This may explain a lot
As a follow-up to yesterday:
Here's something that may help you understand my reaction to the Tonner Alice:
The Barbie Alice has an Eclipse outfit--still not one of the really cute, more layered outfits from earlier on. But it does have the cute little grey ribbon choker that's the character's trademark. And it has the right hair. And Tonner's even done a doll with flippy hair before, so I know they can do it.
(For reference's sake, here's what the two Victorias look like, since they posted the Barbie Victoria picture the same day. The Tonner is the Rachelle Lefevre likeness/outfit from the first movie; the Barbie is the mostly Barbie-esque Bryce Dallas Howard likeness/outfit from the new movie, which is why they look so different. I still think the Lefevre Victoria is totally fierce, and if I had a million dollars and a whole other shelf, I would grab that one in a moment. And then she would stand next to the Arwen, Tia Dalma, Queen Susan, and the dozen Ellowynes I can't afford, either.)
Meanwhile, the Galadriel gets more and more awesome every time I look at it. Because I go back and look at it a lot. It is so awesome I can't even handle it, y'all.
Those of y'all who haven't been around this journal as long... I have a major Galadriel thing. For the first few years of this journal (which I started a couple of months before Return of the King came out, for reference), people used to joke that they would be disappointed if I didn't look like Cate Blanchett in real life, because I used so many Galadriel icons. She was always my favorite character from the books--the "I will diminish, and go into the West" scene was always my favorite, because I loved that there was this great, powerful woman who clearly had her own story, a story of almost Shakespearean proportions, and you saw its pivotal moment play out in a few lines of dialogue--brief, quiet lines that hinted at the story below her surface. For a moment, there was this entirely different thing going on, separate from Frodo's journey, that was happening in her mind, within her own character; I always got the feeling that she wasn't even talking to Frodo just then, she was talking to herself, and I loved that something so big had happened in such a small moment that you almost don't notice that it's happened at all.
So... uh. I was a bit taken aback when the scene I most wanted to see turned into this huge and terrifying FX blowout. If anyone could have sold a moment like that with a few subtle expressions, it would have been Cate Blanchett (who was already one of my favorite actresses at the time). I love the movies so much that I got over it, but... I was telling you this for a reason, and I can't remember what it was now. Anyway. In addition to that, I am really drawn to good witch/fairy godmother characters. (Like Serafina, for example--or even Glinda the Good Witch, to touch on a more iconic character. In fact, Arwen functions as a "good witch" when she first shows up in the Fellowship of the Ring movie, which may be the reason I like that take on the character so much.) The kind of character who isn't the hero or heroine, but who either shows up to help or represents an oasis of aid. I think I identify with characters like that a lot, in terms of what I could actually do in the world. I'm not the crusader or the princess in the tower; I'm a side character with her own thing going on, that maybe not a lot of people know about, but who tries to help when she can. (You know, if you think about it, Alice has a not dissimilar role--the magical helper. That may explain why I got so stuck on her, even though the rest of the series drives me up the wall.) Anyway, Galadriel is one of my favorite characters ever in fiction, so you can imagine what happened when I found out that Tonner had gotten the license. I don't remember the exact sound I made, but I think I was on the phone with queenanthai at the time; she can tell you. I was on the phone with another friend yesterday, and I made such an alarming sound when I discovered the Galadriel pictures that she thought someone was breaking into the house or had died or something. It's... a thing... for me. I'm actually glad the doll isn't shipping yet, because I would be out on the street selling my kidneys for one if it were.
Meanwhile, I've heard that Tonner Alice's ship date either hasn't been decided or may be as late as November. By then, I may have saved enough money for it, and I highly suspect they will make some changes and quietly update the picture, which is exactly happened with the original Edward and Bella dolls (you may recall David Boreanazward's first appearance). By the time the Edward shipped, the likeness was actually pretty good--good enough to make me feel kind of bad for even owning it--and the Bella looks a lot like Kristen Stewart around the eyes. (Even if you don't see it in the picture, I'm telling you, it does in person.) Of course, the new Bella sculpt, as a number of commenters pointed out yesterday, looks more like... Stephenie Meyer. (Look! Look at that and tell me it's not true!) So I don't know if the new dress will fit the old, va-voomier Bella figure, but I ain't bringin' in the new one. I'm not writing The Secret Life of Authors I Have Issues With.
And yes: I'm working on a new Secret Life of Dolls installment. My beloved secondhand camera has died, though, so there will have to be fewer pictures, because a lot of things just don't come out right when I use my camera phone. So I am trying to juggle Secret Life with work that will actually bring in money, both to get a new camera and to be able to afford the Galadriel and the Alice and also, you know, things that are not non-essential hobby purchases. Point being, I'm trying to get on with that, yes. I had meant to introduce a new character last August, which is how behind we are now. C'est la vie.
