Nope, I never was a fan of Draculaura. The only G1 example I own is the Sweet Screams line, and those dolls are so steeped in fantasy that I didn't think that doll was a good representative of the character. I did like Drac's art class self, which paired the pink with a healthy dose of yellow, but I went for Skelita Calaveras from that line because skeletons, that's why. I still adore Art Class Draculaura, by the way, but I can always dress my new pet in yellow if I so choose...and if I like her. I might end up not liking her, though she LOOKS promising. By the way, y'all don't tell Jaylin that Draculaura is using her rock! Jaylin is kinda particular about that rock.
Monster High has changed a lot since I bought my first doll back in 2011. It's mostly niggling little things, stuff like Draculaura being thick, like Frankie Stein being out of the closet and non-binary, like Clawdeen having freckles (dang, she cute!), and...and...WHYYYY THE SAM-HILL IS LAGOONA BLUE PINK??? It wouldn't bug me, because there are fish in the sea (and the aquarium) that are pink and blue like the doll is, and because the new Lagoona is adorable. But she's Lagoona BLUE. If you have a color in your name, you kinda become associated with said color. Believe me, I'm a Moody Blues fan, so I've seen this phenomena with my own eyes. I wonder if Justin Hayward and John Lodge ever get sick of being associated with the color blue, by the way? But yeah, I would prefer that Lagoona Blue be blue, especially when Draculaura is already pink. Now...when the G2 Monster High dolls were released I wasn't a big fan of most of the changes, but I did like Draculaura's face. Here's what one of those dolls looked like.
In the webisodes Drac had a sugar-and-spice sort of personality, and her G2 face showed it. The G3 face has some of the same attributes, but we'll get to that. The biggest difference between G2 and G3 is the wildly differing body shapes (Frankie Stein is tall, for example). I don't know if ALL these dolls have different bodies, but I know that Draculaura can't share clothes with the other G3 dolls, and she's significantly bigger across the hips than my G1 and G2 dolls (Clawdeen Wolf and River Styxx are shown). She also appears to be shorter than Clawdeen. Initially the G1 dolls were all the same height, with dolls sized like River coming along later.
Kiyomi is a late arrival to this party, but fashionably late can be a good thing. Here's how she looks with Draculaura; since Kiyomi has the same body as Clawdeen she too is taller than Drac. These two used to be the same height, and Draculaura is wondering what the hell happened. Kiyomi is too happy to care.
Kiyomi: OMG, you're here!
Draculaura: ...how'd you get so tall???
Draculaura: ...how'd you get so tall???
River is kinda hard to fear anyway. She tries to be dark and dramatic, but she just ends up looking cute.
As is often the case, the original Monster High dolls (River, Kiyomi, Clawdeen, and all) drew a lot of criticism form the eternally pissed woke crew for being so lean. Clawdeen shows her frame better since she's lightly clad, but River and Kiyomi kinda show it too. I love how these three can work it even inside a cardboard box, by the way.
Japanese ghost girls can walk like an Egyptian too! As an aside, Kiyomi and Draculaura apparently got pretty thick during Draculaura's brief stent as a ghost. Upon their reunion Kiyomi got a little emotional.
Kiyomi: <sniffle> I've missed you...
Draculaura: Awww, I'm glad to see you too.
While Kiyomi pulls herself together, I'm going to talk a bit about these dolls and their bodies. I've made some vitriolic comments on dolls with deliberately chunky frames in the past, and while I've softened my stance a bit I still think it's not the greatest thing. Making doll bodies various sizes may help some little kid's self-image, but it doesn't diminish the realities of high cholesterol, early-onset arthritis, and heart problems that we heavy people face. For example, I just turned 36 and I already have arthritis because I'm heavy, particularly in my knees and ankles. That said, not everyone has big hips because of body fat. My sister's sister-in-law has big hips, for example, but it's because she has a wide pelvis. Soooooooo...the only shade I'm going to throw at the new MH bodies is that they can't share each other's clothes, nor can they wear the old stuff. Draculaura doesn't have a prayer of wearing Clawdeen's swimsuit, and I don't think the other G3 dolls would either.
