Director Barbie has ANKLE JOINTS!

Sorry, this is another post with no original content, but I just saw this: there's a new Barbie out and she has ANKLE JOINTS. Yes, I definitely think that's the sort of news that deserves all-caps - you know how I feel about articulation. She's called Film Director Barbie and from what I can tell the ankle joints seem to be all she has going for her: her arms lack articulation completely. Hmm. Not sure yet if I'll sacrifice a spot on my wishlist for her, or wait for a Barbie with ALL THE JOINTS.

Here's a good photo on Flickr of the ankle joints compared to a Disney Store doll.
Papusile Mele has a post with some promo pics too.

I quite like the design of the feet - they remind me of Simba's Super Model or female action figures: slightly curved, which allows the doll to wear both flats and heels without looking weird. This is in my opinion one of the downsides to Obitsu and Disney Store bodies: the flat feet. I realize that it contributes to the Obitsus' famed balancing skills, but it would be nice with a doll that looked good in slingbacks too. (Action figures of course may come with different pairs of feet, but for some reason Obitsu don't offer this option.) I've noticed that in the last years Mattel has updated their doll bodies with more realistic-looking features, and this seems to be part of that trend.

MH Avea & Sirena

Videos! Very short and not terribly informative videos, but at least we get to see Avea and Sirena properly. Avea seems to have knee joints (are they even called knees in horses?) but only in her front legs, and shin guards as the obligatory plastic accessory instead of shoes. I want to see her for myself before I decide, but she's lookig pretty awesome so far (Wydowna is still #1 on my wishlist, though). 

Meanwhile, Sirena is looking less and less appealing to me. Her face sculpt is pretty bland, and there's the lack of articulation. I feel like she doesn't have enough character to stand out - I realize that might seem like weird thing to say about a freaking ghost mermaid doll, but that's the downside of raising the bar like Mattel keeps doing with the MH dolls. 

But if you always wished Lagoona were spookier, you might love Sirena. I do like her tail fin, it's very spooky and sort of mushroom-like. Also we get to see how she stands up! 

Avea Trotter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvf-Em5GfXI

Sirena von Boo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4VJy5PrrGU

(I know the formating looks weird. It's the telephone's fault.)

And now I really want to see an octopus girl, although Disney's lawyers might have something to say about that...