The Good: Outfit is right for character.
The Bad: Terrible balance, Awful hair, Poor balance, Low collectibility, Comparatively low posability.
The Basics: An unfortunate doll, the Edward Cullen Barbie doll does not look like who it is supposed to and does not stand up in any way.
It might seem like it was terrible to kick the franchise on the same day Eclipse (reviewed here!) premiered in theaters, but even as I have generally enjoyed The Twilight Saga, I have not loved all of the merchandising that surrounds it. That day, I found myself contemplating a truly abysmal doll: the Edward Cullen Barbie doll. As one might have guessed considering my disdain for toys which do not closely resemble their subjects, I was not a fan of this shoddy Barbie doll which only seemed to get Edward’s skin tones (or lack of pigment there) correct!
When Twilight (click here for the review!) was released cinematically, Barbie was eager to get the license and they won it for the 12” standard dolls which have made Mattel a lot of money over the years. Unfortunately for serious collectors, the Barbie Edward Cullen doll falls dramatically shy of being worth buying for anyone but fans who are truly too young to get the teenage sexuality of the Twilight series.
Basics
The Barbie Edward Cullen doll is 12” doll of the white – not Caucasian, but vampire white – Edward Cullen as he appeared in the movie Twilight. Sadly, the sculpt is so bad that he looks a lot more like the Cullen patriarch, Carslilse than Edward! The outfit that Edward is wearing is a good one that looks like the outfit in the movie. Edward is outfitted in black jeans, a shirt and a coat that looks like it is appropriate for keeping a vampire safe from the sun in Forks, Washington. Because of this and the white plastic casting of Edward, this does look fairly appropriate for the character of Edward as seen in the film.
Even so, the costume is pretty much standard Barbie-wear. By this, I mean that there is not a huge attention to finer details and serious doll collectors will be left disappointed. So, for example, his shoes are plastic and the laces are non-functional and the outfit lacks functional buttons, something which larger scale dolls usually possess.
Even more annoying is the sculpt. Edward is essentially a white-plastic Ken-doll frame with a head that is supposed to be Edward’s. Unfortunately, the Barbie Edward Cullen does not look like Robert Pattinson. In addition to lacking the stubble the character is often seen with, the Barbie Edward Cullen lacks the strong cheekbones and angular face of Pattinson. The result is a face that has more in common with the round face of James Franco and the doll looks terrible as a result.
Edward Cullen, in this doll form, also comes with ridiculous hair. It is hard to get spiky hair on a doll, but Mattel does not appear to have tried with Edward Cullen. The result is that Edward’s head looks like it was fused with a Troll doll and no amount of combing seems to get the figure’s hair to look even close to correct.
Accessories
Outside the clothes on his back, the Barbie Edward Cullen doll does not come with any accessories. However, the box he comes in is fairly ornate with the forest in Forks and looks good enough to use as a display. Most fans who buy this will want a doll stand for him, if they insist on buying this terrible Barbie doll. Even if this Edward Cullen came with accessories, he would not be able to hold them as his hands are cast in an open position, which implies he can smack around the Bella Barbie, but do little else.
Playability
Edward Cullen has about as much playability as the average Barbie Doll, which is to say there is very little playability. This starts with poor posability and the feeling that Edward Cullen is a cheap Barbie doll is unfortunate. What articulation Edward has is fair, though most of his joints are ball and socket or hinge joints that swivel offering decent articulation for play. Edward Cullen comes with joints at the head (simple swivel joint) shoulders, elbows, knees, groin socket, and waist. This makes him posable in limited ways, though to be fair it does take a lot to make this doll loosen up to the point where the joints fail one.
On his own, Edward Cullen has exceptionally poor balance, which necessitates the use of a doll stand to keep him up. Sadly, he must be kept flatfooted and in a very neutral stance to stand on his own. This undermines what posability the doll might have had. Without his shoes on, there is no way to get Edward to stand up.
Collectibility
Edward Cullen is part of the Barbie Pink Label collection, the most common collection of Barbie dolls. Considering that with virtually every installment of the franchise, the same Edward Cullen Barbie is re-released in slightly different packaging and that even the Twilight packaging is still widely available, one suspects this will have terrible collectible value.
Overview
A poor Barbie doll that does not do any service to Twilight fans, the Edward Cullen Barbie is ridiculous looking and virtually worthless.
For other Twilight merchandise, please check out my reviews of:
Twilight trading cards
“Edward And Bella” Hallmark ornament
The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
2/10
For other doll reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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