Curiozities By The Book

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

American Greetings Wicked Ornaments 2012

Glinda No One Mourns the Wicked SRP: $29.95

Metal Wicked Logo SRP:$19.95

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Dorothy of Oz Updates

Dorothy of Oz news is painfully slow in coming, even still, there is much to look forward to. So far we have toys, the film soundtrack, comics, dolls, a calendar, novelty items, costumes, school supplies, and a Nintendo DS game. Toys R Us, FAO Schwarz, Target, Kmart, Claire's, Barnes & Noble and Walmart have committed to carrying Dorothy of Oz merchandise and may have exclusive offerings. All in all, a very nice line up. Items are scheduled to drop in July before the release of the film.

Bandai debuted some of their Dorothy line at Toy Fair. The toy line includes 10" basic fashion dolls, a 15" toddler doll, a 10" feature fashion doll, a Rainbow Mover World with coordinating Rainbow lands and figures, a plush remote control Toto, the Jester's Sceptre, China Princess tea set, and 9 plush characters. Suggested retail ranges from $12.99 - $39.99

Much more is on the horizon so please stay tuned!!!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Dolls Magazine Dorothy of Oz Coverage

Two page spread featuring Madame Alexander's cloth line in the April 2012 issue

You can read the article here or look for it on newsstands

Friday, February 24, 2012

Dorothy of Oz Calendar

Wall Calendar July 15th $13.99

Dorothy of Oz Four Issue Comic Series from IDW

Covers by Eric Shanower with variant covers of CGI characters

32 pages $3.99

Issue 1 March 21st

Issue 2 April 18th

Issue 3 May

Please see The Curiozity Corner in case you missed last year's preview comic
Graphic Novel available June 19th Pre-order with Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local comic retailer

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Dolls Inspired By The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

It never ceases to amaze me that a children's book published over a hundred years ago in America can continue to captivate the imagination and be integrated seamlessly into current trends.

Ball-jointed dolls, especially resin, are the hot dolls right now. They've been gaining popularity for several years but it seems they exploded overnight. BJDs are made in a variety of sizes and mediums and allow for more poseability. You can read more details about BJDS here.

ShenZhen Red Society Toy Company Ltd. was the first to create ball-jointed dolls in China in 2005 under their Doll-Zone brand. Late last year Doll-Zone released dolls of Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Both resin dolls stand just over 17 1/2" tall and can be ordered in a variety of skin tones. Dorothy retails around $366 while the Scarecrow is slightly more expensive at $393.

More photos and information on Dorothy can be seen on Doll-Zone's website.

More photos and information on the Scarecrow can be seen here.

Hot on Doll-Zone's heels came Pipos in 2007. Also paying homage to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz late last year with their versions of Dorothy and the Tin Man. These resin BJDs stand around 10" - 10 1/2". The Limited Editions of Dorothy, light Tin Man, and dark Tin Man retail for $540.

The Gift Editions retail for $280

More information and photos of Pipos' Wonderful Wizard of Oz dolls can be seen on Pipos' website

Both Pipos and Doll-Zone displayed spectacular creativity with their re-interpretations of the Oz characters most especially in Dorothy's costuming.

Despite the popularity of BJDs, traditional doll makers are still holding their own. German doll artist Heidi Plusczok has over 30 years of doll design under her belt. She has won numerous awards and her dolls have graced the covers of doll magazines many times. She was inspired by her granddaughter's love of fables and so dubbed her 2012 line 'Read Me A Story'. She's created a charming Dorothy doll made of vinyl. Dorothy is an edition of 120. Her hair is mohair and human hair and her brown eyes are glass. The one setback to this delightful doll is her leather shoes are red instead of silver. She stands at 10 1/2" and retails just over $400.