Barbie doll stars as Liana in the lastest show Barbie and the Diamond Castle! Liana and Alexa are best friends who share everything, including their love of singing! While walking through the forest, the girls find a magical mirror! As they clean the mirror and sing, a girl named Melody appears in the mirror! Melody tells the girls about the secret of the Diamond Castle, home of all music! Three musical muses once resided there until one evil muse, Lydia, tried to take the castle for herself! Liana is dressed in an everyday dress which magically transforms into a sparkling ball gown with the turn of a key! She becomes a princess of music! Her necklace lights-up as her dress changes! She sings two wonderful songs! Barbie Liana Singing Doll is a great way to encourage roleplay and develop an interest in music! Please note: only one Barbie supplied!

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Yes - another singing Barbie doll.., 20 Nov 2008
My daughter pleaded and pleaded with us to buy the two main Barbie dolls from Barbie Diamond Castle. Seeing as the price finally dropped a bit (and it was her birthday) we relented. Normally we would have insisted on choosing one but as these clevely work as a pair, we purchased both.
The actual barbie doll is of the usual Barbie build quality - pretty good and withstands medium play level. The plastic tiara did snap when our 5 yr old tried to "pull" it out of her hair (thanks to those clear elastic bands trying to keep it in place) and would recommend a little adult supervision for younger children if they wish to restyle the hair. One main complaint: the shoes are a disaster. They will not stay on - pick the doll up and off flies the shoes, every time. They are not the usual slightly rubbery ones, they are hard plastic ones. A little tip: we have popped a small blob of blue tack in each one and squished them down. Much better now!

Her magical transforming dress is pretty and my daughter thought the changing bit is "amazing" - in reality the outer part of the skirt has a drawstring ribbon sewn in a third of the way down, opening at the back with a plastic "pull". So, when you pull on the ribbon at the back, the outer skirt is pulled tight, ballooning the top bit and revealing the glittery underskirt lining. Sounds complicated when written down, but in fact, very simple and I grudgingly admit, reasonably effective.

Now for the "music". She sings two songs from the movie. While she can sing alone, it is fairly obvious it is part of a duet and really works best with her Barbie doll friend. One of her Barbie hands has a little push down button in the palm, when pressed she sings. The idea is that if you own both dolls you can make them hold hands, pressing the buttons simultaneously, and make them sing in harmony and at the correct time. This is a better idea that the last Barbie duo singing dolls where you had to press the buttons on their backs, but still suprisingly tricky. We found it very hit and miss, more often than not only one doll would start singing, and now my daughter puts them on the floor and presses them each herself. The actual sound quality is as average as all the other dolls. Not great but ok: you can hear the words clearly enough and it is a decent volume. Thankfully, there is an off button in the form of a big button that also lights up her necklace. So, if you get out of sync and trying to get both dolls to sing the same song, not too painful to listen to!

So, from an adult's perspective, this is just another barbie doll with a pre-recorded set of 2 tunes and a little light up button, making it very expensive in comparison to other barbies. However, for my 5 yr old who has played and played with them, they are beautiful, sparkly, wonderful singers and her new best friends..

Baby Annabell is just like a real baby with realistic features and she now reacts to your voice! When you talk to Baby Annabell she turns her head to the left or the right depending on where your voice is coming from. She babbles, gurgles and sucks on her dummy. When she drinks from the water-filled bottle she makes sucking sounds and slowly opens and closes her eyes. Once she has finished drinking, she burps and falls asleep. If she is woken by noise she cries - and real tears roll down her cheeks but singing soon hushes her! Requires 4 x AA batteries, not included (Order MOE120520). 3 Years +

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Yes - another singing Barbie doll.., 20 Nov 2008
My daughter pleaded and pleaded with us to buy the two main Barbie dolls from Barbie Diamond Castle. Seeing as the price finally dropped a bit (and it was her birthday) we relented. Normally we would have insisted on choosing one but as these clevely work as a pair, we purchased both.
The actual barbie doll is of the usual Barbie build quality - pretty good and withstands medium play level. The plastic tiara did snap when our 5 yr old tried to "pull" it out of her hair (thanks to those clear elastic bands trying to keep it in place) and would recommend a little adult supervision for younger children if they wish to restyle the hair. One main complaint: the shoes are a disaster. They will not stay on - pick the doll up and off flies the shoes, every time. They are not the usual slightly rubbery ones, they are hard plastic ones. A little tip: we have popped a small blob of blue tack in each one and squished them down. Much better now!

Her magical transforming dress is pretty and my daughter thought the changing bit is "amazing" - in reality the outer part of the skirt has a drawstring ribbon sewn in a third of the way down, opening at the back with a plastic "pull". So, when you pull on the ribbon at the back, the outer skirt is pulled tight, ballooning the top bit and revealing the glittery underskirt lining. Sounds complicated when written down, but in fact, very simple and I grudgingly admit, reasonably effective.

Now for the "music". She sings two songs from the movie. While she can sing alone, it is fairly obvious it is part of a duet and really works best with her Barbie doll friend. One of her Barbie hands has a little push down button in the palm, when pressed she sings. The idea is that if you own both dolls you can make them hold hands, pressing the buttons simultaneously, and make them sing in harmony and at the correct time. This is a better idea that the last Barbie duo singing dolls where you had to press the buttons on their backs, but still suprisingly tricky. We found it very hit and miss, more often than not only one doll would start singing, and now my daughter puts them on the floor and presses them each herself. The actual sound quality is as average as all the other dolls. Not great but ok: you can hear the words clearly enough and it is a decent volume. Thankfully, there is an off button in the form of a big button that also lights up her necklace. So, if you get out of sync and trying to get both dolls to sing the same song, not too painful to listen to!

