I had just about given up.

    I have been watching for articulated bodies wherever I can find them. They are very difficult to get. I did buy a Barbie and the Rockers drummer. She is still in the box so I haven't looked at all of her joints but I love her crazy hair so I will probably not steal her body.

    I am a Harry Potter fan so I got all 4 kids and the two adult figures. But it still is very disappointing not to be able to share clothes or mix them in with other Mattel dolls. I was never able to get the original Harry Potter dolls back when they were on the original Stacie body so this was my chance. Sorry. I talk a lot for a lurker. Thank you so much for this review!

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  5. I have no idea what Mattel is doing anymore, but now, I don't care. If they want to drive their company into the ground, go for it. I would think someone would want to buy the Barbie brand once Mattel capsizes. I only hope it's not Hasbro; competition is what keeps toy companies coming up with new ideas.

    I'm going to have to just start picking up articulated bodies as well. Fortunately, I collect different kinds of dolls, so that plus clothes, accessories and furniture will give me someplace to spend my dolly dollars, that will bring me happiness.

    I'm glad that you liked the review. Comment more often! Bloggers love getting comments.

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  6. I totally agree, Barb! I was shocked to find Ginny (and Hermoine) on these weird EAH-like bodies. They just don't look right on a "human" doll (as opposed to the fairy tale world.) I was really disappointed as I also intended to use these as Stacey body doubles. Luckily my daughters love Harry Potter anyway, so they have really enjoyed playing with them so far. They don't seem phased at all by the bodies.
    As for the curvy yoga girl, keep checking Amazon! I just bought her the other day for $15.99. She came back in stock, but then quickly went back to that elevated price again. I usually check at least twice a day. I've had luck checking my phone at night just as I'm about to go to sleep, lol. But it's downright ridiculous. I have had it with the cuvry MTMs at this point. I bought that one and the dancer (that I overpaid for, but I just wanted to get her and be done.) and now I'm done! I'm going to be super selective of any other Fashionistas and Kens that are currently out there and I'm going to focus more on the older Barbies. They are so much better quality. I also still need to hunt down some older EAH and MH that I have still wanted to get. I should just link my paycheck directly to evil-bay. Lol. Great thorough review, by the way!

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    1. If a kid is going to leave the Harry Potter dolls the way they are, they're fine. I've noticed my niece redresses her dolls, though, and she might not like it that the dolls can't wear any other shoes.

      Thank you for the Amazon tip. I hope I'll have luck sometime soon! I had hoped that once the first couple deluxe curvy MTM bodies were released, that curvy MTM dolls in different colors would be more prevalent in the playline, but it doesn't look like it. I know what you mean about Fashionistas. They may be relatively cheap, but if all you want is the head, that's not cheap.

      I recently bought one the newer Dolls of the World Chilean head on the old Style body. It doesn't have as many joints as the MTM dolls, but it's flexible enough, especially compared to the Fashionistas. I think older dolls are definitely the way to go.

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  7. Thank you so much for this review! My sister and I were considering the Harry Potter dolls to create articulated Skippers but, after reading your review, that won't be happening. It's such a shame because I was actually starting to think, "Wow, Mattel may actually start making more dolls with articulation." Never donned on me they'd repurpose old EAH bodies!

    I stopped buying Barbies after the Fashionistas came out. I love the diversity but can't stand the hard bodies. If they had even a smidge of articulation, I'd collect them the same way I do Ever After High. But they're so limited I don't see how they're easy to play with. Don't those stiff arms make it hard for kids to redress them?

    And Made-To-Moves are awesome but super hard to find and (usually) expensive. However, I also got lucky last week and found a Made-To-Move Purple top at a decent price ($22). I'd love to get the Curvy M2M but it'll have to be online because I doubt I'll ever find her in store--they sell out too fast even in our tiny community.

    It makes me wonder, though, if you have a product (like M2M dolls) that sells so fast you can't keep it in stock, why not make more? It doesn't even make sense financially? Wouldn't making and selling more dolls mean more money for the company?
    Oh well, I guess we'll never understand the odd logic of Mattel ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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    1. Yes, Mattel could have sold these dolls to people outside of the Harry Potter market if the bodies were better, but I just can't see any reason to buy them now unless you want these specific dolls--and don't have any of the myriad other HP dolls already produced.

