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Mattel Toy Story 3 Talking Jessie
by karalouk
Like most young children my daughter loves Toy Story and like most young girls her favourite toy/character from Toy Story is Jessie (the cowgirl), so she was absolutely thrilled to receive a Jessie doll for her birthday!
There are lots of different variations of this doll by different manufacturers and sold in various shops, ... however we decided on the Mattel Jessie doll. It cost £28.00 (although you may find it cheaper now) and was brought from Tesco. The doll came in a nicely decorated box, with a hole in the back to test out her pullstring (and clear front to see exactly what you were getting).
The doll looks identical to how Jessie does in the films. She is approximately 30cm tall and has long, slim, dangley legs. She also has brown plastic cowboy boots on (which cannot be removed), blue jeans with cow print chaps, belt with buckle (which can be removed), a white shirt with red/yellow pattern and buttons. All of her clothes are made of fibres (polyester?) and her skin is made of plastic. Her face looks just as you would expect - big green eyes, red eyebrows, little nose, big smiling mouth and not forgetting her lovely red yarn hair (which is pulled back in to a plait). Her hair can't be unplaited so you cannot brush or style her hair - not a problem for me as I know she would end up looking like a mess in no time! She also comes with a plastic orange cowboy hat. The attention to detail is very good and this is certainly the best Jessie lookalike I have seen.
There is a pullstring on Jessie's back (also like the films). It doesn't pull out as far as expected (only about an inch) which is good for safety reasons. She has a number of different sounds which include 'Yodelayheehoo!', 'Blast us to smithereens, that there's dynamite!', 'That critter needs help!', 'Okay cowboy', 'Yeeee-hah!', 'Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln!'. They are all quotes from the film and are all Jessie's actual voice. The sound box/battery compartment can also be found on Jessie's back, you can only reach the battery compartment with a screwdriver and the batteries (included) are still going strong after more than 2 years.
It's a unisex toy so would be enjoyed by both girls and boys (although by girls the most I expect) and the age recommendation is 3+ years (possibly due to a few small parts).
My daughter absolutely adores her Jessie doll. She collects Toy Story toys and this is definitely her favourite one. She will often get her Toy Story collection together and recreate scenes from the films or make up her own little stories! She takes her Jessie everywhere with her - to bed, in the car, on holiday. She is lightweight and because she's so floppy and bendy she is perfect for taking out and about (I can fold her up and stick her in my bag if necessary!). My daughter received Jessie for her third birthday and she is now 5, so Jessie has been with us for more than 2 years and I must say, she is still in very good condition - no rips/tears etc. Her hair has recently become slightly bobbly but the bobbles are easily picked off. The biggest downside for me is that Jessie has a lot of white on her outfit (shirt and chaps) and because my daughter plays with her Jessie so much, she does tend to get quite grubby. She cannot be machine washed so I often find myself having to sponge her down.
Overall £28 for a doll which essentially does nothing but makes sounds may seem quite steep but I'm very happy with my purchase. It looks like Jessie, it sounds like Jessie, it's good quality and my daughter loves it!
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Barbie A Fashion Fairytale Marie-Alecia Doll
by helen190390
When I had Barbies around 12 years ago, Barbie was so different to what she is now.
Barbie is harder plastic now as before she used to be rubbery and I remember always chewing Barbie's feet. My daughter Hollie is 2 and a half and loves to use her imagination to play, so when her Grandad came round with Christmas presents and let ... her open one early, she picked the Barbie!. I was quite excited by this present too when I saw the box. I haven't seen a Barbie in a long time so was quite eager to see if she still had her robot like body. Barbie seemed much more curvaceous when 10 years ago and now she has conformed with the size 0 fashion.
BARBIE MARIE-ALECIA:
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This Barbie Marie came with a Small dog which sits on her arm and is also made from plastic. The dog is white with brown ears, wearing a pink scarf and appears to look rather snooty. Marie is wearing a purple and Aqua dress which does up at the back with velcro. The top of the dress is fitted tight to her chest and the front fabric is a glittery embroidered fabric and the back is silk. The bottom of the dress is an aqua silk with a plain purple mesh/netting fabric on top and on top of that is a patterned mesh/netting fabric.. She is wearing purple heel boots with a white heel and sole, A purple necklace and black glasses which come off and can be put on again. Marie's hair is pulled back at her fringe and tied up in a half up half down hair do. Her hair is brunette which is rather different for a Barbie to be, but as her name is Marie-Alecia, i'm guessing she's not Barbie!. In Marie's brunette hair is some purple streaks to match her dress which looks rather lovely for a Barbie product to be so different.
