Falling For DeeAnna

My latest obsession in the doll world is DeeAnna Denton. Not the 16" version, but the 17" sculpt. Amazing what a difference one inch can make! Of course Tonner is now defunct, but thanks to ebay, every now and then a DeeAnna comes up for sale. If only I had fallen for her while she was still being made! First up is Bye Bye Baby, which I am guessing was a not-so-veiled tribute to Marilyn. DeeAnna is standing in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, waving “Bye Bye” to her fans.

The second doll shown is known as Falling For Her. The outfit is so-so for me. The hat appears to have been made out of pillow foam. Seriously. I may attempt to mimic it, but use feathers instead. The purse is a faux gold leather that is already disintegrating. But DeeAnna herself...stunning with her curly auburn hair.



Cherry Cordial is my favorite DeeAnna so far; she looks great as a brunette. It has been suggested that her inspiration was Deanna Durbin, and this particular doll would highly support that theory. She is shown entering the Chateau Marmont just in time to see their Christmas decor.



This DeeAnna I believe is Vivaciously Vintage. I have dressed her in the Spot On outfit. Again, she is at her best as a brunette!



Here DeeAnna takes a well-deserved rest.



Overall critique on DeeAnna: LOVE the face sculpt and paint. Probably one of my favorite vintage-style fashion dolls of all time. The negatives: let's start with the hands. Good Lord they are huge. Even the gloves that come with the doll do not fit over the sprawl of fingers. The body is curvaceous which I very much like; but the articulation is extremely limited. However she has been put together, there is just not a lot of movement. One would think it would be easier to have a larger doll balance and stand on its own; not so with DeeAnna. Tonner did not take the time to engineer the shoes to make that possible. This doll is pretty much dependent on a stand if you want her to pose for photos. The verdict: she’s a winner in my book! Still looking for a raven DeeAnna to round out the collection!

See more Robert Tonner doll photos at my main website.

Faves From The Tonner 2013 Mainline Release

The last few lines have left me somewhat lukewarm, while my wallet has been ecstatic. With the 2013 Mainline release from Tonner, the roles have been reversed. Let's dig in, shall we? And first, I will start off the statement that all of these photos are from the official Tonner site.

I have kept my eye on the Deanna Denton line, but since she was a larger size than most 16" vinyl dolls and couldn't easily share clothes, I have avoided her. "Luncheon Date," a new 16" size, could change all that. Rooted hair, applied eyelashes, and a very cool retro outfit - nicely done!









Next up is an outfit for Scarlett O'Hara from the 1939 film "Gone With the Wind." This one has never been done. There are other outfits that fans have been clamoring for, but I can understand why Tonner chose this one. It is simple and most likely an easier one to keep the costs down on. Scarlett wears this in the scene where she tries to get Ashley to join her in the lumber mill business in Atlanta. The doll is simply called "Scarlett."





According to the description, they have replicated the hair ornament ("bronze hair decoration"), but none of the photos show the back of her hairdo, so no idea how well it matches the one from the movie. For comparison's sake, here are a few screen captures:



Looks like the fabrics and design are spot-on. There have been some grumblings about how long the dress is, but the only way to know that would be to see the wardrobe test shots, as the entire dress is never actually seen on-screen.



The hair clip in back seems to be of a plastic/tortoise shell type of material in the movie, whereas the description from Tonner calls it "brass." Will have to wait until photos of the back are actually released.



The hairstyle is similar, but slightly off; nothing to really get upset about, especially for how wonderful the facial painting is. Tonner has come a LOOOOONG way in improving their capture of Vivien Leigh's likeness.





This next one baffles me; there have already been a slew of Glinda dolls from "The Wizard of Oz" released, and even one that did a great job of capturing Billie Burke. Not sure why it's being released again, other than perhaps there is a huge demand for it.



There are a few new Marilyn releases too. I am VERY excited about this one, called "In A Dream" from the movie "How To Marry A Millionaire."



Marilyn wears this outfit during a dream sequence. The face paint on this doll looks better than previous ones, and I also like that they have upgraded the doll to have applied eyelashes.









I don't know what happened with this one called "Lois Laurel"; she looks even less like Marilyn than the previous releases. This doll is supposed to be portraying Marilyn in the movie "Monkey Business."





The last Marilyn of the bunch is an outfit only, representing the film "Niagara."









There are two dolls without photos (so far, pending license approval) that I am very curious to see. One is a depiction of Ralphie from the movie "A Christmas Story" and the other is a 22" version of the bridal Scarlett O'Hara. I haven't been a fan of the 22" versions as the facial sculpt bears no resemblance to Vivien Leigh, but on this one, the description states "new Vivien Leigh portrait sculpt."

Can't wait to see what these gals (and guy) look like once they're released!

See more doll photos on my doll web pages.