      I have rebodied some Fashionista heads, but not only does that get expensive, but there is not a M2M skintone out there for every Fashionista. I can see, though, how stiff arms might make a doll *easier* to redress. That way, the arms aren't going different directions while you're slipping on a sleeve. But that's just my thought.

      I don't know that the new white curvy M2M will even be available in stores. Walmart seems to be doing its Christmas reset, and I don't see anyplace where the dolls would be. Target is still a little bit behind the curve, so we'll see what happens there. I'll just have to keep watching Amazon to see when I can get the doll for retail, I guess.

      Mr. BTEG and I were discussing Mattel's issues. His take was that Mattel at this point is just so large and bloated that the company can't move fast enough to notice things like M2M dolls selling so well, and react in a timely manner. It also explains why they haven't been moving on the blind bag/tiny doll trend, which I've also wondered about. I guess at least with Barbie, they got too into a rut of being the main doll manufacturer in town, and got lazy coming out with new ideas. What gets me is that Mattel has been in trouble for years, and if anything, losing the Disney license should have been a huge wake-up call. But Mattel doesn't appear to have put much effort into righting the ship. At this point, if Mattel goes under, I hope some company buys the rights to the Barbie faces and bodies. I don't expect Mattel to wise up before it's too late.

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  8. I... was so excited for this doll range. It's finally made its way to my part of Australia, and I want Hermione and the boys, and a McGonagall, and additional articulated bodies for other dolls... I'm so disheartened by the feet, most of all. Bodies is sad, because I have limited time to sew. Shoes are just impossibly disappointing. Just... ugh.

    I want playscale dolls that I can actually play with. That I can give to my kids and they can PLAY with. Swap clothes to match seasons (my KINGDOM for doll raincoats and pyjamas as quality fashion packs) and tell stories with (what happened to tea sets and fun THINGS for dolls?) Doll releases seem to be more about encouraging parents to just buy more dolls for their kids, but each doll is just the same, boring blonde crap- one outfit, nothing else to buy. I was so excited for the Kruseling dolls that came out last year, and bought all six, but NOTHING fits them. A beautiful, child appropriate, articulated play doll, and no accessories or clothing packs except fairy suits. Boring.

    I laughed out loud at the meme pic, because it is TRUE. I spend so much money on aliexpress, buying clothes, shoes, bodies, new interesting ARTICULATED dolls, and accessories (like a bike for barbie that I can buy on ali without having to BUY ANOTHER BARBIE, like if I bought a mattel bike). I really think toy companies don't give two figs about collectors, because if they actually looked at how much cash goes to ali, ebay, etsy, and the eight billion doll customising and trade sites, cash THROWN at those places getting what we collectors want- if they seriously considered all that money, they'd start doing dolls right. But since they continue to trash the really amazing lines (Monster High, I miss you so much. MTM barbies- so much potential, so few releases... Harry Potter WW WHY) it's clear they're all about profiting off parents desperation to fill the christmas stockings, rather than thoughtful directions for securing long term collectors.

    Yeah, until I get MTM Ken, Skipper, Stacie, Chelsea and petite barbie in all the skin tones, Mattel can suck it.

    Thanks for doing this review, though. I was set to buy doubles of the entire line, but I won't bother. I was so hoping for bodies for Skipper and some boys for the family! But I'll just have to throw my money to Ali for some fakie and Azone bodies! Thanks for saving me the heartbreak, lols.

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  9. Have you looked at Jenny and Licca doll fashion packs? I remember seeing at least one raincoat pack on Amazon. They're not cheap, but then cheap is where Mattel is currently in trouble, isn't it? And since Jenny and Licca are from Japan, their things might cost less in your part of the world. Supposedly Licca can wear Barbie shoes, and Monster High clothes, and Jenny can wear Barbie fashions, so you could probably find dolls in your collection those clothes would work with.

    I literally have an AliExpress page open in my tabs with a Barbie sized bike. XD I need to get around to ordering it. I also saw some shoes that look interesting.

    I'm glad that the review helped you, even if it was disappointing. :) Better to know before you buy, I guess. I enjoyed reading your comment!

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