After doing some research on Marie, I found out she is featured in an animated film with Barbie which is out on DVD. Marie is a 2010 fashion doll which you can also buy Barbie in her beautiful frock.
I found this quote of who Marie is on the Toys R us Website:
"Marie-Alecia and her dog are the hottest fashion designers in Paris and become the best friends of Barbie in her movie as they help save the fashion house!"
The DVD is available on Amazon for £4.38.
If like me, you haven't seen a Barbie in a long time and only remember what you had yourselves, Barbie's are totally different to what they used to be. Barbie can now move her legs all the way round as they are on a ball in the socket, whereas old Barbies could just move their legs up and down and her knee was in a constant bent position. After a lot of looking up Barbie's dress, I was so suprised they've adapted her to be able to move differently. She can even do the splits which was only possible in the 90's after gymnastics Barbie came about but she was very limp and wobbly. I remember having Baywatch Barbie which was the best present I'd ever received. I was so excited that Hollie had gotten her first Barbie as I hand make children's clothing and now know i can try out making Barbie clothes! I have an image of Hollie and her Marie doll wearing the same outfit!
In my opinion this Barbie is a brilliant present for any little girl 3 years old. The box states of being for children over 3 as small part are in the box, but Hollie is 30 months and I highly doubt she is going to be putting shoes or glasses in her mouth anytime soon. We will definitely be buying Barbie's for her birthday in April and look forward to her growing collection. If your child is much older, then maybe get the DVD with the doll so they know who Marie is. The Barbie doll from this DVD in her pink dress is £14.99 in Toys R us, again being cheaper than online with Amazon selling it at £24.99.
This Barbie is £9.97 in Toys R us which is the cheapest place to buy. Amazon are selling it for £14.99. If you have a Toys R us near by then it is worth getting it in store as the postage is £4.95.
Hope you enjoyed my review!
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Barbie Princess Styling Head
by samjibabe
I seen this at christmas in the argos book in the 2 for £15 section and thought it was perfect for our little hairdresser. My daughter has been facinated in brushing mummys hair for the past 6 months so this seemed like the perfect stocking filler.
When we first brought this we was suprised at the size of the head itself. we was ... expecting it to be a little bigger than what it was however with my daughter being 3 years old it seemed the perfect size for her to play hair dresser with and save my hair from the knots and tangles.
So what is this product?
Well its exactly as the picture shows you, it is the shoulders and head of a large Barbie doll so little girls can style the dolls hair in different styles. It comes complete with hair accessories, tiara, hair brush, earrings and ring so there is no need to buy more accessories unless that is what you want to do. It is made from plastic that is quite strong however if your little girl throws it on a hard floor i strongly doubt it wouldnt break. The top is painted on the doll in pink with one shoulder.
The product comes in a small box with a see through front so you can see the product inside and the accessories. The recommended age on the box is 3 years plus however i believe that is simply down to the smaller accessories that come with the styling head as the clips, ring and earrings ar rather small.
When we took it out the box for my daughter on christmas day the hair on the doll looked lovely. It was silky and shiny and smooth, free of any tangles and it looked like the hair was chopped at different lengths and it was styled nicely. Although the hair looked very full, we noticed that it really isnt. The top part of the hair is very full but when you begin to move the hair into different styles you can see that the hair gets thinner and thinner and you can see the top of the dolls head, which was upsetting for my daughter because she said her doll was going bald. You do have to watch the amount of hair that falls out though, we was expecting a littl loss because there normally is but with this doll it falls out with every brush through the hair and pretty much every time you tounch the hair.
The hair accessories are very flimsy and break very quickly. My daughter tried to clip them into her dolls hair and they just snapped. Same goes with the earrings too, I highly doubt that a 3 year old could take the earrings in and out without breaking them as they are very fiddly for little fingers. The hair brush is quite strong though, it has been trown into the toy box and onto the fall may times and it still is as good as new.
All in all you get what you pay for, Argos are selling these at £9.99 each however you can get them in the 2 for £15 which is good when you have 2 children to buy for. I truely dont think this is made to last a long while though so i wouldnt put too muchh hope into the product. Just 3 months after christmas the doos hair is thinning rather quickly and you can feel this as well as see it, most of the hair accessories are broken and the earrings the only thing that is left is the hair brush and the tiara which are made out of stronger plastic. I think if you are buying this for a 3 year old i strongly suggest that you take the accessories and earrings away. I would recommend this if you wanted to buy your little girl something to keep her entertained for a short time i.e a car trip or plae trip but not something that you would want to last her for a while
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