Opinions of dolls based off of celebrities?

Sometimes it works and sometimes not so much. If the likeness is a good one--then I generally am okay with it. Personally, they are not really my thing. I do have an Audrey Hepburn mimimee to put together and she will probably be the only one.

 

I have no problem with dolls based on celebrities or the characters they play. I have a Tom Hiddleston MNM as my Loki and also have a Prince Nuada from Hellboy the golden army. They are like having large action figures in a way but more fun as you can customise them if you like. They are no different to any other kind of fan art to me.

 

While I don't have a doll based on a celebrity per se - one is most definitely inspired in name and by the fashions of a certain set of TV characters. So I see nothing wrong in basing dolls on fictional characters that aren't of your own creation. I'd be a hypocrite if I had a problem with it.

Heads that 100% look like a celebrity aren't my cup of tea though, I don't think I could own one. They veer too realistic for my tastes whereas I like my sculpts more stylized. That being said, I've definitely seen some well done celebrity dolls (there was a good Bowie a few years ago) and do enjoy seeing what people do with them. I haven't seen anything blatently disrespectful, but minimees and their ilk aren't usually on my radar except when they pop up time via my Tumblr dashboard.

 

I like dolls based on real people/characters because those dolls usually look very realistic and have nice big lips like a normal person. The other dolls usually look a lot less alive or realistic.

 

Wow, I had no idea people were so down on this.

My Iplehouse Stella was picked entirely for her 99% likeness to Taylor Swift. Sand the tip of her nose down? 100% match, no question. Her character, Scarlet, is essentially T.S. through a (frighteningly believable) alternate lens or timeline, fraught with emotional pains and struggles I've dealt with most of my life. It's a very personal character concept; one that led me to write one of the best screenplays I've ever produced. She means the world to me honestly; totally a companion doll.

I fail to see how that's disrespectful, or reducing someone to an object, but I digress; your doll is ultimately yours. What you do with them is, frankly, no one else's business.

 

I have mixed feeling about this, I can understand making a doll look like a character that the celebrity plays but to make a doll look just like a celebrity is kinda weirder to me? Because you can't know them, not really. Like, at all. It's a stranger. For a character you do know them by watching their story unfold in whatever format is that they exist. does that make sense? Maybe not lol

 

The Nina Doll by Delf is based on the actress who played Elena from Vampire Diaries but only the alternative face-up looks like her. If you ever do a vampire diaries set use her!

 

I think they're just fine. I currently have a doll based on a Jacksepticeye (youtuber) character called Antisepticeye and I'm hoping to do a Darkiplier (Markiplier character) one soon.

 

I don't see why it's a thing. But I have two...A MNM of Benedict Cumberbatch I thought I was buying just to have a realistic head to paint, but who I turned into Sherlock, Khan and eventually stuck as Dr. Strange. He's not complete so mostly he sits on my shelf and glowers. Even if he was he's not compatible with my other comic-based dolls as he's way too big. But I like him and hope to get him looking right one of these days. Maybe he can stand waaaaaayyy in the background of one of my group photos or something. If I ever take a group photo.

My other one is Marilyn Manson. He's not a MNM, he's a Dollshe Saint I modded and painted to look like Marilyn Manson. I see him as fan art. *shrug* He's a doll. he sits on my shelf and I make him look pretty and sometimes I take his picture. I don't really know what's weird about that?

 

That is the same reason I like dolls based on real people, not because I'm a creep who wants a mini real person but because those types of dolls usually look realistic and that is the point of bjd, realistic dolls.

 

As a newbie I have a question: Is it more acceptable for companies to create dolls in the likeness of deceased celebrities than living celebrities? I'd love to see doll companies paying homage to iconic roles like Doll Stories did with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

 

I personally wouldn't want to own a celebrity doll. I would feel weird doing anything with them and their personality is kinda set. I can see the appeal of a character or role based doll but a celebrity doll has a different feel.

 

I was very tempted by IOS's Doctor Strange until I saw the price, but in the end if I do get a celebrity likeness I think I'd want to get one that looks like Michael Fassbender to make a version of David from Prometheus and Alien Covenant. His action figure looked nothing like him and I would love to have an excuse to make an Alien inspired room.

 

I can see why others would be interested (some sculpts do an amazing job of capturing that celebrity's likeness), but it's not personally my thing. I like my dolls to be completely fictional and characters I've come up with.

 

For me, it is also about how close or how similar the doll really has to be.

Some of my guys are pretty much identical to their originals. But some have a gotten a very personal twist from me. So yes, they are indeed based off the character (movie characters), but I developed them further. E.g. Mr. Spock is not 100 % the Star Trek character, but a weredragon in my story. Is this unrespectful to the original? I do not think so, not if you know the details.

Or sometimes I see a movie and somehow want to integrate or merge a character with one of my existing dolls. So my Spock is not only a Vulcan, but when he travels through time and universe (what he can do with the aid of another character of mine), he becomes an elf with all the attributes an elf has (which are actually not that far away from a Vulcan's).

That said other character...was an original of mine. But then I saw Dr. Strange, and I really like Dr. Strange. So I figured out a way to merge that character with my original one. No, I did not say from now on that is Dr. Strange - now quite. Maybe I will tell you the story sometime...

So I think a good way to integrate movie characters into your crew is to change them a bit, to give them further development. But sure there is also nothing wrong with keeping them as close to the original as possible. After all, they are our dolls, and we can do whatever we want.

 

That Dr. Strange - OMG if I had the $$$$ I'd so totally get him!

 

So guys, what do you think about them ?

I am personally in love for this one , which is shaped like Tom Hiddleston.
This one and this other one from Granado are also a dream, and looks much alike Mads Mikkelsen.

 

I like them, but I don’t like the idea of role play with them, or people posing them sexually, I find that weird when it’s based on a real person. I have some, but I just treat them as models or toys.

I have one of Loki, Thranduil, and one I’ve custom ordered.

 

I think it's cool! I want to buy this one
God of Water - MiaoJun, 73.5cm Loong Soul Doll Boy - BJD Dolls, Accessories - Alice's Collections
And turn him into Ying Kong Shi from Ice Fantasy, played by actor Ma Tianyu. Unfortunately I just bought a doll and can't afford him anytime soon. Let me bless you with an image of Ma Tianyu as Ying Kong Shi. See how the Loongsoul doll Miao Jun is similar?
Google Image Result for https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7c/cf/69/7ccf6995430a094211f979558ebba47a.jpg

 

They aren't my personal thing, but there are a lot of famous faces in resin, once you get to looking! Modoll/Natrume has quite a range of celebrity sculpts, and I just stumbled across this guy last night: Crimson Doll Scott. Dreamy Teen!Loki, anybody?