So, from an adult's perspective, this is just another barbie doll with a pre-recorded set of 2 tunes and a little light up button, making it very expensive in comparison to other barbies. However, for my 5 yr old who has played and played with them, they are beautiful, sparkly, wonderful singers and her new best friends..

great doll, 06 Apr 2008
I got this doll for my Christmas present and I really like it.
I love dressing it up in my old baby clothes and carrying it around.
It has helped me learn how to care for babys.
I advise it



Disappointing Doll - sounds robotic , 25 Feb 2008
My daughter has loads of dolls and when this new version came out she just had to have it. what a disappointment. She expected the head to move when she talked to it - she spent ages shouting at it so the head would move towards her. Like other reviews, I agree this eats up batteries. The sucking sounds robotic. It was so bad I took it back to Toys R Us three times to then realise they must all be the same. My daughter loves this doll but I would not recommend. Expensive to maintain and I think is very disappointing overall. The version 3 Annabelle is much better - softer features and sounds better. It does not move its head but you do get a better doll. The version 3 would also be a lot cheaper now.

A bit of a disapointment, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. She fell in love with her at first sight on Christmas morning. My problem is the battery use. You can't use anything except top quality (i.e. top price) batteries. If you use standard batteries or rechargeables there is not enough top end power when she cries. If this happens she just turns herself off and won't do anything until you unscrew the battery compartment and remove and replace a battery (not terribly convenient). Then she works fine again until she is next fed and cries. It took us some time and an e-mail or two to Zapf to work this out (they recommended only Duracell M3 or Energiser ultimate batteries) as there is no mention of this in the instructions and we even went as far as getting a replacement Annabell only to find the same thing happened.

In itself this might not be an issue, but played with regularly I am having to change the batteries every 10 days or so as they get to about 50% used and the same thing happens again. So it's expensive and a hassle. Basically it must just be a bad design that the crying requires so much power the batteries can't support it. I am stuck with it as my daughter loves her so much (although she has mentioned that it would be nice if Annabell wasn't so heavy), but if I wasn't it would be going back.

So in summary my daughter loves her, but as a parent I certainly wouldn't recommend this version to anyone else.

Great doll....., 30 Dec 2007
Santa delivered the version 4 baby annabell to my house last week, and has since provided much entertainment for my 4 year old. She loves the fact that annabell turns her head and has spent many an hour trying to stop her from crying. Excellent doll with lovely feature of turning the head.

Great fun but slightly heavy for younger children possibly??, 30 Dec 2007
My daughter had this as a replacement for a similar style doll (store own) which we kept having faults with. My first thought was that she is very heavy due to the motor, etc but my 4 year old doesn't seem to have any trouble with this. The head-turning action is quite freaky but you soon get used it (although I think my daughter's voice is slightly high and she doesn't always respond to her). She has a flesh coloured body (unlike the common white middle section) which we liked as it is more realistic.
It does take a while to get the tear function to work but this is purely because she needs chance to drink kenough water on first use. Subsequent uses have been very good thought, however I would suggest a face cloth for drying her as you would spend a fortune on tissues!! You also need to watch out for any drips later on as my daughter has been caught out several times where a tiny amount have water has spilt out onto her (we're not talking major amounts here though)
I'm not sure if she gurgles as much as previous dolls as I've not really seen much of them but my daughter seems quite happy with the noises that she makes.
All in all I would say she has been in hit with my daughter and both my partner ans I have found her quite amusing. Definitely a well-loved toy!

A nappy must fit perfectly and must not pinch. Absorbent and with self-adhesive strips they are comfortable and leak-proof. Content: 5 nappies. 3 Years +

A nappy must fit perfectly and must not pinch. What bliss for the little bottom of Baby Born. Absorbent and with self-adhesive strips they are comfortable and leak-proof. Content: 5 nappies. 3 Years +

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Yes - another singing Barbie doll.., 20 Nov 2008
My daughter pleaded and pleaded with us to buy the two main Barbie dolls from Barbie Diamond Castle. Seeing as the price finally dropped a bit (and it was her birthday) we relented. Normally we would have insisted on choosing one but as these clevely work as a pair, we purchased both.
The actual barbie doll is of the usual Barbie build quality - pretty good and withstands medium play level. The plastic tiara did snap when our 5 yr old tried to "pull" it out of her hair (thanks to those clear elastic bands trying to keep it in place) and would recommend a little adult supervision for younger children if they wish to restyle the hair. One main complaint: the shoes are a disaster. They will not stay on - pick the doll up and off flies the shoes, every time. They are not the usual slightly rubbery ones, they are hard plastic ones. A little tip: we have popped a small blob of blue tack in each one and squished them down. Much better now!

Her magical transforming dress is pretty and my daughter thought the changing bit is "amazing" - in reality the outer part of the skirt has a drawstring ribbon sewn in a third of the way down, opening at the back with a plastic "pull". So, when you pull on the ribbon at the back, the outer skirt is pulled tight, ballooning the top bit and revealing the glittery underskirt lining. Sounds complicated when written down, but in fact, very simple and I grudgingly admit, reasonably effective.

