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The Mad Hatter - Alice in Wonderland
Mattel

Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur

   "The following is a guest review.  The review and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the guest author."

My buddy Travis is back with another look at a Barbie figure based on the latest pop culture thang - take it away, Travis!

Thanks to Michael, I'm back for my Fifth guest review!

Now, my last review was of the Edward Cullen Barbie doll, so this next one will make it look like I buy Barbie's on a regular basis. I assure you, that's not the case, but I never pass on one that I deem cool and this one literally made me stop in the isle and say, "HOLY COW!"
 
Before I begin, let me state right now I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan. Always have been and, hopefully, always will be. I'm as old school as they come and I've liked him since the very first Nightmare on Elm Street and I absolutely loved 21 Jump Street. He's one of those actors that I love no matter what role he plays and I've never seen him in anything that I didn't like. With that said, when I heard that he was cast as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, I was all smiles. The movie doesn't open until March 5th, but from what I saw at a 3D screening of Avatar, the trailer (which was also in 3D) looks amazing. 3D movies aren't what they used to be when I was a kid, that's for sure. 
 
I'm sure everyone knows the original Alice in Wonderland story and in the new film, an older Alice returns to Wonderland to find that the Red Queen has taken over and she must help it's inhabitants rise up and fight back.
 
Tonight, as I was waiting patiently for the movie to open, I came across something I had to have: a Mad Hatter doll based on Johnny Depp's appearance in the film!
Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur

Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur
Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figurAlice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur
Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur
Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur
Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur
Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur

Now, you might say to do a review of this doll, you would need to be as mad as a Hatter...which luckily I am.

Oh, and always, I apologize in advance for the cruddy photos.

Packaging - ***1/2
The package is a pretty basic Barbie window box and the details and text are sparse, but it captures the look and feel of the movie nicely. I'm assuming it's overall look is supposed to be the Mad Hatter's hat box since it has his name and leather straps and buckles on it. Other details include a small photo of Depp as the character, a separate cardboard Key hanging on a string and a punched keyhole on the back. Also on the back is a small painting of the tea party table and a small blurb about the movie and doll. One of the smaller box details is my favourite: it says "Made with care in Wonderland."

The window lid slides off and has no tape holding it in place, so there's nothing to cut to get into it. Removing the doll from the inside cardboard card (decorated with shadows of top hats) on the other hand will be the usual Barbie fare. As I said in the Edward Cullen doll review, I've bought my share of Barbie dolls over the years and they always drive you as Mad as a Hatter (no pun intended) to remove them from the packages. It's almost like they aren't meant to be opened...EVER! I know they do that to "pose" the doll in a way that shows it off and make people see it in all it's glory, but sometimes it feels like you're actually destroying the doll as you open it. Add to that, the fact they never look as good in the package after you open it and replace them. I wish they were a bit more collector friendly. Oh, one additional detail is a small cardboard teapot that's held in place on the Hatter's right hand.

Sculpting - ****
Now, this doll is in no way Hot Toys quality and it would be unfair to make comparisons that way. Besides, it literally costs a fraction of what Hot Toys figures run, so I guess you get what you pay for.

The sculpting in this category includes the head, torso, hands, hat, shoes and even a bandolier. 
 
The headsculpt is unlike the usual Barbie/Ken dolls in that it doesn't resemble either of them in the least. This truly is Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Sure, it's a cartoony version of him, but he's in there. It's just nice that they went the full movie route instead of doing some strange Depp/Hatter/Ken version. You can see all of Depp's features and the smile even has his slight gap between his front two teeth.
 
His hair is rooted and although it's styled as he appears in the movie, it's not as glued in place as most Barbie hair is. It's nice and loose, but still holds the look.
 
Also on his head, is his trademark hat complete with hat pins and the 10/6 tag. The details are not only painted, but sculpted as well. I do wish the tag wasn't made of paper, but really, isn't it supposed to be?
 
He has a sculpted bandolier made up of spools of thread which looks very cool.
 
Without stripping him, the body appears to be a lanky male Barbie doll, only this time, it's sculpted in porcelain white and not in flesh tones. The body reminds me of the boy Barbie MyScene dolls, but without removing the clothes I can only guess.
 
Lastly, his shoes have sculpted laces and even etched tiny writing carved in them. It's so small, that it first appears to be creases or wrinkles, but upon closer inspection, you can make out pieces of the phrase "Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid." Loosely translated, it means "Down with the Red Queen." I love details like that!

