#dp dolls book photoshoot

[patheticbatman]

Part One

I’m very proud of these dolls, and I’m also leaving them at my parents’ house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them.

Each book is one that is based on their fairy tale, they exist in some form in that universe, or I genuinely think that character would read it. It cannot be their origin book.

Also, they ALL have to be books I have read. If the other books are more like companion books though, then I disregard that rule. They cannot share series either.

First up is Snow White with Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine. Funnily enough, I read this book before Ella Enchanted. I love it though! I always remember the singing and weird-reading-to-make-the-audience-laugh game :).

Second is Cinderella with Cinderella is Dead, by Kaylynn Bayron, and a little toy dog, because the Disney version has a dog. It’s a wonderfully revolutionary and queer take on a world that supposedly worships Cinderella, but actually uses her memory as an oppressive tool. Like an unwilling martyr.

Third is Alice with After Alice by Gregory Maguire (the dude who wrote Wicked). I have other Alice in Wonderland adaptions, but I haven’t enjoyed the others like this one. If you like ratfics, you may enjoy After Alice.

Fourth is Wendy with Peter and the Sword of Mercy, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I debated on whether to do the first book of this series or not, but Wendy only appears in this book, so I leaned toward this one instead. Out of all my Peter Pan adaption books, I like my one about Hook as a boy in Eton best. But only Wendy’s dad appears in that, and I don’t think she would read it, so I went with this series instead. I wrote a book report about the story set in the desert Kingdom when I was like 9, I loved it a lot.

Fifth is Aurora with While Beauty Sleeps, by Elizabeth Blackwell. It’s an inventive take that I enjoyed quite a bit. Explores how expectations can be used in your favor, etc.

Sixth is Eilonwy, with The Princess, The Crone and the Dung-Cart Knight, by Gerald Morris. I know The Black Cauldron is based on a book series, but I’ve only read a snippet, and I don’t have a copy of any of the stories anyway. So she gets to have a late - Arthurian novel.

Seventh is Ariel (she has six sisters so this pleases me) with The Hothouse Princesses by S. A. Hemstock. The author wrote some of the best Steven Universe fanfic, so I bought her first published story when it came out. Idk how it isn’t a bigger hit - it’s about a princess who was raised by peasants, gets discovered, wants to go back, and instead gets shunted off to a misogynistic, colonialistic, colorist princess finishing school, where she finds out some serious conspiracy shit about fairy godmothers. Anyway, Ariel often felt oppressed by her dad and curious about the Human world, so I imagine it would catch her eye.

Eighth is Belle with Lindworm, by Jenny Prater. Coincidentally, this is another case of me reading a superb fanfic writer’s work (Batfam this time) and instantly snapping up their OG work. I have a book of short stories that had a more direct BATB parallel story, but I was trying to stick with Novels. In any case, this is the story of the maiden who married the Lindworm, and what the Royal family does once they have to reckon with the nations of the dead princesses.

Ninth is Jasmine with the School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainini. Her character really only appears in the prequel, but I wanted to acknowledge this really great series properly. I read the entire thing this summer, and I love its thematic approaches. In any case, I feel like this series’ approach to beauty, freedom and other dichotomies would pique her interest.

Tenth, we have Gabriella (Ariel’s mermaid BFF) and her Sign Language interpreter Olly. I have her human form. Anyway, I decided she might enjoy Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick. It has Deaf characters and lots to show about the Human World, which I supposed she might enjoy. I found it quite interesting as a kid, and like with all the other Selznick books I own, I used to color all the hair, clothes and eyes in, lol. Listen. I had a lot of time on my hand and consistent access to Sharpies XD.

I’ll link the other parts to here when I post them!

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

[patheticbatman]

Part Four

I'm very proud of these dolls, and I'm also leaving them at my parents' house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them. This set of pictures is exclusively dolls that I painted, so I’m very pleased to show them off.

This is the fourth and final post, so check out the first for more info!

First up is Sisu, with The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I swear that I did not rip the cover. I think that copy is like 50 years old, and I swear I had the ripped of part until recently. I’m very sad about losing it. But in any case, I feel like Sisu would relate heavily with being the only one of her species left for a long while, about how human vice affected her status as an endling, about spending time in a body that isn’t really hers to survive, and the whole quest really. Hell, in the book, Schmendrick and Molly end up together, and we all know that’s going to happen to Raya and Namari eventually lol.

Second is Mirabel with In the Tike of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez. I feel like Mirabel would be the most invested in her family in keeping up with the outside, in magical world, as both a breather from all her family’s guilt and drama, and as a future head of the household later on. In her life. I also know that the Latin world paid a lot of attention to the struggle and loss of the Mirabal sisters (The Butterflies) and what with the book being told by Dede (the non-revolutionary sister, the only survivor) and being about a 4 sisters, Mirabel would empathize with this a lot. She’s one out of 3 sisters + a close girl cousin, and is the only one who’s not involved with what made her family famous. Encanto takes place in about the 1950s, maybe 60s, so Mirabel would definitely be interested in this book, because she would have definitely been interested in the real life events that occurred when she was young (the events of the book and the real life murders of the Mirabal sisters occurred form the 40s to 1960, but this book was published in the 90s)

Third is Dolores with Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. I feel like she is a more overlooked member of the Madrigals, and she probably is a BIG Romantic at heart, though I bet she keeps it secret. as such, I gave her one of the most Romantic books I have as a background.

