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Zhanneel
Posted on: Aug 20 2022, 4:49 PM


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It does speak volumes for the status of Winx Club. They can't seem to compete in this new world where quality rules. I'm shocked that it took the distributors to have to get to this point for Rainbow to finally see it. But will they do something about it...
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471813 · Replies: 3 · Views: 3,954

Zhanneel
Posted on: Aug 19 2022, 11:28 PM


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A fairly incredible move for a toy distributor to make: calling out how bad the current Winx Club dolls are. Kinderspieleland has my utmost praise and respect for doing this. Maybe now Winx Club will rethink their appalling merchandising and advertising campaigns. (But probably not.) Though I do think lost profit might be a voice that Rainbow may finally listen to.

Bring back the original quality of Mattel, Giochi Preziosi, and Witty Toys.

See article here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChaCdY4qz1F/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Or here is the screenshot for easy reading:

  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471810 · Replies: 3 · Views: 3,954

Zhanneel
Posted on: Aug 18 2022, 3:13 AM


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That's the part I don't understand. Is Straffi delaying the making of new content and just doing a quick remaster of old episodes as filler for the masses? It's been a while since we've had new content..
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471806 · Replies: 5 · Views: 612

Zhanneel
Posted on: Aug 17 2022, 2:18 PM


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Hooo boy. I wanted to like this show so much, but it's not happening. I am about halfway through Season 1 currently, and I want to punch Rose everytime I see her. (Was that too harsh? 😅)

It's hard for me to watch this series and it's 99% due to Rose alone. Her excessively overactive "enthusiasm" is obnoxious, disrespectful, and sometimes downright dangerous. Can no one put this girl in time out?! Can she have an arc to become less annoying? Why hasn't she been dismissed by her classmates or teachers yet for causing a nuisance every day, yet never seeming to learn from her mistakes? Like ever... Main characters like this are practically villains for me.

The other issues I have with show pale in comparison, but they are there. For the English version specifically the jokes fall flat half of the time and the dialogue is uninteresting. Sometimes a clever thing is said, but it's the exception.

Surprisingly the voice acting is okay. Not great, but not bad. The show has distinctive differences between character voices which I appreciate. But the show still suffers from bad dialogue.

Actually, one voice is super grating. The Stella/Rose character is over the top constantly. It's okay to have Stella outbursts once in a while, but not ALL the time. Killing a good thing there.

The consistency is lacking in the show. Too many times the show bible says one thing regarding a magical item or creature, only to change it in another episode.

Overall this is one of those shows I watch for the small entertainment and fairy tale aspects.

Astoria, Hawk, and Travis are interesting. Joy is okay at times? But sometimes she falls into the Rose category of randomness.
  Forum: TV · Post Preview: #471804 · Replies: 54 · Views: 58,626

Zhanneel
Posted on: Aug 17 2022, 1:58 PM


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I may be in a camp of one by myself but....I am just not interested in anything remastered. If he was releasing these to DVD for collection purposes, maybe. But everyone has seen these episodes already, and in every format possible. And with all the edits. đŸ˜” I guess I am just ready for new content. Or if Season 9 stinks, then just end the Winx series at Season 8 and call it complete. I feel like Straffi can't market the Winx franchise out of a paper bag anymore.

But thank you SpiderBraids for all the info!
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471803 · Replies: 5 · Views: 612

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 21 2022, 1:37 PM


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"Safe" is a good word for all of these reboots. 😑
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471619 · Replies: 7 · Views: 1,862

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 20 2022, 5:45 PM


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Oh absolutely, I see that too. At the sacrifice of other more open countries, he will change their style to suit the few who desire censorship. I'm sure Straffi figured that it is better to appease a few countries to stay global, even if it upsets the other fans. I'm sure he assumes all fans will still watch the cartoon regardless.

It's true, I will stick around to see what the new season is like, but I doubt it will be what I want to see in Winx.