The doll stands around 12" tall.

Paint - ****
The paint includes his eyes, eyebrows, lips, teeth, make-up, hat, bandolier and shoes. All done with crisp detail. As I said above, the doll is actually molded in white and not flesh tones. The eyes are painted very light green and are surrounded by pink make-up and huge orange bushy eyebrows. The cheeks have pink blush and the lips are lipstick red. His teeth are molded without any detail, but the paint separates his teeth and makes the doll look that much more real. As I said above again, he also has a slight gap between his front two teeth. His hat has gold paint trim around the etched details and the spools on his bandolier are painted with pastel thread colours. The spools actually have a little bit of bleed, but I think it's due to the plastic they used to make it. It's not enough to bring the score down in the least. Lastly, his shoe laces are painted red.

Articulation - ***
The body has more articulation than the previous Edward Cullen doll I reviewed and appears to be a male MyScene Barbie body. Typical Ken bodies have rubber covered legs with that clicky knee action. The MyScene bodies (and some newer Ken's) have action figure like legs and arms, complete with articulated knees and elbows with great range of motion. To me, this is more of a dressed action figure than doll, but who am I kidding? 
 
Without stripping the doll, I can only guesstimate on the articulation as best as I can. The body has shoulders, elbows, upper leg joints and knees that have basic ball jointed articulation. I'm not sure if they are ball joints, but they move like it. The neck is your basic Barbie doll articulation with no extra movement. 

Accessories - **
The only thing I count as an accessory is a doll stand, but I can always use one of those.

This time, though, there's no logo and it's just basic black. There's also a Certificate of Authenticity and although it doesn't say it this time, the Mad Hatter is a Pink Label collectable. The labels include Pink, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Basically, the Pink's aren't limited in production and shouldn't be hard to find.

Outfit - ****
Ok, this is what makes an already cool figure even cooler. The Mad Hatter's costume has tons of nice details and they certainly didn't shy away from adding them. His top hat is complete with sculpted hat pins, size tag and a long pink ribbon. The ribbon is even hemmed! I hate it when things like that start to fray and the extra sewing ensures that won't happen easily. The rest of his outfit consists of:

- A bright blue shirt with a collar and string lace cuffs on his sleeves.
- A vest which sports a diamond pattern and brass coloured buttons.
- An oversized floppy bow tie that has a spotty design on it.
- A light purple waistcoat with a large lapel and sewn on colourful ribbons and handkerchief. 
 
His mid-calf pants are brown with stitched pinstriping and wild colored stitching on his right leg. His stockings are almost knee length and are mismatched. One is purple, the other is red and yellow striped.
 
Lastly, he has the aforementioned Spool Bandolier and orange shoes.

Value - ***1/2
Ok, this is tricky because when I found the figure first today, it cost $59.99 and I had to have one. I justified that most 12" figures I want these days run $100.00 to $150.00 and this was a pretty good deal considering that I couldn't afford the Medicom 1/6 version of the Mad Hatter and, in my humble opinion, I'm just as happy just having a 12" version of the character.  Now, after I bought the doll, one hour later, I found the same exact doll at another store for $49.98! To me, under $50.00 is a good deal. Sure, it's still expensive, but I can live with it.

Fun Factor - ***
Judging it by it's articulation and outfit, I think this figure has lots of playability, but I'm guessing that this doll will mainly reach collectors and not kids. Kids would love it if they know who it's supposed to be but I think the price alone assures not many kids will get one.

Things to Watch Out For -
I'd take care with that little 10/6 paper hat tag. It just looks like something that could be damaged easily. Everything else looks pretty sturdy. 

Overall - *** 1/2
This figure is beyond awesome in my opinion. It has a crazy outfit, great articulation and is based on, not only the Mad Hatter, but also Johnny Depp. What else could I ask for? Ok, I wish it had been cheaper, but I really don't feel like I got ripped off. He looks great in and out of the box and I really hope that Alice follows him down the Barbie rabbit hole soon...

Score Recap -
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***
Accessories - **
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy -
The first one I bought ($59.99) came from Toys R Us where they had two of him.The second ($49.98) came from Walmart and again, they had two of him.
 
Thanks again, Michael! Until next time, folks: Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel! 

Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Barbie doll action figur


This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Travis.

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