"China Girl" Doll by Jakks Pacific

It seems fitting that I stumbled upon China Girl while I was writing my post about antique dolls.  I had crazing, cracking and bisque on my mind as I was wandering the aisles of Target, and I could barely believe my eyes when I saw a plastic doll made to look like she was made out of porcelain.  Without knowing a thing about who she was, I handed over $19.99 and brought her home.

The China Girl is actually a character from the new movie, Oz, The Great and Powerful.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've read that while it might not live up to its predecessor (how could it?), and there might be some script and casting fumbles, the special effects are jaw-dropping and the China Girl character steals the show.  I'll probably love it.  The thing is, there's no need to watch the movie to enjoy this doll.  I can safely say that there is nothing on the toy shelves even remotely like her.

Both The Disney Store and Jakks Pacific have released a full line of dolls based on characters from this movie.  Most of the dolls are 1:6 scale, like Barbie.  The Disney Store offered a 19" limited edition version of The China Girl ($179.50, sold out) that was actually made out of porcelain.  They also made a 4" Polly Pocket style vinyl version ($9.99, sold out).  The Jakks Pacific China Girl is 14" tall and highly articulated.  She's just shy of being a life sized version of the movie character.

In this review, I will look at the 14" Jakks Pacific doll and the little 4" doll:

4" Disney Store China Doll ($9.99)
and 14" Jakks Pacific China Girl ($19.99).

After China Girl caught my eye at Target, I took some time to inspect the other dolls in the Jakks Pacific lineup.  I was tempted by the red-haired Evanora in her sparkling green dress, but the obvious lack of wrist articulation turned me off.  While the China Girl seemed like a bargain for $19.99, the other dolls didn't strike me as being worth that price--with one exception.  I found the Oscar Diggs character interesting, in part because he is carrying a small version of the China Girl, and also just because he is a male doll, and they are relatively rare.  So, I came away from Target with the China Girl and Oscar Diggs.

Once I got home, I scoured the internet for information about other available Oz dolls.  The Disney Store dolls look nicer (and better articulated) but they also cost $15 more.  I thought some comparison reviews might be in order, so I bought the Disney Store version of Oscar Diggs and also the 4" Disney Store China Girl.

Here are the two China Girl dolls still in their boxes:

 

And the two Oscars:

When the little Disney Store doll arrived in the mail, it was instantly clear that she is exactly the same doll as the one that comes with the Jakks Pacific Oscar Diggs.  Here's the Disney Store version:

And here's the doll that accompanies the Jakks Pacific Oscar Diggs:

I decided to de-box the Jakks Pacific version of the 4" China Doll, but save Oscar himself for a separate comparison review.  As of preview of that post, here is a close-up of the Jakks Pacific Oscar face.  It's supposed to look like James Franco:

Reminds me more of Brad Pitt.

Even before the dolls are completely out of their boxes, I can see that The Disney Store has done a better job of capturing this actor's likeness:

The little China Girl comes in a clear plastic holder that is tied to Oscar's arm:

Snipping a few clear rubber bands quickly frees her from this enclosure:

She is tiny and cute and has a lot of nice molded details.  When I peeked at her in the store, I felt sure that her arms and legs were articulated.  They look like they have miniscule little joints.  That would have been amazing, but I suppose it also would have made her really fragile.

Her painted eyes are pretty wonked out, and the red from her lips has bled a little at one side of her mouth, but keep in mind that any flaw in something this small will look worse in an extreme close-up.

And she's really, really small:

Welcome to Munchkinland.

The paint is surprisingly detailed for her size:

This doll's head, hair and limbs are made out of flexible vinyl.  The hair has a molded crazing pattern in it.  The face has a few small cracks, too, but these are very subtle.

There's a real crack in this doll, too--the seam that runs along the back of her neck is quite prominent if you look at her from the side or from the back.

The neck and dress are made out of harder plastic.

The plastic itself is blue and the skin color of the neck is painted on top of the blue.  I know this because....

If I only had a head...

...her head pops off and you can see the unpainted blue plastic underneath it.

She has black painted shoes and very convincing molded ankle joints.  

The fake joints in her arms had me fooled, too:

In reality, this doll's limbs can only move at the shoulders and a little bit at the hips.  Her head has great range of motion, though.

The leg articulation is actually a big disappointment.  The hips have pendulum-style joints like a Lalaloopsy doll or the Cutie Pops Petites:

This style of joint, in combination with the stiff skirt, mean that the doll cannot sit.

In fact, her legs don't even really bend at the hip, but rather somewhere in the mid-thigh region.  It looks a bit strange when she's walking:

Here's China with some of my other tiny dolls:

Littlest Pet Shop Blythe, Cabbage Patch mini, Lalaloopsy mini, China Girl, Cutie Pops Petite.

Of these five dolls, LPS Blythe and the Cabbage Patch baby have the best movement.

I decided to leave my Disney Store China Doll in the box for now.  I looked very closely, and these two little dolls are virtually identical.

