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leia131All right, get ready for this LJ world, it's a special double review! In honor of Halloween, I'm going to break out of the pattern I've been going in (reviewing dolls in the approximate order in which I got them) and review some of my Ghouls Rule dolls. They're Halloween themed, and meant to go with the MH Halloween special, so this is the most appropriate time to talk about them, don't you think?
However, I didn't want to review another version of a doll when I haven't gone over her basic form first. So before we get to Ghouls Rule Draculaura, let's take a look at Basic Draculaura.
Draculaura, too cool for a last name. Just turned 1600, daughter of Dracula (obviously).
Draculaura is probably the most popular MH character, and I'm going to guess that that's because she's a vampire, and those were really big when she came out. (She's been in almost all the lines, has her own car, has two Dead Tired versions, and several fashion packs. For a while there if you wanted a Clawd, you had to get Draculaura as well. The Sweet 1600 line revolved around her [every other doll in that line came with presents for her, seriously], and she's one of the few dolls to get her own bed. Oh, and they re-released her basic version, in case you missed it the first time. I'm pretty sure she's big on Mattel's list.)
Draculaura is a vegan vampire, which means she doesn't drink blood (much to the chagrin of her father). I can't decide if this is a cop out on Mattel's part to avoid having to discuss with small children murdering for food, or a creative way out of that problem. Anyway, Draculaura seems to be more into cutesy/girly things and makeup and clothes and shopping than the other girls, but that's all right. MH characters run the gamut of interests and personalities that girls can have, which I like, but of course they have to have someone who loves girly pink stuff. Never forget, these are the people who make Barbie. :)
Her pet is a bat named Count Fabulous, who she dresses up in outfits sometimes, and I think he might just have the best name of all the pets. (I wish I could meet whomever names the MH pets, so I could congratulate them on this one and Ghoulia's.) My picture of him didn't come out all the great, but you can see him pretty well on the MH site. Instead of a purse, Draculaura came with an umbrella (so she can walk in the sun, lol), and I remember thinking at the time how awesome it would be if it opened. It turns out that Mattel eventually heard my prayers, but we'll get to that later.
Some details aren't super visible in my picture, but Draculaura has tiny safety pins for earrings (though I'm not 100% sure why), pink streaks throughout her black pigtails, a tiny heart on one cheek, and, of course, fangs. It's worth noting that her fangs are not the same as Clawdeen's, which are not the same as the other characters with fangs I haven't reviewed yet. The attention to detail in MH dolls is FANTASTIC. (Fangtastic, even.)
Another great detail? Her skin is covered from head to foot, as befits a vampire. Also, her clothes look like they could be 1600 years old. I'm not going to lie, when I first got into Monster High, Draculaura was not on my list of Dolls I Have To Have (TM). But then Andrew bought her for me, bless him, and I fell in love. I now have four Draculauras, and it's not just because I like pink stuff.
Theme: GIRLY. Everything Draculaura has is pink, and usually contains hearts and/or bows.
Evidenced in: Pink hair streaks, stand, boots, shirt, necklace, pink on her umbrella and pet, and there's even pink stitching on her skirt. Oh, and did I mention her skin is pink too? And not normal human pink, either. Hearts on her face, boots, umbrella, and Count Fabulous' shirt.
Favorite thing about the doll: It's got to be her fangs. Obviously a vampire should have fangs, but hers are quite well done.
Least favorite thing about the doll: The pigtail hairstyle is cute, but it makes it hard to put any hair accessories on her without messing it up. (Which I totally did anyway, and then had to take them down and fix them, and now they're kind of uneven... oops.)
Favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: Honestly, I love her skirt and leggings because they're very simple and very versatile; they go with pretty much everything. Plus, they combine to cover her up more than many of the other girls.
Least favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I don't know why she has safety pins for earrings, they don't really go with the rest her theme, and they're really flimsy (I snapped one the first time I ever tried to take it out, and then had to glue it back together).
Bottom Line: Draculaura is very popular, and there's good reason. She's the ultimate girly girl, and that appeals to a lot of people (including me). The black and pink color scheme is very visually appealing, and her pet and accessories are cute and interesting. Also, there are A LOT of Draculauras to choose from if basic (or the basic re-release, which I think is the same, right?) doesn't appeal to you.
And that brings me to the second doll in this review, which will feature more pictures and less of my babbling. Hopefully.
Ghouls Rule Draculaura, in all her glory.
Since these dolls are Halloween themed, each comes with her own mask and trick-or-treat bucket. (I took a close-up picture of her bucket, but it came out really bad.) They're all also meant to take the monster theme up to 11. Draculaura, being a vampire, is mostly bat themed. I have to tell you, as soon as I saw the promo pics for this doll, with those WINGS OMG, I knew I had to have her.
in
With her bucket, ready to trick-or-treat.
As you can plainly see, Draculaura's pink, heart, and girly theme is in full force here. SO MUCH PINK. I'm totally ok with that, by the way, and in addition her skirt is sparkly! I also love the big vampire collar with the lacing in the front. That part is plastic, btw, and comes off pretty easily.
