2012 vs 2013 Merida Toddler/Animator Doll - Disney Animators' Collection - Side by Side Comparison - Full Rear View
Toddler Brave Merida Doll -- 16'' H
Disney/Pixar Animators' Collection Merida Doll - 16''
Side by side comparison of the original 2012 Merida Toddler Doll versus the newly released 2013 Merida Animator Doll. They are both 16'' H dolls depicting Merida as a toddler. The head and body of the dolls are identical, and their faces and hair are very similar. The only major change is in their outfits. Following is a detailed comparative review of the two dolls.
Face and head: Their head sculpts are identical. Their faces are almost identical, with some very minor changes, some of which might be factory variances. The outer boundary line of the iris is darker in the new doll. The printing of the eyes is a little coarser on the new doll. The rouge on the cheeks is a little fainter on the new doll. Her lips are a lighter shade of pink. Her freckles are slightly darker. None of these differences are very noticeable unless you look at the two dolls closely side by side.
Hair: The hair on the two dolls are very similar, with the same rusty red orange color and same style, except that the older doll had tighter curls. But the new doll's hair is significantly improved over last year. Her curls are very soft to the touch, and looks great right out of the box. The only hair product used is on the hair over her forehead, to keep her hair out of her face. This is in contrast with the original doll, which had so much hair product that her hair was very stiff and hard to the touch, especially in the front and sides.
Outfits: The two dolls have very different outfits, as they represent two different outfits from the movie.
Merida's new outfit, a version of the dark blue green Adventure dress, with gold trim, puffy short sleeves, and a tartan sash wrapped around her waist, looks really nice. It is covered by blue glitter that is sprayed on. The glitter does shed a little, but far less than on most of the Classic Disney Princess Dolls. Her white stockings are the same knit cloth as the of the original Merida toddler doll, but are an inch higher, covering up her belly button. Her shoes are a dark blue green color, matching her dress. She has dark blue green painted on panties, matching her dress.
Merida's old outfit, a version of the Formal dress, is a made of light blue green satin, with gold collar, long sleeves, and a gold satin sash. It is glitter free. She has white stretch stockings that go up to her waist, just below her belly button, but don't quite cover up her painted on panties. She has light blue green shoes that match the color of her dress. Her painted on panties are golden yellow, matching the color of her sash.
Both outfits look good on the doll, and are good representations of her movie outfits, modified and simiplied for the toddler doll. I prefer the light blue dress because it is glitter free, and hence is softer and smoother, and doesn't shed.
Summary: I prefer the new 2013 Merida doll over the original 2012 doll. The softness of her hair makes a big positive difference on her appearance and her feel when handling her. The glitter on her outfit doesn't shed so much, so it isn't such a big negative. I wish Animator Merida came with a bow and arrow, but you could borrow those from the Talking Merida doll, or the first LE Merida doll.
2012 vs 2013 Merida Toddler/Animator Doll - Disney Animators' Collection - Side by Side Comparison - Full Rear View
Toddler Brave Merida Doll -- 16'' H
Disney/Pixar Animators' Collection Merida Doll - 16''
Side by side comparison of the original 2012 Merida Toddler Doll versus the newly released 2013 Merida Animator Doll. They are both 16'' H dolls depicting Merida as a toddler. The head and body of the dolls are identical, and their faces and hair are very similar. The only major change is in their outfits. Following is a detailed comparative review of the two dolls.
Face and head: Their head sculpts are identical. Their faces are almost identical, with some very minor changes, some of which might be factory variances. The outer boundary line of the iris is darker in the new doll. The printing of the eyes is a little coarser on the new doll. The rouge on the cheeks is a little fainter on the new doll. Her lips are a lighter shade of pink. Her freckles are slightly darker. None of these differences are very noticeable unless you look at the two dolls closely side by side.
Hair: The hair on the two dolls are very similar, with the same rusty red orange color and same style, except that the older doll had tighter curls. But the new doll's hair is significantly improved over last year. Her curls are very soft to the touch, and looks great right out of the box. The only hair product used is on the hair over her forehead, to keep her hair out of her face. This is in contrast with the original doll, which had so much hair product that her hair was very stiff and hard to the touch, especially in the front and sides.
Outfits: The two dolls have very different outfits, as they represent two different outfits from the movie.
Merida's new outfit, a version of the dark blue green Adventure dress, with gold trim, puffy short sleeves, and a tartan sash wrapped around her waist, looks really nice. It is covered by blue glitter that is sprayed on. The glitter does shed a little, but far less than on most of the Classic Disney Princess Dolls. Her white stockings are the same knit cloth as the of the original Merida toddler doll, but are an inch higher, covering up her belly button. Her shoes are a dark blue green color, matching her dress. She has dark blue green painted on panties, matching her dress.
Merida's old outfit, a version of the Formal dress, is a made of light blue green satin, with gold collar, long sleeves, and a gold satin sash. It is glitter free. She has white stretch stockings that go up to her waist, just below her belly button, but don't quite cover up her painted on panties. She has light blue green shoes that match the color of her dress. Her painted on panties are golden yellow, matching the color of her sash.
Both outfits look good on the doll, and are good representations of her movie outfits, modified and simiplied for the toddler doll. I prefer the light blue dress because it is glitter free, and hence is softer and smoother, and doesn't shed.
Summary: I prefer the new 2013 Merida doll over the original 2012 doll. The softness of her hair makes a big positive difference on her appearance and her feel when handling her. The glitter on her outfit doesn't shed so much, so it isn't such a big negative. I wish Animator Merida came with a bow and arrow, but you could borrow those from the Talking Merida doll, or the first LE Merida doll.