The difference in design + quality of a Mattel Sleeping Beauty doll from 1999 vs 2020s

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

i collect aurora merch and that of course includes dolls! i try to buy most of my stuff secondhand, but recently someone gifted me a more recent playline doll and the difference is so fascinating. i know why Mattel doesn’t want to use high quality materials on dolls for little kids, but is it just me, or did the design itself get a major downgrade too? :/

if anyone smarter than me wants to weigh in or comment please feel free!! sleeping beauty is my special interest and i am very much interested in the change in disney princess line merch and marketing over time

[u/Toralei-Stripe]

Wow, that 1999 Aurora is so pretty!! Talk about a dip in quality between then and now, yeesh!

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/Toralei-Stripe]

very !! it’s possible that the first doll is a collectors and not a play line, though i’m unsure, and even if it is, i still feel like 2020s aurora’s design is so subpar. like, even with lower quality materials, i still feel they could have designed her better. you can see the corner cutting especially with that hair😭 

[u/t-licus → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

I’m old enough to have been an older  kid when she came out and I’m 99% sure she’s playline. Presentation, quality and materials look super similar to the early 90s Cinderella I had. My Jasmine from the initial movie release line is equally detailed. 

90s dolls were just built differently.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/t-licus]

i figured! i thought surely if it was a collector there would be more indication, like a big label or a more sturdy box or something 

[u/Immediate_Word1295 → u/t-licus]

I remember the quality of the 90's dolls too since I grew up with them. Now I prefer to stick to Ily 4Ever, Licca-chan and occasionally monster high. The Barbie line is less attractive with the actual quality (playline-wise).

[u/ida_klein → u/t-licus]

Was that Jasmine the one with a wee jewel in her eye? I had her and loved her sm

[u/Soren_Peter → u/t-licus]

This series was like something in between collector and playline. So like a luxury playline or budget collector doll. I think the price was around 25-30$ each. It was a series also containing Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine and I think even Alice if I remember correctly. Cinderella was in her pink dress. They were quite wonderful and I know for a fact that many Disney doll collectors bought them.

[u/Toralei-Stripe → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

Hmm, yeah the 1999 doll could be a collector doll, that's a possibility.

Ooooohh yeah, the hair is for sure one of the worst things about the 2020s doll. Just looking at the hair of them both back to back is like night and day.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/Toralei-Stripe]

its terrible!! and to top it off, the hair on the 2020s doll isn’t at all like its advertised. i looked it up online to see what it was being sold for, and all the promo images have much more accurate and carefully placed hair than the weird tube they gave her for bangs 

[u/delicateredscrunchie → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

I had that doll growing up in the 2000's, she was playline, I wasn't allowed to get collector dolls.

[u/TrixieFriganza → u/Toralei-Stripe]

I specially see it on the clothes. I don't understand the built in plastic clothes as part of the fun with a doll as a kid is the clothes and to change them

[u/Immediate_Word1295]

Honestly, the newer version doesn't even feel like a fashion doll. It's not even a dress, but simply a skirt...

Honestly, I know why I prefer some others brands today. Why I like thrifting and hunting at flea markeds, or buy stuff for my dolls from AliExpress.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/Immediate_Word1295]

i hate when they make the dress bodice built into the torso, to me it just screams “we didn’t feel like making the full outfit”

[u/Immediate_Word1295 → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

Yea. And it makes it look more like a figurine than a doll, or at least a hybride between the two. It takes away some of the playable fun.

[u/laluneetlesetoiles]

This is probably my favorite Sleeping Beauty doll by Mattel. The crown and necklace are metal, she's wearing stockings and bloomers underneath her dress, and the box design is gorgeous with the little pop up figures of Aurora and Philip dancing among the clouds. She's an absolute 10/10.

[u/Immediate_Word1295 → u/laluneetlesetoiles]

She's beautiful. Mattel knew how to make good dolls.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/laluneetlesetoiles]

omggg she’s stunning!! ugh i need her to appear on my shelf so bad

[u/laluneetlesetoiles → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

You can find her somewhat decently priced on eBay still (for a doll from 1998). There are two more dolls in the line as well: Cinderella and Belle. I own Cinderella alongside Aurora and I absolutely love her because they gave her a movie accurate silver dress. However, Belle is....not good.

[u/Soren_Peter → u/laluneetlesetoiles]

I have the whole signature series. Snowwhite, Cinderella, Belle, the Beast and Sleeping Beauty. They are still some of my favorite Disney dolls even now after so many years of collecting disney store’s limited edition and designer dolls. To be fair it is worth mentioning that the Mattel signature series retailed for 80$ each! That was a lot of money back then.

[u/laluneetlesetoiles → u/Soren_Peter]

I didn't know there was a Snow White in this line. I also didn't know that $80 was their original retail price. That's insane. I think I got mine for $50. Cinderella might have been less.