Minus the collar, and showing off her eye makeup, which is the second most badass thing about this doll. Know what the most badass thing is? THE WINGS.
These wings are not only stunning when on Draculaura, as you saw in the previous pictures, but they also come off very easily in case you want to put them on someone else. They have little clips that sit on Draculaura's shoulders and around her waist, as though they're really a costume she's wearing. And, as you can see, they look just as awesome from the back; I especially love the little bow there.
But the best thing about the wings is that they're hinged. They can go all the way forward:
And all the way back.
She can flap those bad boys if she wants to!
I also love this Draculaura's curly bangs, and hairstyle, but she has these weird strands of sparkly black... something on the back of her head that baffle me. There's only like, five of them, and I don't know exactly what purpose they serve. Whatever though, this is probably the most impressive MH doll I have. She stands on my mantle above the other GR dolls, wings open wide, and oversees all the other girls as some kind of beneficent ruler.
The one thing about the GR line is, and this will be especially obvious when I do the GR Clawdeen review, that these dolls are really much harder to re-dress/play with than the others. Their clothes are much harder to get on and off in general, and some of the pieces are pretty delicate; I worry about them withstanding multiple dressings. For this reason these dolls stay up on the mantle, in their epic costumes, and we're all happier that way.
More GR reviews coming soon! I'll try to get at least one more in before Halloween.
However, I didn't want to review another version of a doll when I haven't gone over her basic form first. So before we get to Ghouls Rule Draculaura, let's take a look at Basic Draculaura.
Draculaura, too cool for a last name. Just turned 1600, daughter of Dracula (obviously).
Draculaura is probably the most popular MH character, and I'm going to guess that that's because she's a vampire, and those were really big when she came out. (She's been in almost all the lines, has her own car, has two Dead Tired versions, and several fashion packs. For a while there if you wanted a Clawd, you had to get Draculaura as well. The Sweet 1600 line revolved around her [every other doll in that line came with presents for her, seriously], and she's one of the few dolls to get her own bed. Oh, and they re-released her basic version, in case you missed it the first time. I'm pretty sure she's big on Mattel's list.)
Draculaura is a vegan vampire, which means she doesn't drink blood (much to the chagrin of her father). I can't decide if this is a cop out on Mattel's part to avoid having to discuss with small children murdering for food, or a creative way out of that problem. Anyway, Draculaura seems to be more into cutesy/girly things and makeup and clothes and shopping than the other girls, but that's all right. MH characters run the gamut of interests and personalities that girls can have, which I like, but of course they have to have someone who loves girly pink stuff. Never forget, these are the people who make Barbie. :)
Her pet is a bat named Count Fabulous, who she dresses up in outfits sometimes, and I think he might just have the best name of all the pets. (I wish I could meet whomever names the MH pets, so I could congratulate them on this one and Ghoulia's.) My picture of him didn't come out all the great, but you can see him pretty well on the MH site. Instead of a purse, Draculaura came with an umbrella (so she can walk in the sun, lol), and I remember thinking at the time how awesome it would be if it opened. It turns out that Mattel eventually heard my prayers, but we'll get to that later.
Some details aren't super visible in my picture, but Draculaura has tiny safety pins for earrings (though I'm not 100% sure why), pink streaks throughout her black pigtails, a tiny heart on one cheek, and, of course, fangs. It's worth noting that her fangs are not the same as Clawdeen's, which are not the same as the other characters with fangs I haven't reviewed yet. The attention to detail in MH dolls is FANTASTIC. (Fangtastic, even.)
Another great detail? Her skin is covered from head to foot, as befits a vampire. Also, her clothes look like they could be 1600 years old. I'm not going to lie, when I first got into Monster High, Draculaura was not on my list of Dolls I Have To Have (TM). But then Andrew bought her for me, bless him, and I fell in love. I now have four Draculauras, and it's not just because I like pink stuff.
Theme: GIRLY. Everything Draculaura has is pink, and usually contains hearts and/or bows.
Evidenced in: Pink hair streaks, stand, boots, shirt, necklace, pink on her umbrella and pet, and there's even pink stitching on her skirt. Oh, and did I mention her skin is pink too? And not normal human pink, either. Hearts on her face, boots, umbrella, and Count Fabulous' shirt.
Favorite thing about the doll: It's got to be her fangs. Obviously a vampire should have fangs, but hers are quite well done.
Least favorite thing about the doll: The pigtail hairstyle is cute, but it makes it hard to put any hair accessories on her without messing it up. (Which I totally did anyway, and then had to take them down and fix them, and now they're kind of uneven... oops.)
Favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: Honestly, I love her skirt and leggings because they're very simple and very versatile; they go with pretty much everything. Plus, they combine to cover her up more than many of the other girls.
Least favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I don't know why she has safety pins for earrings, they don't really go with the rest her theme, and they're really flimsy (I snapped one the first time I ever tried to take it out, and then had to glue it back together).
