Cry Babies review

And to think that I once said I don't like baby dolls!  Today's doll is another BEB, or bug-eyed baby, like Solana Sunburst and the Baby Alive dolls are...and I guess the Jaggets too.  She's one of the Cry Babies, and her name is Ayla.  She's fresh from Nampa, Idaho, the same community where one of my Cabbage Patch Kids once resided.

Ayla, Ayla...I like that name.  A cat on one of my favorite cat blogs was named Ayla.  That Ayla is over the Rainbow Bridge now, but she was a beauty and I loved her.  I love all cats, but I have a special fondness for Siamese and Siamese-looking cats.  Anyway, Ayla is a Cry Baby.  Cry Babies are from a company that I've mentioned exactly once before, IMC Toys (they did Cyborg Rocks).  There are multiple characters, but the gimmicks for these are pretty simple:  they drink, they wet, they cry, and some also fall ill or have faces that light up.  Ayla is from the "Stars" wave, meaning that her eyes light up, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.  I was attracted to this label on the back of Ayla's box, which apparently states that IMC Toys is a Spanish bunch, just like Jesmar and Famosa.  Looks like IMC is based in Barcelona, home of the Basillica de la Sagrada Familia.  As I've stated before, I love the Basillica.

Where were we?  <big smile> Oh, that's riiiiiight, Barcelona!  LOL, Ayla's box opening was relatively easy, though I do recommend having a pair of sharp scissors on hand as the twine holding her in place is pretty tough.  Nonetheless it was only twine, without the crap-ton of plastic ties, rubber bands, and strips of tape that some companies use.  MGA Entertainment could learn a thing or two from IMC about packaging.  As for Ayla herself, she is a fairly small doll with a huge head like the Glitter Babyz and the Baby Alive crew.  She's close in size to Solana Sunburst and my biggest Baby Alive, Princess Pipp Petals...

...and and she's also similar in size to two of my smallest Cabbage Patch Kids, Owen Presley and Taniyah Yasmin.  Or her body is close to them in size.  Her head is way bigger than theirs.

Since Ayla and Peggy Pumpkin arrived on the same day, here's how they compare.  Their proportions are completely different, but they're not too different in size.  Peggy's legs are longer, so if these two could stand Peggy would be the taller one, but neither of them can stand.

And because I want an excuse to drag Baby All Gone into the mix, here's how Ayla compares to Mary (left) and to Ernest John.

Point made, Ayla is an average-sized baby doll.  Now that size is outta the way, Ayla has painted hair like a great many baby dolls do, but her hair is a fantasy shade of almost-white, like so.  Fantasy hair colors are very common among Cry Babies.

There's a very slight tinge of pink in there, but it doesn't show up worth a dern so I usually just say that Ayla's hair is white.  Some Cry Babies just have hair up front and a mostly bald head under their hood, but Ayla has a full head of the stuff underneath, as well as a little trapdoor.  

Yes, a trapdoor.  The trapdoor is made of a slightly softer vinyl than the rest of the head, presumably to make removal and replacement a bit easier, but it's still a tight fit.  Cry Babies are so named because they cry "real" tears, and in order to do that their heads have to be filled with water.  The trapdoor conceals a reservoir that holds this water...

...and the reservoir in turn has a cap on it that screws on and off, like so.  The reservoir, from what I can tell, is white hard plastic.

The cap itself is your typical hard plastic cap like one might find on a modern-day soda bottle, with the addition of a soft vinyl "eye" in the center.  It's a hair smaller than the cap on a bottle of Snapple. 

As far as I know the reservoir is watertight and keeps the water away from Ayla's cry mechanism, but I'm not going to risk it.  When these dolls cry they tend to make quite a mess, so I'm keeping water a mile away from Ayla.  Still, the option is there if I so choose.  As for the trapdoor, Ayla is lucky, as her trapdoor is shaped like a cloud.  Other Cry Babies just get a square.  I wonder how this cry feature works on the dolls with rooted hair, by the way; some of these dolls have rooted hair instead of molded stuff.

Moving 'round to the face now.  Ayla isn't quite as crazy-looking as Solana Sunburst, but she's goofy enuff.

Word of note:  I usually have Ayla turned off, but if she's turned on and her pacifier is out like this, she will cry and won't stop 'til it's put back in, or if I give her a drink, OR if I rock her in my arms...I can see why kids like these dolls!  These dolls are semi-interactive, but they're easy to work with...sort of.  Ayla's pacifier fits snugly into her mouth, but her bottle does not.  It also requires a fair amount of hand strength to get the pacifier in place, especially if you're doing it with one hand like I sometimes do.  Finally, Ayla herself is fairly heavy; indeed, I saw a YouTuber warn that their doll was weighty, and mine is too.  That YouTuber likes Solana Sunburst, by the way!  Okay, where was I?  Oh yeah, the face.  Ayla's eyes aren't as garish as Solana's, but they are big and eye-catching, and she has better eyebrows.  Her eyelashes are simple spikes of black paint.