Now for the "music". She sings two songs from the movie. While she can sing alone, it is fairly obvious it is part of a duet and really works best with her Barbie doll friend. One of her Barbie hands has a little push down button in the palm, when pressed she sings. The idea is that if you own both dolls you can make them hold hands, pressing the buttons simultaneously, and make them sing in harmony and at the correct time. This is a better idea that the last Barbie duo singing dolls where you had to press the buttons on their backs, but still suprisingly tricky. We found it very hit and miss, more often than not only one doll would start singing, and now my daughter puts them on the floor and presses them each herself. The actual sound quality is as average as all the other dolls. Not great but ok: you can hear the words clearly enough and it is a decent volume. Thankfully, there is an off button in the form of a big button that also lights up her necklace. So, if you get out of sync and trying to get both dolls to sing the same song, not too painful to listen to!

So, from an adult's perspective, this is just another barbie doll with a pre-recorded set of 2 tunes and a little light up button, making it very expensive in comparison to other barbies. However, for my 5 yr old who has played and played with them, they are beautiful, sparkly, wonderful singers and her new best friends..

great doll, 06 Apr 2008
I got this doll for my Christmas present and I really like it.
I love dressing it up in my old baby clothes and carrying it around.
It has helped me learn how to care for babys.
I advise it



Disappointing Doll - sounds robotic , 25 Feb 2008
My daughter has loads of dolls and when this new version came out she just had to have it. what a disappointment. She expected the head to move when she talked to it - she spent ages shouting at it so the head would move towards her. Like other reviews, I agree this eats up batteries. The sucking sounds robotic. It was so bad I took it back to Toys R Us three times to then realise they must all be the same. My daughter loves this doll but I would not recommend. Expensive to maintain and I think is very disappointing overall. The version 3 Annabelle is much better - softer features and sounds better. It does not move its head but you do get a better doll. The version 3 would also be a lot cheaper now.

A bit of a disapointment, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. She fell in love with her at first sight on Christmas morning. My problem is the battery use. You can't use anything except top quality (i.e. top price) batteries. If you use standard batteries or rechargeables there is not enough top end power when she cries. If this happens she just turns herself off and won't do anything until you unscrew the battery compartment and remove and replace a battery (not terribly convenient). Then she works fine again until she is next fed and cries. It took us some time and an e-mail or two to Zapf to work this out (they recommended only Duracell M3 or Energiser ultimate batteries) as there is no mention of this in the instructions and we even went as far as getting a replacement Annabell only to find the same thing happened.

In itself this might not be an issue, but played with regularly I am having to change the batteries every 10 days or so as they get to about 50% used and the same thing happens again. So it's expensive and a hassle. Basically it must just be a bad design that the crying requires so much power the batteries can't support it. I am stuck with it as my daughter loves her so much (although she has mentioned that it would be nice if Annabell wasn't so heavy), but if I wasn't it would be going back.

So in summary my daughter loves her, but as a parent I certainly wouldn't recommend this version to anyone else.

Great doll....., 30 Dec 2007
Santa delivered the version 4 baby annabell to my house last week, and has since provided much entertainment for my 4 year old. She loves the fact that annabell turns her head and has spent many an hour trying to stop her from crying. Excellent doll with lovely feature of turning the head.

Great fun but slightly heavy for younger children possibly??, 30 Dec 2007
My daughter had this as a replacement for a similar style doll (store own) which we kept having faults with. My first thought was that she is very heavy due to the motor, etc but my 4 year old doesn't seem to have any trouble with this. The head-turning action is quite freaky but you soon get used it (although I think my daughter's voice is slightly high and she doesn't always respond to her). She has a flesh coloured body (unlike the common white middle section) which we liked as it is more realistic.
It does take a while to get the tear function to work but this is purely because she needs chance to drink kenough water on first use. Subsequent uses have been very good thought, however I would suggest a face cloth for drying her as you would spend a fortune on tissues!! You also need to watch out for any drips later on as my daughter has been caught out several times where a tiny amount have water has spilt out onto her (we're not talking major amounts here though)
I'm not sure if she gurgles as much as previous dolls as I've not really seen much of them but my daughter seems quite happy with the noises that she makes.
All in all I would say she has been in hit with my daughter and both my partner ans I have found her quite amusing. Definitely a well-loved toy!

Necessary for us Baby Born mummies!!, 07 Nov 2007
I think it is very wasteful to throw away a doll diaper that only has water and cornstarch in it, but these are great anyway. But I think you should sew cloth nappies for your Baby Born! If you don't sew, you can buy them. These are great nonetheless and are a great price. Only 3 pounds for 5 nappies!! A bargain for sure. And they fit Baby Born to a tee, so there's no more loose diapers that leak :)!