Draculaura: But it's so cute!
Clawdeen: Sorry, Ula.
If you're a good girl, Draculaura, I'll find one on Etsy. Summertime will come around again, unless the Rapture occurs before then, and if it'sa doozy like last summer you'll need a nice swimsuit. In the meantime, maybe that tulle cape of River's might fit Draculaura. The only place it's fitted is around the neck.
Not too shabby! I think Draculaura is gonna need a cape of her own. The full-priced dolls do have a capelet, but my doll is a budget doll and didn't come with that.
Just for funzies I'm gonna introduce the other characters in this little play group. In September I bought Cabbage Patch Kids like they were going out of style, and in early October I went a little crazy with modern fashion dolls. Besides Kiyomi, River, and G1 Clawdeen, Draculaura's other new friends are my Bratz dolls Kylie, Tiana, and Felicia, an O.M.G. named Sways, and Monique Verbena, a student from Shadow High. Monique and Sways both have nice curves of their own, and Monique's dress is frilly like Draculaura likes, but I doubt that Draculaura can wear and share with them.
Just for funzies I'm gonna introduce the other characters in this little play group. In September I bought Cabbage Patch Kids like they were going out of style, and in early October I went a little crazy with modern fashion dolls. Besides Kiyomi, River, and G1 Clawdeen, Draculaura's other new friends are my Bratz dolls Kylie, Tiana, and Felicia, an O.M.G. named Sways, and Monique Verbena, a student from Shadow High. Monique and Sways both have nice curves of their own, and Monique's dress is frilly like Draculaura likes, but I doubt that Draculaura can wear and share with them.
Felicia and Tiana are largely here for size reference; the original Monster High dolls are taller than the Bratz, and Draculaura is too. These three probably won't be able to share clothes, though I may try blouses and jackets. Felicia isn't thrilled to meet yet another Monster High doll, but Tiana is more than happy be a buffer.
Felicia: How many of these weirdos does the Moon Girl have???
Tiana: I think they're cool!
Lastly, there's Kylie Jenner. Kylie has similar measurements to Tiana and Felicia and will thus not be able to share clothes with Draculaura, but her platform shoes make her look taller than the other Bratz. Typical of modern-day socialite girls, Kylie is colored something like a Goldfish cracker.
Now let's finally get to the meat and potatoes of this review, and look at Draculaura's hair. She's got a respectable amount of hair. Not as much as the current Lagoona does, but enuff.
A lot of my old Monster High dolls have a ton of hair product on their hair, or far worse, a glue-filled head. Clawdeen and C.A. Cupid are aging the worst of my MH bunch because of the glue. For Clawdeen, this means stiff, eternally wet-looking hair that can be explained away by her beach theme...
...but snow-white Cupid is beginning to yellow, and her hair is very dusty. Poor Cupid, I was hoping I could keep her in good condition.
While putting this post together I read that some of these dolls have singed hair inside the head. Miss Emily's singed Clawdeen has greasy tresses just like my doll does, so that may be part of the reason why my Clawdeen's hair looks scuzzy. I don't know why singed hair would be chronically greasy, but it's that way with Miss Emily's original Clawdeen and it's that way with my Clawdeen. I'm not going to cut Clawdeen's head open to find out, so I'm just gonna leave that baby lie and let Clawdeen strike a pose. Even with that hair she can do it.
It was while Clawdeen was striking her pose that I noticed her eyes, and how they're the same color as Felicia's. LOL, this picture may be the reason why Felicia doesn't trust the Monster High bunch.
Back on subject, Draculaura's head is stiff, but not rock-hard like Clawdeen's and River's. I don't know what to make of that, so I'm just gonna pray that Drac's head is not filled with glue and move on. Her bangs are stiff, meaning that she's got gom in her hair that will attract dust with time. I like the angular cut, though.
