11" Princess Serenity (or as she's known in Italy, Principessa Serenity)
The Run-Down on the Italian Toys
In 1995, a company called "Giochi Preziosi" leased the license to make Sailor Moon toys for the Italian market, much the same way that Irwin Toys has for the Canadian market. As is the case with Irwin, many of the available toys are re-releases of toys seen previously from Bandai Asia or Bandai Japan. However, Giochi Preziosi has some truly outstanding exclusive dolls that would make any serious Sailor Moon collector weak in the knees! Above is a picture of the gorgeous 11" Principessa Serenity, which is one of my absolute favorites. The Italian dolls have bendable legs and twist-n-turn waists.
**Click here for additional Notes on Princess Serenity!**
In addition to the Princess Serenity, another big exclusive for Italy is the 11" Dancing Moon doll. Dancing Moon wears a beautiful white and pink gown and comes with a large spinning base that her feet fit into. (Also has room for Tux.) The base, which also plays music, is controlled by a remote control, which is included. (This same type of base is used every so often by Mattel for various "Dancing Barbie" dolls here in America.)
11" Talking Super Chibi Moon - This Italian made Chibi Moon dolls is notable for 2 reasons. First, because it talks, (in Italian, of course) and secondly, it's the same size as the other dolls! A tall Chibi is just begging to be customized into a Black Lady doll! A Talking Super Sailor Moon was also available.
Looking at the standard 11" series, you'll notice that the faces are different from the dolls issued in other countries, which is a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure whether it's a new face mold or just a different paint style that makes them different. I'll have to get them all out and compare them someday. The standard series of dolls each come with a wand, a stand, and a pair of earrings for a little girl. (Or even an elderly man, for that matter. But that's less likely.) This series also consists of:
17" Dolls
There was also a series of 17" dolls identical to those sold by Irwin Toys in Canada. Aside from the packaging, the one big difference is that the Italian Sailor Mercury's hair is blue, while the Canadian Mercury has black hair. It's a pretty important difference, if you ask me! I should also mention that Giochi Prezioso indicated that there would be a 17" Princess Serenity doll in some of their promotional materials, yet there was never a picture of one, and I've never known anyone that has one or could even confirm if it was ever actually produced. The links below are for pictures of the two Italian 17" dolls.
A collection of dresses were sold in Italy, packaged on large blister cards. There were formal gowns for each of the Inner Senshi and an additional Princess Serenity dress for Moon. Click on the links to see gowns for Mercury & Venus. There were also unusual Sailor fukus for the Inner Senshi that looked like a cross between gowns and their fighting outfits! See Mercury's fuku here.
Sailor Moon Sky Dancers of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon & Venus. The launchers are shaped like the Moon sceptre! There is also a Chibi-moon with a Pegasus launcher.
A boxed set of an 8" Chibi-Moon and Pegasus, which features a hard plastic Pegasus that looks more like a standard model horse than the unusual "art deco" Pegasus sold in Japan. The Chibi from this set is identical to the Bandai Asia Chibi Moon, and is not as tall as the other Italian Chibi dolls.
A "SailorStars" series of dolls that come with an extra outfit of street clothes. (Yes, just like the Bandai Japan Beauty Change series! The extra outfits are different.)
The series of 2 inch "Sailor Cute" figures that also popped up in Japan, Hong Kong, Europe and Canada.
Is that It?
Well, no, but that's all I've got time to list now. I'm constantly surprised by some of the stuff from Italy. I mean, who knew it was out there? Back with more, later.
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