Disney's Ily 4EVER 18-inch Dolls--A Guest Review!

Dear Toy Box Philosopher blog readers, I’m Hannah, an adult doll collector from London, United Kingdom, and the author of The Toy Gems blog site. I have been collecting dolls since I can remember - which dates back to the age of two when my happiest photographs are with my dolls. I am also a writer/screenwriter and an English graduate who loves collecting dolls and figurines to surround my writing desk. My favourite toy brands growing up included these doll lines: MyScene, Liv dolls, Monster High, Moxie Teenz and of course the popular brands - Barbie and Bratz. 

I also hold American Girl close to my heart and as a British child I was always flicking through their digital catalogue and like any young American Girl, I grew up loving the doll brand. Before AG, other 18-inch dolls lines that made a big impact on me involved the BFC Ink Club dolls which were my favourite along with Journey Girls, My London Girl and Gotz. In recent years, I have enjoyed expanding my doll collection with dolls of varying heights including, the Ruby Red Fashion Friends/Siblies and the British brand A Girl For All Time.

Thank you to Emily for providing me with the opportunity to share a review of the 18-inch ily 4EVER dolls on this iconic site. Growing up, I read every single blog post from The Toy Box Philosopher and spent hours scrolling through images and reading reviews. It was especially exciting reading about doll lines that did not have a Europe/UK release and accessing this knowledge was only viable through this blog.

I am a huge fan and have been reading for more than ten years now. And so it may continue… It’s also great to see what the future holds as ten years ago I would never have guessed that I would be writing and publishing a guest review here of my very own.

Ily 4EVER Minnie (left) and Tinker Bell (right).

Now onto the review!  When the Disney ily 4EVER dolls were released in the US in August 2021, I was holding onto hope that they would have a UK release. Fortunately, in late 2022, they were released exclusively at the biggest toy store in the UK - Smyths Toy Superstores. Emily reviewed their other popular line, the 11-inch ily doll range earlier this year. And Disney launched the second wave in early August 2023, notably with different features, including painted-on eyes instead of the glass eyes from wave one.  (Emily will follow up this review with a review of those new 11-inch dolls)

The 18-inch doll range is made by JAKKS Pacific. There have been four wave releases of Disney ily (I Love You) 4EVER 18-inch dolls so far. Since their initial release, dolls have kept being added to the collection and more waves may be released in the future. Each doll is inspired by a classic Disney character or Princess.

In Disney terminology, this is known as DisneyBounding, which is where you dress up as your favourite Disney character using casual and regular clothing items. The term originates from Cakeworthy founder, Leslie Kay, who created the brand through the style of DisneyBounding. The style was inspired by the dress code rules across the Disney Parks - where anyone aged fourteen and above is not allowed to wear Disney costumes and instead must wear an outfit that is inspired by their favourite Disney character. This rule was first introduced by Disney to prevent their Disney characters becoming mixed up with park visitors. 

Each doll in the collection is referred to as ‘inspired by…’ followed by the Disney character name or Princess i.e. ‘Disney ily 4EVER Tinker Bell Inspired Doll’ to follow this DisneyBounding trend.

Inspired by Minnie Mouse (left) and inspired by Tinker Bell (right).

In the U.K. the dolls are sold exclusively to Smyths Toy Superstores. Currently, only the first wave is on sale at a clearance price, retailing at £24.99 reduced from the original £39.99 price point (which is around $48 USD). The second wave and future waves do not look likely to be released in the U.K but there may still be a chance. In the U.S. the dolls are available to purchase in Target stores for $34.99. In Australia they are sold in Kmart and retail for $45 AU.

I carried out a mini toy hunt to find the first wave in stores in the U.K. This was fairly tough considering they are only sold by Smyths and they had all dolls on display except Ariel that day. (Although, strangely, her outfit pack was available in-store).

Photos From My Toy Hunt:

Wave One:

The first wave features dolls inspired by Minnie Mouse, Ariel, Tinker Bell, Cinderella and Elsa. All five dolls have unique face molds and are the standards for each new wave of dolls. For example, the Elsa face mold has been replicated for the second wave Belle and the third wave Moana. But more detail on the face molds later.

Minnie and Elsa on the shelves with their open-box designs.

Cinderella and Tinker Bell.

And here's the promo shot of Ariel:

The clothing range features packs inspired by Minnie, Ariel, Elsa, Moana and Rapunzel:

Here’s Ariel’s outfit and box design up close:

The holographic skirt and frill sleeve t-shirt all hint towards Ariel’s sea-based design. Seashell silhouettes feature on the sunglasses, handbag and shoes.

Elsa and Rapunzel’s fashion packs both feature chunky boots.

Elsa’s outfit is clearly inspired by winter and snowflakes with its blue colour scheme.

The Moana-inspired fashion pack takes a warm summer vibe with bright patterns containing flowers, leaves and Aztec-like designs.

The first accessory pack in the first wave includes a ‘Minnie Mouse Deluxe Travel Fashion and Accessory Pack’ that contains everything you need to take your doll on travel adventures:

Accessories in the pack include cute miniature accessories that are just smaller versions of human travel items including headphones, a travel pillow, sunglasses and a luggage case that opens and closes with working wheels. The set also contains a pink fur coat with an inner lining print filled with polka dots and Minnie Mouse icons. Bow pumps and a cute dog that really fits in the travel bag complete the overall look.

There are little nods to Minnie Mouse throughout the set with either a polka dot print or Minnie icons featuring on each item. Accessory packs are also said to be compatible with other 18-inch doll lines.

The second accessory in this wave is the Minnie Mouse-inspired Coupe Car:

It is said to fit other 18-inch dolls too and has functional qualities such as the doors can open and close to fit the dolls, the wheels can really turn, the trunk can open and the steering wheel can turn. The red car is of course covered in the classic Minnie Mouse white polka-dots. 

Five other outfits released later in the wave (pictured below) are also available outside the UK. These include Jasmine, Belle, Snow White and Tiana along with a deluxe fashion pack inspired by Elsa.

These fashion packs and the subsequent accessory sets in the other waves are not sold in the U.K. The first wave accessory packs include Tiana’s baking set, Rapunzel’s art set, a skateboard set inspired by Stitch, Rapunzel’s guitar set, Ariel’s surfboard pack and Anna’s camping set.

Wave Two:

The second wave features Belle, Aurora, Rapunzel and Minnie (2nd version). These were additional dolls added to the original first wave line up.

The clothing range in the second wave featured one fashion pack consisting of a Cheer outfit inspired by Anna (worn by Elsa in the photo). Also released in this wave were three accessory packs - a Tinker Bell roller skating pack, an Ariel Spa Deluxe pack and an Aurora locker set. The clothing and accessory releases were minimal in this wave as these dolls were add-ons to the original release.

Wave Three:

The third wave featured a new set of dolls including Moana, Aurora, Belle and Ariel.

