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Monster High Review: Jane Boolittle.
Here is that Monster High review I promised like, a week ago. :D
As you may or may not know, Mattel previewed at Comic Con, and recently released, a whole slew of new MH characters. I was fortunate enough to snag one of these beauties at Justice for 50% off the other day, and so here is her review!
Here's a nice in-box picture, because I love how her box looks like a cave. And how badass does she look in that artwork?
Here's the back:
Anyway, please meet Jane Boolittle, age and monster species unknown, daughter of Dr. Boolittle.
She is 100% exactly what you think she is: a chick who lives in the jungle and can talk to animals. However, having skimmed through her diary and Wiki page, Mattel has also combined her with Dr. Moreau (of all the non-G rated things...) and a little bit of Tarzan, since she grew up all alone in the jungle. And her pet sloth is voodoo based, because why not go all the way when you're mashing up vaguely jungle/tribal stuff? (I had a digression here about how this mashing up is rather culturally and racially insensitive, but that's really for another post. For now, suffice it to say that she was adopted and raised by two men, which is pretty cool.)
The pet that comes with Jane is a sloth named Needles. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to get that Needles the Sloth is a voodoo doll, which is why he looks like he's been sewn together, can have notes put in his back, and is named NEEDLES. He is also made to fit on Jane's back like a backpack (as you can see in some of my pictures), and if that's not the cutest thing ever then I don't know what is.
Here's Jane holding Needles so you can see him better. SO CUTE.
Something really unique about Jane (I mean, besides everything else) is that she has these little light blue dots in a line under each eye. (You can see them pretty well in the above picture of her.) They're far too symmetrical and perfect to be freckles, and they look to me like tattoos (though I suppose they could be birthmarks or makeup). Mattel hasn't shied away from giving other characters tattoos (Jackson, Operetta) and the immediate sense I get from these dots is some kind of tribal facial tattoo. I'm 100% behind this move, because it effortlessly shows that Jane is not from the same world as the rest of Monster High, and she's going to need some time to adjust... Which is exactly what her character is meant to be.
You may also notice that Jane's lips are painted differently than most of the other ghouls. Her top lip is smooth, rather than having the little dip in it, and that (along with the dots under her eyes) gives her face a really unique and interesting overall look.
Jane's outfit is a mishmash of colors, patterns, and fabrics that matches her backstory of having grown up along in a jungle, being more comfortable with animals than people, being adopted by a mad scientist or two, and then being shipped off to Monster High. It's got all kinds of things you'd expect a girl living in the jungle with a slight voodoo vibe to have: skulls, fur, feathers, teeth (which I'm assuming were given to her by her animal friends rather than hunted off them), and some kooky semi-clashing colors. I can't say that it's my favorite MH outfit, but it completely goes with her character.
This picture is meant to show Jane's accessories a little better. She's got some kind of feathered headdress/crown, tooth and feather earrings, a skull belt, and lots of fur and feather accents. She also has a pretty epic two part necklace that I have to imagine would be heavy in real life.
Jane is purple skinned (for no apparent reason) in a shade that puts Operetta's purple skin to shame, with hair that looks black but is actually a very VERY dark blue with pinkish stripes. My doll has one small clump of hair that's not quite cooperating with the rest of her bouffant thing in the front there, but she had the best eyes so I figured I'd try to fix (or chop off) that bit later. I really love her hair, and it doesn't seem to be plagued by the issues that a lot of my other recent MH doll purchases have (big clumps falling out, random glue bits, excessive shedding). I don't have an explanation for this, but I sure am happy about it.
There was a theory floating around on the internet when her promo pics were released that Jane was going to be disabled, that that blue thing on her leg was some kind of brace, and that her stick functions as a cane. As far as I can tell this isn't the case, although it does say that she 'can't stand to be without' her walking stick, so maybe that theory's not too far off. It was also suggested that the stick and bag made her some kind of witch doctor, but if that was ever Mattel's intention, they definitely moved away from it. I'm choosing to believe that the bag looks like that because both of her fathers are doctors.
Here's a shot of Jane's shoes:
They are awesome, and you can see how the one on our left one looks like a brace. The right one's strap is molded to look like a snake, a detail she totally stole from Cleo. Here you can also see the bottom of Jane's pants, which I really like. They look like they've been torn into jagged edges, as though she's been wearing them for years in the jungle and this is how they ended up. It's a really nice detail.
As for Jane's stick, are you guys ready for this? You're totally not ready for this. I wasn't ready for it. You can kind of see in my in-box picture that the end of Jane's walking stick is wrapped in plastic. I thought this was a little odd, but whatever, sometimes dolls are packaged in ways that confuse me, that's life. But then during de-boxing, I read her instruction sheet and realized that her walking stick is a pen! (The plastic was there to keep the cap firmly on it).
It also still works with the doll, since it's clearly made to look like a wooden walking stick covered in vines or rope, with that great feather and skull detail on top.
