Review: Picture Day Frankie Stein

Well, folks, the buck stops here. Frankie is the last Picture Day doll left to review. In terms of writing these reviews, I'm honestly kind of ready to finish this line off so I can move on to the multitude of dolls still to come this year! Plus there are only so many ways you can say a doll comes with a funny picture on the box, there's a Fearbook with stickers, and she has a Trapper Keeper. I'm fresh out of ideas on writing a Picture Day intro that offers a new approach. Well, aside from the whole "I'm tired of writing about the same doll line" intro I just threw at ya. I just got meta on yall's asses. So about that funny picture...

Aside from the awesomeness of Frankie going voltageous right as her picture was snapped, there's the fact that the problem was caused by her "runaway" right hand. I love when Frankie's hands go rogue and wreak havoc. Funny stuff! On the box back is the expected bio, and inside you'll find her... say it with me... Fearbook and sticker sheet. Um... surprise?

I'm glad Picture Day Frankie is hitting shelves. Its been a while since we've gotten a Frankie doll people actually liked en masse, but that certainly seems to be the case with this one. Deservedly so, I say. Take a look...

Welcome to the jungle...

I think what really works about this Frankie for myself and for MH fans in general is how bright and cheerful she is. Her Scaris doll was very understated, something that just doesn't work for a lot of fans. And as for Ghouls Alive, well, not many people liked any of those dolls. Viewed that way, Picture Day Frankie is definitely a breath of fresh air. She's bold, she's sweet, she's funky.

I actually think, despite that colorful face and outfit, that the first thing that jumps out at you about this doll is her hair. Frankie has bangs that front a severe ponytail holding straight hair that's extremely long. If taken down this would surely be the longest hair we've seen on Frankie to date. I find Picture Day Frankie's hair to be considerably softer and finer than usual. Frankie always has great hair (except for the occasional Scaris doll), and this is no different. You can spread it out so that it frames her face or tilt her head a little and let the long ponytail rest to one side. It's really fun to play with. And for what it's worth, I far prefer this ponytail to her DOTD one. I love the exaggerated length, and I think having bangs is a vast improvement over the bang-less DOTD doll. The ponytail simply looks better resting behind bangs. I took all these pictures outside on a fairly windy day and in many of the shots her hair has blown in front of her face. It's an effect I quite like! This of course would've happened with any Frankie doll who was being photographed in the wind, but since we're talking about her hair I thought I'd mention it.

Frankie has a very bold faceup. Electric blue shadow surrounds the eye. Above it, glittery, yellow shadow goes to her brow. Another layer of yellow runs under the electric blue that lines her eye underneath. It's not too often that Mattel puts two colors under the eye, although I've noticed they've been doing it more and more. I hope they keep it up because it's definitely an effect I love. Her lips are a bright, semi-glossy fuchsia. Frankie looks really sweet here, very kind. The subtle melancholy of her Scaris faceup is nowhere to be found on the Picture Day doll. She's kindness personified. (Er, doll-ified?)

In keeping with the rest of the line, Frankie's outfit is a doozy, and one of her best to date. She wears a sleeveless, one piece dress paired with a funky leather-look jacket. Interestingly, the dress is made of the same smooth knit fabric used for most of the MH swimsuits. At first I was a tad put off by this. Are they getting so cheap that they're using swimsuit material for deluxe dolls' clothes, I wondered. But it didn't take long for the dress to win me over. The material is just one more thing that adds to the general uniqueness of this outfit.

The bodice is formfitting and features a yellow collar that lays over the jacket (very cool). It bares a print of diagonal stripes in black, white, and electric blue; a couple of the stripes are lined with little blue lightning bolts. The bodice has a v-neck that scoops into a bright yellow lightning bolt the rests over the bust. Just above the hips the dress flares into a pleated skirt with two tiers. The top tier has an amazing harlequin print in electric blue, black, and silver. Encased in the black diamonds are tiny blue and white lightning bolts. I love this print! It's contrasts the other print perfectly and adds a touch of retro to the look. The second tier features the same print as the bodice and lands about halfway down the thigh. Everything is hemmed in blue except the yellow collar, which has it's own matching hem.

Frankie's jacket comes in blue with black and yellow embellishments. The sleeves are half length and hemmed with fairly wide black ribbon. On the right breast piece is a tiny yellow pocket. The left sleeve has two stripes of ribbon, one black and one yellow. The stripes of the left sleeve give the jacket an asymmetrical look. I don't quite like this jacket as much as Picture Day Operetta's somewhat similar one, but this is undeniably cool and one Frankie's best clothing pieces to date. It's retro, hip, stylish.

Her shoes are contrasting block heels. The right shoe features an electric blue hood and white body with black industrial nuts painted on the side. A white platform sole gives way to a black wedge heel with an open center, not dissimilar to Picture Day Spectra's heels. The left shoe is the same, but with the blue hood and white body reversed.

Frankie comes with a rather wicked purse that may just be my favorite of the entire line. (Hooray for that since my eyes are still bleeding a little from the day-glo colors of Lagoona's purse.) The front is split in two, with electric blue featuring a diamond mold on the left and smooth bright yellow on the right. The back of the purse is solid blue, although it only features the molded print on one side. There's also a solid black, triangular flap, but the best thing here is the handle: a huge, silver safety pin. It's extremely cool. I do have one minor complaint, in that the handle is so wide it really slides all over the place on Frankie's arm. But it's a small price to pay for such a cool-looking touch as a giant safety pin handle!

Frankie has a few more smaller accessories. Her earrings are small, solid silver screws. On her left wrist are simple bracelets, one blue and one black. She also carries the standard Picture Day folder. It's solid blue and features the same molded diamond print found on the purse. The flap has two small stitches molded into it and a skullette that rests over the clasp. She wears a solid yellow belt of grommets with a skullette buckle. The belt really adds to the look, covering the hem where the bodice meets the skirt and delivering a nice pop of yellow where there otherwise is none. It's the finishing touch that pulls the look together.

Overall: After the comparative disappointment of Scaris Frankie for so many and the general dislike of Ghouls Alive as a whole, I'm glad to see a new Frankie on the shelves that seems to be going over really well! As you know I'm a huge Frankie fanboy so I can't help but get a little sadface when her dolls are met with jeers. Picture Day Frankie is fun and funky, bold and exciting. I think we can agree this is more or less a new 'do for Frankie, always welcome. The outfit is very unique and stylish; perfectly Frankie. It has plenty of nice little details. The yellow collar that rests over the jacket comes to mind. As a basic Frankie I think she works extremely well. She almost feels like a sort of "rewrite" of what a basic Frankie should be, giving us the expected sweet face and streaked hair, but introducing the bright yellows that have been sneaking into her designs over the past year. Now we have them in a basic doll and it works well. As I said earlier, Picture Day Frankie is a breath of fresh air and exactly what was needed to renew some excitement for this character within the MH community. I've refrained from fanboying out over this doll throughout this entire review, so I'll end on this note: Holy hell I love this doll so much!!! She's gorgeous and cool and bold and her hair is amazing and I love her! Her face is incredible, so bright, so pretty, I love it! And that outfit, have you seen it!?! Holy crap! So cool! Nothing about her isn't amazing! Did I mention I love this doll??? Because I so totally, completely do! Thank you.