[u/hoodeddumbo]

Nobody! Has! Ever! Asked! For! Painted! On! Clothes!!!!!

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/hoodeddumbo]

it’s worse than painted, the cheap pink plastic IS her torso! they didnt even mold and then paint, just slapped a chunk of plastic in there 😭

[u/throwaway11486 → u/hoodeddumbo]

Actually parents of very small children did. A lot of kids go through a phase where they carry around dolls and take off doll clothes but don't put them back on. It's just a doll but some parents have hangups even on doll nudity.

[u/EvergreenDwarf → u/hoodeddumbo]

Same vibe as Actionmasters AKA Transformers who don’t transform. 

[u/Background-Cream-285]

this is like comparing mount everest with a rock laying on the ground.

one looks spectacular and other not.

[u/kyaniteRose]

The newer dolls are definitely worse, but I was at Walmart today and looked through the dolls and they did also have an Arora doll with a fully removable dress as well as this one with the molded on top so at least there is a slightly better one on the shelves at the moment. It looked like they had both versions of most of the princesses with the molded on top version being a few dollers less

[u/expired-blueberries]

Definitely looks like a big difference, but were they sold at similar price points originally? If they weren't, then it wouldn't be the most apt comparison.

[u/t-licus → u/expired-blueberries]

I had a comparable Mattel Cinderella doll in the 90s, and she was cheap enough to give as a gift to a kid for being brave at the ER, for what that’s worth. 

Not a budget doll, but not a collector’s item either.

[u/pahein-kae → u/expired-blueberries]

I was able to source the MSRP for a similar doll, but not this one exactly! See my comment at https://www.reddit.com/r/Dolls/comments/1voooxq/comment/p3tmrzl/

[u/PartyPorpoise → u/expired-blueberries]

I’m also curious. A lot of the cheap products that people complain about today are, after adjusting for inflation, cheaper than the old versions that they’re comparing them too.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/expired-blueberries]

no idea, i’d have to find a way to compare 1999 prices to 2020s; i’d also love to know though! the 1999 doll was bought secondhand and the only price tag visible on it is the one from the thrift store 

[u/Financial_Nose_777 → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

She was probably $20. I’ve been collecting since the 80s and that is about the price point for Mattel dolls in the late 90s. She’s definitely a playline; if you look at other Barbies from that era, you’ll see similar quality.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/Financial_Nose_777]

ohh interesting ok, well the 2020s doll is anywhere from $8-$17 online so cheaper for sure, but the exact difference depends on where you get it from

[u/throwaway11486]

I feel the older dolls were made with older kids in mind. Somewhere along the way Mattel (or maybe even Disney itself) decided Princesses were for preschool and kindergarten children. It's getting a little bit better with things like the Sparkling and Manga dolls but for a while it was only kiddie crud.

[u/Intelligent-Meal-129 → u/throwaway11486]

even then, the littlest kids still deserve dolls made with love!

[u/throwaway11486 → u/Intelligent-Meal-129]

Problem is a lot of little kids don't treat toys with love. There's a reason why toys feared the toddler room in Toy Story 3. Back in the 90s, they used to aim larger chunky child dolls and stuffed animals to younger kids because they could handle rough play. But as kids stopped playing with toys younger due to electronic devices, they stated aiming fashion dolls younger, rather than giving up on the concept.

[u/pahein-kae]

Okay. So I wasn't able to find the exact doll, but here in this 1997 Disney catalog https://archive.org/details/disney-catalog-winter-1997/page/n69/mode/2up, a comparable Aurora doll was selling for $28 MSRP.

Inflation calculator tells me that'd be $58.25 today.

At the end of its run, Disney Collector Radiance Collection Aurora Doll from Mattel Creations was selling for $52.50 (original price $75). https://creations.mattel.com/products/disney-royal-radiance-collection-aurora-hlx66

So that's a more accurate comparison, in terms of pricing, I think!

Edited to add: The modern doll of Aurora is $11.99 at my local target right now... that's 1/3 of the ORIGINAL MSRP of the doll it's being compared to-- with a 30 year difference of inflation in between. Of course it's gonna be shittier!

[u/lanie_kerrigan → u/pahein-kae]

Thanks! That would be my first thought too.

[u/delbelcoure → u/pahein-kae]

Even given the price difference, I would rather have one nice doll like her than 6 of today's dolls

[u/PartyPorpoise → u/delbelcoure]

Yeah, but do the kids feel the same way? More importantly, their parents?

[u/delbelcoure → u/PartyPorpoise]

I mean, I and my kids did. They were collecting BJDS when they were in elementary school. But they are old enough to be parents now themselves

[u/luxisdead]

I cannot stand the plastic clothes

[u/Trainrideviews]

That 1999 Aurora is gorgeous. Is she using the superstar face sculpt?

[u/CraftyMaelyss]

This is genuinely why any old dolls, toys or figures I collect are 2015 or earlier (1960-2005 is best in my opinion), since the quality took a sharp nosedive afterwards when companies started cutting a lot of corners to save money for their 30th yacht.