The clothing range in the third wave features packs inspired by Minnie, Ursula, Ariel and Moana. Only clothing packs were released for the third wave and no new accessories.

Wave Four:

The latest and fourth wave to add to the ILY collection saw six new doll releases and seems more like an add-on to wave three in exact fashion to how wave two was an add-on release to wave one.

Four of the Wave Four dolls, from left: Minnie, Olaf, Stitch, and another Minnie.

The four dolls shown above are the ‘I Love Stitch Fashion doll’ that features a blue Stitch onesie, a skating Olaf doll with the original Minnie face, and two new Minnie Mouse inspired dolls - one of these dolls features the Cinderella face mold with a new outfit (on the far left). The second new Minnie doll has the same outfit as the second wave Minnie but with the Elsa face mold (on the far right).

The third Minnie Mouse-inspired doll in Wave Four was the first ever in the ILY 18-inch doll line to be released with a deluxe accessory set. Her accessories feature a re-working of the Minnie Mouse Deluxe Travel Accessory set from Wave One, which was featured earlier in the toy hunt photos.

All of the Wave Four Minnies can be confusing, so let's keep them straight like this:

From left: Minnie 4a, Minnie 4b, and Minnie 4c.

Since writing this review another Olaf doll was also released for this line.  This one has the original Elsa face mold:

This fourth wave also has two new outfits with the release of the ‘Cruella de Vil Inspired Fashion Pack’ and the ‘Encanto Mirabel Inspired Fashion Pack.’ The Stitch-inspired doll is the only doll to have an all-in-one outfit.

The Stitch-inspired doll is also the first doll in the whole collection to feature freckles. Her accessories include a toothbrush and toothpaste for a ‘getting ready for bed’ look. Dolls and outfits in this release seemed much more limited with many of these dolls only being sold at KMart in Australia.

Face Molds:

Before delving into the review - here is a quick guide to the different ily 4EVER 18-inch doll face molds. Every doll wears black eye-liner but the style varies across the range. Minnie, Tinker Bell and Cinderella share the winged eyeliner look yet Elsa and Ariel opted for a more natural look with a simple line of eyeliner.

Their face molds are close to Disney’s Animator line and have a fun, playful and youthful look. Although the original five face molds in the range remained mostly the same, their eye colour, hair colour and texture changed depending on their wave releases.

The Disney ily 4EVER range of face molds and their distinctive features:

The Elsa Face Mold - Elsa features thick eyebrows and dark skin. Her original eye colour is dark brown. This face mold has been used in Wave 2 Belle, Wave 3 Moana, Wave 4b Minnie, and Olaf 2.

Here are the other dolls with the same face:

The Minnie Mouse Face Mold - Minnie has the most unique face out of the whole collection. Her eyebrows are slanted to make an inquisitive expression. She has a small pointy nose, average shaped lips and a peachy tan glow. Her original eye colour is green. This face mold has been replicated (with small modifications) in Wave 2 Minnie, Wave 3 Belle, Wave 4c Minnie, and Olaf 1:

Here's a straight-on view of Wave 1 Minnie's face:

And the other dolls with a similar mold:

The Tinker Bell Face Mold - Tinker Bell has almond shaped eyes, dark arched eyebrows and slightly pouty lips with porcelain skin. Her original eye colour is grey.  Tinker Bell’s face mold has been reused in Wave 2 Rapunzel.

Here is Wave 2 Rapunzel:

The Cinderella Face Mold - She has eyebrows that are straight and appear pencilled in and has tanned skin. Her original eye colour is light brown. This face mold has been used in Wave 3 Aurora and Wave 4a Minnie.

Here's a straight-on view of Wave 1 Cinderella's face:

And here are the other dolls with the same/similar faces:

The Ariel Face Mold - Ariel has a unique smile - her lips are faced upwards in the right corner to make a smirk. Much like Minnie, her eyebrows are slanted to give an inquisitive and playful look. Her right eyebrow is arched while her left eyebrow is straight which is the exact same as Minnie but Ariel’s eyebrows are bushy and thicker. She has porcelain skin that is a shade darker than Tinker Bell’s skin. Her original eye colour is blue. Ariel’s face mold has been replicated (again, perhaps with small modifications) in Wave 2 Aurora and Wave 3 Ariel.

Here are the two dolls with similar faces:

The Stitch Face Mold: this is new for Wave 4, with dimples and an expressive mouth:

Here are some real-life photos of Stitch:

In the U.S. and potentially other countries the dolls also include a mini white heart-shaped pillow with the printed ILY logo in the centre. In Europe the dolls do not include this pillow so it will not feature in this review.

Booklet/Collection Guide:

The mini booklet is included in the box and is the same for each doll in the first wave.

The front cover features images of all five dolls in Wave One. And the phrase ‘Explore the entire collection!’ is written directly underneath. The ILY logo and their tagline, ‘Be inspired, be bold, be you’ headlines the cover with five language translations.

On the first page, all of the dolls in this wave are listed along with their names to identify each character. Interestingly, the backdrop for each doll in the booklet corresponds to the backdrop of their box designs. Minnie is in the city, Ariel is at the beach, Elsa is in a snowy location, Tinker Bell is in the park and Cinderella is on a fancy night out walking the red carpet. Each of these backdrops represent the characters, their personalities and outfit choices.

Over on the opposite page presents the little accessories that are included in the deluxe accessory packs in this wave. This includes the Minnie Mouse travel pack (seen in the toy store hunt pictures from earlier), Elsa’s snowboarding set and Rapunzel’s art set with accessories.

The next page displays each of the outfits in this wave. Elsa, Moana and Ariel’s outfits are all in the toy store hunt pictures from earlier and Minnie Mouse and Tinker Bell’s (Rapunzel) outfits will be reviewed later in this post. The only outfit in the booklet that did not feature a UK release was Tiana’s PJs set. This fashion pack can be seen in more detail from the ‘Wave 1 Collection’ image which was discussed earlier. On the far right of the page shows Elsa dressed in the Rapunzel-inspired outfit and Cinderella dressed in the Ariel-inspired outfit.

More accessory packs are listed here, including Anna’s camping set, Stitch's skateboarding set and Rapunzel’s music set. Unfortunately, these sets did not arrive in the UK but are still included in the booklet. Although they are available in the US alongside the other accessory packs not included here in the booklet such as Tiana’s baking set and Ariel’s beach set - these can also be seen in the ‘Wave 1 Collection’ image.

The last page in the booklet features the ‘inspired by Minnie Mouse coupe car’ with Minnie and Tinker Bell standing by the car with the sun blazing in the backdrop. It also mentions underneath the image that the car ‘fits up to two 18” dolls.’ It does not mention specifically the ILY dolls so it could be compatible with other doll ranges of the same height, such as American Girl and Our Generation.

Minnie Mouse-Inspired Doll:

Now onto analysing the main doll to feature in this review, which is the Minnie Mouse-inspired doll. Later in the review I will delve into Tinker Bell and her outfit, accessories and second outfit.

