REVIEW: Descendants 2 28" Mal doll

It's hard to contemplate the size of a 28" doll without having her in front of you. Mal is HUGE.

Just Play produced this small series of giant dolls as Walmart exclusives. They run a little less than $40 apiece, which is a very fair price, considering that's only double what the regular signature dolls are.

I ordered Mal from the Walmart website, only to have them never ship her. So I cancelled the order and tried the ship to store option. I thought the same thing was going to happen, but on the day she was supposed to be available for pick up, she shipped to the store!

She arrived yesterday, only one day after for the original pick up time. I couldn't get her until today though. You guys should see the ginormous box she was shipped in. Like yeesh!

It's hard to photograph something so big and properly show just how big she is. She's standing in front of my closet door there, but I think the last picture I'll put in this review will help with scale the most.

Mal looks exactly like what she is: a giant signature Mal. Her hair quality is excellent, which I didn't expect, considering the sheer mass of hair they used. The bangs stick out a bit with gel, but I'm not going to fuss with them.

Her bag is nicely detailed and opens, so it can hold a lot of stuff. I would have loved it if she came with her spell book instead of the boring stickers I just threw out. Or a can or two of spray paint!

Her clothing quality is excellent. The pants are a soft material and go on and come off easily. They're fastened by velcro, so no elastic involved. The jacket is great, too. Her hands do pop off at the wrists so it cam be removed easily. I got the left sleeve off just fine without removing her hands, but the right stuck on her glove, so it's a good extra feature for the doll to have. The jacket went back on without me having to remove the hands.

Naked 28" doll looks pretty much just like the smaller ones. The main difference is the big ones don't have knee joints. I'm guessing this helps their stability. Mal's pretty top heavy with that huge head and all that hair! I got her to stand with no tipping issues though.

So where do you put a doll that clocks in at over two feet tall when you have a sprawling collection like mine?

She ended up on my desk! And now you can get a real idea of her sheer size. She just fits under the lower shelf above. Like just barely.

I'm glad though, because now I can order Evie and not worry about where to put her. There's plenty of room in the other desk corner! I could probably even fit Uma on there, too. We shall see! I have other plans for my money this month, but eventually, at least Evie will join Mal on the desk.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

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REVIEW: Descendants 2 Signature Ben and Mal

I decided to review these two together, because obvious reasons.

Ben is a nice step up from his past releases. I like the bad boy look on him, especially because it's a good nod to his Beast side.

However.

The entire point was to sneak him onto the Isle and make him blend in.

Evie, you put Beast on this outfit like five or more times.

Evie.

Come on.

Why bother with the whole blend in song and dance routine when he's literally covered in his identity?

Don't get me wrong, I adore the outfit and all the Beast bits. The one through the torn shirt and the belt buckle are my faves.

But the look entirely messes with the point of his "disguise" and I find that hilarious.

Like if even Gil can figure it out, you are not in disguise.

My pet peeve with Ben is a common one for the line. They put a cool design on the back of a jacket and then run velcro through it.

Mal's sig has the same problem, which is why I didn't bother taking a picture of it.

And...

It's all one piece.

I mean, obviously, since the velcro is in the back and they ruined the jacket picture, it's one piece, but whatever, I took a photo anyway!

You know, when I deboxed the hat, I didn't think I was going to keep it on, but it looks surprisingly cute on him. It stays.

I'm not a big enough Ben fan to give him one of my coveted front of the display spots, but he did earn a second row, right behind new sig Mal spot, which is a big improvement on where the original one is.

A lot of people hated Mal's new bangs. I loved them from the start. I love them in the movie. I love them on the doll. Her hair is sooooooooo nice and silky. I'm so glad they realized the error of their hair ways after the original movie dolls.

I love this outfit even more than her first sig look.

The only thing I don't get is how Hasbro turned a purple glove into red. Red is Evie, Hasbro. And Carlos. But mostly Evie.

Badass detailing!

I wish they'd done more with all the rings she wore in the movie. One of them is molded into the red glove, at least.

Naturally, her top is one piece. There's no shirt under that jacket.

I loved these boots. The different heel colors. Awesome. They translated okay to doll boots, but not perfectly. I think they could have done the pants better, too, so they're not sticking out the back.

Okay, so there you have it. That is everyone I got today!

