So disappointed
I am annoyed that LJ does not let you preview your mood icons anymore....But that is beside the point I want to make!
So, months and months and months ago, Disney announced they were doing a Blu-Ray re-release of The Little Mermaid and going to release it into 3D in theatres. Well, not long ago they cancelled the theatre release (claiming the releases weren't making enough money) and I was super bummed. Mama and I saw both The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast when they were in 3D and they were beautiful -- BatB especially (I would never have guessed it, but the depth in the scenery was amazing!) I was so looking forward to TLM, especially the opening scene with the ship and going down into the ocean and her cavern and the battle with Urusla and possibly seeing animator sketches in 3D during the credits like BatB (they looked AMAZING in 3D).
Well, I thought I still had the Limited Edition doll to look forward to. Disney have been doing some really nice LE dolls with their Blu-Ray releases (well, some of them are okay: Cinderella is always underwhelming since they've decided she's yellow-blonde and her dress is blue now which she is NOT and it is NOT and the Belle LE doll was surprisingly...boring. But the Snow and Tiana ones are lovely).
But Ariel is my fave and I had high hopes. I am sure you can guess where this is going based on the use of the word "had". HERE ARE THE LEAKED PICS OF MY SADNESS.
These photos belong to Flickr user fallconary615! Many thanks to hir for sharing the photos even though I ended up not being excited about the doll.
Now, the face mold is beautiful (the same one they used to the 17" singing doll that I have -- almost perfect!). The materials are also beautiful. But they are simply wrong: the shell-bra is not purple and the tail is...what, cobalt?! Cobalt is a lovely color, but it is not the color of Ariel's tail! As for the rest of my tail complaints: the scales are too big for my taste, she doesn't have a waist fin (a trend in mermaid art that Disney started, afaik, so it should be included), and you can hardly see her fluke! The fluke is an extremely important part of a fishes/mermaids tail! It's just all squished up in the corner of the box! And they made the darn thing the same color as her tail and totally copped out by using a simple fabric and just utilizing piping to represent the ribbing. It's not even see-through! This special shade of teal is Ariel's image-color (they made the color specially for her and named it after her, darn it!) and it's the number-one thing I was imagining how beautiful they would make on the doll! All her tails for the store-dolls are "meh", which is fine because they are affordable and made to be removed and played with by little girls who will be rough on them, so I expected a little effort to be made on the LE tail!
I have a lot of feels about mermaid tails. Imo, a mermaid's tail represents her or his very self: if I were to choose a tail, I would choose the color, types of scales, fluke, and transition to human body very carefully because being a mermaid means being free and being totally yourself without any need to hide who you are! I am constantly work-shopping what my own tail would look like because it's a very important decision. Ergo, Ariel's tail should look like what Glen Keane chose for her....But instead it's a cobalt mess.
Please don't think I am insane after reading that rant about tails, even though I mean it because mermaids are very important to me. Oh God, I am turning into a Hippie: I should be getting my complimentary shipment of granola and Birkenstocks any day now.
AS FOR THE BRA COLOR (O NO, I AM NOT DONE YET BETCHES!!!): it should be purple. Why? Because Ariel's color combo of red, purple, green is very important. First of all, it's an artistic decision: these colors actually go really well together but are uncommonly paired because most people don't know they go really well together. Second of all: they are put in this order because that is the way they best compliment each other and it draws the eyes down the design. LASTLY: it is so 80s/early 90s-tropical and represents the era in which the movie was made -- the era I was lucky enough to grow up in and so have an special emotional attachment to.
....
....
WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLL, ROLLING IN THE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
....
....
Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I will not be buying this doll, which is probably a good thing since it costs a Franklin. But I wanted to spend ol' Frankie on it, I really did.
Also, I decided I will make a proper outfit for my singing Ariel doll -- as close as I am able with my limited skill to represent what I feel an LE doll SHOULD have looked like.
I know I am insane.