Here Minnie is pictured with the plush version of Minnie in the Nuimos range. Clearly, the ILY Minnie has taken lots of inspiration to replicate Minnie’s style. The Minnie inspiration ranges from the red polka dot headband to replicate Minnie’s ‘classic bow’ to the red theming with the red bow patterned t-shirt and red detailing on the jacket and camera.

Interestingly, the ILY boxes feature a half cut-out heart at the top of the box. This is to copy the outline of the ILY heart logo seen on the front right-side of the packaging. The open box style used to package the dolls throughout this collection is both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, it provides a tactile buying experience where children as well as adult doll collectors can see the doll up close and feel the quality for themselves. It is also a much more sustainable approach as it uses less plastic. The only plastic used has been to attach the accessories to the box. However, this open style box design also causes messy doll hair and missing items which has been an increasing problem for doll companies in recent times.

Many images surfaced online where customers shared their store experiences on social media. Both Rainbow High and Monster High have suffered with customers returning items where they have either swapped the doll for a cheaper version/knock-off brand or removed only certain items like the clothing and accessories. This recent cause of concern has re-evaluated how companies package their dolls. It is certainly an interesting take how Disney has decided to package the ILY range but what may help is their affordable retail price. As many doll collectors already know, purchasing multiple Rainbow High and Monster High dolls can be expensive. This may be the reason why this open box packaging has worked well for the Disney ILY range. But it still does not solve the problem of messy doll hair on store shelves.

Minnie is attached to a simple cardboard box design when removed from the white outer case. The only plastic used in the packaging is to hold her accessories in place including the headband, water bottle and camera along with small molded plastic pieces at her neck and ankles to secure her in the box.

The back of the box features a picture of Minnie with an urban-cityscape backdrop. She is holding her camera like a tourist capturing all of the memories. The Disney ILY tagline that runs across the top of the box reads, ‘Be inspired, be bold, be you.’ Each word is written in a different colour to emphasise their meanings with ‘inspired’ written in purple, ‘bold’ is in blue and ‘you’ is written in pink.

The questions and answers below match with the rhyming lines, ‘Are you super stylish with a positive attitude, too?’ - ‘Show off the Minnie Mouse in you!’ It is also interesting to note how the words match the colours within the ILY tagline. As ‘show off’ is written in pink to match the ‘you’, ‘Minnie Mouse’ is in purple to match the ‘inspired’ and ‘you’ is in blue to match ‘bold’.

These rhyming lines are then reiterated in different languages including French, Spanish, German and Italian. Four Minnie Mouse icons in varying colours separate the words from the next section, which reads ‘Celebrate everything you love about Disney and be inspired to show off your style!’ This is then translated into all the languages mentioned above.

The other dolls available in the collection are pictured at the bottom of the box along with the list of contents included with Minnie. And the Jakks Pacific logo lies in the bottom right corner.

Minnie is attached through small plastic ties, clear flaps and two plastics with thread pieces for her hair. She has more of these small plastic ties than Tinker Bell’s box but they both have lots of sellotape holding these ties in place.

The side panels reveal their personalities - Minnie has a city view whilst Tinker Bell poses in a park backdrop. Minnie’s box is surrounded by Minnie Mouse icons in various colours and Tinker Bell has butterfly wing silhouettes but both boxes are very colourful:

For the rest of the Wave One collection, the icons to represent each doll and their character includes seashells for Ariel, pumpkins for Cinderella and snowflakes/crystals for Elsa.

The other side of the box features cartoon versions of the characters the dolls are representing:

Minnie wears her iconic polka dot dress while Tinker Bell also wears her classic fairy dress with pom-pom pumps and wings. Both characters are again surrounded by their icons - bows and wings (with fairy dust) respectively.

Packaged next to her hands are Minnie’s translucent green water bottle and Minnie-inspired camera. But more on the details of these accessories later.

Minnie Mouse-Inspired Doll - Unboxed.

Minnie is finally out of the box and ready to pose. Here she is dressed in her full outfit minus her accessories. It took a few seconds to ensure she stayed in position and stood up straight:

The Minnie Mouse-inspired outfit pieces include a short-sleeved t-shirt, white and pink jacket, denim shorts and red trainers (sneakers).

These are the results of one brush through straight after unboxing:

Minnie is holding up the hair in utter disbelief of the large amount of shedding. Although here she looks slightly mischievous as if she has pulled out her own hair.

Tinker Bell-Inspired Doll:

Tinker Bell features the same box design as Minnie which looks great for display purposes but is not very practical as it can easily collect dust which may be difficult to remove from their hair (and may require water).

With the budget-friendly prices of this range there is no special pattern within the packaging and instead the plain one-colour backgrounds match the colour theming of the doll. For Minnie this colour is pink, for Tinker Bell she has a yellow-lime green background, blue for Elsa, aqua green for Ariel and a purple-blue combination for Cinderella.

The back of the box shows a picture of Tinker Bell in a park setting:

As the images used on the boxes are of the prototype versions, Tinker Bell has a slightly different face sculpt to the actual doll. The prototype image holds more true to the Asian face sculpt and seems much less true to this image of the finished doll. So much so that they look like two different dolls entirely. Like Minnie’s box, the ILY tagline is also the headline with the inspirational message, ‘Be inspired, be bold, be you.’

A very similar style of packaging is used for Tinker Bell but as she has straighter hair more of this ‘plastic with thread’ material is used to maintain her hairstyle:

Interestingly, both dolls’ hair have been separated into two pieces - split into the middle parting. Yet Minnie only had two pieces to secure her wavy hair while Tinker Bell had six pieces for her straight hair.

Tinker Bell also includes a pair of gold sunglasses. Unlike Minnie and her three other accessories (headband, camera and water bottle), Tinker Bell only includes one accessory. 

Tinker Bell-Inspired Doll - Unboxed.

Eyes:

The eyes are permanently open and do not have the ‘open and close sleepy eyes’ that are seen on such brands as American Girl and Our Generation dolls.

Tinker Bell and American Girl's Luciana Vega.

The eyes are painted-on acrylic with an inset covering that gives a high-gloss shine effect, but does not have as much depth as some plastic doll eyes. This technology appears as a more budget-friendly option for doll eyes compared to expensive American Girl dolls and their glass ‘open and close sleepy eyes.'

Tinker Bell and American Girl's Maritza Ochoa.

Tinker Bell has a much more natural look compared to Maritza. This makes Tinker Bell look years younger than Maritza. Their eyebrows are vastly different - Tinker Bell has thick dark eyebrows to match her hair whilst Maritza’s eyebrows emphasise individual strands which gives her a higher quality look.

Facial Features:

The Disney ily 4EVER range features screen-printed facial features and makeup. The makeup is pretty much flawless, particularly with the lines matching up on the lip paint and the perfect placement of the cat-eye wing liner on the Tinker Bell-inspired doll. However, the eyebrows seem slightly off-centre and out of line with each other.

