Monday, July 27, 2020

Royal Recommendation Results

I have a fairly large princess project on the horizon (not the next thing on my list, but perhaps later in the summer?), and I need your help!  Without revealing too much about the project itself, I'll tell you that I have Katie, Denika, Lenora, Danielle, and Madison molds to choose from for three of the characters.

I have my own opinions about which face should be which character, but I'd love to see if there's a consensus on who should be Belle, Cinderella, and Rapunzel.  I've attached pictures of each mold as a reminder.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the poll!  After 94 responses, I felt like a consensus was reached.  Results are after the jump.

There were 94 total replies, but I think some people only voted in one or two categories--which is completely fine.

Early in the poll, Danielle was the clear favorite for Rapunzel.  About mid-way through Katie emerged as a strong contender, but by the end a completely different result was reached:


So Rapunzel will be Denika.  I like that choice!

Cinderella and Belle were both competing for the same face, so things got a bit more complicated:


Lenora has a very royal face!

It was clear that Cinderella and Belle would be Madison and Lenora, but I wasn't immediately sure which doll to assign to which princess. Cinderella received the most votes for Lenora, but she also got more votes for Madison than Belle did.

In the end, I decided that Cinderella should be Lenora and Belle would be Madison.  I think that the Madison face captures a bit of Belle's spunky personality.

One overall observation is that Belle appears to be the hardest character to capture in a doll face.

Anyway, this collection won't show up for a while (still waiting on outfits), but at least now--thanks to all of you--I know how to prepare!

Here are examples of each face:

Katie
Denika
Lenora
Danielle
Madison

Thanks again!  Hope everyone's week was good.

15 comments:

  1. Hi! In my answers to the poll I was thinking of the Disney versions of the characters. I might not choose the same way if I were thinking of traditional versions. I'm eager to see how the dolls take on new life.

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    1. Thank you so much for helping out with this! I'll just say that either your impression of the Disney character *or* the traditional version is valuable information. If you want, you could just comment here on how you'd think differently if you were ignoring Disney. :)

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    2. Well, to me Madison is more classically beautiful, so if I weren't trying for Disney I might suggest her as Belle. And the fairytale Rapunzel is specifically portrayed in Disney as a lively and curious girl, which is why I chose a more smiling face, but if it weren't Disney I might choose one of the more serene faces. My personal bias is toward Katie, Lenora and Madison as "princess" types, but I always enjoy seeing what you do with the faces. You often bring out qualities I wouldn't have expected.

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    3. I totally agree! I've been playing a kind of musical chairs with Lenora, Madison, Kate (and also Denika). On different days, each of them seems better suited for a specific character!

      I'm so glad you asked your original question, because I've been struggling with a similar issue: how to imagine a princess without necessarily deferring to the Disney films. It's hard! I have a few other images of Cinderella in my head (from things like the movie Ever After, the live action Disney film, and also other Cinderella dolls I own), but I don't have as many references for the other two.

      Anyway--thank you again for this awesome input!

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    4. You're welcome! I think Disney has put distinct personalities on our idea of Beauty/Belle and Rapunzel, but not so much on Cinderella. But really you can reimagine them.

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  2. Replies
    1. Thank you, Micah! I find this sort of thing really fun to think about, too.

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  3. Oh! I'm excited for this project! I cast my votes, can't wait to see what you end up deciding on. :)

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  4. This was a fun challenge! I kind of had the Disney princesses in mine when I cast my votes. I went with Denika for Belle because Belle is usually drawn with a longer, more narrow face, and I like her calm and kind expression.
    I voted Lenora for Cinderella, because she has that delicate "princess" face.
    I struggled with Rapunzel, because she's my favorite. But I voted for Danielle because of her wider mouth and slightly awkward smile ^-^.
    I can't wait to see who you end up choosing for these girls! They're going to be beautiful!

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  5. I like Denika and Lenora, I hope you use those regardless who they portray.

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  6. That was fun! Can't wait to see what you do with them.

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  7. I too picked Lenora for Cinderella, because she has that beautiful sweet face that’s perfect for Cinderella. I struggled more with the other two. I thought that Denika could work well for both Belle and Rapunzel. In the end I chose Denika for Rapunzel and Madison for Belle. This was fun. Thanks for the chance to involve us slightly in one of your projects.

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  8. Lenora's serene face just screamed (well, whispered) Cinderella to me!!! -Micah

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  9. Sweet, my choices all won! Lenora is the most regal-looking and "adult" of the faces, and I always imagine Cinderella as a serene and mature-beyond-her-years princess.

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