Cotillion Mal is my fave, followed by Cotillion Uma and Sig Mal.

I hope they have some surprise dolls for us still.

*cough* HARRY. RIGHT NOW. GIMME HARRY. *cough*

And Dizzy. And Lonnie with all three of her outfits.

Anyway, we shall see!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

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REVIEW: Descendants 2 Cotillion/Royal Yacht Ball Carlos and Jane

I bought this set purely for Carlos. Carlos has been my fave character since the first book and I needed him with rooted hair.

They actually did a good job on the hair. It's cut nicely.

I hate the shirt part sticking out of his jacket though. It look so awkward!

After taking the photos, I actually washed his hair, so I'll take more pics later of it without all the gel in it.

He still has the same cute face.

For $34.99 though, I think they could have gone a little more detailed, especially on poor Jane.

The best thing about Jane is that she has good hair. She would make a nice original movie Jane if you put her in that outfit. Never really understood her pink streaks.

I don't understand why she got the pink rubberband hairband, when I don't think she had one in the movie.

Her complete lack of jewelry is baffling. This is $35 we're talking about here. Give me that bracelet she's wearing on the back of the box.

She also has on Ally's Jewelbilee shoes. She didn't even get shoes designed like the ones she was wearing.

What am I paying $35 for?

She's very cute and I love me some Carlos, but this set is absolutely, without a doubt overpriced.

I don't regret buying it, because Carlos, but it definitely could have been better for that kind of money.

If you take a peek at my display shelf, you can see how Carlos's hair is drying!

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

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REVIEW: Descendants 2 Cotillion/Royal Yacht Ball Uma

Okay, now we can move on to the good Uma.

This one actually captures the look from the movie quite well.

The dress is exquisite. It's on par with Cotillion Mal's easily. I prefer Mal's because, you know, purple and black, but this is stunning, too.

Most importantly though, to me anyway, is that her face is better. It's the same mold, but her eyes look so much better than my sig doll's.

Like she looks cute! She still doesn't capture China right. I think her lips should be fuller and her eyes more hooded. But still a vast improvement on the signature.

The updo is an improvement for the hair, too, because it's not as glaring obvious that the style is wrong.

I love her hair ornament and the shell dangling earrings are pretty. I hoped they were jellyfish at first, but no. Shells with dangles.

Her makeup I think is part of what helps her face. She is still almost wall-eyed, but the eyeshadow actually on her lids and not around her eyes makes her look better.

Love the detailing on the dress top. It's so pretty!

Like Mal, Uma has molded, painted gloves. There's a lot of detail on them that doesn't show up in photos. Check them out in person.

Her purse is lovely, but the bracelet. I want that bracelet for me! In silver though. Ha.

Her shoes are nice. I think better than Mal's, because Mal's could have benefitted from some purple. I love the black and the cutouts on these.

Once I got Uma on my shelf, I decided to try to find a shell necklace for her. I thought Lagoona might have one, but a lot of my Lagoonas have been sold or I can't get to them easily.

But I did find this nice little octopus necklace that matches nicely! I was a little worried it cut off her neck, since I was enjoying actually seeing her neck on this doll, but I think it looks okay. It's better in person. The photo isn't the best angle, but you have to shoot Descendants a certain way or the flash hits their eyes.

I also found a black tentacle MH piece that was some hair accessory. Well, not anymore.

I think they missed an opportunity by not having an Uma with her tentacles, so at least I could give her a little hint at what's underneath the surface. 

So as much as I complained about poor sig Uma, I absolutely love Cotillion Uma. If you can only buy one, pick her.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

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REVIEW: Descendants 2 Signature Uma

I want to do Cotillion Uma, but what I have to say about her links back to Signature Uma, so let's do her first.

China Anne McClain is a very pretty girl, but...and I hate to say it...this doll does her zero justice. She has such pretty eyes and the doll's just aren't. I think they're a teeny bit too wide-set and she's borderline wall-eyed. Her mouth isn't quite the right shape either. And she isn't helped by the design of the outfit that makes her look like she has no neck. Her head just looks stuck right on her golden shoulders.

I really hate to have the most complaints about the signature doll of the new character, but I do!

Her outfit is entirely one piece. One very layered piece. If Mal could get two pieces, why couldn't Uma get a dress with a jacket over it?

