Monster High Review: Operetta
Apr. 21st, 2013 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leia131For this review, I'm going to have to use my Google Fu, because my camera apparently hates details. And Operetta has a lot of beautiful details, so let's hope other intrepid photographers on the internets can help me out!
Operetta was one of the first new MH characters that came out after the original line. At this point in my collecting life, I was facing a money shortage and therefore considering limiting myself to only getting new characters... so I was THRILLED that there were new ghouls to find. (BTW, my seven Clawdeens are laughing at the idea of me only buying characters I don't already own).
ANYWAY, Operetta is the daughter of The Phantom of the Opera, and I really like POTO, so that was also weighing heavily in her favor. I searched all over for this doll, for months, before I finally found her, and then had to find one that wasn't cross-eyed. I have no idea why, but Operetta just has a tendency to be cross-eyed. This is a good example.
Here she is, in all her Operatic glory:
Operetta (no last name), 16 (in Phantom years, whatever the hell that means), daughter of The Phantom of the Opera.
Unfortunately, in person, Operetta is kind of hit and miss. For instance, for reasons that escape me, her skin is purple. It's a lovely shade of purple, I just don't know why. Her hair is a beautiful color (Ariel red!) and her hairstyle is really awesome, but it looks a million times better in artwork than in real life. My Operetta had the best hair out of any of the ones I looked at (and wasn't cross-eyed) and yet it's still a mess. It's scraggly in the back, and the rolls aren't as tight as they should be. I've seen restyled Operettas that look gorgeous, but I just can't bring myself to mess with her hair. I liked her hairstyle SO MUCH in the promo pics, that I've been doing my very best to preserve it. (See those curls in the back? Yeah... No so much there in real life.)
On the up side, I love Operetta's outfit. She was, I think, the first MH doll I owned that was wearing pants (unless you count Lagoona's outfit, which I would not) so that was cool. Her belt is pretty amazing, the shoes are absolutely wonderful and easy to get on and off, and her heart shaped quarter note mask is just perfection. Despite the fact that Mattel would probably tell you differently (because of legal issues, I'm sure) Operetta is clearly based off Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of the Phantom, what with the facial scars on only one side and the cute little half mask. (Truste me, I've read the book, and he doesn't look like that in the book.) Here is a GREAT picture of her scars. They're actually molded into the doll, which is really cool, and then her tattoo carries on the same design.
The thing I love most about Operetta, however, is her theme. Someone, somewhere at Mattel was like, "we did all the other classic black and white monsters, we HAVE to do Phantom of the Opera... But how are we going to make that modern and interesting, since it's been done so many times?" Someone else answered him, "we will go from normal opera to the Grand Ole Opry and make her all Nashville and it will be AWESOME." And it is. Operetta is Southern, rockabilly, and a little bit Elvis. (Because of the Elvis connection, she also has a little Vegas influence that creeps in, but that's ok.) Music is Operetta's life (obviously) and it definitely shows in her style. Her purse doubles as a guitar, even though it also opens, (storage guitar?) and I'm pretty sure she's the only ghoul who came with an instrument.
Operetta's pet is a spider named Memphis "Daddy O" Longlegs. I don't know why she has a spider for a pet (though I suppose it's because she lives in the catacombs under the school (another detail I love, because the Phantom lived in the catacombs under the opera house) and there's probably spiders down there) but I don't think he's as clever a pet as Mattel probably does. I usually like the ridiculous names they have for their pets, but not this one. I like the idea of an Elvis pompadour spider, but the name just does me in. It's too long, and more silly than anything. Because of the spider pet (or maybe the spider pet is because of this?) Operetta's other recurring theme is spiderwebs. This seems to really work for her, even though it doesn't have a real strong connection to the Phantom.
Here's the one other picture I managed to get of her, sans jacket:
Here I was trying to show you how awesome it is that her shoe's heel is a treble clef, but I couldn't make it show up. (Someone with a much better camera than me got this shot though, which shows her awesome shoes in amazing detail.) You can see her mask really well here though, and her arm tattoo. How many dolls come with tattoos? You can also see how the back of her hair is... not so great. This is really because of how she was packaged, but I've never gotten around to trying to wash or fix it. This picture shows Operetta's cool purple houndstooth shirt too, which I really like. Her whole outfit is separates, and it's super versatile because all the pieces match almost everything else. Plus, it's nice to have at least one pair of jeans for the ghouls to wear.