The right eyebrow appears at a slightly higher placement and the left eyebrow seems closer to the nose line. Tinker Bell features a dash of blush to her cheeks with the left side having a more vibrant orange-pink glow compared to the other side - although I find this is only noticeable if you really focus on her face.

Tinker Bell has the Asian face mold with almond shaped eyes and a cat-eye winged look that accentuates her features. One of the best features of this doll is her beautiful grey-coloured eyes. This is perhaps a hard-to-find eye colour in the doll community and it is great to see Disney implementing a wider range of eye colours to diversify the doll range.

The ILY dolls feature a cloth body torso that is reminiscent of both American Girl and Our Generation dolls. Her arms are slightly slimmer than other doll ranges and her legs are most similar to American Girl.

Minnie Mouse-Inspired Doll:

The Minnie Mouse doll is the only character in the collection that is not based on a Disney Princess. It is well-suited that the brunette doll represents Minnie because her cuteness suits Minnie’s characteristics and aesthetic.

Eyes:

Minnie shares the same cat-eye wing liner and they both feature a single red line to detail their eyelids. Both dolls have a two-tone eye colour with the inner iris being a lighter shade and the outer iris featuring a darker shade. Tinker Bell has a light grey with a darker grey border. Minnie features a light grey/golden-yellow with an emerald green outer iris shade. 

Facial Features:

To mimic Minnie Mouse’s ‘cute’ aesthetic, Minnie is the only doll in the collection to feature a whimsical eyebrow look. The right eyebrow suggests a puzzled or mischievous look, while the left eyebrow is arched. This different eyebrow screen print seems like a good idea but the execution appears very weak when compared to Tinker Bell.

Tinker Bell’s look is more natural and has the appearance of an older child. Yet Minnie’s comical and Disney/Looney Tunes-esque eyebrows give her the appearance of a younger child. 

It is also useful to note that Tinker Bell looks more expensive and again it’s because of Minnie’s cheapened eyebrow design. This look feels as if it may have worked better on a smaller doll like the 11-inch ily 4EVER line instead of experimenting on an 18-inch doll.

Younger children may like the face but she seems targeted towards a younger market and not an adult collectors audience compared to Tinker Bell and the rest of the dolls in the collection.

They also feature different nose shapes - Minnie has a smaller nose with a pointy tip. While Tinker Bell has a wider and flatter nose.

Tinker Bell and Minnie have very different complexions. Minnie has olive skin while Tinker Bell has a porcelain tone.

Both dolls complement each other well when posing in photos together. They also exude different vibes and their fashion choices represent their unique personalities. Tinker Bell is dressed in a more girly look while Minnie has a more tomboy casual attire.

Tinker Bell’s Outfit:

Here Tinker Bell arrives in her classic green dress to represent the iconic fairy character. Her miniature accessories include a necklace and a brown belt with real buckle detailing.

Tinker Bell’s colour palette is green and yellow with her green dress, denim jacket, gold boots and accessorised with gold glasses and a gold multi-strand necklace.

Dress:

The green dress features a Tinker Bell pattern - printed fairy silhouettes are stamped all over the dress. The material has a silky touch but feels somewhat thin and cheap. But the thin fabric gives it a ballet/fairy-like graciousness. It features a heart-shaped neckline that matches and works well with the multiple-chain necklace.

It can be styled with or without the belt. There are no belt loops and it can look rather bulky when placed over the velcro. The low-back design also shows a lot of the cloth body but luckily her long hair can cover this up.

This design highlights the seam in the cloth body that can work either way as it could make her look less realistic or it could indicate her spine so it just depends on how you look at the detail.

The material is very lightweight and flowy just like the classic fairy dress it takes direct inspiration from.

The strappy design also features a bow at its centre with a triangular-shaped bodice and the stitching is neat and presentable.

This outfit is definitely targeted towards a summer time look and matches the park backdrop on the box design. The dress is fastened with velcro that reaches half-way and is only placed on the bodice part in order to keep the illusion of the flowy skirt.

The jacket is a thick denim fabric in a light blue colour:

Sprinkled over the piece are gold sparkles, which give a little shine to the outfit when captured in the sunlight.

Unfortunately, the jacket falls short just above the velcro so it does not hide it entirely. Although the style is a cropped jacket it seems a shame for it not to cover this detail as it can distract from the rest of the dress.

Boots:

The chunky boots are designed in true Tinker Bell style. Two molded on pom-pom accessories at the front of the boots take inspiration from Tinker Bell’s iconic fluffy-accessorised shoes.

Accessories:

Tinker Bell’s accessories include yellow/gold sunglasses. These unfortunately do not fit the doll very well. One of the arms is too short and cannot fit around her ear. This is a shame because her ears seem molded for this exact purpose - to be able to hold the sunglasses in place. However, the sunglasses can only be styled on the top of her head if you don’t want them to fall.

To match her other accessories, Tinker Bell comes wearing a multi-strand gold necklace:

This is held in place by two clear elastics going across both shoulders. The necklace has ball and star charms. This is a molded plastic so it is made as a one-piece. It can also be detached as there is no closing at the back which allows for easy removal.

Tinker Bell’s belt sits nicely along the middle of her dress:

The brown belt matches her style well among the green-blue colour scheme.

Her brown/tan belt functions just like a real belt. The little holes in the plastic can be used to adjust the size and tightness to fit around Tinker Bell’s waist.

The belt features four different adjustment sizes. A clear elastic holds the belt secure.

Minnie’s Outfit:

Minnie arrives in a red t-shirt, white jacket, denim shorts, red trainers and is accessorised with a bow headband, clear water bottle and a Minnie-inspired camera.

T-shirt:

Minnie comes wearing a short-sleeved red top. This is covered with a classic bow design in signature Minnie Mouse style that is stamped around the whole top in the same red shade. The glitter filled shapes look very pretty but the downside is that the glitter easily comes off and leaves a red trail of glitter behind.

The top is then secured at the back by velcro for ease when securing and removing.

Red printed glitter silhouettes create a pattern of classic Minnie Mouse bows. This red glitter print is used throughout her outfit.

Jacket:

The jacket is reminiscent of an American College Varsity jacket, which is a trend that has gained popularity worldwide in recent years (on humans, of course!). It also features a black Mouse silhouette with the same red glitter bow print as the t-shirt pattern.

Small details add to the Minnie Mouse effect with the red and black edging across the cuffs and elastic trim along the collar and hem. The pink fabric with white polka dots features all around the jacket from the front to the back panels.

The classic mini bow icon is positioned in the top left corner and is covered in the same red glitter as the t-shirt:

As seen in the picture, parts of the glitter have already started to fade which ruins the shape of the bow silhouette.

Minnie’s jacket has a cheap feel because of the thin fabric. It seems to have been made out of polyester-type material and is somewhat see-through:

The white sleeves also seem to cheapen the design. Luckily, Minnie is dressed in a red t-shirt underneath as if it had been a darker colour it may have shown through her thin jacket.