Her gloves aren't painted right either. The black stops too high up on her hands and it looks awkward. And she couldn't even have one bracelet?

The hat and boots both have great details that are lost in the mold, because they're not painted. The $50 special edition fixed that problem, but I don't like her face enough to spend that kind of money! I might try a gold wash myself. Paint is cheap.

Again, Mal got painted boot details, so why not Uma?

I feel like Uma herself, complaining that Mal gets everything, but in this case, she did!

Signature Evie, who I don't have, also looks to have gotten painted boots, a coat as thick as Uma's, a plastic shoulder piece like Uma's, PLUS pants AND a belt in two colors.

Signature Uma got the short end of the stick. Why?

Her hair frustrates me, too. I am all over crimped hair normally. I love it. And this does look great. But Uma has BRAIDS. They couldn't even put a couple in there?

One thing really stands out as missing though. And not one of the three Uma dolls (including the huge one) has it.

WHERE IS HER NECKLACE?

Like seriously, where is it?!

Okay, I'm done here. I'm disappointed in this doll, because I think Hasbro gave her less detail than Mal and Evie and that's just wrong. They made some poor decisions here, but I want to move on to a more positive review.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

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REVIEW: Descendants 2 Cotillion/Royal Yacht Ball Mal

Before I started the long process of deboxing and photographing, I asked on Flickr who you guys wanted to see most. Cotillion Mal got the first call out, so here she is.

I am definitely a Mal fan so perhaps I'm biased, but this is my favorite of all the dolls I got today. And my favorite Mal ever made.

I've been part of the goth community for years, so this wonderful purple dress with layers with burnt black edges and bother black detailing sings to my little gothy heart. Yeah, even with the bottom glittery layer, it still does. Ha.

Mal has wavy hair to go along with her new bangs. Her hair is good quality and soft.

She has lighter pink makeup on, but it works well because darker would have fought with the dress for attention and the dress is what deserves it.

She wears a little tiny tiara with dragon detailing. I left this attached to her head, because it's just on one of those little comb bits, like Jane's original hair accessory and I have bad luck keeping those in.

This picture doesn't show anything new, but she's just so pretty that I left it in.

The collar piece was strapped down with a plastic rubberband, but it stays in place nicely without it, so I tossed it.

I like the earrings, but wish they didn't blend in with her hair so much. A little bit darker purple would have been better.

I love the details on her gloves. These have to be properly appreciated in person, because my photos won't catch the molded details very well.

The bracelet is lovely.

Purse, too! I just love when they go nuts with the dragon details for her.

Lovely shoes. With Ever After High's disappearance and Monster High's decline, Descendants is the new go-to line for themed-detailing, that's for sure.

Like I said, this is my fave Mal ever. She's absolutely stunning in person and I don't think my pics do her justice. Get her, debox her, display her, love her.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.

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IT'S DESCENDANTS DAY!

It's Descendants Day here on VVD! I just got this awesome load of Descendants 2 dolls from my Amazon pre-orders, as well as Ben, who was a gift from a generous fellow collector friend. He arrived on the same day, which was a nice coincidence.

I did not take individual boxed pictures for each of the upcoming reviews. You can see them boxed here or check Amazon. I was too impatient to dig into the deboxing and check them out to take the boxed pics, which always end up frustrating me because it takes about ten shots to get one with no flash. I have no patience!

It's probably going to take me awhile to write these all up and get the photos cropped and such, so bear with me, but I will be getting them up as fast as I can.

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NEWS: Descendants 2 Pre-orders

Amazon has pre-orders up for the newest dolls in the Descendants line. These feature looks from the newest movie, which premiered last Friday. They're all set to release next Tuesday, August 1st.

SIGNATURES ($19.99 each):

Mal:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NBXPY8N/

Evie:
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Evie-Isle-Lost/dp/B01NAW5IOG/

Ben:
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Ben-Isle-Lost/dp/B01MR8YS64/

Uma:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5S9IT0/

Uma is currently sold out, but that's the page I pre-ordered mine from earlier today.


SPECIAL EDITION UMA ($49.99):
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Daughter-Exclusive-Collectors/dp/B06Y1MFDDV/

If you really have Uma needs and want to pay $30 extra for some gold wash paint and embroidery, there's this option.


