Wednesday Addams, Part Three: Monster High (and Knockoffs)

I've been eagerly waiting to do this installment of the Wednesday Addams doll series, mostly because it's been a while since I looked at a new Monster High doll.  I think my last Monster High review was Skelita Calaveras back in 2023.  Can that be right?  I think it's right.

That doesn't mean I haven't bought a few Monster High dolls in the last two years, though.  Believe me--I have.  I've been captivated by pretty much everything in the Skullector series.  But for some reason there hasn't been occasion to review any of those creatures.  Also, I have issues with how Mattel is marketing their Skullector (and Barbie Signature) dolls these days.  But we can talk about that later.

For now, I'll just say how delighted I am that Mattel contributed to the Wednesday doll deluge.  Monster High is an excellent brand to represent this trendy character.  Today I'll be looking at two Monster High Wednesday Addams dolls, and also a few knockoffs that are trying to ride their coattails.

Wednesday Addams by Monster High, $40.

Wednesday Addams, Part Two: Ellowyne Wilde by Robert Tonner

I'm back with the second review in my series of Wednesday Addams doll explorations!  In the first installment I looked at two Living Dead Doll interpretations of Wednesday, and today I'll showcase Robert Tonner's Ellowyne Wilde version of the character.

Ellowyne Wilde is an interesting vehicle for Wednesday, since the two girls have some overlapping personality traits.  Both wear a lot of dark clothing and have dark outlooks on life.  Ellowyne is melancholy and overly-sensitive, though, while Wednesday is cunning, morbid, and emotionally stilted.  

Let's see how Wednesday's aesthetic crosses over into Ellowyne's world: 

Any Wednesday Ellowyne Wilde doll by Robert Tonner ($235).

Wednesday Addams, Part One: Living Dead Dolls by Mezco Toyz

I'm not a die hard fan of The Addams Family franchise by any means, having never read the original comics or watched the 1964 television show.  But I enjoyed the 1991 film when I was a kid (especially Christina's Ricci's deadpan portrayal of Wednesday) and had a great time with Season 1 of Tim Burton's 2022 television series, Wednesday.  It was hard for me to imagine an actor capturing the Wednesday Addams character with more skill than Christina Ricci, but Jenna Ortega did a wonderful job.

The second season of Wednesday has been highly-anticipated, as evidenced by the deluge of Wednesday Addams merchandise currently on the market.  I've been particularly impressed by the diversity in doll offerings.  Off the top of my head, I can think of Wednesday dolls or figures from Monster High, Robert Tonner, Funko POP!, NECA, Hot Toys, Lego, Polly Pocket, and Just Play.  And I'm sure there are more that I'm missing.

As I immerse myself in the second season of Wednesday, I thought it would be fun to do a miniseries here on the blog.  I have three or four short-ish reviews planned, each featuring Wednesday Addams dolls from different companies.  I'll start things off with the Living Dead Doll's depiction of the character, because LDD seems like the perfect brand to represent this morbidly monochromatic mischief-maker:

Living Dead Dolls' Wednesday Addams, by Mezco Toyz ($44.99)

Be Fashion Academy Dolls by Kids Hits

After getting back from Scotland and recovering from all of the wedding excitement, what I really wanted to do is look at something new.  You know, like a doll from a brand that I'd never heard of, or something that's different or unique in some way.

I get into moods like this every so often, and it usually launches me into a random internet search.  This time around, I typed "fashion doll" into the search box at Amazon, and scrolled through the top suggestions.  I got a lot of promoted products at first (Bratz and Barbie, mostly), but when I filtered for "newest arrivals," the results were more interesting.  Among them was an eye-catching doll from a company I'd never heard of called Kids Hits, with a brand that I'd never heard of called Be Fashion Academy.  But what clinched it for me was that their doll has a cat draped over her shoulders, like a fashion accessory.  That's definitely not something I've ever seen before:

Be Fashion Academy doll, Balam, by Kids Hits ($34.99).

A Scottish Wedding

The day has finally come!  After months of preparation (mostly wedding dress shopping...) Lena and Ian are ready to tie the knot.  A big part of getting ready was figuring out where the happy day should take place.  Ian was born in Scotland, and so he was feeling pressure to return to Edinburgh for the nuptials.  Lena doesn't have close family ties other than her sister, so she was easily seduced by the idea of a destination wedding.

My husband and I have a soft spot for Edinburgh ourselves, and are actually celebrating a big anniversary this year.  So, I told Lena that if she was willing to settle for a small guest list, we could manage a modest ceremony overseas.  She readily agreed, and so we packed our bags and flew off to bonnie Scotland:

Lena in Edinburgh.

Sunday Surprise: Star Babies by DreamShyre!

There's a big wedding coming up that I know some of you are excited about (looking at you, Mom), so I'll formally invite everyone to attend next Saturday, August 16th...which feels like it's coming up very fast.  While you're waiting for the wedding, I have another quick Sunday Surprise to offer.  This pairs well with last week's My Mini Baby review.

Way back in March, my sister-in-law Colleen showed me a video of somebody opening a Star Babies mystery bag, and I was instantly intrigued.  The reveal process, where the baby emerges from within a foam star, is decidedly unique.  Moments after seeing that video, I ordered a Star Baby for myself.  Then, about two months later, as I was starting to get nervous that my order would never arrive and the whole thing was bogus, a mystery baby showed up at my doorstep:

Star Babies mystery bag by DreamShyre Nursery, $65.

Sunday Surprise: My Mini Baby by Zuru!

I don't collect a lot of baby dolls these days, but when I was younger, realistic babies were the primary focus of my collection.  I loved the glass-eyed, life-sized babies from Götz and Zapf, and even had a few one-of-a-kind clay babies that would startle guests with their realism.  I also love surprise-themed dolls (especially babies!), as many of you probably know from my adventures with things like Sweet e.baby, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Magic Nursery toddlers.

Given my fondness for babies and surprises, when I learned about Zuru's My Mini Baby surprise balls, I knew I would have to review them at some point.  These babies have been incredibly popular since their introduction in 2023, and have been on-and-off hard to find (or simply too expensive) for a lot of the time they've been on the market.  I managed to accumulate several Series 1 balls by waiting and watching for good prices, and when I finally saw the Series 2 balls hit the shelves a few weeks ago, I grabbed a few of those, too, knowing that the time had finally come for my review.

My Mini Baby Series 1 and Series 2 surprise balls by Zuru ($9.99).