Reboot shows seem to be the "in thing" right now, but it's not sitting well with me. I prefer new original content as opposed to constantly reinventing the wheel. So many movies and TV shows today are just reboots and copies. It's sad to me. icon_sad.gif
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471613 · Replies: 7 · Views: 1,862

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 20 2022, 5:33 PM


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Okay, now for the doll update. As most have already seen, the preorder for the collector Frankie doll came and went. But here's the info anyway:

On Friday, February 18th, the first of 5 MH collector dolls was released for preorder after only 24 hours of it being advertised by the Instagram MH account. This was most likely to force buyers into making a snap decision and making it seem as if the doll is limited. No one knows if the dol actually sold out or if the preorder just naturally ended at a preset time.

The dolls are sold at $75 USD each on MattelCreations.com. There is lots of controversy regarding this price, even from adult collectors who could buy the doll but do not feel like the value is substantially greater than some classic MH dolls.

Also, there is another bit of controversy in false advertising from Mattel. The collector Frankie doll is being officially advertised on the purchasing site as having hand painted eyes, whereas the pictures from doll influencers gifted the dolls clearly shows that this is not the doll actually being sold. Many collectors are upset, as the hand painted eyes are more vivid and detailed, and feel that this is very much false advertising.

Here are the pictures so you can decide.

And pre-sale listing for Frankie (already sold out) can be
found here].

Okay, now for the doll update. As most have already seen, the preorder for the collector Frankie doll came and went. But here's the info anyway:

On Friday, February 18th, the first of 5 MH collector dolls was released for preorder after only 24 hours of it being advertised by the Instagram MH account. This was most likely to force buyers into making a snap decision and making it seem as if the doll is limited. No one knows if the dol actually sold out or if the preorder just naturally ended at a preset time.

The dolls are sold at $75 USD each on MattelCreations.com. There is lots of controversy regarding these price, even from adult collectors who could buy the doll but do not feel like the value is substantially greater than some classic MH dolls.

Also, there is another bit of controversy in false advertising from Mattel. The collector Frankie doll is being officially advertised on the purchasing site as having hand painted eyes, whereas the pictures from doll influencers gifted the dolls clearly shows that this is not the doll actually being sold. Many collectors are upset, as the hand painted eyes are more vivid and detailed, and feel that this is very much false advertising.

Here are the pictures so you can decide.

And pre-sale listing for Frankie (already sold out) can be
found here].

First 3 Collector dolls:


Frankie pictures:






Advertised Frankie with hand painted eyes (not available for purchase, but used in all advertisements)


Comparison of actual 2022 Collector Frankie vs Classic Wave 1 Frankie (credits to IG Zombiexcorn for review pictures):
  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471612 · Replies: 3 · Views: 522

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 20 2022, 5:12 PM


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Good point, the reboot animated series was more interesting than the reboot movies. It was smarter, witty, and just more entertaining. I'm interested in seeing news about the new animated series to come. So far it sounds like the styles will be toned down for high school. There is a prototype picture going around where all the girls are wearing flat shoes. More complaints from parents about the fashion? Seems like the problems with Winx censorship are spreading.



Ironically, the rival Rainbow High brand has no problem showcasing high heels all over the place. 😆
  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471611 · Replies: 3 · Views: 522

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 18 2022, 8:28 PM


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QUOTE (mightymarty2 @ Feb 17 2022, 2:39 AM) *
Wow that is poor quality for today, day and age. It looks like its been stretched and washed 100s of times

😂 That is so sad. An unwashed, unused shirt that looks like it's been washed hundreds of times.
  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471599 · Replies: 3 · Views: 443

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 18 2022, 8:27 PM


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I see what you mean. The momentum does seem to go in two episode increments. I'm not sure how they're going to keep people tuned in if they keep breaking it up with 13 minutes segments over a few weeks.

You hit on a point that I was really questioning regarding censorship and target age group. If it's true that Straffi is targeting teens again, then it does not make sense at all to remove all romantic gestures. 😐
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471598 · Replies: 7 · Views: 1,862

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 1:42 AM


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In January I bought two items from the store. And at the moment I have no intention of buying more due to quality issues. One of the items was actually very nice, just overpriced: the pink glitter “Open Your Eyes” coffee mug. I do like using the mug for coffee or tee and the design does not flake off thankfully.