Here's something that may help you understand my reaction to the Tonner Alice:
The Barbie Alice has an Eclipse outfit--still not one of the really cute, more layered outfits from earlier on. But it does have the cute little grey ribbon choker that's the character's trademark. And it has the right hair. And Tonner's even done a doll with flippy hair before, so I know they can do it.
(For reference's sake, here's what the two Victorias look like, since they posted the Barbie Victoria picture the same day. The Tonner is the Rachelle Lefevre likeness/outfit from the first movie; the Barbie is the mostly Barbie-esque Bryce Dallas Howard likeness/outfit from the new movie, which is why they look so different. I still think the Lefevre Victoria is totally fierce, and if I had a million dollars and a whole other shelf, I would grab that one in a moment. And then she would stand next to the Arwen, Tia Dalma, Queen Susan, and the dozen Ellowynes I can't afford, either.)
Meanwhile, the Galadriel gets more and more awesome every time I look at it. Because I go back and look at it a lot. It is so awesome I can't even handle it, y'all.
Those of y'all who haven't been around this journal as long... I have a major Galadriel thing. For the first few years of this journal (which I started a couple of months before Return of the King came out, for reference), people used to joke that they would be disappointed if I didn't look like Cate Blanchett in real life, because I used so many Galadriel icons. She was always my favorite character from the books--the "I will diminish, and go into the West" scene was always my favorite, because I loved that there was this great, powerful woman who clearly had her own story, a story of almost Shakespearean proportions, and you saw its pivotal moment play out in a few lines of dialogue--brief, quiet lines that hinted at the story below her surface. For a moment, there was this entirely different thing going on, separate from Frodo's journey, that was happening in her mind, within her own character; I always got the feeling that she wasn't even talking to Frodo just then, she was talking to herself, and I loved that something so big had happened in such a small moment that you almost don't notice that it's happened at all.
So... uh. I was a bit taken aback when the scene I most wanted to see turned into this huge and terrifying FX blowout. If anyone could have sold a moment like that with a few subtle expressions, it would have been Cate Blanchett (who was already one of my favorite actresses at the time). I love the movies so much that I got over it, but... I was telling you this for a reason, and I can't remember what it was now. Anyway. In addition to that, I am really drawn to good witch/fairy godmother characters. (Like Serafina, for example--or even Glinda the Good Witch, to touch on a more iconic character. In fact, Arwen functions as a "good witch" when she first shows up in the Fellowship of the Ring movie, which may be the reason I like that take on the character so much.) The kind of character who isn't the hero or heroine, but who either shows up to help or represents an oasis of aid. I think I identify with characters like that a lot, in terms of what I could actually do in the world. I'm not the crusader or the princess in the tower; I'm a side character with her own thing going on, that maybe not a lot of people know about, but who tries to help when she can. (You know, if you think about it, Alice has a not dissimilar role--the magical helper. That may explain why I got so stuck on her, even though the rest of the series drives me up the wall.) Anyway, Galadriel is one of my favorite characters ever in fiction, so you can imagine what happened when I found out that Tonner had gotten the license. I don't remember the exact sound I made, but I think I was on the phone with queenanthai at the time; she can tell you. I was on the phone with another friend yesterday, and I made such an alarming sound when I discovered the Galadriel pictures that she thought someone was breaking into the house or had died or something. It's... a thing... for me. I'm actually glad the doll isn't shipping yet, because I would be out on the street selling my kidneys for one if it were.
Meanwhile, I've heard that Tonner Alice's ship date either hasn't been decided or may be as late as November. By then, I may have saved enough money for it, and I highly suspect they will make some changes and quietly update the picture, which is exactly happened with the original Edward and Bella dolls (you may recall David Boreanazward's first appearance). By the time the Edward shipped, the likeness was actually pretty good--good enough to make me feel kind of bad for even owning it--and the Bella looks a lot like Kristen Stewart around the eyes. (Even if you don't see it in the picture, I'm telling you, it does in person.) Of course, the new Bella sculpt, as a number of commenters pointed out yesterday, looks more like... Stephenie Meyer. (Look! Look at that and tell me it's not true!) So I don't know if the new dress will fit the old, va-voomier Bella figure, but I ain't bringin' in the new one. I'm not writing The Secret Life of Authors I Have Issues With.
And yes: I'm working on a new Secret Life of Dolls installment. My beloved secondhand camera has died, though, so there will have to be fewer pictures, because a lot of things just don't come out right when I use my camera phone. So I am trying to juggle Secret Life with work that will actually bring in money, both to get a new camera and to be able to afford the Galadriel and the Alice and also, you know, things that are not non-essential hobby purchases. Point being, I'm trying to get on with that, yes. I had meant to introduce a new character last August, which is how behind we are now. C'est la vie.