ROYAL YACHT BALL ($24.99 each):

Mal:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSADRDZ/

Uma:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NCYTRLX/


ROYAL YACHT BALL 2-PACK ($34.99):

Carlos and Jane:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9VYO5P/

Ben and Mal:
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Two-Pack-Auradon-Prep/dp/B01N389T55/


GIMMICKY DOLLS:

Switching Looks Mal ($24.99):
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Isle-Style-Switch/dp/B01N6TWACM/

Take Mal from her horrid blonde look to her proper purple. Only her hair looks terrible. I don't know why they didn't just make a blonde doll.

Evie's 4 Hearts ($24.99):
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Evies-4-Hearts/dp/B01MTESG2I/

Evie's the premiere designer for Auradon Prep. Like seriously, where did she find the time to do all those dress and take classes? Play around with different looks for her with this doll.

Wicked Ways Mal ($29.99):
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Descendants-Wicked-Ways-Mal/dp/B01NCYR6JL/

This doll's eyes glow green, which is pretty cool, even if her price tag isn't.


That's almost the full line of dolls. The only one missing from Amazon at the moment is Royal Yacht Ball Evie, who is actually available right now on Walmart.com:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Disney-Descendants-Royal-Yacht-Ball-Evie-Isle-of-the-Lost/125009833

And if you're in the market for some giant Descendants, Walmart has three for you to choose from with pre-orders releasing on the 15th. Mal and Evie are $39.88. Uma is $39.97.

Mal (currently sold out):
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Descendants-28-Doll-MAL-EXCLUSIVE/155165748

Evie:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Descendants-28-Doll-EVIE-EXCLUSIVE/563842247

Uma:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Descendants-2-28-Doll-Uma-Doll-EXCLUSIVE/104691720

Is it me or is Evie extra pretty? Mal is really cute, too. And Uma actually has some braids. I have to admit, as much as I don't have room for 28" dolls, these are tempting!


The Disney Store currently has nothing but books, clothes and old dolls. I'm crossing my fingers that they surprise us with some characters, because Harry Hook and Dizzy desperately need dolls. And I want Lonnie and Jay in their cotillion clothes and Lonnie in her R.O.A.R. outfit from the final practice scene.


I pre-ordered sig Mal and Uma, Royal Yacht Mal and Uma, and the Carlos/Jane set. Are you getting anyone? Did you watch the movie? I enjoyed it a lot! (Although the people shipping Harry and Uma are killing me, because she was rather abusive to him in the prequel book and just no. I can't deal.)

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WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE: Descendants 2 Dolls

While I'm not disappointed in the dolls we're getting, they should have done more.

1) Lonnie: Lonnie already has a mold and she was one of the major players this time. She should have had either her Cotillion gown (PLEASE) or her R.O.A.R. outfit featured on a doll. It's ridiculous that she still only has two dolls, especially when she was actually a bigger presence this time.

2) Harry: Harry's the first mate. He needs a doll. Gil honestly really didn't do much, so I'm okay with him being left out, but Harry had almost as much screentime as Uma. And he's my second favorite after Carlos, so I want him.

3) Dizzy: She was freakin' adorable and she needs a doll right now.

Those are the main three, but I also wouldn't mind...

4) Gil: So dimwitted, so amusing.

5) Uncomfortable Blonde Mal: I don't hate the gimmick doll, but I wouldn't have minded a regular doll of Mal with her Auradon look so her hair wouldn't look like crap.

6) Cotillion Jay/Lonnie 2-pack: This would give Lonnie the doll mentioned in #1 and give us a Jay with a cute bun.

7) Doug: He's goofy cute. I loved that whole sequence about Happy's kid. He could have come with Cotillion Evie instead of her being alone.

8) Cheerleader Jane

9) Dude

You know, Dizzy could come with either Harry or Gil or the boys could have been a 2-pack. Dude should have been in the 2-pack with Carlos and Jane and to make it more special, they could have had their R.O.A.R. and cheerleading outfits included. AND the Jay/Lonnie 2-pack could have had their R.O.A.R. outfits. (Lonnie's from the final R.O.A.R. scene.)

Ugh, why did you not do this, Disney/Hasbro? My only hope is that they have something up their sleeve and maybe Disney Store will give us Harry and Lonnie will appear in some exclusive.

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