Shorts:

Minnie’s denim shorts have also been made from thin fabric. This denim material is deep blue and is a much darker shade than Tinker Bell’s denim jacket.

The shorts are also secured with thin strips of velcro at the back. White stitching runs along the edges and outlines fake pockets. It seems a missed opportunity to include real pockets but not including this function is understandable as a budget playline doll range.

The same Minnie bow icon with red glitter is positioned in the bottom left corner. But much like the icon on the jacket it could easily fade after some wear. It also appears to not have been stamped well enough as the outline does not seem to be as clear as the t-shirt pattern.

Shoes:

In true Minnie Mouse fashion, her silicone-made trainers (sneakers in US) feature a molded red plastic bow with white polka dots. The dots are faint and some have been scratched already during unboxing. To represent the laces two lines run horizontally and appear as if they have been hand painted on and they are not completely straight.

The back of the trainers are rather plain. A faint curved line runs around the trainers with a white stripe at the borders:

As molded doll shoes they are tougher to fit the dolls feet than fabric shoes. But with a little time spent manoeuvring they can fit just right.

Her shoes are designed with white soles and rather detailed lines to represent the sole grip just like real human shoes.

Accessories:

Three accessories are included with Minnie. Her black headband has mini spikes to grip her hair so the band stays in place. A big red bow in the style of Minnie Mouse features white polka dots on one side and a plain red bow on the other side. This gives the option of having two completely different looks for Minnie.

Her turquoise translucent water bottle features a sticker highlighting the phrase, ‘Love You’ in a swirly calligraphy font which is written in white and orange. In the centre of the two words lies the Minnie Mouse icon in orange with a white bow. Minnie’s camera features an attached plastic loop so the doll can hold the camera. This serves a great purpose for children with its playability options and for adult collectors with its opportunity for doll photography. But more detail on how the camera works with Minnie to be explored later.

Hair:

Minnie has dark brown hair that is wavy and textured. What is especially beautiful about this doll is how her hair appears red in the sunlight. 

So really she has two hair colours - brown and red. In direct sunlight, Minnie’s hair is mainly a deep red shade. Red strands are mixed in with brown strands to have an almost two-tone hair colour.

Minnie’s out-of-box hairstyle features two front twists at either side of her head. These sections hang in front of her face when she is removed from her box.

For this review her hair has been tied back with a loose elastic from the packaging that was holding her accessories in place (recycling at its best!).

After seeing Minnie in this new hairstyle it seems as if Disney should have included this type of hairstyle on the doll in the box to keep the twists in place.

Minnie is rooted much better than Tinker Bell. Instead Minnie has small and close together rooting at the front of her head. This perhaps shows the dolls were rooted on different machines.

While Minnie has wavy/curly strands with a thick set of hair, Tinker Bell’s rooting is spread much farther apart. Her hair is completely straight (with gel) and is rather thinly rooted. There are huge gaps between each rooting hole.

The front of Tinker Bell’s hair is tied back with two black threads. This is perhaps so her hair does not fall in front of her face as the dolls are not covered in plastic or cardboard in the box.

At the front of her hair, these pieces are covered in hair gel to preserve the doll's hair while in the box but it also means the gel needs to be carefully brushed out.

Although, having the doll's hair tied back with threads makes the bad rooting even more noticeable.

When brushed out her hair is long and straight. The amount of hair gel product makes her hair appear thin and overly straightened which is very different to Minnie’s thick, textured and wavy hair.

Both Minnie and Tinker Bell have their scalps painted the same colour as their hair:

The rooting is more reminiscent of a child’s playline than a collector’s line. But this is reflected in both the price and how the dolls are marketed - being available in stores at an affordable price.

A fault that is extremely noticeable with Tinker Bell is how the paint for her scalp has left a black mark on her ear. This is especially annoying when experimenting with different hairstyles on the dolls. If you want to place the doll's hair back the scalp and the gaps in the rooting will be very noticeable.

Hand Mold:

The Disney ily 4EVER dolls introduce a new hand mold into the doll world. Yet American Girl dolls have a small, cusp-like hand position. This is most likely the standard mold that most 18-inch doll lines are based on. The Our Generation brand has a more open hand mold with straighter fingers.

The ILY range features much bigger hands with long, elegant and elongated fingers. They stand out among the other doll lines but their hands look somewhat weird and unnaturally positioned as if they are almost forced to be different among their competitors. The two middle fingers are molded together and the hands feature line details and fingernail placement.

Minnie’s camera accessory fits well into her hand but does not stay still for long because of its weight:

The grip is big enough to fit her fingers through although it just hangs from her hands if not positioned in the right way.

But elastic bands can hold the camera in place. This requires tying clear elastic bands around her hands.

The camera can be positioned higher or lower depending on the angle desired for the photo. Although, in order for the camera to fit into Minnie’s hands it is required to either use the loop grip or the elastics bands.

Minnie can also hold the water bottle. Unlike the camera the grip on the water bottle fits in her hands without the need for using elastics to hold in place.

Feet Mold:

The ILY range features molded feet that are similar to American Girl in their intricate detailing. But their feet are nowhere near as wide as the American Girl mold.

The dolls can stand on their own with a little positioning and their weight well-balanced out. However, their ability to stand on their own also depends on the type of shoes they are wearing as some work better than others. Those with flat soles such as Minnie's trainers/sneakers and Tinker Bell’s boots help them stand but those with heels may not work as well.

Additional Outfits:

On to the additional outfits now!

For this review, the Minnie Mouse and Rapunzel fashion packs will be reviewed as they best suited Minnie and Tinker Bell.

In the ILY range Minnie was given an additional outfit yet Tinker Bell and Cinderella were the only dolls not to have a character-themed additional fashion pack in Wave One.

For the side panel box designs, one side shows the dolls wearing the full outfit and the other side contains the character names. Minnie’s design shows her poolside in a tropical location with the same Minnie icons surrounding the image as the Minnie doll box.

In the Rapunzel fashion pack, the outfit is worn by the Elsa doll and is represented as a stroll in the park with a woodland backdrop. The Rapunzel icons that surround the image are two different types of lanterns in various colours. One of the designs features a sun icon which is the same design used to decorate Rapunzel’s bag.

The other side of the box features the icons that represent the characters, so bows for Minnie and lanterns for Rapunzel:

The phrases, ‘Inspired by Minnie Mouse’ and ‘Inspired by Rapunzel’ are followed by the translation into four languages.

For the other fashion packs in this wave, the icons include, a genie lamp for the Jasmine outfit, a rose for Belle’s outfit, an apple for Snow White, lilies for Tiana, flowers for Moana and of course as mentioned seashells are for Ariel and snowflakes/crystals for Elsa’s fashion packs.

Minnie’s Second Outfit:

Now onto the Minnie Mouse-inspired second outfit.

Minnie pairs nicely with her second/additional outfit. The fashion pack has the same pink background as Minnie’s doll box.