The other item I bought is the real issue. I spent 40 euros on one of the “better” sweatshirt designs, a classic group shop from Season 1. When the sweatshirt arrived it was the cheapest print job I’ve eve seen on a shirt. And 40 euros is NOT something I have lying around all the time ready to spent on cheap clothes.

So. There’s that. If you buy clothing from the shop be aware that they are probably using the same horrible printers that they used for my sweatshirt. It doesn’t matter how nice the design or item looks on their website, it’s probably been photoshopped or is a virtual reproduction. Like how Redbubble.com doesn’t actually show you a physical copy of their items, just a virtual copy.

And how about some pictures for emphasis:





  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471584 · Replies: 3 · Views: 443

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 1:35 AM


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Recently, Winx Club opened their new official online store, www.https://winxclubshop.com.

For the first few months the designs were pretty mediocre. Just bottom-of-the-barrel designs. I do think they have been extremely lazy with graphics, especially when we all know they are archives of amazing art laying around. They even crossed over into plagiarizing other artists. xP

But as of February 2022, they seem to be finding their way and finally bringing better designs to the store.

Here are a handful of the some of the early designs, some good, some okay, and some plagiarized. xD
















  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471583 · Replies: 3 · Views: 443

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 1:12 AM


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Now for my own thoughts on this.

Design-wise:

Parts of it I like, and parts I don't. I don't like that Straffi caved to less women-friendly countries and is on a tare to cover all midriffs and bare skin patches. I do like the new take on "Magic Winx" transformation, if they are indeed going CGI. There is quality in the design. Different than the 3D movies, but nice.


Story-wise:

I believe this new retooling of Winx Club will have far less serious plots and will be more fast-paced, focusing on witty banter and comical situations. It’s hard to say exactly what Straffi is doing with this new series, but I believe it will be similar to the recent My Little Pony Shorts cartoon and will be aimed at short attention spans. Not my style at all. It’s also hard for me to invest in short episodes, especially if they are too fast-paced or an excuse for nonstop witty banter. To me that feels extremely dumbed down.

It also appears that this will be a full reboot. I highly doubt the story will continue from where Season 8 left off. Though, they did leave Icy's story off in a weird way, so who knows... I am more interested in a continuation of the story, not ANOTHER reboot.

I'm also not okay with the censorship of "romantic" gestures. There has never been any problem with the hugs or kisses seen in Seasons 1-3, and I'm not going to start now because a handful of countries say that's inappropriate. It's a globalization thing, I get it. But it's still kowtowing. Straffi should continue to keep and enhance on his original design, and let the other countries censor where they want.

Winx has always been deep to me. Even though the show has its fair share of comic relief and lighthearted-ness, it also has a foundation based on serious story telling. Drama that stretches over many episodes, magical journeys of self-discovery, emotional highs and lows, life-threatening scenarios, sorrow and loss, but also redemption. This cartoon was once able to bridge an assortment of age, gender, and genre groups together due to its amazing story-telling. Something I think Straffi accidentally fell into during Seasons 1-3. At that point, the show was rebooted and fell into the trap of globalization and standardized story-telling. Season 4 was okay, but I could tell the story was just not working in the end. Season 5 and on continued to spiral downhill.

And then Season 8 burst out of nowhere, and actually was a bit of fresh air for me. Even though the show was redesigned and “dumbed down” for a younger age group, I ended up enjoying the story and even the new Cosmix transformation. It was the first season since Season 3 that had a tinge of what the original series was about. Not my favorite season by any means, but fun in its own way. The return of Valtor was definitely highly favorable to me. Again, I’m not saying this season was “all that”, but it had heart and wasn’t rote like season 5-7.

