Mattel tries a new doll line every now and then, despite being the maker of the #1, longest-made doll line, Barbie. I don't mind, because it's how we all got Monster High (best playline doll ever!) and when they're good, they're really, REALLY good.
So when Wild Hearts was announced, I was... interested. Not enthusiastic "I'm going to check the store every week on new stock day," more of a "I'll keep an eye out for this doll when I go to the store for other things."
They just showed up, and my store has 3 dolls: a pink haired one, a blue haired one, and a purple haired one. Given that the purple haired one has spiral curls, my choice was clear.
Those curls <3
I love spiral curls in the way only a girl with stick-straight, un-curleable hair can love spiral curls (my hair is so straight that if I try to curl it with an iron, the side I started on has straightened itself out by the time I get to the other side.) I totally understand it's a 'grass is greener' kind of deal, and there are plenty of girls with natural curls out there who would love to have hair so straight an iron couldn't make it smoother, but what are dolls for if not to get to play with/do the things that just wouldn't work so great for us IRL?
The only complaint I have is that one side of her head is sculpted braids. They aren't even painted to blend in with the rest of the hair. But no big deal, her hair covers it up mostly anyway.
The clothes are... very 80s. That may be a pro or a con for you, depending on your tastes. They're not especially good or bad quality-wise, pretty on par with what you'd get on a Barbie these days.
Now let's get to my specialty: Bodies and body comparisons!
Red horizontal lines are to make it easier to compare dolls in the torso area.
The joints give away the body as being based on the MH/EAH line of dolls. A DC Super Hero Girl is probably the most similar, having the same torso, waist, shoulder, arm, thigh lenghts. Only the calves are significantly shorter, bringing this doll down to about 11" tall. That's good, it means the body has pretty decent articulation and range of motion.
Clothes-wise, it isn't really similar to anyone. Coming from the MH/EAH family, the doll is generally pear shaped with shoulders as wide as the hips (vs Barbie's hourglass figure with a bust as wide as the hips), but it's much thicker than all the other dolls in this size. I believe the pink-haired doll in this line is also on a different body type, which is even thicker than this one.
The only gripe I have about the body is THE MOLDED ON UNDERWEAR. Looks like we've gone full-prude on the pendulum swing, providing these girls with sculpted on bras and panties.
There are two things I specifically dislike about this:
1. The underwear is thickly textured. Most fabrics used in/that work well with doll clothes are thin enough that this texture is going to show through. Instead of being 'modest' the dolls are going to have bras that show through most of their clothes.
2. The panty line cuts straight across the abdomen. Other dolls have panties that sweep down slightly in the middle and sit lower on the hips for a reason, and that reason is so that the panties don't show above pants/skirts.
Conclusion: If you like them, get one. A fully articulated doll for 14.99 is an excellent price, and the quality is good. If you want to give them clothes besides the fashions they come with though, it will be difficult.
I don't currently have any plans to add a new doll size to the patterns for these gals. They may get on the list if I get a lot of requests for them. We'll see!