May the 4th

For those of you that aren’t aware, it’s May 4th – which, in the Star Wars fandom means hashtags like #MayThe4thBeWithYou and various Star Wars appreciation.  Including, apparently, new Barbie dolls.

Left to right: Rey, C-3PO, Stormtrooper, and Chewbacca.

For those of you who aren’t members of doll groups on Facebook or haven’t seen the reviews on YouTube yet, these pictures might be new to you.  For me, I’ve been seeing them for weeks and holding off for today, when I assume (hope) they’ll officially launch on Mattel’s website.

While I can appreciate the creativity that went into these dolls, and the previous releases (shown below), I doubt I’ll purchase any of them.   

This feels odd to say because I’m both a Barbie fan and a Star Wars fan; but there’s something about Star Wars Barbie that’s just not working for me.  I like the idea, but not the execution.  While Barbie can supposedly be anything, I’m not sure that’s true when it comes to these iconic characters.  Sorry, Barbie, I still like you!

The only doll from the original group that I contemplated buying was the R2D2 doll:

However, as with all buys over a certain amount, I decided to “wait and see” and, within a few days, the desire had passed and I’d managed to avoid buyer’s remorse.  I’m not even tempted by this latest set of dolls, which is a bit disappointing, I really wanted to like Rey’s costume.  Mattel had a real opportunity here to create the costume from the film and put some effort into her look:

Instead of a desert scavenger with interesting lines and layers, an awesome weapon, and a generally cool looking costume, what we got was another doll in an evening gown. Because that’s just what Barbie needs, another evening gown:

I’m disappointed. 

The one doll that I like out of this latest set is the Storm trooper; not because of how accurate she is, but because it looks like someone attempting to cosplay a Storm trooper, neat. Also, her helmet is the hair which is just fun.

Still, with a 100$ price tag, I think I’ll pass.

Based on what I’ve seen in various doll groups, the Chewbacca Barbie seems to be making a good impression; just goes to show opinions vary from person to person.

I, for one, would love to see costumes from the films become available. Who wouldn’t want to dress up their Ken doll as Po Dameron or Han Solo?

Thanks for stopping in and I’ll see you next time.