The rest of the hair is worn loose and falls to Drac's knees. It's mostly straight, but the packaging did leave some waves. The fibers feel soft, but not as smooth as Felicia's braids are. There's a tiny bit of product in there, making the hair slightly clumpy and sticky to the touch. This is particularly noticeable up front, near Draculaura's ears (Tiana and Kylie also have this problem).
I kinda miss the pigtails that G1 Draculaura sported, but I love my doll's two-toned hair. Yep, that black isn't just a patch on her bangs! Indeed, while her bangs are fifty-fifty pink and black, the black dominates a little as the part extends back. I can definitely dig that.
Unfortunately I can't recreate the hairdo of the original Draculaura on this doll; the rooting is okay, but the plugs are spaced too far apart to make a part look good. Notice that Draculaura's scalp is two-toned. LOL, I'd wondered if her head would be painted two colors, and now I have my answer.
Since we're looking at hair, dig Sways. Microbraids AND Bantu knots! I freaking love Bantu knots. I don't remember any Monster High doll having these.
Or I think these are Bantu knots. They kinda look like 'em, but maybe they're just regular hair knots. Monique doesn't have knots, but she does have two-toned microbraided pigtails with wrapped bases. She has so much hair that she could wear the braids if she wanted to.
BOTH of these dolls have extremely long hair, and it's braided to the tips. Can y'all imagine the time and effort it would take to style a full-sized human's hair like this? And the upkeep, especially with those dye jobs? Good thing Sways and Monique are dolls, LOL.
I love how Shadow High and Monster High subvert the age-old critiques about dolly racial diversity, by the way. By being pink and purple Draculaura and Monique can be any stinkin' race their owner projects on them, OR they can be something completely made up. Hmmm...is "vampire" a race or a species? Drac?
Draculaura: I never really thought about it. Hey, aren't we supposed to be talking about hair???
Oh, right! I'm having a little too much fun with these dolls, LOL! Drac's hair is topped with a pink plastic headband, and said headband has a black heart with bat wings on it. Very predictable for this particular doll, but I'd have preferred a skullette. I really liked the skullettes.
Get this: the headband is plastic-tacked to Draculaura's head. I should've foreseen this, as both Mattel and MGA Entertainment like these damn things.
Seriously, Draculaura, Tiana, Kylie, and Felicia all had three plastic tacks holding their heads to their packaging. Sways had four, and Monique had SIX. For dolls smaller than Barbie! If these dolls were the size of Gooliope Jellington I'd understand (Gooliope was/is pretty top-heavy), but they're not. One tack is enuff. <takes deep breath> Okay...Draculaura's hair is okay, but nothing super-duper special like the hair of past Monster High dolls. I've yet to see an MH doll with hair as insane as Dawn of the Dance Lagoona Blue's mohawk, for example, or Operetta's modernized victory rolls. But then again, I'll bet DotD Lagoona's hair is a fright now. My Cupid and Operetta are holding their own, but their heavily gelled 'dos are very dusty. Draculaura's hair will need a wash, and the style is boring, but it's just right for the target audience of these dolls.
This face is where my decision NOT to collect Draculaura in my youth is coming back to bite me. I don't really have anything to compare my doll to and will thus have to rely on old stock images. First, here's my girl up close.
This face is where my decision NOT to collect Draculaura in my youth is coming back to bite me. I don't really have anything to compare my doll to and will thus have to rely on old stock images. First, here's my girl up close.
Now here's how she compares to her G1, first wave self.
They're definitely the same character, but there's a lot of differences. That said, sometimes bangs hide some very unflattering eyebrows, and sometimes they cover some pretty ones. Let's see what Draculaura has under that helmet.
Hold up, River does have a little bit of detail hiding under her gelled bangs. Her brows are not as detailed as Draculaura's, though.
Kiyomi's eyebrows are silvery white and are single-stroke like Clawdeen's.
