Toy Review: Fabulous Fancy Nancy Doll

I have been keeping an eye on Fancy Nancy for quite some time now. At first, it was just seeing her adorable face on book covers. Even if her fashion sense is a bit out there, she certainly is as fancy as her name implies. The books are quite the read because Nancy can prove to be an interesting character, but it’s all in good fun. She ends up being an excellent role model for young girls and that is never something to complain about.

So, when it came to my attention that Fancy Nancy had a line of toys coming out, I immediately wanted to review them. I have a girlfriend that has two young daughters. I knew that they would be perfect test subjects for the quality and excitement factor that comes with Fancy Nancy.

Positives & Negatives:

Positives:
Good value for the money
Comes with numerous accessories to get you started
Nicely made
Good role model for young girls
Tough toy (it can be dropped and what not without worry of breaking)
Good attention to detail
Fun for numerous age groups

Negatives:
None that I have found

Pricing & Availability:
The Fancy Nancy toy line is exclusively available at Target stores. In fact, if you go to their website it will have you search by store, as they are not even available in the online Target store. While I have seen a few of these dolls floating around places like Amazon, your best bet would probably be Target, especially if you’re looking for a reasonable price. The Fabulous Fancy Nancy Doll retails for $39.99 at Target, which is not a bad deal for a sturdy doll with a number of accessories. The only dolls available on Amazon are considerably more expensive, so if you have a Target in your area you will want to visit the store and save some money!

Requirements & Instructions:
As this is a doll there aren’t really any instructions. Things couldn’t get easier. You just take her out of the box and the kids can play with her. She is all dolled up and ready to play, so once you remove her it’s up to the imagination of the kids to play to their heart’s content. Fancy Nancy is suitable for kids ages three and up, but kids much older will also find enjoyment in this adorable doll, so if you have kids of various ages this is something that they can all enjoy together.

Durability:
Fancy Nancy is not a doll that is going to break in two if you drop her. Now we did not purposely throw her around because we believe in being nice to our toys (especially with something so cute). However, just taking her out of the box and giving a few twist and turns, as well as watching her be played with, showed us that she could take a beating (if she had to) and she would be just fine. It would take quite a bit of torture to actually harm Fancy Nancy, and hopefully a parent would not give a child a doll if she could not take care of it.

Ease of Use:
Fancy Nancy is a doll so it is an incredibly simple toy. As long as your child is able to use their imagination they can play with this toy and will probably have a great time doing it. The only problem the girls playing with Fancy Nancy had was that there was only one doll! They absolutely loved playing with her, dressing her and changing her clothes, and carrying her around to do “girl things” with her.

The girls, who are seven and five, could not get enough of Nancy. Once she was out of the box they had a hold of her and were fully immersed in play. They were laughing and speaking to (and talking for) Nancy, wanting to make her the third girl in their group. Not only did they have fun, but I had a fun time watching them play and enjoy Nancy so much. At times, they were nice enough to include me, and while I probably wouldn’t be caught playing with Nancy all on my own, I did have a great time doing it with the kids.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
Nancy is an 18 inch doll that comes with a leotard and poodle skirt, some socks and slippers, and accessories including two barrettes, hair ribbons, and a necklace. This gave the girls (and me) a chance to change up her outfit some. The poodle skirt can be removed and you can leave Nancy in her leotard on its own. This is nice because it serves as a second outfit for Nancy. There are additional outfit sets that you can purchase, but if you don’t have the money for extras, this allows your child to enjoy Fancy Nancy without needing additional outfits from the minute that you buy her.

Speaking of her outfit, I just have to say that it may not match in the conventional sense, but oh my gosh, is it adorable. The top is a fun (and certainly noticeable) cow print with ruffles at her collar and sleeves. The skirt is a nice and fluffy 50’s throwback poodle skirt in a gorgeous lavender color. The cute and fuzzy poodle on that skirt is a pretty addition, as well. Nancy is all dolled up in lace, satin, bows, and barrettes. She also comes with some dainty pink slippers in a Mary Jane shoe design that have fuzzy balls on the top of the shoe. While this outfit certainly is interesting, it definitely works for little Miss Fancy Nancy.

The best part of all though is the message that the kids receive from Nancy. It’s all about being who you want to be. That message is often lost in today’s society, but Nancy reminds us all that fashion is in the eye of the beholder. She helps your kids to learn that if you look good for yourself, you will end up feeling good and looking fabulous. Kids will love Nancy, especially girls, because despite not being the most beautiful girl, she is fashionable in her own way and she’s fun. Moms and dads will love Nancy because she’s a good role model, teaching girls that life is what you make of it and you should always dress for your own version of success!

Bottom Line:
I could not recommend Fancy Nancy enough if I tried. This is a fabulous doll, like the name implies. It’s absolutely perfect for girls and interested boys aged three and older. Thanks to the books and the positive nature of the series, I could easily see girls as old as ten (and some older) loving this Fancy Nancy doll. Parents will definitely receive their money’s worth because this is one of those toys that will be able to travel through the years with their children successfully, without them tiring of it. To date this has been one of my favorite toy reviews because the girl’s had so much fun playing with Nancy that as a parent, seeing the joy on their faces was priceless.

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Technorati Tags: Fancy Nancy, Fabulous Fancy Nancy, Doll, Leotard, Poodle Skirt, Accessories, 3 and Up, Girls, Toys, Children, Fun, Target, Role Model, Durable, Enjoyable, Jakks Pacific

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