Couldn't Wait Till Christmas! - SWAN LAKE Barbie Odette Doll
Written: Jul 26 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Beautiful, Theme Oriented
Cons: No Stand
The Bottom Line: Mattel BARBIE Of SWAN LAKE Odette Doll is beautiful, detailed, and certain to be appreciated by girls 3 and up.
|
|
|
| Lisa_J's Full Review: Mattel Barbie of Swan Lake Barbie As Odette Doll |
"Into an enchanted forest, Odette follows Lila the unicorn through a magical passage where she meets the Fairy Queen who reigns over all the forest animals. The evil Rothbart casts a spell that transforms Odette into a swan. Prince Daniel sees Odette, the swan, as she turns into a beautiful girl before his eyes. They fall in love, and together, they banish Rothbart, save the enchanted forest, and live happily ever after."*
That is the basis for the 2003, Mattel Barbie Of Swan Lake, Christmas season splendor from Mattel, one that is certain to be a wish list dream of many girls. This theme oriented, open your pocket book, marketing ploy started in 2001 with the release of the Nutcracker series. In 2002 we were presented with Rapunzel Barbie, and as sure as the sun comes up and goes down, Mattel is again grasping to seize the Christmas limelight.
If your child adores Barbie, is a fan of ballet, or is a dancer, the Mattel Barbie Of Swan Lake line is a good gift option and likely to be appreciated. This doll is suggested for children ages 3 and up, but in my view has a target age of 4-9. My daughter, a dancer, absolutely adores Swan Lake Barbie Odette Doll. Upon return from a national dance competition in Las Vegas, a relative gave her a (congratulations) gift card for Toys R Us. She spent a substantial time browsing, but kept being drawn back to the Mattel Barbie Of Swan Lake, stating "I just can't wait till Christmas!" She talked about how Ms. Colette (an artistic director/dance instructor) had shown them a video of Swan Lake with "Famous People [dancers]". Further she mentioned how beautiful that she felt this doll was, commenting about her elaborate costume, Pointe shoes, and pretty wings.
Although it was late when we arrived home, her Father assisted her with removing this doll from the box (a typically tedious new Barbie chore), and she proceeded to play with this doll and other dolls from this line. Unlike some 'gotta have' purchases this doll has continued to maintain playtime interest. Thus far Swan Lake Barbie Odette Doll is my favorite from the theme oriented Christmas releases. The only recommendation that I have for improvement is inclusion of a stand. This purchase included Barbie Odette Doll and her wings (no brush, no stand).
Barbie Odette Doll has long blonde tresses that are fashioned in a manner that allows the bottom portions to lay in ringlet curls. Her ivory complexion is complemented with pearlescent-pink lip color and eyeshadow in a gentle lavender and blue color. She is the typical Barbie height of approximately 11½”. Her knees bend without the exposed joint-points. She arrives wearing pink Pointe shoes. She has a removable necklace and crown, both offer primary colors of pink and blue. The crown has a swan head in the middle front, along with a crystal-like gem.
Attention to detail on her costume is splendid, offering lavish decorations on the bodice and skirt of the dress. This stage-ready dress has a pearlescent-pink satin-like bodice, with clear straps. The bodice is accented with pale blue stitching, and has a gorgeous overlay design across the breast portion. This overlay is coordinating colors of pale-blue and pink, and has ornamentally cut edges, resembling feathers. Also, the bodice has an attached multi-layered skirt in coordinating shades of pink and pale blue. The top layer is pale-blue chiffon material that has leaf shaped edges. The following two layers have feather shaped edges, are shades of pink and blue, and they're embossed with blue glitter, giving a realistic feather appearance. The forth layer is blue colored tulle that is accented with glitter. The bottom layer serves as the base of the skirt and is shimmery-pink chiffon. Barbie Odette Doll has two arm ruffles which have multiple feather shaped tulle pieces in pink and blue. For added realism Mattel could have made this dress an actual leotard. Instead they painted on pink, in the underwear area, and left the costume as a dress. Regardless… the costume looks great, is detailed, and is durable.
According to my daughter, a highlight feature of Barbie Odette Doll is her wings. They are translucent plastic that is embossed with pink glitter, allowing realistic vein highlights. The wing mechanism has a pink base that fits into an opening on the dolls back. This base has a button that when pressed allows a blue light to illuminate the wings. Additionally there is a lever that when pushed up, allows the wings to drop down and vice versa.
This doll appears to be durable. After manipulating the wings several times, they continue to work perfectly. Barbie Odette Doll requires 3 AG13 or LR44 button cell batteries, for the light mechanism of the wings, these are included with purchase. Marisa has used the light feature numerous times; battery longevity appears to be another feature.
Reflection
I realize that I have already expressed our 'like' for this doll, yet I want to reiterate how much my daughter likes Barbie Odette Doll. She reenacts ballet scenes, carefully positioning the doll and reciting proper ballet terminology. As mentioned, the wing feature is a favorite feature. Missy puts on a Celine Dion CD and has Barbie Odette Doll fly and sing.
………."I get wings to flly"……….
Naturally the main reason that I like Swan Lake Barbie Odette Doll is because my child has maintained interest in the purchase and due to the fact that she has so much fun with the doll. While playing with this doll, there is a twinkle in Marisas eyes that warms my heart.
==========*****=*****=*****=*****=*****==========
Other Recommendations:
Barbie As The Sugar Plum Fairy
Mattel Barbie as Rapunzel
==========*****=*****=*****=*****=*****==========
*Opening quote copied from product box.*
Thank you for reading and Happy Playing!
©2003 Lisa_J
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.98
Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: Kids to Teens
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Lisa_J
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: Pacific Northwest - Washington State
Reviews written: 1010
Trusted by: 667 members
About Me:
Mom of two wonderfully spirited daughters. Childcare Director. Spectator fan of dance.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.