There are some subtle differences in the face paint, but it's just the normal variation that you'd find between any two painted dolls.

Disney Store 4" doll.

Below, the Disney Store doll is on the left and the Jakks Pacific doll is on the right.  They're the same doll, so clearly they're both manufactured by the same company, but I'm not sure if that company is Tollytots (a Jakks Pacific subsidiary) or wherever the Disney Store dolls are made.

This is a sweet doll, but there's a pricing problem.  A doll this size should cost no more than $5...$7 if I'm being generous.  Her Disney Store price of $9.99 was too high, especially since you can get the exact same doll with the $19.99 Jakks Pacific Oscar.  Currently, this little minx is selling for $20 and over on eBay, which is just plain silly.  

My only other complaint is with her leg articulation.  The pendulum hip joints would have been fine if they were placed at a more accurate anatomical location, and if the skirt was soft enough to accomodate their movement.  As it is, the limited range of motion in the legs just reminds me how disappointed I am that most of her joints are fake.

Here are a few more pictures of this mini movie heroine:

Now, let's take a look at the 14" China Girl I found at Target.  All of the Jakks Pacific dolls come in these colorful, appealing window boxes with a cutout golden "O" that reveals the doll:

There's a picture of the movie character in one corner of the box.  She looks very sweet, and (based on online pictures and this movie preview) the likeness of the doll is pretty good.

There's a small plastic charm included with the doll, but since I haven't seen the movie, I don't know the significance of this item.  All of the dolls come with a similar charm bearing the first letter of their name, so I assume this is "Cg" for China girl?  It looks like "eg" to me.  Oh, well.

The back of the box has some small photographs of the other dolls in the series, and a short blurb on the China Girl character:

If you look closely at the right hand picture, above, you'll see that there's a perforated line in the cardboard on the back of the box.  This feature is also found on the La Dee Da boxes, but I can't see its purpose.  There's no way you could get the doll out by just pushing open that perforated area.

I started by un-taping one edge of the outer cardboard box.  This piece is separate from the plastic window.  The window is attached to a cardboard backdrop that secures the doll.

The plastic is attached to the cardboard with a series of tabs that are inserted through holes in the cardboard and enthusiastically taped in place.  

 

I removed all of the tape and then pulled the plastic free from the cardboard.

The doll is mounted on another piece of plastic that holds her away from the surface of the cardboard backdrop.  There are a few plastic tethers and clear rubber bands that need to be snipped to get her out.

She can stand on her own with a bit of foot manipulation.  Her ankles will bend under her weight after a little while, but she does a pretty good job of holding simple poses.

This doll has a very unique head.  Her hair is hollow plastic, and it exactly matches the ivory white color of her face.  

Her hair has a side part and a cute bobbed style with upturned ends.  

The head looks like it should be heavy and solid.  The hollow hair was a surprise, and it adds a cheapness to the feel of the doll.  I think if her hair had been solid, though, she'd be too top-heavy to stand on her own.   So, this was probably a good design decision.

The hair has a network of molded cracks in it, as does the neck, but the doll's face is almost completely smooth, with just a few subtle fissures.  I think it was a good choice to avoid cracks all over her face (that might be too creepy-ass), but the juncture between her neck and head still looks a little funny with the abrupt change from cracked to perfectly smooth:

The cracks on the neck can look startling from some angles, too, almost like she's prematurely wrinkled in that area:

Creepy neck.

She has bright royal blue side-glancing eyes, red lips, grey eyebrows and a faint red tinge to her cheeks.  

She has nice painted detail in her irises, although the pupils of my doll are slightly askew.  She's never quite looking at the same spot with both of her eyes.

She has a pleasant, subtle smile on her lips:

China's blue dress is not the same as the dress that appeared in the promo pictures (like the one pictured on Amazon, for example) nor is it exactly like the dress in the movie.  It is white short-sleeved frock with a light blue printed pattern that is reminiscent of a fine china tea set design.

The dress is made out of a moderately stiff synthetic fabric, and so it doesn't hang well or feel especially nice, but it has some wonderful details.  Notice the little tuck in the sleeve, the delicate lace collar and the bright striped ribbon belt:

The dress opens in back with a long strip of velcro.  The sash is permanently tied and attached to the dress, and so it opens with the rest of the dress.

The hem of the skirt has a two-layered ruffle and is solidly stitched and finished.

This doll has 13 points of articulation (neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles):

It's hard to see in the pictures (my camera hates blue for some reason) but she has molded crazing all over her body.  She also has blue painted underpants, painted shoes and pretty blue accents around her arm joints.  It's the level of detail I expect from a Monster High doll body.

I altered the definition settings in this photograph so that you can see the crazing pattern more clearly:

The back of the underwear has a black stain.  This didn't come from the dress, so it's a bit of a mystery.  