36cm non-function doll. Perfect first cuddly doll with fixed eyes. Comes with rattle. 12 Months +

The sign writer of Sylvania, their biggest job was the Brambles Department Store. Oliver and Alex, Kate and Rebecca Periwinkle make up the Buttermilk Rabbit Family. 4 Years +

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Yes - another singing Barbie doll.., 20 Nov 2008
My daughter pleaded and pleaded with us to buy the two main Barbie dolls from Barbie Diamond Castle. Seeing as the price finally dropped a bit (and it was her birthday) we relented. Normally we would have insisted on choosing one but as these clevely work as a pair, we purchased both.
The actual barbie doll is of the usual Barbie build quality - pretty good and withstands medium play level. The plastic tiara did snap when our 5 yr old tried to "pull" it out of her hair (thanks to those clear elastic bands trying to keep it in place) and would recommend a little adult supervision for younger children if they wish to restyle the hair. One main complaint: the shoes are a disaster. They will not stay on - pick the doll up and off flies the shoes, every time. They are not the usual slightly rubbery ones, they are hard plastic ones. A little tip: we have popped a small blob of blue tack in each one and squished them down. Much better now!

Her magical transforming dress is pretty and my daughter thought the changing bit is "amazing" - in reality the outer part of the skirt has a drawstring ribbon sewn in a third of the way down, opening at the back with a plastic "pull". So, when you pull on the ribbon at the back, the outer skirt is pulled tight, ballooning the top bit and revealing the glittery underskirt lining. Sounds complicated when written down, but in fact, very simple and I grudgingly admit, reasonably effective.

Now for the "music". She sings two songs from the movie. While she can sing alone, it is fairly obvious it is part of a duet and really works best with her Barbie doll friend. One of her Barbie hands has a little push down button in the palm, when pressed she sings. The idea is that if you own both dolls you can make them hold hands, pressing the buttons simultaneously, and make them sing in harmony and at the correct time. This is a better idea that the last Barbie duo singing dolls where you had to press the buttons on their backs, but still suprisingly tricky. We found it very hit and miss, more often than not only one doll would start singing, and now my daughter puts them on the floor and presses them each herself. The actual sound quality is as average as all the other dolls. Not great but ok: you can hear the words clearly enough and it is a decent volume. Thankfully, there is an off button in the form of a big button that also lights up her necklace. So, if you get out of sync and trying to get both dolls to sing the same song, not too painful to listen to!

So, from an adult's perspective, this is just another barbie doll with a pre-recorded set of 2 tunes and a little light up button, making it very expensive in comparison to other barbies. However, for my 5 yr old who has played and played with them, they are beautiful, sparkly, wonderful singers and her new best friends..

great doll, 06 Apr 2008
I got this doll for my Christmas present and I really like it.
I love dressing it up in my old baby clothes and carrying it around.
It has helped me learn how to care for babys.
I advise it



Disappointing Doll - sounds robotic , 25 Feb 2008
My daughter has loads of dolls and when this new version came out she just had to have it. what a disappointment. She expected the head to move when she talked to it - she spent ages shouting at it so the head would move towards her. Like other reviews, I agree this eats up batteries. The sucking sounds robotic. It was so bad I took it back to Toys R Us three times to then realise they must all be the same. My daughter loves this doll but I would not recommend. Expensive to maintain and I think is very disappointing overall. The version 3 Annabelle is much better - softer features and sounds better. It does not move its head but you do get a better doll. The version 3 would also be a lot cheaper now.

A bit of a disapointment, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. She fell in love with her at first sight on Christmas morning. My problem is the battery use. You can't use anything except top quality (i.e. top price) batteries. If you use standard batteries or rechargeables there is not enough top end power when she cries. If this happens she just turns herself off and won't do anything until you unscrew the battery compartment and remove and replace a battery (not terribly convenient). Then she works fine again until she is next fed and cries. It took us some time and an e-mail or two to Zapf to work this out (they recommended only Duracell M3 or Energiser ultimate batteries) as there is no mention of this in the instructions and we even went as far as getting a replacement Annabell only to find the same thing happened.

In itself this might not be an issue, but played with regularly I am having to change the batteries every 10 days or so as they get to about 50% used and the same thing happens again. So it's expensive and a hassle. Basically it must just be a bad design that the crying requires so much power the batteries can't support it. I am stuck with it as my daughter loves her so much (although she has mentioned that it would be nice if Annabell wasn't so heavy), but if I wasn't it would be going back.

So in summary my daughter loves her, but as a parent I certainly wouldn't recommend this version to anyone else.

Great doll....., 30 Dec 2007
Santa delivered the version 4 baby annabell to my house last week, and has since provided much entertainment for my 4 year old. She loves the fact that annabell turns her head and has spent many an hour trying to stop her from crying. Excellent doll with lovely feature of turning the head.

Great fun but slightly heavy for younger children possibly??, 30 Dec 2007
My daughter had this as a replacement for a similar style doll (store own) which we kept having faults with. My first thought was that she is very heavy due to the motor, etc but my 4 year old doesn't seem to have any trouble with this. The head-turning action is quite freaky but you soon get used it (although I think my daughter's voice is slightly high and she doesn't always respond to her). She has a flesh coloured body (unlike the common white middle section) which we liked as it is more realistic.
It does take a while to get the tear function to work but this is purely because she needs chance to drink kenough water on first use. Subsequent uses have been very good thought, however I would suggest a face cloth for drying her as you would spend a fortune on tissues!! You also need to watch out for any drips later on as my daughter has been caught out several times where a tiny amount have water has spilt out onto her (we're not talking major amounts here though)
I'm not sure if she gurgles as much as previous dolls as I've not really seen much of them but my daughter seems quite happy with the noises that she makes.
All in all I would say she has been in hit with my daughter and both my partner ans I have found her quite amusing. Definitely a well-loved toy!