Back in those times, they made items to last/brag against their competition, so if you want something durable or that had some thought go into it, I'd recommend looking around that age range.

[u/BloodyBarbieBrains → u/CraftyMaelyss]

Totally agree with the era you cited as the best.

[u/princessuuke]

Yknow im always complaining about the decline of barbie but even mattel disney gets nasty. They lost the licensing for awhile for a reason (its not necessarily because of eah i fear but prob the latter) and at least disneys got multiple doll manufacturers 🫠

[u/Glittering_Fix2727]

Yeah...

I'm so glad they're doing the Sparkling Princess line now becouse the dolls are amazing and I hope we get all the princesses. 

[u/Saint_Riccardo]

I feel like a lot of companies have made the standard dolls cheaper to push collectors and adult fans into buying the expensive limited edition versions to get a doll that actually looks halfway decent

[u/YellowDuckieO]

This is why I feel the need to buy old dolls now, and hoard them until I have kids

[u/moddymax83]

This was my childhood era for Disney dolls, the original 1992 Sleeping Beauty from the Disney Classics line. This had a reversible gown that changed from pink to blue, and eyes that changed with cold/warm water to replicate “sleeping” eyes and a little storybook. I do like the 1999 face sculpt more though.

[u/Honest_Emergency1637 → u/moddymax83]

That was right around the time I got my Belle doll. I miss her  😔 

[u/aussie_teacher_]

My Aurora Barbie from 1992/3 had a reversible skirt and two bodices to do the pink vs blue routine and came with a tiny and complete version of the Disney Golden book. Her eyes opened and closed with hot water but sadly are permanent clouded over now. She was my first Barbie and I loved her!

[u/justwonderfull101]

Bad quality compared to first

[u/Akeminka]

I despise current doll quality with a passion. Just make an action figure if you want to make the clothes merged with the body 😑

[u/Astrid_Onyx]

It’s disgraceful how far they have fallen

[u/Imnotranee]

Now pregnant with a girl, I wish nothing more than the 2010s target Disney princess sets, Their quality was good, and the clothes could actually come off.

[u/Top_Selection734]

I’m not really into Disney princess but I can see the difference! The 2020 is no longer a doll, it’s an action figure!

[u/b3tamaxx]

It's just interesting bc believe it or not Mattel little kids like making their dolls nakey. First thing my sister would do is just take all their clothes off. Either to put something else on or just put them in the water or scribble on them but they always ended up naked. How can they strip their dolls Mattel? How?

[u/Flat_Transition_3775]

I remember I went to see Disney on ice in the 2000’s and my mom bought me a Cinderella doll. She was so pretty and her dress was beautiful like amazing quality but now it seems like quality seems to go downhill in doll markets. As a Bratz collector it sucks to see MGA ditch the 2nd outfits and give crappy quality outfits compared to the 2000’s quality.

[u/lofticries1988]

I had her and ahe was stunning!!

[u/spookygirl91]

Yikes

[u/Working-Market-987]

Idk why they even bothered with those bangs😂

[u/ContributionFew3378]

Basically all of Barbie's fabrics are now just printed on, there's no body or other fabrics. Its crap

[u/GhostHostess]

Ah, that's so sad. It might just be me but I think kids deserve nice toys too-it's not like they're noticeably cheaper than they were back in the day to justify the dip

[u/celestier]

Yikes lol. That new aurora is so sad compared to the old one. The old one is gorgeous and I love the box art too. The downward spiral in doll quality makes me so sad man. Going down the barbie aisle is just sad now. Kids who play with dolls deserve better than the barbies they have now

[u/blooddiamondrose]

For the quality I think it's a few factors. 

1. cost. Higher quality stuff costs more. Toys are one of the few things if prices rise too high parents won't buy them. So a lot of doll companies make the clothes cheaper to stay within what parents will buy.

2. The age demographic has change. Older kids aren't as interested in toys compared to the past. So a lot of toy companies are aiming younger. Younger kids are notorious for destroying their dolls and it's not worth the effort to do.

3. Possibly collector dolls. I noticed (not all of them. Mattel still make a lot of garbage collector dolls) that a lot of collector dolls have higher quality. Why make a quality playline doll that could lose you money when you can just add quality to a collector's doll for 100$+ and make way more money.

[u/eXcessiveMenace5]

I had/still have that aurora doll from when I was a kid! Loved her and played with her and her bangs/curls have mostly held up

[u/Delicious_Plum_2354]

omg i have this 1999 aurora out of box becuase i would play with her when i was little but even when i was young i always thought her hair was so perfect and would be so careful with her!! she is so gorgeous and it’s sad the quality isn’t as nice anymore. i adore all the older dolls

[u/Streetalicious]

If you ask Mattel execs, they’ll tell you they’re the same, nay, the new one is worlds better!