Let's Talk About Encanto Dolls

Like many other people, I love Encanto. And when I love something, I must have merch! Plushies and dolls and figures are my go-to merch in general, and boy, was I excited when Encanto started generating dolls of all kinds! I was eyeing the beautiful gift set with Luisa ever since its release, as she is my favorite and the set seems to be the only way to get her. Last Christmas, Azalea542 made me a lovely present of this set, to my delight.

Also released around last Christmas season were Dolores and Bruno dolls. I was especially surprised Bruno got a doll, since male characters often don't, and especially adult males. I bought both and hoped for more characters to release.

This year, I was surprised and amazed to see a set with Pepa, Felix, and Camilo, as well as Dolores and Antonio. I was expecting Camilo would get a doll, but I wasn't sure the other adults would. Unfortunately, this set doesn't seem to be selling as well, at least here in town. During Wal-Mart's summer clearance sales, it reduced to $33.99 from $49.99, and then the final copy was reduced further to $11. By contrast, on Mercari people have been successfully selling it for $100! So it would seem people do want it, even if it's not popular here in town.

I bought it at the $33.99 price point and put it away for my birthday. I was rather sickened to see the other copy left reduced to $11 before it sold. It's worth so much more than that. Plus, I desperately want to see Mirabel's parents get dolls, and if this set is having so much trouble selling, that may not happen. I am hoping the difficulties are only local and that it's far more successful everywhere else.

One thing that did puzzle me was why Antonio's parents got dolls ahead of Mirabel's parents. Then the answer came to me and it was so obvious: because they sang the wildly popular Bruno song.

These dolls are all made by Jakks Pacific. They are absolutely beautiful and spot-on in their designs. Everyone looks like they stepped right out of the movie screen! Their clothes are also highly accurate, although I am very sad that all the details are simply printed on rather than being 3D. Isabela, for instance, doesn't have the actual layers present in her dress. Wouldn't it be so amazing if she did? Instead, it's just one solid layer meant to look like her multiple layers. I believe the set made by The Disney Store does feature real layers, but that set's price was just too much. I'm perfectly happy with the Jakks set.

These are the dolls I have currently opened:

The other set will be opened on October 3rd. At that point I will make another post to show them loose, but for now, here is what they look like in-box:

The Dolores seems to be identical, but there are slight differences in the Antonios. The one from the Mirabel set has cute bangs brushing against his forehead. Unless the one in box just looks this way while trapped in plastic, he doesn't have bangs. Also, the eye color is different. The one in the newer set has lighter brown eyes.

I have not decided what I will do with the duplicate Dolores and Antonio. Since they are more common, they do not seem to sell well on Mercari by themselves. Also, since I am a terrible sentimental softie, I am wondering if I will not have the heart to sell them, especially the duplicate Antonio. Look how cute they've packaged him, right there by his mother and father! Anyway, with the Antonios having slight differences, that might make it worthwhile to hang onto both for now. Who knows, one of the variants may become valuable later for the differences! (Or maybe not, but it's a possibility.)

On the plush front, Disney released Mirabel and Antonio some time ago but seemed to show no indication to make more. That made me reluctant to get them, thinking it would be sad if they couldn't have their family members around them. Now I am kicking myself for not getting them on some of the sale prices they were on, because Disney has released Isabela, Luisa, Dolores, and Bruno! And I doubt Mirabel will be on sale again any time soon. Antonio is no longer on Disney's site, but he is on Amazon.

As soon as I saw the new plushies, I couldn't resist and immediately got Luisa. She will also be saved for my birthday and I will review her properly soon after.

Who Are You Eevee

So for months, ever since learning what the Who Are You? plush actually are, I’ve wanted one to try out the unique gimmick for myself. For those who don’t know, they are mysterious plush that come tightly packed in a furry ball. You have to put it in or under water to uncurl it and see who’ve you got, hence the name. There is a Pikachu version, but of course, my interest is with the Eevee variety. There are three possible Eevees you can end up with, including one with the female tail.

After earning some gift cards that could be redeemed on eBay, I decided it was time to get one. There are some wonderful deals there from Japanese sellers. I bought one last week and it arrived yesterday!

Then came the debate of whether to save it to open up until my birthday. Usually packages that come around now I save for my birthday. But it’s not really a birthday gift since I used gift cards I’d earned. I decided not to wait.

First, I took some pictures of the box from every angle. It’s bigger than I thought it would be, which is intriguing. It also feels very nostalgic in its pictures and design. It reminds me of toy boxes from the 1980s and 1990s.

Also intriguing is this side picture, which seems to show a Caucasian girl instead of a Japanese girl. I do wonder if they were planning to release it internationally but then didn’t for some reason.

Here is a video of the unboxing and displaying everything just the way it comes. I love the collar and nametag! It reminds me of Pound Puppies.

https://youtu.be/cY_k1MsDG58?si=sp1HBaFySFK76Y3E

And here is the video of the uncurling. It was a fun experience! I’m glad I got to enjoy it. Since they are expensive, I highly doubt I’d buy any other new boxes. But I might get the other two Eevees already uncurled from other sellers.

https://youtu.be/3u7muIpLd80?si=KrtbE0_fGOk93cnI

I was going to make a third video to discuss my feelings, but I think I will just write them out here instead.

I would have been thrilled with any of the three Eevees, but I must admit I’m particularly excited I got the female one! I was secretly hoping I would get her.

I do wish the face didn’t seem to have such a pushed-in characteristic about it. I was hoping drying her might change that, but it doesn’t seem to have done so.

I put her on the low heat setting of the dryer for faster drying. Other videos mentioned it taking many hours for drying. She is almost completely dry two hours later, except for the inside of her ears and under her ruff. I dried the ears with a fan. I realize the dryer is not a recommended solution, but I was very careful and checked every few minutes.

She comes with two Berries, which I was afraid to put in the dryer for fear of them getting sucked into the lint tray. I’m drying them with the fan too, to great success.

Her fur is very long and fluffy. She isn’t really stuffed very much, naturally, due to the curled up gimmick. If I was more confident in my abilities, I would open her up and stuff her more now that she’s uncurled. However, I do not wish to do that.

Here she is all dry and fluffy. What a cutie!

Overall, it’s a super cute gimmick that I think kids will enjoy. Big kids too. I’m happy I got to experience this interesting and unique plush!