Disney Store launches new Beauty and the Beast range

‘I wonder if one day I turn into Belle and go to another land with my friends?’

Four-year-old Big Girl was talking non-stop yesterday evening after she returned from a play date and discovered the lockable gold Beauty and the Beast journal I had received for her at a Disney Store event.

I had been to see the new range of Beauty and the Beast products celebrating the upcoming live-action Disney Beauty and the Beast film, and learnt that the gold journal (£14.99) was one of the bestsellers from the range during a 48-hour pre-sale in January.

The film is coming out in cinemas in the UK on 17 March, and the new range-apart from a few limited edition items-was released in stores and online today.

I’m not surprised if the journal continues to be a bestseller after the general release, as according to Big Girl, it looks like a real princess notebook. It has gold-lined paper and a beautiful coloured illustration at the start of the book, making it an ideal present for a school girl who loves writing.

The new dolls in the collection (from £28.99) were also a hit in the pre-sale, and these differ from the regular fashion doll-sized Disney princess dolls we have at home. The new Beauty and the Beast dolls look more thoughtful and lifelike, designed to look like the actors in the much-anticipated film, which achieved a record-breaking 128 million trailer views during its first 24 hours.

For dressing up, there’s a new white long-sleeved celebration Belle dress (£60.99), which is new from the film, as well as a new yellow Belle dress. There are also other little accessories, such as a sweet mirror, costume jewellery and Belle shoes, and on 17 March a limited edition dress will come out.