Under her eyebrows Draculaura has your typical large MH eyes with long eyelashes. Her eyeshadow is predictably pink, as are her irises, and she retains the little heart on her left cheek. All good Draculaura dolls have that heart. The paint job sometimes varies, but the heart is always there.
She's also got hearts in her eyes, so I guess she's no juke box hero. This lips are a nice coral shade with two fangs showing, again par for the course for Draculaura. I like the shade of pink, but I prefer the crimson lips on the G1 doll, or the black lips sported by...shucks, I forgot which Draculaura doll had black lips. Pink lips are more fitting for this doll's character, but they're less striking. Still, they're big, pretty lips, not huge like the Bratzpack's lips are, but big enuff to be eye-catching.
I was surprised to see that Draculaura has pointed ears underneath that hair. Her G1 and G2 selves don't have this.
I've never known a vampire with pointy ears...except for Alistair, one of my ball-jointed dolls. Dream of Doll advertised him as a "vampire elf," so his pointed ears are the result of elven lineage. I just skip all that and identify him as a werewolf, like Clawdeen.
It's hard to tell underneath that wig, but trust me: Alistair's ears are pointed. I need to drag Johnny, Alistair, Chloe, and Wozzeck out and play with them more often. Ball-jointed dolls aren't cheap, and yet I lost interest in mine almost as quickly as I discovered the hobby. But resin aside, I wasn't aware that pointed ears were a thing for vampires, but it's a cute little touch anyway. None of Drac's G3 friends have pointed ears except for Clawdeen, so this bit helps set Draculaura apart a little. Overall the aesthetic of the makeup falls a little flat in my eyes, especially when compared to the paint on past dolls. The Monster High squad was supposed to be freaky fabulous, but Drac's new palate is just...plain pink. The paint is all there, though, and it's on straight. My Clawdeen is missing part of an eyebrow, and my first-wave Lagoona has lopsided eyes.
Draculaura's eyes are straight, but they are frustrating in another way. Since they're painted looking sideways and up, I have a very difficult time getting Drac to look at me, OR at her friends. Here Tiana is trying to engage Draculaura in conversation, but the young ghoul's thoughts are clearly elsewhere.
Tiana: You listenin'?
Draculaura: ...I'm sorry, what?
Draculaura: ...I'm sorry, what?
On the other hand, Draculaura is adept at looking dreamy, just like Monique is. Granted, Monique has an excuse, as her heavy hair pulls her head back. Alliteration!
Now it's time to body-shame Drac some more. Here's what she looks like without clothes. This shade of pink is incredibly difficult to photograph with the tools I've got, by the way. She's prone to looking washed out.
Her frame is pear-shaped, kinda like the bodies of the Rainbow High and the Shadow High bunch. I also threw in Sways for the sake of comparison.
Okay, take that back: Drac's body is more pair-shaped than either of these bodies. She's got more junk in the trunk than Sways, but less up top than Monique. It's probably also easy to see that Draculaura does NOT have the torso joint that most of the G3 crew has. Mega-bummer.
Things get off to kinda an even slower start with the neck joint; it is supposed to turn and tip in all directions, but it doesn't do this very well. It's well nigh impossible to get her to look down, for example. Looking up is a cinch, but not down.
Her head does turn and tip smoothly, though.
Okay, take that back: Draculaura can look down, but only if she's also looking to the side. Weird.
In the G1 and G2 days these dolls had very dynamic arms. Very slender, mind y'all, but very posable, with joints at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Draculaura does not disappoint. Her ball-jointed shoulders swing out all the way, and her elbows both rotate and bend to ninety degrees.
As y'all saw above, Draculaura can bend her arms enuff to cover her eyes. I'm glad these dolls still can do this; I used to pse my old MH dolls in Monkeys of Japan poses, and I can continue that tradition with Draculaura.
In true Monster High fashion these hands detach, and since Draculaura is one of your more humanoid dolls her hands are pretty plain. She's got five little fingers and a slight hitchhiker's thumb, but there's nothing much to see here.
