This is my favorite Barbie body ever, almost action figure quality in terms of range of motion. I don't like non-posable dolls, so the first thing I do with a static Barbie is put her head on a body that will pose decently, and Barbie bodies that meet that need are few and far between. This is the best of the articulated Barbie bodies on the market, and at a more budget-friendly price than an action figure body. Because of the way this doll is jointed, her hips are just a smidge wider than the other modern Barbies (not counting the newer versions with the different body shapes), so trousers or pencil skirts meant to fit the Belly Button Barbie shape might be a tad too small for the Made to Move body unless they're made of stretchy fabric. But aside from that, she can wear most Barbie fashions (and to be honest, I tend to make my own clothing anyway because I can't stand Mattel's current tendency to make most of Barbie's clothes pink, purple, metallic silver, and/or plastic looking!) The one major drawback to this doll is that most of them seem to have the glue inside their head that Mattel has been filling a lot of their doll heads with lately. Not only is this glue unnecessary to keeping the hair rooted in securely, it ends up leaching into the hair when it gets too hot and creating a greasy mess that eventually makes the hair next to unsalvageable. (If you can catch this leak early, a dry shampoo with cornstarch left in overnight then vigorously brushed out might help the problem, but it might not. Mattel, what were you thinking?!) This is not a problem for me since I normally buy this doll for her body and use a different Barbie head on it, but for someone else buying it because they want the whole doll, it can be heartbreaking. I am told the brown haired version of this doll (Bambi?) is less likely to have glue inside her head than the others, but mine certainly did. As for this Asian version, her original head was so packed with the oily glue that her hair ended up being unsaveable. I've removed all of her original hair and washed out her head to do a complete reroot on it. Most buyers who aren't into doll customization are not going to want to go through all that bother, so parents who are just looking for a toy for your child, be forewarned. (That said, there are all sorts of tutorials online for safely removing a Barbie head and putting it on a better Barbie body, and this is an exceptionally good body, so I highly recommend buying it anyway if you're up to 3 to 5 minutes of minor doll surgery. Trust me, when your child sees the cool moves this body can do, she or he will thank you!) I want so much to give this doll five or more stars, but that glue-head problem would be a deal breaker for me in any other doll, so I have to give the Made to Move a star off for that. Mattel, could you PLEASE stop using the greasy head glue, or at least switch to another type that won't ruin a doll's hair?! I live in the Deep South; the only way to keep dolls here cool enough year 'round to prevent your glue from leaking is to store them in the fridge, and that's just ridiculous!
I am very much hoping that Mattel will produce their diverse new Barbie body styles with this sort of body soon, as well as a Made to Move Ken. Whether simply posing them for play or to use in dioramas, 1:6 scale room boxes or doll houses, or for display in action poses, the articulated bodies are SO much more fun than the static ones (which might explain part of the popularity that the Monster High dolls are enjoying and the slump in Barbie sales in recent years), and it utterly baffles me that Mattel hasn't moved in this direction much sooner.