There's pleasure sure in being mad that none but mad men know.
So, months and months and months ago, Disney announced they were doing a Blu-Ray re-release of The Little Mermaid and going to release it into 3D in theatres. Well, not long ago they cancelled the theatre release (claiming the releases weren't making enough money) and I was super bummed. Mama and I saw both The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast when they were in 3D and they were beautiful -- BatB especially (I would never have guessed it, but the depth in the scenery was amazing!) I was so looking forward to TLM, especially the opening scene with the ship and going down into the ocean and her cavern and the battle with Urusla and possibly seeing animator sketches in 3D during the credits like BatB (they looked AMAZING in 3D).
Well, I thought I still had the Limited Edition doll to look forward to. Disney have been doing some really nice LE dolls with their Blu-Ray releases (well, some of them are okay: Cinderella is always underwhelming since they've decided she's yellow-blonde and her dress is blue now which she is NOT and it is NOT and the Belle LE doll was surprisingly...boring. But the Snow and Tiana ones are lovely).
But Ariel is my fave and I had high hopes. I am sure you can guess where this is going based on the use of the word "had". HERE ARE THE LEAKED PICS OF MY SADNESS.
These photos belong to Flickr user fallconary615! Many thanks to hir for sharing the photos even though I ended up not being excited about the doll.
Now, the face mold is beautiful (the same one they used to the 17" singing doll that I have -- almost perfect!). The materials are also beautiful. But they are simply wrong: the shell-bra is not purple and the tail is...what, cobalt?! Cobalt is a lovely color, but it is not the color of Ariel's tail! As for the rest of my tail complaints: the scales are too big for my taste, she doesn't have a waist fin (a trend in mermaid art that Disney started, afaik, so it should be included), and you can hardly see her fluke! The fluke is an extremely important part of a fishes/mermaids tail! It's just all squished up in the corner of the box! And they made the darn thing the same color as her tail and totally copped out by using a simple fabric and just utilizing piping to represent the ribbing. It's not even see-through! This special shade of teal is Ariel's image-color (they made the color specially for her and named it after her, darn it!) and it's the number-one thing I was imagining how beautiful they would make on the doll! All her tails for the store-dolls are "meh", which is fine because they are affordable and made to be removed and played with by little girls who will be rough on them, so I expected a little effort to be made on the LE tail!
I have a lot of feels about mermaid tails. Imo, a mermaid's tail represents her or his very self: if I were to choose a tail, I would choose the color, types of scales, fluke, and transition to human body very carefully because being a mermaid means being free and being totally yourself without any need to hide who you are! I am constantly work-shopping what my own tail would look like because it's a very important decision. Ergo, Ariel's tail should look like what Glen Keane chose for her....But instead it's a cobalt mess.
Please don't think I am insane after reading that rant about tails, even though I mean it because mermaids are very important to me. Oh God, I am turning into a Hippie: I should be getting my complimentary shipment of granola and Birkenstocks any day now.
AS FOR THE BRA COLOR (O NO, I AM NOT DONE YET BETCHES!!!): it should be purple. Why? Because Ariel's color combo of red, purple, green is very important. First of all, it's an artistic decision: these colors actually go really well together but are uncommonly paired because most people don't know they go really well together. Second of all: they are put in this order because that is the way they best compliment each other and it draws the eyes down the design. LASTLY: it is so 80s/early 90s-tropical and represents the era in which the movie was made -- the era I was lucky enough to grow up in and so have an special emotional attachment to.
....
....
WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLL, ROLLING IN THE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
....
....
Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I will not be buying this doll, which is probably a good thing since it costs a Franklin. But I wanted to spend ol' Frankie on it, I really did.
Also, I decided I will make a proper outfit for my singing Ariel doll -- as close as I am able with my limited skill to represent what I feel an LE doll SHOULD have looked like.
I know I am insane.
There's pleasure sure in being mad that none but mad men know.