The Classic Merida Doll from the Disney Store

You might remember how excited I've been to see the Pixar movie, Brave.  My excitement stemmed mostly from my enthusiasm for Disney's last masterpiece, Tangled.  I haven't enjoyed a Disney movie that much since I was a kid.  I had high hopes for Brave, and for the the Disney Store doll line that would inevitably accompany it.  The Brave dolls have actually been out for way longer than the movie, which just opened last week.  Not only are the Disney Store shelves packed with Brave dolls right now (including the limited edition 18" Merida), but brand new versions of all of the other princess are available for $14.50 (or 2 for $22 with the current sale).  These new dolls are worth a look because they have different articulation and, it looks like at least Rapunzel has a new face mold.  I'll have to check that out.

I saw Brave on the day it was released.  I'm no movie expert, but I really enjoyed this movie.  It's not Tangled caliber in my eyes, but it's very, very good.  The Scottish accents and music are wonderful, there are numerous laugh-out-loud moments, and I almost cried a few times.  The animation of Merida's hair is incredible, as is the fur animation on all of the creatures.  Merida's horse Angus is amazing and realistic, though he doesn't have a personality like the Tangled steed, Maximus.  My kids and I agree that the plot could have been developed for another 15 minutes or so.  Also, I found myself wishing the movie would slow its frantic pace and let me look at the beautifully rendered characters and scenery a bit more.  I wish Disney movies weren't so frenetic--it's as though they assume kids have no attention span and the visual frame rate of a hawk.   In any case, I liked the movie well enough to be delighted that I have the doll.  She's a charmer:

Classic 12" Brave Merida from the Disney Store.

Merida costs $16.50, which is a bit pricier than the other princesses.  I wish she was $14.50.  She comes in a very simple rectangular window box with a cardboard backdrop:

If you cut the tape circles around three sides of the box, you can open it up with minimal damage to the box.  The baby blue cardboard back is double-layered to conceal the tape and metal ties that hold the doll in place.

The back of the box has a picture of Merida from the movie.  With the two Meridas side by side, it's easy to see the resemblance:

The doll is not a perfect likeness, but I actually think that the picture on the box isn't the best representation of Merida.    

Whether or not it looks like the movie character, this doll's face is great and full of character.  Her face reminds me of the Tonner Toys LittleMissMatched doll I reviewed:

It's a bit of a pain to get Merida off that cardboard backdrop.  There are some rubber bands, some plastic holders, and three tight plastic ties anchoring her head.  Be careful about the tiny little plastic tags that are securing her dress--those can easily make big holes in the dress or even rip it.   After she's free from the box, there's still some work to do getting her detached from her accessories.

She has tissue paper under her dress to protect her legs.

The quiver is tied to the bow and to the plastic strip that held Merida in the box.  Merida's hands are tied to the quiver and to the arrow.  Everything is tied down.

There's no way she's going to stand on her own, and she doesn't come with a stand, but most 12" doll stands work perfectly on her.  Here she is with a Pullip stand:

She is wearing a black hooded cloak with a replica of the bear clasp from the movie.  

The hood actually closes in front with a tiny piece of velcro:

The cape is nothing like wool, but it is a fairly heavy, textured material.  It has a real hood, but it doesn't fit that well around her mane of hair:

Under the cloak, Merida is wearing the teal dress that she wears throughout most of the movie.  It is a very nice replica:

It's missing the vents under her arms, but it does have mesh material at the elbows:

The ruffle at the neck is a bit big, but looks fine:

The dress color looks nice with her eyes.

Merida wears an archer's sleeve on her left arm.  It is made out of a textured lightweight fake leather and has a small brown ribbon that encircles her thumb:

The dress fabric is a deep teal fake satin and has a nice flow and shine to it.  The fabric is more reminiscent of the blue dress Merida wore to the archery contest in the movie.  Here's one of the little holes left by the plastic ties--and this isn't because I tugged on the dress or anything.  I was really careful.  Promise.

Here's how the dress looks by itself:

It's missing the gold ruffle on the left sleeve.  That's to accomodate her archer's gear, I guess, but it does look a bit odd and isn't true to the movie:

Merida's bow is made of light brown plastic with black accents and a black grip.  It has a real string.  There is only one arrow (that's gonna get lost), and this has a black head and white fletching:

It would be nice to have a few more arrows.

The bow has some faint molded detailing on the face:

The quiver is brown flexible plastic with nice painted and molded details. 

The only problem is that the hook doesn't stay connected very well.

Merida is wearing very simple brown plastic shoes with big slits in the back for easy removal:

Merida has a very distinctive face.  She has wide, bright eyes, lots of freckles and an endearing half-smile.  My doll has an obvious paint defect on her lower lip.  I know the Disney Store would have made this right for me with no hassles (they have an awesomely friendly customer service department...) but I decided just to keep the doll as she is.

It looks like a piece of glitter (probably from that last round of princesses) got stuck under the paint in her lip:

If my house is any indication, there'll be glitter all over the Disney factory for the next decade.