This is what I mean when I talk about humanoid and non-humanoid hands. Clawdeen is a werewolf, so her hands have obvious claws and fingers that are molded in a scratching position. Kiyomi and River, being more humanoid, have smooth, slender fingers with rounded tips. Notice that Drac's birdie and ring fingers are fused, while the older dolls have five separate fingers. Just thought I'd throw that out there. And spoiler alert, the other G3 characters have different hands. We'll see examples of that around Christmas.
Draculaura is missing the torso joint that some of the other dolls have, so to legs we go. Draculaura's legs are a different size from those of her older friends, but the jointing is similar. Her hips go out to a respectable angle, but she cannot do splits.
It looks in this picture like Draculaura is kneeling, but she's leaning against the back of the box to do it. Her knees bend to just past ninety degrees, but she can't kneel without face-planting.
Clawdeen, Kiyomi, and River all have a little backwards play in their hips, so they can kneel to some extent. It looks a little awkward, but they can do it.
In addition to bending the knees rotate all the way out (and all the way in, but I didn't show that).
As a result of all of this Drac can sit, and she can sit pretty ladylike. Her hips splay apart a little when I seat her, but she can still cross her ankles like my G1 dolls can.
There is, however, a bit of a problem when Draculaura sits, at least when she's in her skirt. Drac's skirt is so short and tight that when I do sit her down one can see right up her skirt. Since Drac has pink molded panties it looks like she's wearing NOTHING underneath! I hate it when that happens; if Draculaura's drawers were painted something else this wouldn't be a huge issue, but...well, they're not. As a result, when Drac sits I either have to shoot her from the side or pose her with her hands over her crotch, like she's desperate for a potty break, LOL.
Lastly, footsies. Draculaura has big high-heeled feet, very typical of MH dolls of any stripe. She's got ankle bones visible in the side...
Draculaura's posing is...well, maybe not quite as good as that of the older dolls, but it's very, very close to being equal. While she's a smidgen less limber than her friends, Draculaura makes up for it by being sturdier.
When it comes to clothes, Monster High dolls were/are occasionally saddled with something skimpy like pajamas or a swimsuit, but usually they come with multi-piece outfits. Draculaura is no exception.
The more deluxe dolls come with some piece of outerwear (Draculaura's deluxe self came with a cape), but my doll just has the basics...sort of. Her blouse is two pieces, a gauzy interior blouse and a corset-style tank top on the outside. Here's the corset top.
At first i thought that the corset top was made of that papery vinyl stuff, the kind that doesn't hold up well in the hands of destructive little brats. But in fact it is very stiff sateen with shiny hearts and bats printed on. The front is decorated with a delicate black satin bow, and the straps are equally delicate little ribbons The print goes all the way around (YAY!!!), and the top fastens with Velcro (boo).
The inside is not much to look at, but all the seams and hems are tidy.
I booed the Velcro on the corset top because the blouse worn under it is a sheer fabric that snags. Spoiler alert, it closes with Velcro too.
The skirt falls slightly above the inee, meaning that it's shorter than something I'd have ever worn. I think that this would classify as an A-line skirt, though Draculaura's full hips stretch it out a bit.
As with the two topss the inside is nothing to look at. Indeed, one can see the print on the inside of the skirt, suggesting thin fabric even though the fabric doesn't feel thin. As with the blouse and the corset top the hems and seams are neat.
Moving down, Draculaura wears plain black mesh socks on her feet. These are simple and no-frills like the blouse, but they're nicely fitted. Again, they are also sewn well.
Lastly, the shoes. Monster High shoes are legendary for their detail and for their appropriateness to the character wearing them. Draculaura's shoes are indeed fitting for her pink-loving self, but they're sadly pretty boring.
On her back Draculaura wears this stiff-strapped, coffin-shaped backpack. The winged bat IS painted here, making me wish even more that the shoes had painted details. Underneath the heart the surface of the backpack appears to be quilted.
