Parents wanting to provide kids with a Disney Princess pal who is cuddly, portable, full of personality, and will make a good companion through the early years of childhood may want to look into getting a Disney Princess Rag Doll plush figure.
Disney Princess dolls for little girls
When I first heard that a loving grandparent was planning to give our daughter a Cinderella doll for her second birthday, I was a little concerned. Not having shopped at the Disney Store since I was in high school or kept up with the ever-growing line of Disney Princess toys, I thought my daughter was about to receive a 12-inch plastic doll like Barbie.
I figured we would take away the tiny plastic shoes and any other small pieces and just hope for the best.
Our Disney Plush Cinderella doll
What we received instead delighted me – a 16" Cinderella Rag Doll made of soft, huggable plush. She was perfect for holding, pushing around in a doll stroller, and cuddling with in bed. Sure, her ensemble was a bit formal for day-to-day life, but then when do you ever see Disney Princesses out of their official outfits? Digging in the garden, hiking through the forest, water-skiing...never are they ever pictured out of the fanciest outfit they wore in their movie, I guess for fear that kids won't recognize them out of uniform.
Disney Princess Rag Dolls make great holiday presents
Sometimes out-of-town family members struggle to think of good present ideas for our children. That's why it was great that there were enough dolls in the Disney Princess Rag Doll collection to supply my daughter with gifts for several birthdays and Christmases after we received the first one.
In fact, as soon as she understood that there was a whole line of them, she wanted them all, and we did some research to see just which ones were available. We still need the Beast, but apparently Cinderella and Snow White will forever go prince-less. Pocahontas also seems to be currently out of production, but that is what ebay is for.
Review of Disney Princess Plush Rag Dolls
These Disney dolls are soft and cuddly to hold, but constructed with nicely detailed costumes and facial features. The Disney Princesses' hair cannot be combed, but it can be tied back with ribbons or rubber bands to make it fancier. The dolls resemble the Disney characters they are supposed to be with varying degrees of accuracy, but each one is definitely recognizable.
They make great companions around the home and on adventures to other places. They are spot clean only, and I do worry about what would happen if one got badly soiled, so we do not take them to the park or other dirty places. However, they have traveled on planes and on multiple trips to museums and restaurants. They have been nursed, diapered, put down for naps, and given piggy-back rides. Their soft flexibility makes them a much more versatile playmate than a 12-inch plastic doll would be.
Because she has a variey of them, my daughter bonds with each doll in different ways, and I've noticed each one fills a different need for her. Cinderella seems to tend my daughter's playhouse and stick close to home, while Snow White is generally the chosen companion for out of town trips or museum visits. Prince Eric and Ariel stick together and are being raised as her babies; I often see her taking care of them the way I take care of her and her brother. Prince Philip, probably because of his sword and shield, is the protector who guards her sleep at night and our home while we are away.
And Belle? She just sits around and looks pretty. Perhaps she'll develop a personality if we do ever get a Beast plush doll.
Susan Linn and the danger of licensed character toys
Dr. Susan Linn points out in The Case for Make-Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World that playing with toys based on licensed characters (like Disney Princesses) can inhibit truly imaginative play. Children may end up copying the stories from the movies or television shows from which the characters came without ever thinking up their own stories. Since the Disney Princesses all come with clear and well-known names and histories, there is a real danger that little girls might end up just acting out the story of Cinderella or Snow White or whatever over and over.
If a household is going to end up with some Disney toys (and, as much as our daughter likes the movies, we were not going to be able to avoid getting at least some), these Disney Plush Rag Dolls are great because their softness, flexibility, and portability makes them inviting and adaptable to many imaginative situations. My daughter has made up scenarios with them that range far from the scripts from their original movies. After all, I'm pretty sure Prince Eric did not attend Montessori school and learn about different kinds of bears in The Little Mermaid or patrol under a dining room table with a sword made from a toy kitchen knife.
Where to find Disney Princess Rag Dolls in Chicago
Check Chicago-area Disney Store locations for 18" Disney Princess Rag Dolls of Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Jasmine, and Mulan. The dolls are also available online at Amazon or (older versions of the line) on ebay.
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