Fourth is Isabela with The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I think she would find the themes of huge responsibility and the focus on perfection by society to be quite pertinent to her lot in life at the beginning of Encanto.

Fifth is Luisa with Jacob I have Loved, by Katherine Paterson. The title is a reference to the Bible saying, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”. I DID think about giving this one to Mirabel, but ultimately chose Luisa because I feel like Mirabel never felt she had a chance to live up to Isabela, while Luisa probably felt like she had a chance to under all that *pressure* (lol), like Sarah Louise (the Esau) with her twin sister Caroline (the Jacob). I think the themes of small town life (SL in the book moves from a small coastal island to a mountain town, and the Madrigals live in the mountains) would also speak to Luisa.

I couldn’t decide for Shuri and also wanted to show her off more, so she gets two books! The first is my copy of the collected Infinity War comics, because she appears in it, and the second is The Deep by Rivers Solomon. Shuri gets The Deep because it’s about a mermaid whose people were the magically-transformed fetuses of pregnant African people who were thrown overboard while being transported to the Americas for enslavement. As Shuri’s movie is both about a strong African nation and about a people pushed underwater by colonialism and racism, I just felt that it was fitting. If you look in her hands, one has a heart shaped herb and the other has the bracelet from Namor.

As a romantic and a girl obsessed with the surface, I believe Ariel would love The Princess Bride, full stop. I also think the framing premise would tickle her.

Last but not least, Asha! Her movie ofc hints at her becoming the fairy godmother and crossing over with fairy/Disney tales, so I gave her The Sisters Grimm!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[patheticbatman]

Part Two

I’m very proud of these dolls, and I’m also leaving them at my parents’ house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them.

This is the second post, so check out the first for more info!

First up we have Pocahontas (real name Matoaka) with Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger. It’s a why-dunnit, not a who-dunnit, about a Lipan Apache girl who has some serious ghost powers. Pocahontas was a tough one, but I decided to go with a book I love about a modern Lipan Apache (Indigenous) girl, written by a modern Lipan Apache (Indigenous) woman. I know a lot of people have strong feelings on both the real life Matoaka and the cartoon Pocahontas, and how she symbolizes a lot of sad and terrible changes for Turtle Island. So I thought putting the doll and this book together would provide an interesting contrast, one that the real life Matoaka may find horribly interesting.

Second is Esmeralda with At Night All Blood Is Black, by David Diop (the French title means Soul Brother - I believe that the title is a play on the English Idiom, At Night All Cats Are Grey, meaning you cannot see meaningful differences in the right circumstances). It’s a very interesting though sorrowful novel about a Senegalese Tirailleur (Infantryman) who was sent to France during WWI. I don’t think Esmeralda would read this normally, but if she was in a sad mood, I think the theme of fluctuating humanity during conflict, and being a Person of Color in France (even centuries later!) would interest her.

Third up is Mulan with Lady of Ch’iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, by Laurence Yep. When I drew pictures for Mulan’s poem (years ago now!) I headcanoned in my explanation that Mulan and Lady Xian, princess of the Li Xian people in modern day Guangdong, were close enough in history that they *might* have met and been friendly. Mulan is typically from further North and West than Guangdong, and would be part of the colonizing side in this case sadly, but I feel like they would respect each other as fellow powerful women.

Fourth is Melody (Ariel’s daughter) with A Song Below Water, by Bethany C. Morrow. I think she’d go into the book with certain expectations, like I did, about the plot, and then get drawn in by the real story. Let’s just say the cover gave me assumptions that lead to a great twist for me personally. Also, I think Melody would relate to the mystery of her magical parent’s true background. The book celebrates the lesser known fantasy species, and approaches the danger of traffic stops, police brutality and protesting for Black people, and how that intersects with being a woman, with care and love. If they ever make a live action Little Mermaid 2, I feel like that would also speak to Melody.

Fifth is Kida with The Ones We’re Meant To Find, by Joan He. Kida is from a fantasy ancient civilization, and this book depicts a sci-fi futuristic one, but there’s more similarities than one might initially think. Both exist due to the hubris of humanity, and in reaction to serious pollution topside. And both explore (or at least mention) a relationship between two women separated by the change in their civilization, and with a boy who seems to know too much. I’m not sure Kida would necessarily read this story, aside from its attractive and exotic (to her, at least) take on the world above, which she has not seen for millennia, but this story is similar enough to Kida’s movie that I felt it fell under the adaption category instead.

Sixth is Jane (from Peter Pan 2, Wendy’s daughter) with Peter Pan on Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean. The Disney movie is NOT based on this book, but both do mention Wendy’s family being affected by a World War, though this one has WWI and the movie has WWII. Interestingly, both have a sympathetic Hook initially. ‘Twas a lovely read, and in my opinion matched the original book based on the play.