All of the joints of this doll are similar.  They look like ball and socket joints, but they're rotating hinges.  Let's look at the arm first:

She has a pretty good range of motion and can easily touch her hair with her large hand:

The shape of the arm pieces limits the range of movement slightly.  In particular, notice how straight the elbow side of the lower arm piece is.  If this area had a slanted shape to it, like the upper arm, the doll's flexibility would be better.  

To see what I mean more clearly, compare China's lower arm to Integrity Gavin's arm, below:

Gavin has a tapered lower arm with a notch cut into the area just below the joint.  This allows her to bend quite a lot at the elbow.  In contrast, China's straight-cut arm piece limits her movement and she can't quite touch her face.

I can make it look like she's touching her face if I monkey with the camera angle:

She can even do a good freak-out pose:

AND bears??

The legs have the same rotating hinge joints and the same design problem with the straight-cut edge of the lower leg piece.  It's less of a problem in the knee, though, because the joint area is wider.

Here's a close-up of the hip:

Here's the narrow ankle joint, with the cute black painted shoes.  The shoes remind me of Eloise:

China can't do full front-to-back splits...

And it seems like she can't do full side-to-side splits...

...but if you rotate her hips upwards, she's actually capable of excellent splits:

And some beginner ballet:

She can also kneel and sit really well:

And creep around...

And run:

Ahhh!!  Flying monkeys!

And she makes an excellent teapot:

She is flexible enough that she gets herself into some very strange poses every now and then.

Unfortunately, in contrast to her 4" likeness, this doll's head mobility isn't great.  Her neck can only spin around, there's very little up or down movement.  I always find this especially frustrating in dolls with side-glancing eyes, because they will only look at the camera in a limited number of ways.  

Because of China's unique size, I found it hard to think of other dolls to put in her lineup.  In the end, only MiM and the talking Merida doll seemed like viable candidates:

Of course that didn't stop the usual crowd from gathering to inspect the newcomer:

Sweetie, you're not in Kansas anymore.

The other dolls make China look very boxy and pale.  I enjoy the fact that her body sculpture is simple and childlike.  She strikes me as a friendly, unintimidating companion.  

Here are a few more pictures of her:

Bottom line?  As you know, I've been wishing and waiting for something new and different to appear in the play doll market.  Here she is.  I suppose the creativity is not so much in the design of the doll, per se, but in the conception of the movie character on which she is based.  This doll is an excellent, durable reproduction of the China Girl from Oz, The Great and Powerful.  More than that, though, this doll is captivating even with no knowledge of the movie.  She is a unique, highly articulated doll that will appeal to children and adults alike.  Her play potential is high, and yet she is unusual enough that she has a surprising degree of display allure.

This doll is a great value.  She offers significantly more than her smaller, less articulated companions in the Jakks Pacific Oz line, yet she has the same $19.99 price tag.  I should note that Toys R Us is selling this same doll for $24.99.   If you can find her at Target, that's obviously ideal, but I would venture to say that she's worth the $25 price, too.  Amazon prices are, as usual, irritatingly inflated.

She is not quite as perfect as she looks in the box.  I am disappointed by her limited up-and-down head articulation.  In addition, her elbow and knee joints could have been much more flexible with just a small adjustment to shape of those areas.  All of the joints are a bit more stiff and awkward than they appear.  Still, the doll has enough range of motion to make her capable of many fun poses, several of which can be achieved without the help of a stand or any other support.  One other minor complaint is that China's hollow hair makes her whole head region lighter and than I anticipated.  It feels a little cheap.  On the other hand, if her head had been solid and heavy, she probably wouldn't be able to balance so nicely on her own.

The small flaws in the design of the China Girl are easy to overlook.  If you are a fan of the new Oz, The Great and Powerful movie, or even if you're simply looking for a new, unique doll for your collection, this charming girl is more than worth your consideration.  If you want the 4" mini doll to go with her, buy the Jakks Pacific Oscar Diggs before you plunk down more than $20 on eBay.

Summary (14" doll):

Age Level	3 and up, per the box.
Value	Great value.  This is a durable, highly articulated doll for a good price.
Quality	Made out of shiny hard plastic.  Seams and joints all look solid.  Doll has 13 points of articulation.  Face paint is bright and well-applied.  Many molded and painted details all over the doll.  Outfit is well-sewn and has some nice design elements.
Packaging	Average.  The box is visually appealing, but it requires a fair amount of effort to disengage the doll.  The box cannot easily be salvaged for display.
Collectable?	This is a play doll, but her unique appearance and connection to the "Wizard of Oz" franchise makes her collectable.
Versatility	This doll is made to resemble a movie character and has a very stylized appearance.  She is an unconventional size.  She will not naturally fit in with many of the modern fashion-related play dolls.  On the other hand, since the movie character is a fairly generic china doll, this toy should be no less versatile than an authentic doll of that kind.
Overall	This is a highly articulated doll with a unique appearance.  At the $19.99 price, and even for five dollars more, I would definitely recommend her...especially to fans of the new movie.