This fashion pack is perfect for a day at the beach with the swimsuit or for a day poolside with the kaftan and sandals.

A picture of Minnie poolside as she wears the swimsuit with the kaftan folded in the handbag. The tagline expresses the question -‘Do you live your life with positivity and fun?’ with the line - ‘Express the Minnie Mouse in you!’ underneath.

Minnie’s outfit is secured in the box with thin white fabric threads. Using threads instead of the normal plastic ties used in doll boxes helps preserve the outfits and ensures no holes are left in the fabric.

As seen above, the back of the box has sellotape and no plastic ties to cut which makes the unboxing process much easier.

The Minnie Mouse-inspired fashion pack includes a swimsuit, a kaftan cover-up, flat sandals, heart-shaped sunglasses and a polka-dot handbag.

A two-tone coloured swimsuit - the top half features a red and white polka dot pattern in a low-neck cut and the ‘mini shorts’ attached are a plain black to create a colour block look. The top half of the swimsuit seems too wide for the ILY body shape. Whereas the bottom half of the swimsuit fits rather well:

Minnie Mouse’s kaftan is made of a thin fabric that feels like a recyclable material:

An interesting print which features two lines of Mickey-shaped silhouettes instead of Minnie Mouse bows. The top line that runs along her shoulder are large icons and the line below are smaller icons.

Classic Minnie Mouse polka dots run in between these lines of icons. Yet the bottom hem of the kaftan features one line of Mickey icons. To accentuate her waistline, an elastic band is cinched into a bow with red pom poms on either ends of the bow strands.

The kaftan is translucent and the colours of the swimsuit - red and black - can be seen underneath. Mickey silhouettes do not continue around the whole kaftan and are only printed on the front. The line of velcro runs down to the bottom and this allows for easy dressing.

Minnie dressed in her full outfit with all the accessories included in the fashion pack:

Her sandals feature Minnie Mouse polka dot bows which slip on easily but often fall off when you pick the doll up. Tying clear elastics around the sandals fixes this problem.

The heart sunglasses fit Minnie well and she does not have the trouble that Tinker Bell has with wearing her sunglasses:

The arms of the glasses fold in and they can be detached which makes them easy to unhook and hook back. This makes them slightly flimsy and they feel somewhat cheap.

Minnie’s handbag is translucent which means all contents in the bag can be seen from outside:

Her heart sunglasses fit nicely inside and can be seen. The bag is made of soft silicone material and has room to fit more accessories. For a poolside day, a small doll magazine and doll suncream would be a good fit and a great project to make more accessories for Minnie.

Here Minnie wears her second outfit in the garden:

Her sunglasses fit on her head for a different look but it takes some time to move them in order to sit comfortably in place.

Tinker Bell’s Second Outfit:

The Tinker Bell-inspired doll does not have her own inspired outfit in this wave or in fact out of the whole collection. Looking through each of the outfits, the Rapunzel-inspired outfit seemed the most suited to her.

Interestingly, the box has a green background just like Tinker Bell’s doll box. So they match in their box designs.

This Rapunzel-inspired fashion pack has a bohemian-chic style.

A picture of the Elsa doll wearing the Rapunzel-inspired outfit with a park as the backdrop. The tagline expresses the question, ‘Are you artistic?’ With the line ‘Express the Rapunzel in you?’ underneath.

Rapunzel’s fashion pack box has the same white fabric ties as Minnie Mouse’s fashion pack. Another great way to keep the outfit intact and reduces the risk of making holes and possibly ripping the fabric.

Rapunzel’s outfit includes a pink patterned dress and blue floral boots with the accessories of gold circle sunglasses and a bohemian over-the-shoulder bag:

The chunky boots have a slight heel with brown soles and a striking array of different flower patterns in various colours. The same sun icon which features on the dress is also printed within the floral design to keep to the theming and makes the overall look very pretty.

These circle sunglasses also do not fit on Tinker Bell just like the sunglasses that come with her original outfit. Instead they sit on her head for this review.

Her circle bag fits nicely around her shoulder. It can also hang straight down next to her arm for a different look but can fall off easily so it sits better when fit diagonally.

The Rapunzel-inspired dress is made out of a thin fabric that feels like a chiffon material:

Its inner lining appears to be made out of recyclable material that is shiny and silky. The pattern consists of printed sun icons inside a lantern icon which are the same icons that feature on the box design.

Its clever pattern combines two icons that represent Rapunzel in both the sun and lantern together. A purple bow in a thin rope trim lies in the top centre with a deep gathered frill trim that borders the bottom edge of the dress.

A long velcro strip runs down the fabric. This is much better than other doll clothes that often have half velcro strips so you have to place it over the doll's head which often messes up her hair. But in this case the dress is easy to place on and off the doll.

The circle/round bag cleverly imitates the shape of the sun:

A printed circle with strands represents the sun and small sewing lines replicate the look of hand stitches as if the design has been sewn onto the bag.

The plastic gold chain can easily be unhooked to fit around the doll so there’s no need to place it over her head in order to fit. It’s interesting to note how the chains are off-centre for the bag to sit flat across the doll.

A clear plastic sleeve sits inside the bag to hold its shape:

Small items like jewellery could fit inside but the sunglasses included in the outfit stick slightly outside the bag and do not fit anywhere near as perfectly as Minnie’s sunglasses in her (much larger) tote bag from her second outfit.

A purple painted-on shape replicates the pretend zip. The bag is plain on the opposite side.

All three sunglasses which feature in this review: From top to bottom - Rapunzel’s gold circle sunglasses, Minnie’s silver heart-shaped sunglasses and Tinker Bell’s winged sunglasses:

Interestingly, each pair of sunglasses not only features different shapes of frames but also contains a different colour lens - Rapunzel features purple, Minnie has pink lenses and Tinker Bell has golden lenses. Tinker Bell’s sunglasses also feature a swirly pattern that replicates the character’s classic fairy wings.

Here Tinker Bell wears her second outfit outside in the garden:

The original necklace that is included with the doll also suits the theming of this additional outfit. Gold from the sunglasses, necklace and bag strap all matches the sun pattern on her dress. It looks particularly striking in outside light.

Minnie and Tinker Bell clearly have different styles but both of their second/additional outfits work well for them. Minnie’s outfit fits her ‘Mouse’ theme and Tinker Bell’s outfit suits her Boho-chic aesthetic.

Comparison to Other 18-Inch Doll Brands

Face Molds:

Now it's time to compare the Disney ily 4EVER dolls to other doll brands in my doll collection. The doll brands in comparison include American Girl, Our Generation, Gotz, I’M A GIRLY and A Girl For All Time along with other doll brands featuring My London Girl and Ruby Red Fashion Dolls. 

A Girl For All Time:

Both the ILY range and A Girl For All Time share the ‘permanently open fixed eyes’. This means when the doll is lying down her eyes remain open. There are benefits regarding doll photography for both types of eyes whether they have these eyes or the ‘open and close sleepy eyes’ like American Girl dolls.