All right, I've rambled long enough; time to wrap this up.
Theme: Music and/or spiderwebs.
Evidenced in: Oh man, everything. Quarter note shaped mask, piano key motif on her sleeves and bracelet, music note belt, music staffs in her scars and tattoo, purse/guitar, and treble clef heels. Spiderwebs on her jacket, belt buckle, guitar/purse, and shoes. (P.S. The Vegas influence here is in the mismatched dice earrings and the dice ring she has. Dice will pop up again in her dolls, trust me.)
Favorite thing about the doll: Her scars. I mean, I don't own (or know of, though I'm sure there are some) any other dolls with scars, especially molded into their very plastic. It's really cool, and it's extremely unique.
Least favorite thing about the doll: Her hair. Poor Operetta, your hair had so much promise, but gravity's a bitch. Also, packaging, which destroyed the curls in the back, assuming you ever even had them.
Favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I almost went with her shoes (because I seriously love these shoes) but I think I'm actually going to say the pants. It's so nice to have a doll who's just wearing jeans, they match almost everything, and they're great for lots of different looks. You know, just like real life jeans!
Least favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I don't really strongly dislike anything that she has... I'd probably say the earrings, just because I'm not crazy about mismatched accessories, and dice seem to be kind of randomly thrown in with all her other stuff.
Bottom line: Although Operetta has some flaws, she's still a great doll overall. Her original hairstyle can't hold up in real life (at least not without some work) but the color is stunning and if you're willing to restyle her she can be really beautiful. Basic Operetta is selling for a mere $31.95 on Amazon right now, so she can totally be in your price range if you want her. However, I would be careful buying her online, because most of the dolls I saw in stores had even worse hair than mine does, and were cross-eyed. So you know, go for it, (her outfit at least will be worth it) but be prepared for some potential wonky-ness. :)
Song quote for today (which, BTW, is back to songs I actually like): Wildly my mind beats against you... You resist, yet your soul obeys!
Answer to last Sunday's song: Ride With Me, by Nelly. I don't like Nelly, I don't like this song, and yet I KNOW EVERY WORD. Nobody guessed this one, which means you're all luckier than me.
Operetta was one of the first new MH characters that came out after the original line. At this point in my collecting life, I was facing a money shortage and therefore considering limiting myself to only getting new characters... so I was THRILLED that there were new ghouls to find. (BTW, my seven Clawdeens are laughing at the idea of me only buying characters I don't already own).
ANYWAY, Operetta is the daughter of The Phantom of the Opera, and I really like POTO, so that was also weighing heavily in her favor. I searched all over for this doll, for months, before I finally found her, and then had to find one that wasn't cross-eyed. I have no idea why, but Operetta just has a tendency to be cross-eyed. This is a good example.
Here she is, in all her Operatic glory:
Operetta (no last name), 16 (in Phantom years, whatever the hell that means), daughter of The Phantom of the Opera.
Unfortunately, in person, Operetta is kind of hit and miss. For instance, for reasons that escape me, her skin is purple. It's a lovely shade of purple, I just don't know why. Her hair is a beautiful color (Ariel red!) and her hairstyle is really awesome, but it looks a million times better in artwork than in real life. My Operetta had the best hair out of any of the ones I looked at (and wasn't cross-eyed) and yet it's still a mess. It's scraggly in the back, and the rolls aren't as tight as they should be. I've seen restyled Operettas that look gorgeous, but I just can't bring myself to mess with her hair. I liked her hairstyle SO MUCH in the promo pics, that I've been doing my very best to preserve it. (See those curls in the back? Yeah... No so much there in real life.)
On the up side, I love Operetta's outfit. She was, I think, the first MH doll I owned that was wearing pants (unless you count Lagoona's outfit, which I would not) so that was cool. Her belt is pretty amazing, the shoes are absolutely wonderful and easy to get on and off, and her heart shaped quarter note mask is just perfection. Despite the fact that Mattel would probably tell you differently (because of legal issues, I'm sure) Operetta is clearly based off Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of the Phantom, what with the facial scars on only one side and the cute little half mask. (Truste me, I've read the book, and he doesn't look like that in the book.) Here is a GREAT picture of her scars. They're actually molded into the doll, which is really cool, and then her tattoo carries on the same design.