Necessary for us Baby Born mummies!!, 07 Nov 2007
I think it is very wasteful to throw away a doll diaper that only has water and cornstarch in it, but these are great anyway. But I think you should sew cloth nappies for your Baby Born! If you don't sew, you can buy them. These are great nonetheless and are a great price. Only 3 pounds for 5 nappies!! A bargain for sure. And they fit Baby Born to a tee, so there's no more loose diapers that leak :)!

Adorable or Adorable?, 11 Jun 2006
Sylvainians are so ...cool!All my friends say,"Your so lucy I wish I could own 120 sylvains!"
Sylvainians are so adorable and they encourage kids(and adults!)
to use one's imaginative brains(and it gives one a break from couch patato activities such as play staitions ,X boxes etc!
By the way,even though sylvainians are advertised 4+ wait untill
your are 7 or 8,beacause I brought my first sylvainian family when I was 4 and there is hardly any fur left on them due to sucking!

WOW!!, 15 Sep 2005
Sylvanian families r soo cool! they look great! they are great fun to play with! and my daughter loves them! come to think of it i love them too now, they've made my life so much easier she just plays with them all day! get somne now for your kids

This little baby knows it all and can help you learn too! Baby Knows is sweet and cute and so very clever. She knows where her eyes, ears, mouth, hands and tummy are. Just place Baby's hand on her body parts and shell tell you what they are. When you place them a second time, Baby Knows will play. She covers her eyes for peek a boo, blows raspberries, claps her hands and sings songs. Listen to her say her ABCs and speak French too! Baby Knows is so much fun to play with and shell teach you everything she knows. Suitable for ages 2 years +.

The Hedgehog Family are known in Sylvania as the Bramble Family. This set includes Father Mortimer Bramble, Mother Eleanor Bramble, Brother Maxwell Bramble and Sister Abigail Bramble. 4 Years +

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Yes - another singing Barbie doll.., 20 Nov 2008
My daughter pleaded and pleaded with us to buy the two main Barbie dolls from Barbie Diamond Castle. Seeing as the price finally dropped a bit (and it was her birthday) we relented. Normally we would have insisted on choosing one but as these clevely work as a pair, we purchased both.
The actual barbie doll is of the usual Barbie build quality - pretty good and withstands medium play level. The plastic tiara did snap when our 5 yr old tried to "pull" it out of her hair (thanks to those clear elastic bands trying to keep it in place) and would recommend a little adult supervision for younger children if they wish to restyle the hair. One main complaint: the shoes are a disaster. They will not stay on - pick the doll up and off flies the shoes, every time. They are not the usual slightly rubbery ones, they are hard plastic ones. A little tip: we have popped a small blob of blue tack in each one and squished them down. Much better now!

Her magical transforming dress is pretty and my daughter thought the changing bit is "amazing" - in reality the outer part of the skirt has a drawstring ribbon sewn in a third of the way down, opening at the back with a plastic "pull". So, when you pull on the ribbon at the back, the outer skirt is pulled tight, ballooning the top bit and revealing the glittery underskirt lining. Sounds complicated when written down, but in fact, very simple and I grudgingly admit, reasonably effective.

Now for the "music". She sings two songs from the movie. While she can sing alone, it is fairly obvious it is part of a duet and really works best with her Barbie doll friend. One of her Barbie hands has a little push down button in the palm, when pressed she sings. The idea is that if you own both dolls you can make them hold hands, pressing the buttons simultaneously, and make them sing in harmony and at the correct time. This is a better idea that the last Barbie duo singing dolls where you had to press the buttons on their backs, but still suprisingly tricky. We found it very hit and miss, more often than not only one doll would start singing, and now my daughter puts them on the floor and presses them each herself. The actual sound quality is as average as all the other dolls. Not great but ok: you can hear the words clearly enough and it is a decent volume. Thankfully, there is an off button in the form of a big button that also lights up her necklace. So, if you get out of sync and trying to get both dolls to sing the same song, not too painful to listen to!

So, from an adult's perspective, this is just another barbie doll with a pre-recorded set of 2 tunes and a little light up button, making it very expensive in comparison to other barbies. However, for my 5 yr old who has played and played with them, they are beautiful, sparkly, wonderful singers and her new best friends..

great doll, 06 Apr 2008
I got this doll for my Christmas present and I really like it.
I love dressing it up in my old baby clothes and carrying it around.
It has helped me learn how to care for babys.
I advise it



Disappointing Doll - sounds robotic , 25 Feb 2008
My daughter has loads of dolls and when this new version came out she just had to have it. what a disappointment. She expected the head to move when she talked to it - she spent ages shouting at it so the head would move towards her. Like other reviews, I agree this eats up batteries. The sucking sounds robotic. It was so bad I took it back to Toys R Us three times to then realise they must all be the same. My daughter loves this doll but I would not recommend. Expensive to maintain and I think is very disappointing overall. The version 3 Annabelle is much better - softer features and sounds better. It does not move its head but you do get a better doll. The version 3 would also be a lot cheaper now.