When placing the dolls side-by-side, Clementine has a much more natural face shape whereas Minnie Mouse has an exaggerated curved face sculpt. Clementine has a short bob wig whereas Minnie has long wavy rooted hair.

They also both have green eyes but the shades are at completely different ends of the spectrum - Minnie has a two-tone eye colour with a light green inner circle surrounded by dark green and Clementine has striking bright green eyes. Interestingly, she too has a light green shade bordered with dark green but it appears much more vibrant on Clementine.

Gotz Hannah:

Gotz Hannah and other Gotz dolls also feature the same ‘permanently open fixed eyes.’ From comparing their faces up close it is clear that Hannah is a collector’s doll whilst Minnie is a playline doll. The differences in quality are wide ranging, Minnie has a young and youthful look whilst Hannah looks a little older and more mature.

It’s also interesting to note how Hannah’s facial features from her nose and lips to her chin and cheeks have indented lines. This sculpt emphasises all of the natural lines of a face, and replicates the natural sculpted shape of human faces.

Hannah has painted eyebrows and lips whereas Minnie’s features are all printed on. It’s clear from their side profiles that Hannah’s face is much more structured. However, considering the wide price difference between these two dolls their quality seems well suited to what their collections represent.

Gotz is known for being one of the leading doll manufacturers and they do well to target both children and adult doll collectors. Whereas Disney has such a large fanbase that quality is not necessarily their top priority.

The doll in this review is ‘Hannah as a Princess Doll’ and she retails for around £98.99 ($127). Whereas Minnie is £24.99 or $34.99 in Target. This means Gotz Hannah is more than three times the price of one ILY doll.

In terms of articulation differences this will be explored later but it should also be taken into account that Disney does not specialise in making dolls alone and the ILY range marks only their second outing in the 18-inch playline. Their last line was the ‘My Disney Girl Doll’ which was manufactured around twenty years ago now so it was only time for Disney to release a new playline collection.

American Girl:

For the purpose of this comparison, Minnie best matches up with Luciana’s facial features and Maritza’s hair. Just like Gotz Hannah, Luciana’s face is much more structured and her nose and lips have intricate details that make her look more realistic.

The reason behind choosing Maritza from the American Girl ‘World By Us’ line for this review is because of her painted-on eyelashes. This line which features Maritza, Evette and Makena were the first dolls to adopt this new look and then GOTY (Girl of the year) 2022 Corinne Tan followed suit.

Now American Girl’s latest ‘Truly Me’ line features this new look with painted-on eyelashes to emphasise their eyes. I would also like to add that Maritza is a stunning doll that looks much better in person than any pictures could convey.

Here Maritza appears years older than Minnie with her heavier makeup look. She also has subtle brown eyeshadow. Her eyebrows are bushy and much thicker than Minnie’s eyebrows. With Minnie’s inquisitive look from her slanted eyebrows she appears as a child next to Maritza’s teenage appearance.

Maritza looks higher quality and even down to the small details like the individual strands of her eyebrows make her stand out so much more. Although considering the affordable price of the ILY range, adding these small details would move the dolls into a collector line and make them no longer a budget-friendly playline range.

Minnie and Maritza’s face shapes and facial features are very different. Maritza has the classic American Girl doll look with the two front teeth. This is the cute uniqueness of American Girl dolls and also makes them easily identifiable. Maritza has more defined cheeks and features compared to Minnie.

Also Minnie’s features seem toned down compared to the defined features of American Girl dolls even down to the small details of the amount of blush used on the dolls’ cheeks which seems much more natural on the collector dolls.

Our Generation:

Now to compare two doll lines that are more on an equal level. Our Generation is an affordable doll line like ILY and they retail between £24.99 ($32) to £44.99 ($58) for deluxe dolls. Similar in prices but are they similar in quality? For this review, Our Generation Francesca Deluxe Doll will be compared to ILY Minnie Mouse.

Interestingly, both dolls have similar hair colours. Minnie has a two-tone hair colour with the main colour being a light brunette with red streaks. The Our Gen doll has more of a mid-red hair tone so really she is more of a redhead than a brunette.

It seems Our Gen replicates American Girl dolls closer than ILY with her detailed eyebrows and sculpted mouth and nose.

Our Gen have the classic ‘sleepy eyes’ that open and close. Her eyes are much smaller than Minnie’s eyes and she has real eyelashes. They look more similar in age to the other doll brands and Minnie has more makeup compared to Our Generations’ natural appearance.

I’M A GIRLY:

I’M A GIRLY Robyn has fixed eyes and both dolls look very natural. Robyn has freckles and the latest ILY wave four introduced freckles into the line with the Stitch doll. Her features are much bigger than Minnie’s - her nose is more structured and her lips are much fuller.

Robyn has a larger face mold than Minnie even though both dolls are said to be the same height standing at 18-inches (48cm) tall but Robyn is clearly taller. Robyn has much thicker hair with her voluminous wavy red wig.

Interestingly both dolls have the same hair length with this wavy-curly texture. Minnie’s facial features look tiny compared to Robyn’s features but both dolls give a slight animated appearance.

Height Comparisons:

For this comparison between the ILY dolls and other doll brands Minnie will be sitting down and standing up in a test to compare height, flexibility and articulation.

ILY & A Girl For All Time:

The A Girl For All Time brand stands at 16-inches tall (40cm) and Clementine’s body proportions are much tinier than Minnie’s measurements.

It’s clear that both dolls are from different eras and look completely different ages. Clementine’s articulation at the hips gives her the advantage here as she can sit down in a normal position.

Minnie’s sitting down pose makes her seem less realistic as she has nowhere near the amount of flexibility of Clementine.

ILY & Gotz Hannah:

Hannah stands one inch taller than Minnie at 19-inches (50cm) tall. Her arms slightly bend compared to Minnie’s and Hannah’s ball-jointed limbs means her range of articulation is much wider.

Although when sitting down both dolls are similar in the way their legs are positioned. Hannah’s left leg is slightly bent to give her a different pose. 

They seem like good friends already.

ILY & American Girl:

Maritza’s hair is slightly longer than Minnie’s hair. They both have long wavy brown hair with the two strands at the front placed back so as to not cover their faces. In terms of the body, both dolls have the cloth-body torso and while their limbs look similar, Maritza’s legs have a more defined shape and her AG arms have a thicker mold.

American Girl dolls can sit down much easier and in a more natural position than the less flexible ILY range. Both dolls can only sit up when their arms support their weight behind them.

ILY & Our Generation:

Our Gen also has the same bent arm position as Gotz Hannah and when standing next to Minnie this is even more visible. Minnie has a bigger face than Our Gen and a slightly wider torso.

The biggest difference is their leg shape and size as Minnie has much thicker legs which looks better than Our Gen and makes her easier to stand.

Out of the rest of the doll brands compared here - Our Gen seems the most similar in terms of their sitting positions. 

