09-08-2019, 03:28 AM
From what I can tell from your photo of the in-box figure, this looks like the nicest Moana figure I have seen! But then, I rarely see Disney Limited Edition figures. I don't know if there's a Disney store within a thousand miles of where I live.
[For the sake of accuracy, I looked up the locations of the nearest Disney Stores. There are actually six of them roughly equally distant, about 200 miles / 300km, or a four hour drive, away.]
As for Moana being a shelf-sitter compared to the Frozen characters, that was the case here even with the mass-market playline dolls. Frozen, and particularly Elsa, became some kind of mania, to the detriment of all other dolls and figures from any franchise or manufacturer. I don't understand it, m'self. When I finally watched the movie, I found it kind of meh. And Anna was actually the heroine and the star, not Elsa. I guess there's something about sexy blonde evil (although she wasn't actually evil) chicks that appeals to... kids, adults... I guess, everybody.
Plus, Frozen was a mega-hit movie. Moana... I dunno. I haven't seen it, and I didn't see much about it, not pre-release trailers, not online comments, no "buzz" at all. I don't know if it was good or bad, but apparently audience response was indifferent at best.
My impression, based on observing online responses, in-store toy releases, and general public response, is that, generally, Disney movies based on "classic European style" fairytale stories, whether actual fairytales or in the Euro-centric fairytale style, like Frozen, tend to generate more interest than "non-Euro" mythology, history, or legend-based stories like Moana, Pocahontas, Mulan, or Aladdin. I know these movies all have their fans, but when it comes to toys and "collector interest," well, nothing beats Frozen-mania, and the non-Euro character toys tend to sit on the shelves longer. Could be over-production on the part of Disney, too, when it comes to the toys and figures. The marketers always seem to ex-pect each new movie to outperform the previous one, and they ramp up production based on those ex-pectations, so the "appearance" of toys being shelf-sitters might also be related to the unrealistic ex-pectations on the part of manufacturers and retailers. Ex-pecting each new release to outperform the previous release is unrealistic.
(I know Lilo & Stitch was non-Euro and was hugely popular with commensurate tie-in marketing success, but that was not really a "fairytale" or "historic" type film; it was a crazy comedy about a space alien.)
Sorry, just rambling. Anyway, I want you to take your Cinderella... I must admit to feeling somewhat disappointed to learn that she is not actually a "Malibu Cinderella" with a golden-bronze tan... figure outside on to the back... porch? Patio? Verandah? Stoop? Deck? Portico? Piazza? Garden? Yard? ... well, outside, under the beautifully diffused-by-constant-overcast Scotland skies and snap a pic under what passes for natural light in your dreary northern latitude so I can see the "color-changing effect" of different lighting conditions. Pretty-please and thank you!
(Speaking of which... summer is almost over, and you said you would try to take some of your little crew out and about to show us some of the local countryside. I'm still hoping you have a chance... or a sudden, uncharacteristic burst of enthusiasm for life in the great outdoors... to do that.)
((Largely unrelated: I see that there is a new Addams Family animated film scheduled for October release here in the States. Will it be opening over there as well? Have you seen the trailers? What do you think?))
[For the sake of accuracy, I looked up the locations of the nearest Disney Stores. There are actually six of them roughly equally distant, about 200 miles / 300km, or a four hour drive, away.]
As for Moana being a shelf-sitter compared to the Frozen characters, that was the case here even with the mass-market playline dolls. Frozen, and particularly Elsa, became some kind of mania, to the detriment of all other dolls and figures from any franchise or manufacturer. I don't understand it, m'self. When I finally watched the movie, I found it kind of meh. And Anna was actually the heroine and the star, not Elsa. I guess there's something about sexy blonde evil (although she wasn't actually evil) chicks that appeals to... kids, adults... I guess, everybody.
Plus, Frozen was a mega-hit movie. Moana... I dunno. I haven't seen it, and I didn't see much about it, not pre-release trailers, not online comments, no "buzz" at all. I don't know if it was good or bad, but apparently audience response was indifferent at best.
My impression, based on observing online responses, in-store toy releases, and general public response, is that, generally, Disney movies based on "classic European style" fairytale stories, whether actual fairytales or in the Euro-centric fairytale style, like Frozen, tend to generate more interest than "non-Euro" mythology, history, or legend-based stories like Moana, Pocahontas, Mulan, or Aladdin. I know these movies all have their fans, but when it comes to toys and "collector interest," well, nothing beats Frozen-mania, and the non-Euro character toys tend to sit on the shelves longer. Could be over-production on the part of Disney, too, when it comes to the toys and figures. The marketers always seem to ex-pect each new movie to outperform the previous one, and they ramp up production based on those ex-pectations, so the "appearance" of toys being shelf-sitters might also be related to the unrealistic ex-pectations on the part of manufacturers and retailers. Ex-pecting each new release to outperform the previous release is unrealistic.
(I know Lilo & Stitch was non-Euro and was hugely popular with commensurate tie-in marketing success, but that was not really a "fairytale" or "historic" type film; it was a crazy comedy about a space alien.)
Sorry, just rambling. Anyway, I want you to take your Cinderella... I must admit to feeling somewhat disappointed to learn that she is not actually a "Malibu Cinderella" with a golden-bronze tan... figure outside on to the back... porch? Patio? Verandah? Stoop? Deck? Portico? Piazza? Garden? Yard? ... well, outside, under the beautifully diffused-by-constant-overcast Scotland skies and snap a pic under what passes for natural light in your dreary northern latitude so I can see the "color-changing effect" of different lighting conditions. Pretty-please and thank you!
(Speaking of which... summer is almost over, and you said you would try to take some of your little crew out and about to show us some of the local countryside. I'm still hoping you have a chance... or a sudden, uncharacteristic burst of enthusiasm for life in the great outdoors... to do that.)
((Largely unrelated: I see that there is a new Addams Family animated film scheduled for October release here in the States. Will it be opening over there as well? Have you seen the trailers? What do you think?))
They're not dolls, they're action figures!