And with that, I rest until new information of S9 comes to the surface.
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471582 · Replies: 7 · Views: 1,862

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 1:01 AM


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What do we know about Winx Club Season 9 so far? It looks like Iginio Straffi is pushing S9 off this “new animated series” until 2023. And from recent interviews it is likely to be a full reboot of the series with a retooling of the original Magic Winx transformation. Censorship will also be in play due to a global relaunch of the series. From concept art it appears the show will be entirely CGI. Straffi also mentions that regarding age demographics “we will return to the original target”. That remains to be seen exactly what age range he is referring to.

The working title is “Winx Club Shorts”. Instead of 26 episodes, the series will be further broken down into 52 episodes, 13 minutes each. Similar to the format of PopPixies.

(See below for some references.)

Taken from a news article regarding new title:
Italian: "Una nona stagione Ăš in lavorazione con il titolo provvisorio di Winx Club Shorts. "
English: "A ninth season is in the works with the working title of Winx Club Shorts."

Taken from an interview with Straffi (translated with Google Translate):
“The first series had a target between 8 and 12 years. Over time, the growing offer of fiction has attracted children over the age of ten, relegating cartoons to the youngest and forcing us to adapt to a 4-9 year-old target. But in the new cartoon series, which we are preparing, we will return to the original target.”

“However, there is not much we can do about sexuality. In some countries we cut scenes where Bloom and Sky hug, let alone the rest. In the cartoon everything must be very candid, without sexual references. In the live action series we can do more.”

Pictures from the 2021 Brand Licensing show in Europe: (courtesy of "WinxClubRus" and "Luci e Ombre"):

First leaked image:


Later retooled transformations of Bloom and Stella




Retooled transformations of Flora


A nice comparison thanks to @Winxmagicfairies on IG


New title "Winx Club Shorts"


Another title in the works


Younger and CGI version of the Winx Club group


Box art on dolls






  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471581 · Replies: 7 · Views: 1,862

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 12:44 AM


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Lola Valentine of WinxForeverPodcast (found on Instagram and Youtube) struck gold with a recent interview with Caren Tackett, the 4Kids voice actor for Stella, Darcy, Mirta, and Chatta! This is a great interview to listen to if you’re interested in the voice acting process of 4Kids. It’s also really sweet to hear about Caren’s history on the show and what she is up to today. I highly recommend this interview. 😊

Click here for interview
  Forum: Winx News · Post Preview: #471580 · Replies: 0 · Views: 701

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 12:41 AM


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Here’s a post to update the status of all Winx dolls made after Season 8. I am dubbing them “Season 9” dolls, even though some of them may have nothing to do with character designs that will eventually be released in Season 9.

Do I like them? No, ha. The quality and design are definitely slipping. The outfits can't figure out what they want to be. World of Winx? Classic Winx?: Fate? But in case if anyone is interested:

Ready the full article at Winxcluball.com

Youtube commercial CLICK HERE.

Distributor: Rocco Giocattoli 
Produced by: Witty Toys

There are three collections so far: "Winx Club" (classic), "Bling the Wings", and "Magic Reveal".

Pictures:

Winx Club collection


Bling the Wings collection


Magic Reveal collection


Box Character Artwork




And one more from @saddysmagicroom on Instagram for doll comparisons. Not liking the new head style.

  Forum: Dolls · Post Preview: #471579 · Replies: 0 · Views: 4,135

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 17 2022, 12:21 AM


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Now for my opinions, ha.

I have a few issues with this doll line as well. I’ve already said quite a bit about these dolls on another Disney doll forum, so I’m not going to explain my thoughts completely. But my run-down regarding these dolls is as follows.

Jasmine- absolutely stunning. Awesome to see her in red.

Pocahontas- not a favorite, but the skirt styling is very interesting.

Ariel- absolutely do not like. Since these are supposed to be “gala” style dresses I think she looks underdressed, like she’s going to a high school prom. I actually bought her a first, and then returned her when I saw her in person. Just not for me.

Mulan- fantastic, second favorite to Jasmine. I do think the designer when too heavy on black and that the face is too severe, but overall she is still beautiful. Especially all the embroidery on the sleeves.

