Just A Toy

Walt Disney's Babes in Toyland (1961)not only inspired toys; it also featured toys such as the pretty doll Annette and Tommy Sands play with in one of the film's loveliest numbers, "Just a Toy." The doll seen in this charming scene was designed by Uneeda Doll Company. A Disney licensee of the time, Uneeda created the doll as both as a prop and as a toy that would be available in retail stores. Crowned with not only with, well, a crown but also with pink (not blonde) hair and wearing a tutu and ballet shoes (for isn't every princess a dancer?), the Princess doll had the same body as the Disney Pollyanna doll Uneeda issued just a year earlier. (Interestingly, the Princess doll hangtag was was designed as an alphabet block, in keeping with the Toyland theme, and the letters shown are "U" (often the only "name" stamped on Uneeda's toys along with the trademark info) and "D" (for "Disney," we can assume). Wonder how many children received the Princess doll for Christmas in 1961? As the Disney Character Merchandising Division said through one of its signature "Hustlegram" news releases, "Every little princess will want to own the 'Princess' doll."