The underside of the backpack is pretty plain, but there are molded buckles and seams to be seen. Not bad for an area that's NOT meant to be seen.
All fashionable teenage girls wear jewelry of some stripe, and Draculaura is no exception, though admittedly she's not wearing a ton of stuff. She's got a simple black choker with yet another winged heart. Again, the wings are painted. I like now the ridges of the bat wings show through the paint, though this bit was probably not intentional.
Lastly, handheld accessories! Draculaura has these.
For the record, the more deluxe Draculaura is accompanied by her pet bat Count Fabulous, some food and clothing items, and her cell phone. The pets have sadly changed a lot, and IMO some of them aren't as good as their old selves. Crescent and Neptuna (owned by Clawdeen and Lagoona respectively) are the biggest culprits there; Crescent looks more like a puppy than a cat, and Neptuna no longer travels in that awesome fishbowl purse that she used to have. But thankfully, some things never change. Back in 2012 Drac needed SPF 500 sunblock when she went to Gloom Beach, and she still needs it now. My sister's sister-in-law thought this was a scream, by the way. This is a solid piece of butter-yellow plastic with a sticker on the front.
The back is plain.
In both pictures the thumb ring can clearly be seen. This only fits over Drac's thumb; the rest of her fingers are too slim.
Both Twilight and Morbius appear to have overlooked the fact that vampires can't handle sunlight...or I guess they do. I've not seen either, and I still have no interest in the Twilight franchise years after the fact. Anyway, in addition to her SPF 500 sunblock Draculaura has a carton of strawberry milk.
Wait a minute...MILK??? I thought Draculaura was a vegan. Maybe Mattel forgot that little detail. Maybe it's soy milk or almond milk, despite that huge pink MOO! on the carton. Mmmmm, I like soy milk! It's a bit of an acquired taste, but I found it not-so-bad. Regardless of the contents, Drac is carrying a milk carton, it does say MOO! on the side, and there are personified strawberries along with a milk skullette. LOL, I love seeing the skullette make a comeback! I still think it belongs on Drac's headband, though.
Lovely to see you again, my friend! LOL, Unlike the sunblock, the carton is hollow.
Also unlike the sunblock, the milk is printed on two other sides. One side has some info on nutritional value, and while the writing isn't legible it IS recognizable.
Alrighty Draculaura's outfit is adequate, but being the crazy dame that I am I'll eventually get bored with it. Throwing her in the other MH dolls' clothes is out of the question, and the Bratz' itsy-bitsy clothes wouldn't work either. <glances up at the beginning of the post> I said above that Monique Verbena's frilly dress might fit, so let's try that.
Sways, the O.M.G. doll, has the exact opposite problem from Monique: her chest is close to Draculaura's in size, but her hips are smaller. The top and shorts that Sways wears under her dress look like they fit...
...but the shorts don't close in back. The top does fit pretty well. I admit that that surprised me. I think those teeny-weeny clothes brought out Draculaura's inner tramp, by the way; she struck a pose like the dancers at a 2 Live Crew concert. Time to cover this girl and get my sweet little vampire back. Believe it or not, Sways's fluffy jacket and mesh dress fit Draculaura nearly perfectly. Drac would need some shorts or leggings of her own, but she actually looks pretty good. Sways's shoes didn't have a prayer of fitting Draculaura's plates, though.
I'm not sure what could be so fascinating inside this box, but maybe Drac sees something I don't.
For the record, a good-sized spider did come crawling out of the box AFTER I was done monkeying with it. Maybe Draculaura saw him before I did. I had mercy on said spider and did not kill him, even though he looked like a brown recluse. I think Draculaura appreciated me not smashing him.
As I've noted on my bow blog, my opinions on spiders have mellowed over the years, though I still will not tolerate brown recluses near my cats. I know better than to tease spiders, but Tommy the big shot doesn't. Anyway, the weather turned colder over the weekend so I put Draculaura in her horror-themed clothes and took her to Park Cemetery. Cameron accompanied her (with Jade's consent, LOL). This is the same grave marker that Suzie stood in earlier in the month.