Tiana-another gorgeous design. Plainer than Jasmine’s embroidery, but very beautiful. Art Deco theme is amazing. Also giving me Grecian vibes.

Aurora- Still on the fence about this one. I need better pictures. The inner skirt is too plain for me, like it needs a panel or rhinestones. Something. More pictures needed.

Not sure if these dolls are living up to Designer standards or the $129.99 USD value, but some are pretty.
  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471578 · Replies: 1 · Views: 479

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 16 2022, 11:20 PM


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Since there are a lot of Winx doll collectors, I figure there must also be some that overlap that shop the high end collector Disney dolls as well. There is just as much online chatter regarding these dolls releases as there is with every Winx Club doll release.

The most recent doll line currently being released is the “Ultimate Princess Celebration” series featuring 15 Designer quality princess dolls. Starting in October 2021, one doll is released every month until December 2022. Due to shipping and supply issues, these dolls may be purchased as pre-orders or if you’re lucky, will ship a few days after purchase. They retail at $129.99 USD and are sold worldwide.

This series is controversial because each doll is redesigned in the image and styling of a different contracted doll designer, and fans tend to either love or hate the designs.

Here’s the list of the released dolls so far:

2021:

October- Jasmine (released)
November- Pocahontas (released)
December- Ariel (released)

2022:

January- Mulan (released)
February- Tiana (released)
March- Aurora
April- Merida
May- Moana
June- Snow White
July- Rapunzel
August- Belle
September- TBD
October- TBD
November- TBD
December- TBD

Links to the first 5 dolls.

Jasmine

Pocahontas

Ariel

Mulan

Tiana















  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471577 · Replies: 1 · Views: 479

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 16 2022, 6:43 PM


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All news regarding the new line of Monster High dolls.

We all felt that the end of classic MH back in 2015 was like having a door slammed in our face. We were stuck with those mediocre reboot dolls and we tried so hard to stomach the reboot movies
 Until we all walked away from the franchise that had once been epic.

The fans continued to tell Mattel to bring MH back, and low and behold, someone listened!

There have been tons of rumors and snippets of doll clothes and accessories floating around, and it looks like tomorrow the Instagram MH account will be making an official announcement about a few of the doll releases. So now, let’s see what they have in store. Are we going to get an upgrade on classic MH?

  Forum: Miscellaneous · Post Preview: #471576 · Replies: 3 · Views: 522

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 15 2022, 4:52 PM


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Other than haphazardly scattered on YouTube, I have been able to watch (and using a browser extension download) episodes from:

https://www.wcofun.com

You may need to set a VPN to USA to watch them. Not sure is it is region locked.

The other option I will just mention briefly is Torrents. But I'm not an authority to explain how to use them. You'll probably have to check some tech sites for help on that.
  Forum: Other · Post Preview: #471568 · Replies: 1 · Views: 4,999

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 7 2022, 9:30 PM


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QUOTE (mightymarty2 @ Feb 2 2022, 1:51 PM) *
That works, thanks

That worked?! I'm shocked, but I'm glad it did. 👍
  Forum: Videos · Post Preview: #471528 · Replies: 6 · Views: 2,705

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 7 2022, 9:28 PM


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I think I agree with Marty. I've always seen World of Winx as a spin-off. And none of their adventures are ever talked about about in season 8 either, which I think gives some credit to that idea.
  Forum: New Winx Club Seasons · Post Preview: #471527 · Replies: 3 · Views: 4,846

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 7 2022, 9:22 PM


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QUOTE (mightymarty2 @ Feb 7 2022, 1:49 PM) *
Sirenix was a good one, catchy, although that has set it off in my head again

đŸ€Ł Sorry
  Forum: Music · Post Preview: #471526 · Replies: 5 · Views: 4,213

Zhanneel
Posted on: Feb 7 2022, 2:08 PM


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A late welcome to the forum as well!

It's a bit more of an archive than an active forum at the moment, but I hope you enjoy all the same.
  Forum: Introduction · Post Preview: #471516 · Replies: 4 · Views: 1,874

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