This kind of practical accessory is a first for Mattel, as far as I know, and I was super excited about it. I had no idea when I bought her that she came with something so cool, and it was a really great surprise. She also came with little slips of paper that you can write on and then insert into a slot in Needles' back, for when you need to work a nice voodoo curse. I spent the first few minutes I played with Needles, before I knew that the stick was a pen, wondering why the hell he had a big slit down his back, so it's good to know that Mattel had a purpose for that.
Those papers were hidden inside her purse, and it took me waaaay too long to find them.
Anyway, now that we've discussed all of Jane's details and accessories, it's time for the rundown!
Theme: Jungle? Animal? Let's go with animal accoutrements.
Evidenced in: Feathers on her headdress, earring, sleeves, stick, purse, and shoes; teeth on her earring and belt; skulls on her headdress, belt, purse, and stick; fur on her sleeves; snake shaped shoe.
Favorite thing about the doll: Definitely the dots on her face. Whatever they are, they're pretty, make her super unique, and characterize her well.
Least favorite thing about the doll: Her hands. I don't know, they just look off to me, like the fingers are too long and the nails are too pointy.
Favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: Does Needles count as an accessory? Let's say no, and I'll go with her stick pen. I have yet to write with it, but just the fact that it's there is awesome.
Least favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I'm not crazy about her dress. The contrasting patterns and fabrics don't really do it for me, and there's no earthly reason that a jungle girl would wear that shade of pink.
Bottom line: As far as Mattel's new characters go, Jane is one of the most unique. She's an unknown monster type, coming from an unspecified (but probably South American, given the sloth) location, raised by two doctor dads, who apparently practices a little voodoo and has a face completely unlike any other MH ghoul. Even though Mattel might have been better served by picking a single culture and sticking with it, the blended 'jungle' look opens up lots of imaginative possibilities to explain her look and origins. I think this doll is absolutely beautiful, and she comes with one of the coolest accessories yet made by Mattel. I recommend her, especially if you like the jungle. ;)
Song quote for today: I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart!
Answer to last Sunday's song: Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland, by everyone.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
becofoz got this one right!
I particularly like this version:
As you may or may not know, Mattel previewed at Comic Con, and recently released, a whole slew of new MH characters. I was fortunate enough to snag one of these beauties at Justice for 50% off the other day, and so here is her review!
Here's a nice in-box picture, because I love how her box looks like a cave. And how badass does she look in that artwork?
Here's the back:
Anyway, please meet Jane Boolittle, age and monster species unknown, daughter of Dr. Boolittle.
She is 100% exactly what you think she is: a chick who lives in the jungle and can talk to animals. However, having skimmed through her diary and Wiki page, Mattel has also combined her with Dr. Moreau (of all the non-G rated things...) and a little bit of Tarzan, since she grew up all alone in the jungle. And her pet sloth is voodoo based, because why not go all the way when you're mashing up vaguely jungle/tribal stuff? (I had a digression here about how this mashing up is rather culturally and racially insensitive, but that's really for another post. For now, suffice it to say that she was adopted and raised by two men, which is pretty cool.)
The pet that comes with Jane is a sloth named Needles. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to get that Needles the Sloth is a voodoo doll, which is why he looks like he's been sewn together, can have notes put in his back, and is named NEEDLES. He is also made to fit on Jane's back like a backpack (as you can see in some of my pictures), and if that's not the cutest thing ever then I don't know what is.
Here's Jane holding Needles so you can see him better. SO CUTE.
Something really unique about Jane (I mean, besides everything else) is that she has these little light blue dots in a line under each eye. (You can see them pretty well in the above picture of her.) They're far too symmetrical and perfect to be freckles, and they look to me like tattoos (though I suppose they could be birthmarks or makeup). Mattel hasn't shied away from giving other characters tattoos (Jackson, Operetta) and the immediate sense I get from these dots is some kind of tribal facial tattoo. I'm 100% behind this move, because it effortlessly shows that Jane is not from the same world as the rest of Monster High, and she's going to need some time to adjust... Which is exactly what her character is meant to be.
You may also notice that Jane's lips are painted differently than most of the other ghouls. Her top lip is smooth, rather than having the little dip in it, and that (along with the dots under her eyes) gives her face a really unique and interesting overall look.
Jane's outfit is a mishmash of colors, patterns, and fabrics that matches her backstory of having grown up along in a jungle, being more comfortable with animals than people, being adopted by a mad scientist or two, and then being shipped off to Monster High. It's got all kinds of things you'd expect a girl living in the jungle with a slight voodoo vibe to have: skulls, fur, feathers, teeth (which I'm assuming were given to her by her animal friends rather than hunted off them), and some kooky semi-clashing colors. I can't say that it's my favorite MH outfit, but it completely goes with her character.
This picture is meant to show Jane's accessories a little better. She's got some kind of feathered headdress/crown, tooth and feather earrings, a skull belt, and lots of fur and feather accents. She also has a pretty epic two part necklace that I have to imagine would be heavy in real life.
Jane is purple skinned (for no apparent reason) in a shade that puts Operetta's purple skin to shame, with hair that looks black but is actually a very VERY dark blue with pinkish stripes. My doll has one small clump of hair that's not quite cooperating with the rest of her bouffant thing in the front there, but she had the best eyes so I figured I'd try to fix (or chop off) that bit later. I really love her hair, and it doesn't seem to be plagued by the issues that a lot of my other recent MH doll purchases have (big clumps falling out, random glue bits, excessive shedding). I don't have an explanation for this, but I sure am happy about it.