Under normal circumstances Ayla's eyes would look crossed, but her eyes are so big that they're gonna look crossed if she's looking straight ahead.  These eyes do not move, by the way.  Some Cry Babies and Baby Alive dolls have eyes that blink or move, but Ayla does not.  She makes up for it with eyes that glow.

I freaking love that!  Y'all know how I love things that glow.  At the same time these eyes also still cry, though I don't know how IMC managed that without putting Ayla's light mechanism in jeopardy.

Ayla's mouth is small and painted in three colors.  Her lips are a bronzy-tangerine shade, her inner lips are dark cherry, and I'll call the innermost color plain ol' cherry red.  

Ayla's mouth also has something to do with her mechanism, as she stops crying when her pacifier or bottle is in place.  I think there's a button in the roof of her mouth; I felt something click in there when I got her bottle positioned correctly.  As I stated above the pacifier will stay in place without any sort of help from me, but the bottle will not.  I guess that makes sense; I've known of precious few babies who hold onto their bottles with just their mouths, but I've known of many who fall asleep holding onto their pacifiers.

Rounding out the face are these little hearts.  I've heard of wearing one's heart on one's sleeve, but not on one's cheek.  Ayla also has two hearts...nope, not gonna go there, LOL!

I think stars would've been more fitting since Ayla is from the Stars wave, but hearts are cute too.  For the record, the other Stars, Sydney and Lilly, also have hearts on their cheeks.  Do all Cry Babies have that?  <pauses to look>  Some do, but not all of 'em.  By the way, can y'all believe that Kmart still has an active website???  I may buy something and report back on the service.  

Oh right, ears.  Simple, smooth little ears.  These don't come to a point like Solana's do.

I have to say, I like Solana Sunburst, but I prefer Ayla's face.  She doesn't have that goofy Poopsie Unicorn smile behind her pacifier, and her head isn't scratchy with glitter.  Ayla is significantly heavier than Solana though, because her head has her crying mech and that reservoir for water.  I can only imagine what she'd weigh with her head full.

Like Solana, the Baby Alive squad, and quite a few of my other dolls, Ayla has a big cabeza on a small body.  Word of caution:  turn Ayla off before undressing her, unless you want her sobbing the whole time she's unclad.  Her binky is sewn to her dress.  Indeed, undressing Ayla was quite an event, but we'll get to that.  Here's what Ayla looks like without clothes.

Oh, her backside is gonna be fun!  But again, we'll get to that.  Ayla has the same five joints that Solana and Rose and Imani and about 85% of my baby dolls do.  Her head turns some, but not all the way around. 

She can move her arms all way up, and I think this is cute because she looks like she's pretending to be a ghost.

Woooooooooo!  Now, unlike Solana, Ayla can move her hands behind her back if I straighten her hips first.

Ayla's hips obviously are mobile, thus the picture above.  She can move her hips quite a way forward and a bit back, but not all the way; the shape of her tushie prevents that.  She comes pretty close to achieving a split, though.

And of course, Ayla is an expert at sitting. 

Molding now.  Ayla's arms are made out of hard vinyl.  They're about the same length as Solana's, but because they're slimmer they look longer.

Unlike Solana, Ayla has long, well-defined fingers with little nails.  Her palm also has a single crease. 

Regarding legs, Ayla's are the exact opposite of Solana's:  thick frome hip to toe and straight at the knee.  Indeed, these legs remind me a little of tree trunks.  These are made of hollow, hard plastic rather than vinyl.

The calves have molding artifacts that look (coincidentally) like annular rings.  

The feet are relatively unremarkable, though Ayla does have little nails on her toes (Solana does not).

The soles of her feet are completely flat, except for a seam along her toes.

Alright, now it's time for the torso.  Ayla's body is made of hard plastic like her legs, and the front is pretty tame, with only a speaker visible. 

Now, the back.  It has Ayla's battery compartment (Cry Babies take two AAA batteries), her on-off switch, and EIGHT screws!  Three of 'em are holding the battery compartment in place, which would not have pleased me as a kid.  I hated asking for help with batteries. 

And where's Ayla's on-off switch?  Right on her tush, above an equally unfortunately placed screw.

Yep, I have to down this doll's drawers in order to turn her on and off.  It reminds of a story Daddy told me about failed products that appeared on...it was one of the late shows, either Johnny Carson or David Letterman.  One of the items was "a pretty little doll," as Daddy put it, and she ended up not selling because her batteries went up her butt.  I'd LOVE to know what doll that was, if Daddy was indeed telling me the truth.  He loved to spin tall tales just to get a laugh.  But anyway, Ayla's on-off switch is on her rear, and I'm willing to bet that other Cry Babies have this feature too.

But you'd think that would mean that Ayla's switch is easy to get to, right?  Just drop her drawers and turn her on, right?  Actually...no, it's not that easy.  Ayla's diaper is tight, first and foremost, and it's also SEWN TO HER DRESS!!!  The whole outfit is a single piece, though at first glance it looks like several pieces. 