Both dolls do not have the articulation abilities to sit with their legs straight ahead and instead they sit in a more doll-like position than a human-like pose which overall makes them look less realistic.

ILY & I’M A GIRLY:

As seen in an earlier photo from the comparison in facial features, Minnie has a larger forehead and curved nose that gives her an animated appearance. Robyn has a much thinner torso than Minnie which can make it difficult for her to fit different clothes from other brands.

Minnie is more universal when it comes to wearing clothes from other doll brands. Their torso and legs seem to be similar lengths and it is the longer face of Robyn that makes her taller.

Minnie & Other Dolls:

Now to compare the ILY doll height with other doll brands such as, Ruby Red Fashion Dolls and My London Girl.

The My London Girl doll (far right) range stands at 18 inches tall and their clothing fits just like American Girl outfits and so are also compatible with the ILY dolls. Ruby Red Siblies doll range stands at 30cm (12 inches) tall. Here Sunny (far left) stands below Minnie’s shoulder and can definitely act as a little sister to the ILY dolls.

Clothing Compatibility:

In terms of clothing compatibility and their ability to swap clothes with other doll brands - the ILY range best fits with American Girl doll clothing. Here’s a quick overview on Minnie and how different doll brand outfits fit her.

ILY & American Girl:

Minnie wears the American Girl candy stripes pink dress (jumper) from the Sweet Street collection. 

Her body proportions are similar to American Girl so the dress fits snuggly. A white t-shirt works well underneath and the zip is easy to fasten.

There are no gaps in between the t-shirt and dress so it fits well. Minnie can easily sit down in the dress too.

The shoes Minnie wears here are from the meet outfit in the American Girl Truly Me line:

They fit well and take a little moving around to get her feet in.

ILY & Our Generation:

Minnie wears Our Generation’s ‘Brighten Up a Rainy Day’ deluxe pack:

The wellington boots did not fit and were not wide enough for her feet. The raincoat fits well and could also fit underneath a thicker layer than the thin dress that comes with the pack.

The raincoat hood is too small to fit all of Minnie’s long, thick hair. The translucent coat also adds a fashionable touch as her outfit can be seen underneath just like Minnie’s tote bag from her second outfit.

The strappy style dress means the cloth body can be seen underneath:

It velcros fine at the back and because of her difference in body proportion to Our Gen, the dress looks slightly longer on Minnie than the thinner legs on Our Gen dolls.

ILY & I’M A GIRLY:

Here’s the meet outfit of I’M A GIRLY Lucy (a doll that Emily has reviewed before):

The jacket fits Minnie but is a little loose and the arms are slightly too big.

As seen here, the skirt is loose around the waist band as her hips are much wider than Lucy’s hips:

But the t-shirt fits well. Minnie can fit into I’M A GIRLY tops and jackets but shorts and skirts are too small. 

The skirt looks too long on Minnie and does not look well with her body proportions.

Minnie fits well in the t-shirt and it velcros fine. But she struggles to fit into the skirt and the velcro is nowhere near being secured:

However, Minnie fits into Lucy’s shoes and the laces allow the perfect opportunity to adjust to her feet.

ILY & A Girl For All Time:

Minnie can fit into A Girl For All Time Matilda’s velvet cloak:

The arm loops are large enough to fit most 18-inch dolls.

The hood fits right over her head and can be styled differently with this half a hood look or a full hood.

Matilda’s cloak suits Minnie well and transports her back to the British Tudor times, a period which reigned between 1485 to 1603.

Here's the cloak from the back:

Minnie looks like a medieval princess and the large fur hood is the perfect size to look cute whether placed on or off her head.

ILY & Amazon Brand:

An Amazon sold school uniform is advertised to fit all 18-inch dolls:

Each clothing piece - the blouse, tie, skirt and blazer all fit her perfectly. They are also compatible with American Girl and Our Generation dolls which they fit well too.

Minnie looks so good it could be her meet outfit but with slightly better quality clothing than the ILY range.

The blouse buttons up at the front for realistic ‘school’ attire and the skirt velcros at the back.

Conclusion:

Overall, Disney’s ily 4EVER range has a wide choice of dolls to choose from. They are a diverse collection that feature dolls with different hair colours and textures, skin colours, eye colours and each have their own unique personalities.

The ILY range has multiple outfits spanning across their four wave release. Outfits vary in style, colour and occasion. Dolls can be dressed to suit any event from casual outfits and beachwear to fancy dresses and pyjamas. With so many different outfit choices and accessory packs to choose from the possibilities really feel limitless.

Fashion packs and accessory packs are $14.99 each and Deluxe Fashion Packs are $24.99 which makes the line more appealing because its retail prices are not absurdly expensive or out of budget.  The collection targets both children and adult doll collectors and they are one of the most affordable 18-inch doll lines to currently collect. They are particularly appealing with their $34.99 retail price and can be a cheaper alternative to American Girl dolls which are $115 at the most basic option excluding additional accessories.

Obviously the ILY range is on the other end of the quality spectrum compared to American Girl but they can be a good starter doll for a child or any new doll collector and can add something different to an already established doll collection.Their wide range of fashion packs and accessories make for more hours of play, setting a scene and doll photography.

The fact they can fit outfits from other 18-inch doll brands also means they can mix-and-match fashion and accessories for different looks. Each doll has their own personality and is expressed through their fashion choices. Many of the dolls have additional character-themed outfits too. The choice to follow the DisneyBounding trend means these dolls are not simply just Disney princesses but they are dolls set in the real world which makes them all the more relatable.

Fashion styles inspired by Disney characters create fashion looks that humans can imagine wearing too. Character patterns, icons and fabrics all give hints back to the original characters and their designs. Both children and doll collectors can express their doll’s personality, interests and hobbies through mixing and matching fashion and accessory pieces to suit their style.

However, the main downside to the ILY range is their poor hair quality. Although Minnie has thick hair her poor rooting is still visible. But on other dolls with straighter hair like Tinker Bell this poor rooting is even more visible. This makes creating different hairstyles on the dolls more difficult as braids for example would make this issue stand out.

I think the dolls and their fashion packs and accessory sets are worth their respective price points. Although what Disney provides is on par with its price, it is not necessarily on par with the quality you would expect from a billionaire-dollar company like Disney.

Even if the dolls are not something you want to add to your collection the fashion packs and accessory packs alone can add new and exciting outfit possibilities to create endless mix and match looks and styles. After all, the price of the ILY range is not too far from smaller doll brands such as Rainbow High, Monster High and Bratz with many of the ILY fashion and accessory packs costing less than each of these doll lines.

Once again, thank you so much to Emily for allowing me the creative space to express my opinion and review the ILY doll line. You can see my 18-inch doll collection and more doll-related content at my blog site - The Toy Gems. Hope to see you there!

Here’s an image to leave this review featuring Minnie and Tinker Bell posing in selfie style and this time Tinker Bell has the camera (sorry Minnie).