Disney Store Deluxe Singing Anna Review (Picture Heavy)

As I promised Presto on her Deluxe Singing Elsa review, here is a review of the Deluxe Singing Anna doll from the Disney Store. She was actually incredibly fun to review (although I still feel a little guilty about taking her out of that gorgeous box!) and this post may be my longest post from anything ever.

First of all, Anna comes in the most fabulous box in the history of doll boxes. It's a gorgeous shade of blue with rosemaling and the fjords printed all over it. Sadly, most of my photos of the box uploaded sideways, but you can still get a feel for the box.

DEBOXING + ACCESSORIES

The front has a large window so you can see Anna and all of her accessories.

Box Front

Don't know why this is sideways.
Bottom of the box.

 There is a hole in the front where you can twirl Anna's hand and make her sing "For the First Time in Forever."

Box Top Left

Box Top Center

Box Top Right

Stop taking pictures, human!
Get me out of this confounded box! Please!

Box Left Side Top

Box Left Side Bottom

Literally translates to "Anna the female singer."

 The other side of the box has a Velcro latch and looks sort of like book pages.

As is typical of doll boxes,, the back has a nice big stock photo of Anna and her accessories. In the background, there is a faded version of Arendelle castle.

There are little punched-out holes so Anna can breathe sing in the store.

French translation: Sing with Anna and prepare yourself for the coronation.

I can't translate any of this, sorry.

Aww, man!!! I can't run around at two o'clock in the morning
making Anna sing in sleeping peoples' ears?

"Performed by Anna." I love that so much!

Box Bottom and Top

If you open the latch, you see an array of beautiful screenshots of Anna. This is my favorite thing about the whole box.

The front of the box is actually covered in grass and has a cute little duckling on it.

By this point, I knew I had to get her out. So I took a deep breath and opened the box. DUN DUN DUN!

As soon as I took the box insert out, Anna seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.  And to inform me that her name was really Ivy...

Here is Ivy with all of her items

A bit of tissue from.... how did that get in there???

Accessories

Lovely Ivy

Unpackaging Ivy was a bit of a challenge. Everything was so packed into the box that it was difficult to get a pair of scissors around the plastic strings holding her things in!

I started with the goslings, thinking it would be simple to get them out.

I was wrong.

Observe Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

I really wondered for a while there if I was going to free Ivy and her geese before 2036. :} Luckily, I did, and these goslings are just about the cutest thing in the history of cute things.

Here you can see the goose in my hand for a size reference- her eyes are a little wonky from the front, which disappointed me.

Here you can see a little bit more of the backdrop, a meadow.

One of the wonderful things that Anna comes with is a (totally not to scale) cake with a bust in the top layer. If we ignore the fact that the bust, according to the movie, is about the size the cake is for this doll and the mysterious gray smudge on the third layer, I think this may be my favorite small accessory from this set. It's tied with the goslings, anyway.

Next came the second... cake? Pudding? Pile of fondue? Flan? I don't know, but it sure looks yummy!

On top, it appears to have strawberries and raspberries on it, but they aren't especially well painted. This is the most boring piece in this set and has nothing to do with the movie, really. It doesn't come off of its plate. It's not that I don't like it, it just doesn't fit with the rest of the set very well.

Now we have a better look at the swing (and Ivy's skirt) still in the box. 

As you can see, the swing is held in by more plastic strings. Or at least, you should be able to see. It might help if Blogger hadn't loaded this photo... UPSIDE DOWN!

 There were also plastic tabs holding the swing's strings back.

In keeping with the rest of the accessories, the swing was difficult to get out. But. It. Is. So. Worth. It.

This swing is one of the most beautifully detailed pieces of doll furniture I have ever seen. This is my favorite thing from the set, possibly including Ivy. That swing is really amazing.

All that's left to get out of the box is Ivy herself... and her fan. The fan is cute, but it attaches to her hand in a humanly impossible fashion. I like it better than the pile of chocolate!

In keeping with the over protective packaging, Ivy was held in place in what seems like just about every place they could think of.

Hand

Elbow and Waist 

Ankles

UGH Including plastic tabs in her HEAD

Don't quote me on this, but I think there were plastic tabs connecting her skirt to the backing, too.

She also has the wad of tissue shoved in almost every doll skirt ever to make it look fuller and prevent staining.

This may explain the wad of tissue I found earlier.

DOLL DETAILS

Ivy's costume is very detailed and easy to recognize.

She has simple black flats that are held on with clear elastic bands.

Her skirt isn't box pleated like movie Anna's, but the rosemaling has been included and is screened on.

Her bodice doesn't have rosemaling on it, but it is coated in glitter and it sheds.  Her sleeves aren't off the shoulder and she only has ribbon around the neckline, not the waist.

Rather than a pendant, her necklace is a simple Cinderella style choker.

Ivy has the same face mold as the other Disney Store Anna dolls and similar paint. More on that later.

Look, some glitter on her nose. Shocker.

Her hair is in this big, fancy, totally not movie accurate bun that I honestly love.

White streak!

As advertised, she sings when you spin her hand. Because of this, she has one straight arm. Like her 17 inch counterpart, her speaker is on her back and is shaped like a heart. Her other arm is jointed at the elbow and wrist and she has click knee legs. Her head can turn and also move side to side and up and down.

She has painted on green panties.

Marilyn Monroe gone badly wrong?

Well, that isn't disturbing or anything.

Because of her articulation and accessories, this doll is INCREDIBLY fun to pose and get pictures of.

First, I just gently sat her in the swing. I have an old Barbie porch swing from when I was younger and dolls can't really do much except sit in it, so that's what I was expecting Ivy's to be like.

WRONG! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... the doll swing that dolls can actually swing in!

No photographic trickery or hidden items propping Ivy up here! She is actually holding herself up and swinging. I believe I started shrieking like an overexcited banshee when I saw this.

What if I meet...

THE ONE????

*gasp*

But then we laugh and talk all evening

Which is totally BIZARRE!

I wanna stuff some chocolate in my face!!! (No, that's not a joke, I really do...)

COMPARISONS WITH OTHER DOLLS

First up is Mattel Color Magic Anna (Annette), her coronation counterpart.

This is not a fair comparison.

For some reason, they switched sides for this photo

Here we have the ideal coronation Anna doll. All I did was push the straps down and take the necklace from Annette. Step it up, Mattel!!!

Here are my Disney Store Anna dolls.

  

Here she is with Kristen (my Ice Skating Anna. I decided she's Ivy's twin sister) and Anna, my Classic Anna. You can see slight differences in the way they're painted, especially the shade of heir eyebrows. Kristen also appears to be a different color of vinyl.

She is much prettier than her stock photo, which looks vaguely jaundiced.

 It was around this time when I realized that my John Smith doll holds a strong resemblance to a certain bust.

To fit with this new persona, his name is now Hagen Bjornson.

As for Ivy, I think she and Hagen will get along just fine. :)

 Overall, I give this doll a 10 out of 10. She is absolutely lovely, sings one verse of "For The First Time in Forever" clearly and beautifully, and has the most amazing accessories I've ever seen on a 12 inch scale. Buy her. Buy her now. But no pressure. :D

Some people (or dolls) or worth melting for,

MyLittleMegara