Bottom Line: Draculaura is very popular, and there's good reason. She's the ultimate girly girl, and that appeals to a lot of people (including me). The black and pink color scheme is very visually appealing, and her pet and accessories are cute and interesting. Also, there are A LOT of Draculauras to choose from if basic (or the basic re-release, which I think is the same, right?) doesn't appeal to you.
And that brings me to the second doll in this review, which will feature more pictures and less of my babbling. Hopefully.
Ghouls Rule Draculaura, in all her glory.
Since these dolls are Halloween themed, each comes with her own mask and trick-or-treat bucket. (I took a close-up picture of her bucket, but it came out really bad.) They're all also meant to take the monster theme up to 11. Draculaura, being a vampire, is mostly bat themed. I have to tell you, as soon as I saw the promo pics for this doll, with those WINGS OMG, I knew I had to have her.
in With her bucket, ready to trick-or-treat.
As you can plainly see, Draculaura's pink, heart, and girly theme is in full force here. SO MUCH PINK. I'm totally ok with that, by the way, and in addition her skirt is sparkly! I also love the big vampire collar with the lacing in the front. That part is plastic, btw, and comes off pretty easily.
Minus the collar, and showing off her eye makeup, which is the second most badass thing about this doll. Know what the most badass thing is? THE WINGS.
These wings are not only stunning when on Draculaura, as you saw in the previous pictures, but they also come off very easily in case you want to put them on someone else. They have little clips that sit on Draculaura's shoulders and around her waist, as though they're really a costume she's wearing. And, as you can see, they look just as awesome from the back; I especially love the little bow there.
But the best thing about the wings is that they're hinged. They can go all the way forward:
And all the way back.
She can flap those bad boys if she wants to!
I also love this Draculaura's curly bangs, and hairstyle, but she has these weird strands of sparkly black... something on the back of her head that baffle me. There's only like, five of them, and I don't know exactly what purpose they serve. Whatever though, this is probably the most impressive MH doll I have. She stands on my mantle above the other GR dolls, wings open wide, and oversees all the other girls as some kind of beneficent ruler.
The one thing about the GR line is, and this will be especially obvious when I do the GR Clawdeen review, that these dolls are really much harder to re-dress/play with than the others. Their clothes are much harder to get on and off in general, and some of the pieces are pretty delicate; I worry about them withstanding multiple dressings. For this reason these dolls stay up on the mantle, in their epic costumes, and we're all happier that way.
More GR reviews coming soon! I'll try to get at least one more in before Halloween.
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no subject
Date: 2012-10-29 03:56 pm (UTC)Okay, now I'm gonna have to break down & buy GR Draculaura. I've seen her 589 times at the store, they have her everytime I go, and I always look at her and pass her by. Partly because with those wings, I just don't have the room for her. But since they fold back...... I also just wasn't feeling her even after seeing her in person, but she somehow looks cuter in your pics...? Hard to explain lol. Excellent reviews, as always.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-29 04:45 pm (UTC)Seriously, I saw a picture of GR Draculaura with the wings and was like I MUST OWN YOU. Then when I opened her and found out that they moved, I was like, "EVEN BETTER." I am really attracted to dolls with unique features, and that's about as unique as they come. Also, re the room issue, they slip right off her, and she still looks pretty vampiric without them, if you need to squish her in the back after Halloween. ;)
I hate to brag, but my GR Draculaura IS cute, because I meticulously selected the one with the best eye makeup and hair. Some of them had uneven webbing, and I've seen her bangs in every position from standing straight up to squished down in to her face. But, as you said, there's usually lots to choose from. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-10-29 05:36 pm (UTC)(This is SO DUMB of me, but I never 'got' that those plastic pieces were bat wings until you pointed it out. I feel so stupid now lol.)
Random Draculara question: Do you know why she's sometimes referred to as Ula D? Is that in one of the webisodes or just a fandom thing? (I didn't get the Lala thing until I read the books...and I know Ula D isn't in those.)
(OT: I found Dance Class Howleen & Operetta @ a Toys R Us Friday night!!! They're SO CUTE.)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-31 01:40 am (UTC)I went to Big Lots tonight to look for them, and they had one SS Ghoulia, and three ancient fashion packs. That was their entire MH section. DISAPPOINT. TRU will have to wait until I get paid Friday. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-10-31 01:25 pm (UTC)I don't have a Big Lots near me (though I was SHOCKED to see those posts where basic Scaris dolls were showing up there!). Was a bit bummed the TRU I went to didn't have Dance Class Lagoona (I'm not too sure if I want DC Robecca)...they had quite a bit of stock, but the new dolls were shoved to the back (it's a good thing I'm a 'digger' lol). I'm half-tempted to check out the Love's Truck Stop down the road...they had the Roller Maze girls in stock lesss than a week after people started posting that they were popping up in stores (and it's just been within the last month that the Walmart & Kmart near me started carrying them).