There was a theory floating around on the internet when her promo pics were released that Jane was going to be disabled, that that blue thing on her leg was some kind of brace, and that her stick functions as a cane. As far as I can tell this isn't the case, although it does say that she 'can't stand to be without' her walking stick, so maybe that theory's not too far off. It was also suggested that the stick and bag made her some kind of witch doctor, but if that was ever Mattel's intention, they definitely moved away from it. I'm choosing to believe that the bag looks like that because both of her fathers are doctors.
Here's a shot of Jane's shoes:
They are awesome, and you can see how the one on our left one looks like a brace. The right one's strap is molded to look like a snake, a detail she totally stole from Cleo. Here you can also see the bottom of Jane's pants, which I really like. They look like they've been torn into jagged edges, as though she's been wearing them for years in the jungle and this is how they ended up. It's a really nice detail.
As for Jane's stick, are you guys ready for this? You're totally not ready for this. I wasn't ready for it. You can kind of see in my in-box picture that the end of Jane's walking stick is wrapped in plastic. I thought this was a little odd, but whatever, sometimes dolls are packaged in ways that confuse me, that's life. But then during de-boxing, I read her instruction sheet and realized that her walking stick is a pen! (The plastic was there to keep the cap firmly on it).
It also still works with the doll, since it's clearly made to look like a wooden walking stick covered in vines or rope, with that great feather and skull detail on top.
This kind of practical accessory is a first for Mattel, as far as I know, and I was super excited about it. I had no idea when I bought her that she came with something so cool, and it was a really great surprise. She also came with little slips of paper that you can write on and then insert into a slot in Needles' back, for when you need to work a nice voodoo curse. I spent the first few minutes I played with Needles, before I knew that the stick was a pen, wondering why the hell he had a big slit down his back, so it's good to know that Mattel had a purpose for that.
Those papers were hidden inside her purse, and it took me waaaay too long to find them.
Anyway, now that we've discussed all of Jane's details and accessories, it's time for the rundown!
Theme: Jungle? Animal? Let's go with animal accoutrements.
Evidenced in: Feathers on her headdress, earring, sleeves, stick, purse, and shoes; teeth on her earring and belt; skulls on her headdress, belt, purse, and stick; fur on her sleeves; snake shaped shoe.
Favorite thing about the doll: Definitely the dots on her face. Whatever they are, they're pretty, make her super unique, and characterize her well.
Least favorite thing about the doll: Her hands. I don't know, they just look off to me, like the fingers are too long and the nails are too pointy.
Favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: Does Needles count as an accessory? Let's say no, and I'll go with her stick pen. I have yet to write with it, but just the fact that it's there is awesome.
Least favorite thing about the outfit/accessories: I'm not crazy about her dress. The contrasting patterns and fabrics don't really do it for me, and there's no earthly reason that a jungle girl would wear that shade of pink.
Bottom line: As far as Mattel's new characters go, Jane is one of the most unique. She's an unknown monster type, coming from an unspecified (but probably South American, given the sloth) location, raised by two doctor dads, who apparently practices a little voodoo and has a face completely unlike any other MH ghoul. Even though Mattel might have been better served by picking a single culture and sticking with it, the blended 'jungle' look opens up lots of imaginative possibilities to explain her look and origins. I think this doll is absolutely beautiful, and she comes with one of the coolest accessories yet made by Mattel. I recommend her, especially if you like the jungle. ;)
Song quote for today: I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart!
Answer to last Sunday's song: Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland, by everyone.
becofoz got this one right!I particularly like this version:
no subject
no subject
My Justice had ALL of the new girls except the pink snake one (Viperine? Right?) and I very nearly bought Honey too.
Sadly all I could see of Elisabat was her box and s line of purple where the doll was. I could have made someone get her down for me, I suppose, but then I would have felt bad if she had funky eyes or I didn't like her and I'd made them do that, so I just bought Jane instead.
I've only seen a few of the other new ladies, and of course I'm pretty short on funds right now, so there may be no new dolls until January. Well, except for the Cat Tastrophe that Andrew bought me for Christmas which arrived this morning!!!!!!!
no subject
Oh, geez, when I went to Justice last week, they had a couple Frights!Camera!Action Clawdeens, the Justice Exclusive swim dolls and a few of the 13 Wishes dolls. The Ever After High dolls faaaaaaaar outnumbered the MH dolls (speaking of which, I'm so disappointed in the EAH version of Cupid). I'm hoping my Walmart has some new ones tonight; they had a couple of the Scaremester ones the last time I was in there but there have been 'sightings' at othter Walmarts in the area, so hopefully....
ACK I loooooooooooooove Cat Tastrophe!!! I'm so glad you got her. I was just talking to someone else on LJ this morning who missed out on her during Target's big Power Ghouls sale this weekend :(
no subject
I've been looking at Target for her for MONTHS, so when that girl on MH_Marketplace was offering her for $15 shipped I was all over that. :D