Packaging - Doll ***; Snowglobe **
The doll comes in a collector friendly box, safely held in place. The window is a little small, but I like the style and look of the graphics and colors.

On the other hand, the globe comes in a plain white box with that damn annoying cheap styrofoam. Regular readers know how much I hate that stuff.

Sculpting - Doll ***1/2; Globe **1/2
The doll is very screen accurate, at least in terms of overall details. The costume matches the on screen counterpart, right down to the paterning on the yellow slicker. The slicker has a wire in both the hood and the edges of the jacket that allow you to pose it quite well. The hood doesn't fit over the large Stewie-like head particularly well, but it looks just fine hanging down her back.

The head sculpt has the textured pattern on the skin that looks like a burlap type material, with the hair made ffrom string. There's some black hairs in there that I don't remember, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.

The various materials are very high quality, with the yarn hair maide from...well, yarn, the body stuffed material over a bendy armature, and the head a solid resin-like material. Even the button eyes are actual buttons.

The only think holding this back from a better sculpt score is the size. At just 10", she seems just a bit small to me in comparison to the other characters in the film.

The globe is NOT close to the actual screen appearance -not by a country mile. While I can appreciate that the Zoo officials did this as a general globe first, and as something tied to Coraline second, I still have to grade it based on it's value as a prop replica. I also think they missed a terrific opportunity to cash in on the popularity of the film.

The bear fountain in the center is similar, but the base is very different. Rather than the large 'Detroit Zoo' on a front plate, there's a small text version along with the lable of "Horace H. Rackham Memorial Fountain". The white and yellow base is intended to replicate the ornate column edge around the fountain's pool, which is a nice touch but again, not screen accurate.

Paint - Doll ***; Globe *1/2
The work on the doll is quite nice, although there's not a lot. The black eyebrows and pink lips are clean, with a similar wear pattern to what was seen on screen. There's some blush on the cheeks, and freckles added in around the eyes.

The work on the snow globe is just a hair above dollar store, sadly. Again, there's not a lot here, but the black lettering is sloppy, and the white and yel;ow base isn't as clean or bright as it should be.

Articulation - Doll ***; Snowglobe Bupkis (duh!)
Obviously, the snow globe isn't 'articulated'. Shake it and the snow moves great, but that's not really articulation. Of course, I don't expect it to be, so this has nothing to do with my overall score.

The doll is surprisingly well articulated. The entire body and all limbes are a bendy armature that works great, allowing her to take quite a few poses. Obviously, she can't stand on those little bendy legs, but she can take sitting positions, and even lean against objects in an upright fashion. The head can tilt, the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, hips and ankles bend, and you can get her in just about any pose short of standing independently.

Value - Doll **1/2; Snowglobe *1/2
The $25 price tag on the doll seems about right considering the current market, and the quality of the collectible. However, I'm not feeling the $35 for this rather small, rather rough snow globe.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing in either case!

Overall - Doll ***1/2; Snowglobe **
I've been waiting for this doll quite awhile now, since the original ship date was back around Halloween. Thankfully, it was worth the wait. It's a bit small for my tastes as a replica, but that's my only cmoplaint.

The globe doesn't fair as well, largely because I'm judging it as a prop replica. Even ignoring that aspect, the quality really isn't up to the $35 price tag.

Score Recap:
Packaging - Doll ***; Snowglobe **
Sculpting - Doll ***1/2; Globe **1/2
Paint - Doll ***1/2; Globe *1/2
Articulation - Doll ***; Snowglobe Bupkis (duh!)
Value - Doll **1/2; Snowglobe *1/2
Overall - Doll ***1/2; Snowglobe **

Where to Buy -
Online options for the NECA doll include these site sponsors:

- Urban Collector has the doll for $23.

- Big Bad Toy Store has the doll at $26.

- Entertainment Earth has the doll at $25.

Getting the snow globe is a bit trickier. You can pick it up at the Zoo itself for $35, but obviously that's not practical for everyone. Perhaps an enterprising ebayer will start selling them...

Related Links -
The NECA Coraline dolls were some of my favorite female figures from last year.

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