I'll start by saying that all three of the Stars Cry Babies have shiny, metallic outfits.  Lilly is a rabbit, Sydney is...I think she's a swan, and Ayla is a fish for reasons I'll never know.  Her hood has a big top fin and two painted side fins, and the whole outfit has brightly-colored scales that bring The Rainbow Fish books to mind.

Maybe Ayla is an angelfish.  Don't go swallowing any guppies, chica.  Seriously, we owned an angelfish that tried that.  Tried:  operative word.  The angelfish sadly choked to death, AND THE GUPPY SURVIVED!!!  Daddy pulled guppy and angelfish apart expecting them both to be dead, and the guppy swam away!  My sister had a ringside seat to the whole debacle, so I know that's not one of Daddy's yarns.  ANYWAY, Ayla's hood fastens under her chin with a slim strip of Velcro. 

This same strip of fabric attaches the hood to the dress, in a two-inch area at the back of the neck.

There's a tag inside thr hood, making it loud and clear who this outfit belongs to. 

Ayla's dress is made of the same Rainbow Fish fabric.  This fabric has no drape, by the way, and it possesses a feel similar to that of vinyl or pleather.

The dress has short sleeves that are the only solid color anywhere on the dress.  Note the hems, which are neatly finished and show no sign of coming undone. 

The chest has a heart that is painted to look metallic.  I kinda wish it was made of foil (and therefore actually metallic), but it's not.

The skirt is a circle skirt, and it has what I presume to be a printed ribbon...or maybe it's a stripe.  Either way there's a magenta band around this skirt.

At the nape of Ayla's neck is an aqua ribbon tied/sewn into a bow.  This is where the binky is attached.  The bow is made of satin and is dangerously close to the Velcro on Ayla's hood, so I have to be careful not to snag the bow.

The back of the dress also closes with Velcro.  This is where I found the sole loose end on this dress.

See?  These hems are impeccable. 

The attached panties are plain white panties with elastic at the waist.  There's also a loose end here, but that's a result of me taking this outfit on and off.

On her feet Ayla wears bright magenta booties that don't match a thing on her outfit.  These are vinyl and come on and off easily.

The soles have the only stars on the whole outfit, and they add some character to some otherwise completely plain shoes.

Not a bad little outfit, I must say.  I love the colors and the fish motif.  Unfortunately Ayla can't share clothes with Solana, and I didn't think to try Baby Alive clothes, so I don't know what else she can wear, if anything.  That takes me to final thoughts. 

BAD

*Ayla is heavy, just like the YouTuber said.  She likely would be heavier with her head full of water.
*Like Solana, Ayla has BIG eyes that might freak some folks out.
*It takes a little hand strength to get that pacifier placed, and the bottle is hard to place.
*Crying gimmick can be messy.  Any gimmick that involves water will be.

GOOD

*Eyes light up!  I love things that light up!
*I love this doll's outfit too; it's a fish!
*Gimmick is pretty kid-friendly, but keep the caveats above in mind.
*There are a lot of these dolls.  If Ayla isn't your thing there are others.
*No scratchy glitter!

I like Ayla a lot.  All the Cry Babies have the same crying gimmick, but they look different enuff and are dressed different enuff that I've coveted a couple'a others.  Ayla also doesn't have the scratchy glitter in her hair that Solana does; Beth in WV noted that glitter is forever and she's right.  I do issue a word of caution with an Cry Baby, as they're all heavy when full and can make a potential mess.  There's also a concern about batteries, as they can leak and make a BIGGER mess with time, though I've yet to see that happen with my dolls thank God.  Despite my aversion to mechanical dolls, I like these Cry Babies quite a bit.  If you like Baby Alive then you might like these too.

With Solana and Ayla both being dolls of color, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a Canadian buddy (not the one from Newfoundland and Labrador, but another one).  My friend said that where she lived dolls of color didn't sell well, but she ended the statement with "Oh well, more for me!"  Indeed, she has a lovely, racially diverse collection of dolls.  Dolls of color sell much better where I live, but I still like 'em for myself!

I do like dolls of color, but in the case of these two (and Princess Pipp Petals too) I was also looking at their overall aesthetic.  Hair color, eye color, clothes, the whole kitten caboodle.  Solana was an easy pick since her dark vinyl gee-haws well with her orange hair and clothes, but Ayla was trickier.  Indeed, I wasn't sure whether I wanted her or Lilly, because Lilly has pink eyes and pink and blue hair, versus Ayla's more standard blue eyes and single-color hair.  In the end Ayla's fish dress won me over, because babies aren't often dressed as fish.  But as with a great many doll lines, there's something for everyone.  Y'all might prefer Lilly's rabbit getup, or Phoebe's triceratops costume (I love Phoebe!).  The sky is pretty much the limit with the Cry Babies.

Cheerful tearful love,
RagingMoon1987