It's no surprise that Mattel decided to join the sure-fire hottest merchandizing event of the 2003 holiday season: Tie-ins to Peter Jackson's highly-anticipated, much-hyped movie adaptation of the final chapter in J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Barbie and Ken, therefore, visit Middle-earth as Arwen and Aragorn, recreating their final scene in The Return of the King and wearing officially licensed versions of their costumes.
arbie as the elven princess Arwen is clad in a spring green velour gown with long medieval sleeves, lined in white chiffon, that trail to the floor. The silver loop trim and celtic-like designs on the bodice and sleeves look embroidered, rather than merely stamped on, and are well done.
Her silver cutout crown with its green 'jewels' and strands of beads, on the other hand, uses paper rather than plastic or metal and is nowhere near as delicately elaborate as movie Arwen's. It's imprinted to look 'hammered' though so it doesn't look totally cheesy. Shoes are mint-green flats. Arwen's necklace, given to Aragorn and metaphor of the much-ballyhooed immortality she willingly gives up for love, is nowhere to be found in this set.
en as the human, destiny-driven Aragorn got the full treatment for this set. The bordeaux satin undershirt and brown fabric pants protect his torso and legs from the 'chain-mail'; actually silver-meshed black fabric. Guards of black plastic ornamented with [painted] dark gold swan wings shield the shoulders and the upper and lower arms. The chestplate duplicates movie Aragorn's closely; however, there is no corresponding back plate. Black plastic boots are on his feet. Over it all, a black velour cloak, lined in silver satin.
Aragorn's winged crown looks much better than Arwen's, being in thick, antiqued bronze plastic. The sword Narsil bears the recent marks of battle, as well as the evidence when it was broken into shards in the Second Age before being reforged for the new King.
The interior of the box lends absolutely nothing to enhance the pair within. It looks to be a simplified suggestion of Rivendell; which is odd, as their reunion, both in the movie and in the book, takes place at Gondor.
en proves once again that he looks best when he's not Ken. He is not quite as rugged as Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn; however he still makes a good-looking King. The reddish-brown hair contains intentionally variable lengths with charming flyaway locks yet the overall style still blends well. The painted beard and moustache is probably intended to harken back to the scruffy Ranger but does give him a 'kingly' look. The brown eyes reflect Aragorn's solemn, even dour, demeanor.
arbie, as Liv Tyler's Arwen, takes a few more liberties with her appearance. Eschewing the 'au naturale' look of elven beauty, she instead chooses graduating shades of green for eyeshadow and a frosted mauve for lipcolor. At least there is no nail or toe polish. The wavy dark brunette hair tumbles down the back, with a few curled spirals draped over the shoulders. Pearly pale vinyl lends that otherworldly shimmer to the new Queen.
Yes, Barbie's ears are pointed.
The Middle Earth map used for the background is Copyright © 2003 Tolkien Depot Ireland.