Seventh is Giselle with The Wind in the Willow, by Kenneth Grahame. I just felt Giselle would enjoy the idea of cute talking animals (but not so much the war storylines of Redwall) so I put her with this book.

Eighth is Tiana (<3) with Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier. Funnily enough, I do actually have the *sequel* to the book her movie was based off of, but I’ve never read the original, so I decided it doesn’t count. But this is my favorite mixed up fairy tale novel that features a Frog Prince storyline, so I went with it. The villain is also a greedy butt who doesn’t care for his own people, and the protagonist is often underestimated, due to her appearance and gender. In any case, I love this book so much that I illustrated the first chapter, lol.

Ninth is Rapunzel with Rapunzel’s Revenge, by Shannon, Dean and Nathan Hale. I loved this adaption since I was a kid (honestly more than Tangled) and I’m pleased to finally own it.

Last is Merida, with The Edge on the Sword, by Rebecca Tingle. The book is about a warrior princess a thousand years ago in what is England today, with a forced engagement storyline, so I figured this would be right up Merida’s alley.

Part One

Part Three

Part Four

[patheticbatman]

Part Three

I'm very proud of these dolls, and I'm also leaving them at my parents' house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them.

This is the third post, so check out the first for more info!

First up is Vanellope with Museum of Thieves, by Liam Tanner. It’s about a young girl who lives in a 1800s/early 1900s esque city that has extremely oppressive “protective” laws around children (they’re literally chained all the time, for one). Then she ‘steals herself’ and finds a wonderful and dark refuge in the Museum of Thieves. I feel like this would really appeal to Vanellope, as a chaotic and free spirited girl herself.

(Also I think the game on the books website still work, I played it at least a few years ago, which is great! Really reminds me of when I was young and the internet was more free)

Second is Sofia the First with my DP anthology (Happily Ever After Stories, author: I forgot to write that down) that I’ve had since I was at least 4 (Please excuse the sun damage). I seriously considered letting Kida have this one, because she actually had a story in here, but then I realized that I had a better one for her. But I feel like Sofia the first would probably love this. I think it has all the Disney Princesses up to Mulan (because this was published before The Princess and The Frog), plus Alice in Wonderland and Kida? But I don’t remember rn. For some reason I feel like the latest official DP in there is Jasmine. I’m not super familiar with Sofia or her related characters but I felt she should be included.

Third is Sofia’s sister Amber, with A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I feel like she would read this, empathize heavily with Sarah, and unironically not realize she would be part of the problem. Or at least, the version of her from the beginning of Sofia’s tv show would bully Sarah. (Yes she’s a different type of doll than the others but she came free with some of the harder to find ones I ordered off of Ebay.)

Fourth is Elsa with My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I’m not sure mentally HealthIER (she still has a ways to go IMO) Elsa from the end of the second movie would read this. But I KNOW depressed Elsa would read this just to torture herself.

Fifth is Anna and Olaf with Frozen II Movie Theatre Storybook & Movie Projector by Marilyn Easton. I bought this before the movie came out, and sadly it did not contain much more info than the trailers gave us. But it’s still fun to have, and the stylization was pretty. The projector still works, though I need to clean the film. I used to have a bunch of these as a kid. Definitely had a Sleeping Beauty one. In any case, I feel like Anna would be delighted to see an illustrated version of her adventures, and once I thought of using this book, I couldn’t think up anything I’d want to use more as Anna’s background.

Sixth is Kristoff and Sven with It’s A Magical World, A Calvin and Hobbes Collection by Bill Watterson. I feel like Kristoff would enjoy the often dry humor, the lovely artwork, Calvin’s cuteness sometimes, and the relationship between Calvin and HIS animal friend, Hobbes. I actually have a bunch of these compilations but of course I picked the winter one for Kristoff lol. I know he isn’t a Dp but he came out in the same line and I like him anyhow.

Seventh is Elena of Avalon with Kamaisama Kiss (Kamisama Hajimemashita) by Julietta Suzuki. I don’t know a ton about Elena, but both she and Nanami had a sucky life for a while, and then were suddenly given a lot of power and magic, and silly hijinks ensued.

Eight is Moana and a pet chicken with Time Cat, by Lloyd Alexander. She probably doesn’t even know wha a cat IS, so I feel like from start to finish she would be enthralled with all the cultures and the main concept of Time Travel within the book.

Ninth is Raya with Dragon Bones, by Patricia Briggs. I think she’d pick it up, excited to read about Dragons, and then be so mystified with many of the concepts she wouldn’t be able to put it down. Coincidentally it also has a Dragon who can turn human and is pretty much the only one left. No it is not the human on the cover.

Last for this post is Namaari with Dragonworld, by many different people. It’s basically an art book with many different interpretations of Dragons. I think Namaari is the BIGGEST dragon nerd out of the characters in Raya’s movie, so this would definitely be right up her alley.

Part One

Part Two

Part Four