The thing I love most about Operetta, however, is her theme. Someone, somewhere at Mattel was like, "we did all the other classic black and white monsters, we HAVE to do Phantom of the Opera... But how are we going to make that modern and interesting, since it's been done so many times?" Someone else answered him, "we will go from normal opera to the Grand Ole Opry and make her all Nashville and it will be AWESOME." And it is. Operetta is Southern, rockabilly, and a little bit Elvis. (Because of the Elvis connection, she also has a little Vegas influence that creeps in, but that's ok.) Music is Operetta's life (obviously) and it definitely shows in her style. Her purse doubles as a guitar, even though it also opens, (storage guitar?) and I'm pretty sure she's the only ghoul who came with an instrument.
Operetta's pet is a spider named Memphis "Daddy O" Longlegs. I don't know why she has a spider for a pet (though I suppose it's because she lives in the catacombs under the school (another detail I love, because the Phantom lived in the catacombs under the opera house) and there's probably spiders down there) but I don't think he's as clever a pet as Mattel probably does. I usually like the ridiculous names they have for their pets, but not this one. I like the idea of an Elvis pompadour spider, but the name just does me in. It's too long, and more silly than anything. Because of the spider pet (or maybe the spider pet is because of this?) Operetta's other recurring theme is spiderwebs. This seems to really work for her, even though it doesn't have a real strong connection to the Phantom.
Here's the one other picture I managed to get of her, sans jacket:
Here I was trying to show you how awesome it is that her shoe's heel is a treble clef, but I couldn't make it show up. (Someone with a much better camera than me got this shot though, which shows her awesome shoes in amazing detail.) You can see her mask really well here though, and her arm tattoo. How many dolls come with tattoos? You can also see how the back of her hair is... not so great. This is really because of how she was packaged, but I've never gotten around to trying to wash or fix it. This picture shows Operetta's cool purple houndstooth shirt too, which I really like. Her whole outfit is separates, and it's super versatile because all the pieces match almost everything else. Plus, it's nice to have at least one pair of jeans for the ghouls to wear.
All right, I've rambled long enough; time to wrap this up.
Theme: Music and/or spiderwebs.
Evidenced in: Oh man, everything. Quarter note shaped mask, piano key motif on her sleeves and bracelet, music note belt, music staffs in her scars and tattoo, purse/guitar, and treble clef heels. Spiderwebs on her jacket, belt buckle, guitar/purse, and shoes. (P.S. The Vegas influence here is in the mismatched dice earrings and the dice ring she has. Dice will pop up again in her dolls, trust me.)
Favorite thing about the doll: Her scars. I mean, I don't own (or know of, though I'm sure there are some) any other dolls with scars, especially molded into their very plastic. It's really cool, and it's extremely unique.
Least favorite thing about the doll: Her hair. Poor Operetta, your hair had so much promise, but gravity's a bitch. Also, packaging, which destroyed the curls in the back, assuming you ever even had them.
Favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I almost went with her shoes (because I seriously love these shoes) but I think I'm actually going to say the pants. It's so nice to have a doll who's just wearing jeans, they match almost everything, and they're great for lots of different looks. You know, just like real life jeans!
Least favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I don't really strongly dislike anything that she has... I'd probably say the earrings, just because I'm not crazy about mismatched accessories, and dice seem to be kind of randomly thrown in with all her other stuff.
Bottom line: Although Operetta has some flaws, she's still a great doll overall. Her original hairstyle can't hold up in real life (at least not without some work) but the color is stunning and if you're willing to restyle her she can be really beautiful. Basic Operetta is selling for a mere $31.95 on Amazon right now, so she can totally be in your price range if you want her. However, I would be careful buying her online, because most of the dolls I saw in stores had even worse hair than mine does, and were cross-eyed. So you know, go for it, (her outfit at least will be worth it) but be prepared for some potential wonky-ness. :)
Song quote for today (which, BTW, is back to songs I actually like): Wildly my mind beats against you... You resist, yet your soul obeys!
Answer to last Sunday's song: Ride With Me, by Nelly. I don't like Nelly, I don't like this song, and yet I KNOW EVERY WORD. Nobody guessed this one, which means you're all luckier than me.