A bit of a disapointment, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. She fell in love with her at first sight on Christmas morning. My problem is the battery use. You can't use anything except top quality (i.e. top price) batteries. If you use standard batteries or rechargeables there is not enough top end power when she cries. If this happens she just turns herself off and won't do anything until you unscrew the battery compartment and remove and replace a battery (not terribly convenient). Then she works fine again until she is next fed and cries. It took us some time and an e-mail or two to Zapf to work this out (they recommended only Duracell M3 or Energiser ultimate batteries) as there is no mention of this in the instructions and we even went as far as getting a replacement Annabell only to find the same thing happened.

In itself this might not be an issue, but played with regularly I am having to change the batteries every 10 days or so as they get to about 50% used and the same thing happens again. So it's expensive and a hassle. Basically it must just be a bad design that the crying requires so much power the batteries can't support it. I am stuck with it as my daughter loves her so much (although she has mentioned that it would be nice if Annabell wasn't so heavy), but if I wasn't it would be going back.

So in summary my daughter loves her, but as a parent I certainly wouldn't recommend this version to anyone else.

Great doll....., 30 Dec 2007
Santa delivered the version 4 baby annabell to my house last week, and has since provided much entertainment for my 4 year old. She loves the fact that annabell turns her head and has spent many an hour trying to stop her from crying. Excellent doll with lovely feature of turning the head.

Great fun but slightly heavy for younger children possibly??, 30 Dec 2007
My daughter had this as a replacement for a similar style doll (store own) which we kept having faults with. My first thought was that she is very heavy due to the motor, etc but my 4 year old doesn't seem to have any trouble with this. The head-turning action is quite freaky but you soon get used it (although I think my daughter's voice is slightly high and she doesn't always respond to her). She has a flesh coloured body (unlike the common white middle section) which we liked as it is more realistic.
It does take a while to get the tear function to work but this is purely because she needs chance to drink kenough water on first use. Subsequent uses have been very good thought, however I would suggest a face cloth for drying her as you would spend a fortune on tissues!! You also need to watch out for any drips later on as my daughter has been caught out several times where a tiny amount have water has spilt out onto her (we're not talking major amounts here though)
I'm not sure if she gurgles as much as previous dolls as I've not really seen much of them but my daughter seems quite happy with the noises that she makes.
All in all I would say she has been in hit with my daughter and both my partner ans I have found her quite amusing. Definitely a well-loved toy!

Necessary for us Baby Born mummies!!, 07 Nov 2007
I think it is very wasteful to throw away a doll diaper that only has water and cornstarch in it, but these are great anyway. But I think you should sew cloth nappies for your Baby Born! If you don't sew, you can buy them. These are great nonetheless and are a great price. Only 3 pounds for 5 nappies!! A bargain for sure. And they fit Baby Born to a tee, so there's no more loose diapers that leak :)!

Adorable or Adorable?, 11 Jun 2006
Sylvainians are so ...cool!All my friends say,"Your so lucy I wish I could own 120 sylvains!"
Sylvainians are so adorable and they encourage kids(and adults!)
to use one's imaginative brains(and it gives one a break from couch patato activities such as play staitions ,X boxes etc!
By the way,even though sylvainians are advertised 4+ wait untill
your are 7 or 8,beacause I brought my first sylvainian family when I was 4 and there is hardly any fur left on them due to sucking!

WOW!!, 15 Sep 2005
Sylvanian families r soo cool! they look great! they are great fun to play with! and my daughter loves them! come to think of it i love them too now, they've made my life so much easier she just plays with them all day! get somne now for your kids

happy family, 05 Sep 2006
I love the hedgehog family. I remember I once had two sets of the hedgehog family, and I lost the parents to one of the sets so I created my family to have four hedgehog children instead of two.

You can really interact with Glimmer the Flying Horse! Take Glimmer on a magical flying adventure - with her awesome light up wings and mane she'll look amazing! Glimmer's wings light up when you make her fly! Her hooves also light up when you make her gallop! This gorgeous horse comes with a beautiful shimmering mane - when you brush it she'll whinney! A wonderful way to enourage imaginative play!

Sally Best Friend is perfect to cuddle and love! Take Sally toddler out for the day! She looks really cool in her fabulous outfit! Sally is a beautiful life-sized toddler doll! She has shoulder length blonde nylon hair that she likes to style with pretty hair accessories! Sally wears a trendy layered look outfit; with glitter print on her top, leggings, white skirt and sweet ballerina shoes! This Best Friend doll is soft bodied; making her adorably hugable! A wonderful doll for any child a great way to encourage roleplay! Please note: Styles may vary.

Make your own adorable princess doll. Give her a name and make it official with her own birth certificate. No pins or needles required. Everything is included. It's easy to do! Contains 1 soft body doll, wool, pink and yellow fabric, lace, pink and silver ribbon, beads, gems, fishing line, coloured pencils, face stencil, birth certificate, double-sided adhesive tape, glue and detailed instructions. Princess doll is 22 cm tall. 8 Years +

The children's bedroom set has over 18 accessories including the bunk beds that can be separated into single beds, and a desk for all the books and accessories. 4 Years +