Her eyes are beautifully painted with two different shades of blue and a touch of yellow

Under her mass of hair are two jug handle ears:

Perhaps even more important than her face mold is this doll's hair.  In the movie, the movement and sheer volume of Merida's marvelous red hair is central to her character.  It is her most striking feature by far.  The hair on this doll is good--it is full of body and curl, and it is very soft with just the right amount of gel in it:

It's not amazing hair, though, which I think it should have been.  Look at the back:

They dropped the ball on that long shank in the middle
--it has practically no curl.

From the sides it looks fine, but there could have been more of those flyaway tight curls like she has on the left side right around her face:

In the movie, she has these tight little crimped curls that just take off and spring every which way.  They're so fun to watch!  You can tease the doll's hair around a bit and get it to be slightly more wild, but in the end it's a bit too tame to be perfect Merida hair.  I have to remind myself that this is a $15 play doll, though.  It'll be interesting to see what the hair on the $100 limited edition doll looks like.  For me, that would be an obvious place to invest some extra time and materials.

The color is fantastic.

Underneath all of that hair, and all of her clothing, Merida shows off what I assume is the new Disney doll body:

She has matching teal underpants.

The new body is just like the older version down to the hips.  There's articulation at the neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists.   Here's Merida next to the last version of Rapunzel (the glittery one):

Below the hips, the legs are plastic (not that rubbery material) and they have regular hinged joints at the knees and ankles.  

Rapunzel still has glitter stuck to her rubbery legs...

This new body is almost as good as the original Liv body.  The only thing she is missing is the double jointed knee, which actually makes a big difference.  I think Merida has a slightly more attractive body than Liv, though, so that evens things up a bit.  It is a wonderful body:

Here she is next to Liv Katie, who still holds the title of Best Kneeler:

The body is nice looking and highly articulated.  What more could anyone ask?  I suspect these dolls will become popular body donors...especially when they go on their crazy $4.99 clearance sales.  You just can't beat that.

She does have a few teal smudges on her body from those dark underpants.  Do they stick these dolls in their boxes before the paint has dried or something?

Flat feet suit this doll perfectly.

I hope this is the new body for all of the dolls.  I can't wait to get my hands on the new Rapunzel to see if she has these same feet.  Maybe there is a fashion foot version for dolls like Cinderella?   Anyway, the 13 points of articulation made my day.

Disney has really packed a lot of character into these newer faces.  I find them adorable and uplifting. 

Merida looks a bit vacant in this picture, but I don't find her that way in person.

Some of the best scenes in the movie center around Merida wielding her bow.  I know tons of kids are going to want to re-create those moments in their games, so let's see what the bow can do.

First of all, Merida can wear her bow around her chest exactly like she does in Brave:

Her single arrow looks a bit silly all alone in that quiver.

That's not a straight arrow.

She can also hold the bow pretty well, thanks to a handle on the grip:

One shot to kill them all...bwahahaaaa!

Pulling the string back is a bit of a challenge.  Merida's hands have the standard flat shape, so she can't really grip the string in a secure way.  A gripping hand mold would have been amazing.  You can wedge the string in next to her thumb with her wrist bent slightly so that she can pull back a tiny bit...

...and then balance the arrow on her fingers:

This arrow might go three inches if I'm lucky.

She can also hold the bow like this, with the string wrapped around her thumb, but it looks a bit...wimpy:

Don't break a nail, Merida.

Here are some of my favorite shots of this spunky doll:

Bottom line?  If I try hard, I can think of a few things I'd change.  Mostly, I'd have loved a doll with crazier hair.  Maybe this would be too much of a manufacturing hassle for such an inexpensive doll, but I'm thinking that just a few more of those tighter curls sticking out all over the place would look great.  Also, another arrow or two for her quiver would be ideal.  In a perfect world, she'd have a gripping hand and be able to pose really well with a loaded bow.  That's it.

When I go through my check list of basic things I like to see in a play doll, Merida has them all.  She has 13 points of articulation and moves well.  I really like the new body.  Her head is thickly rooted with soft, attractive hair that can be played with.  Her face is full of personality and is well painted (if we ignore the flaw in my particular doll).  Her clothes are made nicely and are easy to get on and off.  Her outfit has several extras, including a convincing bow and arrow and a nice cloak.  I like to see creativity and originality in my dolls, and in Merida's case, not only is her appearance unique, but the movie gives us a rich backdrop for her character.  Brave is the forward-thinking tale of a feisty princess who can shoot arrows like Robin Hood and doesn't need a prince for her happy ending.  The cherry on top is that this doll costs under $20.  Pick your Merida doll  in person if you can, just to avoid the occasional paint defect, but definitely pick one up.

Summary:

Age Level	3 and up on the box, 5 and up is probably more realistic.
Value	A good buy at $16.50.
A great doll, especially for the price.  Highly recommended.	Good quality.  Hair is soft and thick, clothing is sturdy and looks good, face paint is detailed.  Several nice accessories.  Watch for individual flaws.
Packaging	Decent packaging.  Lots of plastic and the doll is a bit of a pain to get out, but it's a small, simple box.    Be careful to remove the small plastic ties in the dress.
Collectable?	This is a play doll and isn’t a limited edition, but as the first run version of a Disney character, she is special.
Versatility	This doll has a character face, but she is no more stylized than some other doll lines.  The doll is highly posable and can share clothes with all Disney princesses and a number of other 12” dolls.
Overall	Recommended.  A wonderful treat for fans of the movie and an interesting doll in her own right.