So that means that some O.M.G. pieces or Rainbow High/Shadow High pieces will work, but I can't really rely on it. Since Mattel doesn't seem too keen to make outfits for the new MH bunch I turned to Etsy. There's not a ton of stuff out there for these new doll bodies, but I was able to find a couple'a things. This is what I was able to cobble together. Both pieces are from MagzRockingStyle.
Drac's blouse appears to have prints of newspaper clippings about serial killers. This one on the center appears to be about Charles Manson, and the "FIVE BLOODY MURDERS" also pertains to the Manson family. A story about Ed Gein appears towards the bottom hem, and the headline on the chest may concern John Wayne Gacy. I'm not 100% certain of that last one.
Oh yeah, there's also fake blood included. Pretty gruesome, but for a true crime buff such a bizarre shirt is perfect for a doll I'd own. The leggings are plain black leggings that match everything. They do NOT fit well over Draculaura's socks.
Draculaura can sit a little better in these pants than she could in her skirt, and her modesty is preserved.
As for the purse, y'all saw that when Kiyomi Haunterly moved in. Setsu-P sent that, and several others.
Three of the purses are pink, but I thought this one was the best match for Draculaura. It's even big enuff to hold her accessories.
Overall Draculaura doesn't give off the freaky fierce vibes that Clawdeen, River, and my other old Monster High dolls do, but if given a chance she can loosen up and look cute. Few dolls can make a simple act like drinking milk look adorable, for example.
Draculaura: Yeah, thanks, girlie.
As I've noted on my bow blog, my opinions on spiders have mellowed over the years, though I still will not tolerate brown recluses near my cats. I know better than to tease spiders, but Tommy the big shot doesn't. Anyway, the weather turned colder over the weekend so I put Draculaura in her horror-themed clothes and took her to Park Cemetery. Cameron accompanied her (with Jade's consent, LOL). This is the same grave marker that Suzie stood in earlier in the month.
I sometimes question the ethics of photographing dolls on grave markers, but in this case I think it fits, particularly with Draculaura's murder-themed shirt. Just the same, I try to follow the rule of modern-day explorers: "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints." So far I've explored nothing but graveyards; exploring derelict buildings like this one is increasingly popular, but it's dangerous to go alone, especially for a woman. As an aside, I find the Kmart in the linked video a fine howdy-do. The North Flint Drive-In survived an F5 tornado, only to be demolished in favor of a Kmart that now sits empty and badly damaged. In all fairness the drive-in was just out of the tornado's path, but several moviegoers drove INTO the tornado while trying to flee and were either killed or badly injured. There's y'all's useless trivia for the day.
That's a good place to wrap it up. Draculaura is good little doll in her own right, but I feel like something's missing. I mean, this doll IS recognizable as Draculaura. She has the teeth, she has the right colorization, she has a cohesive wardrobe, she has the joints that her G1 and G2 sisters had. I can't put my finger on what's lacking, unless it's that dreamy expression. These dolls were supposed to be freaky fabulous in their day, and Draculaura isn't all that freaky. Compared to her past selves she's just...cute. It probably doesn't help that I keep comparing these dolls to their past selves, and the last of those dolls were hitting shelves...what, five, six years ago??? To a kid the old dolls won't matter, but to an old biddy like me it does matter.
All that said, I am, like Miss Emily, happy to see these weirdos back in store shelves, if only for awhile. Draculaura is imperfect but cute, and I have no regrets about adding her to my bunch. Plus, I finally have an opportunity to add Abbey Bominable to my collection; she was always one of my favorite characters aesthetically, and her G3 self is cute. Twyla Boogeyman has also made an appearance, and I've always liked her too. Y'all have not seen the last of the G3 bunch, not on this blog.
Bat bites,
RagingMoon1987
Bat bites,
RagingMoon1987