Another Singing Barbie Doll.., 20 Nov 2008
We bought this for our daughter's 5th birthday along with Princess Liana's partner doll, Alexa. Why 2? simply that the price had almost halved and they sing in tandem so thought we would get both.
The build quality is the usual Barbie doll quality and will withstand medium play. The shoes are awful and do not stay on, the tiara is flimsy, but otherwise pretty good. We have resorted to using blue tack in the shoes to keep them on and much better now!
The famous transforming dress: at the back of the doll is a plastic pink "clockwork" type key. You turn the key and the left and right front panels of her dress lift up and swoosh round to reveal the glittey lining panels, creating a new outfit. It is fairly successful, certainly my 5 yr old thinks it is "incredible" but I wonder about how well the mechanism will last. The dress is very stiff with plastic bits in the hem of the panel which does help to keep the panels stiff and hold their shape well. We had to realign part of our doll's dress with a few careful tugs and bending as the doll kept flashing her knickers (to the amusement of her elder sister and the upset of the doll's owner!) The downside to this is that it makes the doll feel very awkward and a little stiff when a child holds her - especially with the bulky key sticking out of her back! Not the end of the world, but not the same as the regular Barbie dolls when a child is playing. The turning of the key also switches off the music if wished - nice to be able to cut the song short if the phone rings or trying to get the dolls to sing in sync and keep wanting to restart.

The music: same quality of sound as previous Barbies, it is ok. You can hear the words to sing along and the volume is pretty loud. As an adult I would expect a little better sound quality for the price of the toy, but my daughters seem not to notice or care about that side of it! The doll sings two songs from the movie. The singing is activated by a button on her hand. She alternates the two songs. While the doll singing solo is ok, really it is designed as a duet to sing in tandem with her partner doll, Alexa. Liana's part does sound better as a solo doll than Alexa so if you are only intending to purchase one doll, I suggest considering this one over her purple friend. The idea of the button in the hands is that if you press their hands together they will sing together. Only partly successful, we often found one would start singing and have to start all over. It is suprisingly tricky to sync them exactly and my daughter resorts to lying them flat on the floor and taking a deep breath, pressing one with each hand! Not quite the simple "hold hands and sing" method as suggested by the advert!

So, all in all, I still think the doll is expensive at current prices but no doubt the price will drop further before Christmas. It is a pretty doll and will appeal to all Barbie doll loving children. Out of the two Princesses from the Parbie Diamond Castle, this one is better as a stand alone singing doll as the music does sound more convincing than Alexa. The dress is a bit gimmicky but kids will love it anyway.

Yes - another singing Barbie doll.., 20 Nov 2008
My daughter pleaded and pleaded with us to buy the two main Barbie dolls from Barbie Diamond Castle. Seeing as the price finally dropped a bit (and it was her birthday) we relented. Normally we would have insisted on choosing one but as these clevely work as a pair, we purchased both.
The actual barbie doll is of the usual Barbie build quality - pretty good and withstands medium play level. The plastic tiara did snap when our 5 yr old tried to "pull" it out of her hair (thanks to those clear elastic bands trying to keep it in place) and would recommend a little adult supervision for younger children if they wish to restyle the hair. One main complaint: the shoes are a disaster. They will not stay on - pick the doll up and off flies the shoes, every time. They are not the usual slightly rubbery ones, they are hard plastic ones. A little tip: we have popped a small blob of blue tack in each one and squished them down. Much better now!

Her magical transforming dress is pretty and my daughter thought the changing bit is "amazing" - in reality the outer part of the skirt has a drawstring ribbon sewn in a third of the way down, opening at the back with a plastic "pull". So, when you pull on the ribbon at the back, the outer skirt is pulled tight, ballooning the top bit and revealing the glittery underskirt lining. Sounds complicated when written down, but in fact, very simple and I grudgingly admit, reasonably effective.

Now for the "music". She sings two songs from the movie. While she can sing alone, it is fairly obvious it is part of a duet and really works best with her Barbie doll friend. One of her Barbie hands has a little push down button in the palm, when pressed she sings. The idea is that if you own both dolls you can make them hold hands, pressing the buttons simultaneously, and make them sing in harmony and at the correct time. This is a better idea that the last Barbie duo singing dolls where you had to press the buttons on their backs, but still suprisingly tricky. We found it very hit and miss, more often than not only one doll would start singing, and now my daughter puts them on the floor and presses them each herself. The actual sound quality is as average as all the other dolls. Not great but ok: you can hear the words clearly enough and it is a decent volume. Thankfully, there is an off button in the form of a big button that also lights up her necklace. So, if you get out of sync and trying to get both dolls to sing the same song, not too painful to listen to!

So, from an adult's perspective, this is just another barbie doll with a pre-recorded set of 2 tunes and a little light up button, making it very expensive in comparison to other barbies. However, for my 5 yr old who has played and played with them, they are beautiful, sparkly, wonderful singers and her new best friends..

great doll, 06 Apr 2008
I got this doll for my Christmas present and I really like it.
I love dressing it up in my old baby clothes and carrying it around.
It has helped me learn how to care for babys.
I advise it



Disappointing Doll - sounds robotic , 25 Feb 2008
My daughter has loads of dolls and when this new version came out she just had to have it. what a disappointment. She expected the head to move when she talked to it - she spent ages shouting at it so the head would move towards her. Like other reviews, I agree this eats up batteries. The sucking sounds robotic. It was so bad I took it back to Toys R Us three times to then realise they must all be the same. My daughter loves this doll but I would not recommend. Expensive to maintain and I think is very disappointing overall. The version 3 Annabelle is much better - softer features and sounds better. It does not move its head but you do get a better doll. The version 3 would also be a lot cheaper now.

A bit of a disapointment, 22 Jan 2008
I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. She fell in love with her at first sight on Christmas morning. My problem is the battery use. You can't use anything except top quality (i.e. top price) batteries. If you use standard batteries or rechargeables there is not enough top end power when she cries. If this happens she just turns herself off and won't do anything until you unscrew the battery compartment and remove and replace a battery (not terribly convenient). Then she works fine again until she is next fed and cries. It took us some time and an e-mail or two to Zapf to work this out (they recommended only Duracell M3 or Energiser ultimate batteries) as there is no mention of this in the instructions and we even went as far as getting a replacement Annabell only to find the same thing happened.

In itself this might not be an issue, but played with regularly I am having to change the batteries every 10 days or so as they get to about 50% used and the same thing happens again. So it's expensive and a hassle. Basically it must just be a bad design that the crying requires so much power the batteries can't support it. I am stuck with it as my daughter loves her so much (although she has mentioned that it would be nice if Annabell wasn't so heavy), but if I wasn't it would be going back.

So in summary my daughter loves her, but as a parent I certainly wouldn't recommend this version to anyone else.

Great doll....., 30 Dec 2007
Santa delivered the version 4 baby annabell to my house last week, and has since provided much entertainment for my 4 year old. She loves the fact that annabell turns her head and has spent many an hour trying to stop her from crying. Excellent doll with lovely feature of turning the head.

Great fun but slightly heavy for younger children possibly??, 30 Dec 2007
My daughter had this as a replacement for a similar style doll (store own) which we kept having faults with. My first thought was that she is very heavy due to the motor, etc but my 4 year old doesn't seem to have any trouble with this. The head-turning action is quite freaky but you soon get used it (although I think my daughter's voice is slightly high and she doesn't always respond to her). She has a flesh coloured body (unlike the common white middle section) which we liked as it is more realistic.
It does take a while to get the tear function to work but this is purely because she needs chance to drink kenough water on first use. Subsequent uses have been very good thought, however I would suggest a face cloth for drying her as you would spend a fortune on tissues!! You also need to watch out for any drips later on as my daughter has been caught out several times where a tiny amount have water has spilt out onto her (we're not talking major amounts here though)
I'm not sure if she gurgles as much as previous dolls as I've not really seen much of them but my daughter seems quite happy with the noises that she makes.
All in all I would say she has been in hit with my daughter and both my partner ans I have found her quite amusing. Definitely a well-loved toy!

Necessary for us Baby Born mummies!!, 07 Nov 2007
I think it is very wasteful to throw away a doll diaper that only has water and cornstarch in it, but these are great anyway. But I think you should sew cloth nappies for your Baby Born! If you don't sew, you can buy them. These are great nonetheless and are a great price. Only 3 pounds for 5 nappies!! A bargain for sure. And they fit Baby Born to a tee, so there's no more loose diapers that leak :)!

Adorable or Adorable?, 11 Jun 2006
Sylvainians are so ...cool!All my friends say,"Your so lucy I wish I could own 120 sylvains!"
Sylvainians are so adorable and they encourage kids(and adults!)
to use one's imaginative brains(and it gives one a break from couch patato activities such as play staitions ,X boxes etc!
By the way,even though sylvainians are advertised 4+ wait untill
your are 7 or 8,beacause I brought my first sylvainian family when I was 4 and there is hardly any fur left on them due to sucking!

WOW!!, 15 Sep 2005
Sylvanian families r soo cool! they look great! they are great fun to play with! and my daughter loves them! come to think of it i love them too now, they've made my life so much easier she just plays with them all day! get somne now for your kids

happy family, 05 Sep 2006
I love the hedgehog family. I remember I once had two sets of the hedgehog family, and I lost the parents to one of the sets so I created my family to have four hedgehog children instead of two.

So fun!, 31 Oct 2008
I got this for my cottage and i tried to fit it in the upstairs room
but the bunk bed was to big. Then i realised that you can make it into 2 single beds
which was so handy.

Then i took of i dresser and i thought it was fantastic and that
there could not be more cool things.
But eventually i found there were:

Duvets

Mattresses

Pillows

pictures

tiny books

tiny book holders

school timetable and more...

it was great and at 11 i love this.

There are so many things to do with it!
I definately recommend this item but there are so many small
pieces that i don't think a child under 4 would be very careful
with the pieces and they may swallow easily.

A DEFINATE BUY!

Brilliantly detailed!, 07 Nov 2007
I love all Sylvanian families things, and this toy is a great addition to my collection. There are so many little pieces, and I was amazed at the adorable detail of it all. Although the packs vary over time, most will include many little delights, such as; Bunk beds, teddies, a storage shelf, postcards, photos and posters, school books, bedding, a pencil pot with a ruler and pencil, school timetable and more. It is an adorable little set, which can be arranged in many ways, and will fit in even the small sylvanian families homes. It is really a toy for careful children, as the pieces can be easily lost/ broken/ swallowed etc. but me and my teenage friends all love playing with it, so who's to say you should grow out of toys?!

My Little Baby Born Mummy I can Swim, loves water. She can really swim when in the water. She can move her arms and kick her legs. Includes swimsuit, sandals and towel. Requires 3 x AAA batteries not included (Order MOE120521). 3 Years +

Brother Jamie and sister Hannah Periwinkle are the Buttermilk family babies. They come complete with their own crib and bottle. Only one supplied. 4 Years +