From the Toysit archive
Barbie Rapunzel and Prince Stefan Giftset
Picture Rapunzel and Prince Stefan in their pink, lavender, blue and gold costumes, then create a masquerade invitation with a picture clue.
The play at a glance
A royal pair with a story to share
Rapunzel’s pale pink and lavender gown and Stefan’s blue-and-cream costume make this pair look ready for a miniature performance. Gold crowns and the prince’s shield catch the eye even in Toysit’s small original photograph. Put the two characters on opposite sides of a drawn palace garden and a simple question can start the scene: who is bringing the invitation, and who is planning the celebration?
Costumes become character cues
The wide princess skirt suggests a grand entrance; the prince’s crown and blue sleeves suggest a formal welcome. Those are useful starting points for players inventing a ball, a garden visit or a friendly meeting at a palace gate. A folded sheet of paper can stand for an invitation, while a drawing supplies the location.
Mattel’s individual Rapunzel record describes an extending ponytail, a separate hair extension and a musical brush. Its prince record describes short spoken lines, including an invitation to a ball. These documented features belong to the individual products; the complete older giftset description appears below. For an imaginative scene, players can supply all the conversation themselves.
Try this: the invitation with a picture clue
Make a small masquerade invitation with two drawings: a landmark that shows where to go, and a symbol suggesting what a guest might wear. A fountain and a butterfly could mean a garden party with butterfly-inspired costumes. A moon and a crown could mean an evening celebration under the stars.
- Choose a host and a messenger. Let either doll take either role.
- The messenger delivers the invitation and explains the landmark. The host adds one friendly detail about the occasion.
- Have the guest ask a practical question: where will everyone meet, or what should they bring?
- Draw the destination on a larger sheet and move the characters into the scene. End with a greeting and a little bow supplied by the player.
For a second telling, switch the host and messenger and change just one symbol. A butterfly becomes a musical note; now the party needs a song. Paper figures can play the whole scene, and an extra player can be the narrator who describes the walk from the gate to the celebration.
The invitation gives the dolls a shared purpose. Instead of needing a long script, each player has a small contribution: a clue to explain, a question to ask or a guest to welcome.
The historical record
Original Toysit coverage
The complete earlier product account and commentary are preserved below as historical coverage.
Rapunzel Barbie and Stefan Giftset.
This two-pack gift set from Mattel includes Barbie as the starring princess in her own production of Rapunzel, and this Barbie doll is equipped with a few special features to make it a success. Barbie has long golden ringlets (topped with a removable gold crown), including one section that extends to her young prince when you tug on it. To get Barbie's hair back to a fashionable length, simply pull the string on her back. She's dressed in a sparkling pink and purple gown with opalescent sleeves, a net front-panel overskirt, and lots of gold glitter. She comes with six hair clips, another long blond hair extension that attaches with Velcro, and a plastic pink hairbrush that plays music when you brush her hair. Prince Stefan is looking regal indeed in this outfit of blue and gold. Press the button on the handsome prince's back, and you'll hear the story of Rapunzel. Stefan asks her to throw down her hair, tells the young maiden he loves her, asks her to accompany him to the masquerade, and blows her a kiss. The snippet of wedding music makes it clear that the couple lives happily ever after. The blond-haired and blue-eyed prince is dressed in a blue top with a cream-colored front panel that's cinched at the waist with a gold belt. His matching pants are the same cream color, while his boots, crown, sword, and shield are all made of gold. He also comes with a mask for the ball. With articulation only in his waist, arms, and neck, he can bow regally, but can't get down on bended knee to propose.
Rapunzel
Rapunzel is a classic fairy tale that has been told and retold through various cultures and mediums over centuries. The most widely recognized version is perhaps that collected by the Brothers Grimm. Here's a concise summary of the tale:
A childless couple lived next to a walled garden belonging to an enchantress named Dame Gothel. The wife, while expecting, developed a craving for a type of lettuce (or rampion) growing in this garden. Her husband sneaks into the garden to fetch it for her but is caught by Dame Gothel. In exchange for sparing his life, the enchantress demands the couple's unborn child. Upon birth, the baby girl is handed over to Dame Gothel, who names her Rapunzel after the plant her mother craved.
As Rapunzel grows, her hair becomes long, golden, and magical. To keep her from the outside world, Gothel locks Rapunzel in a tall, secluded tower with no doors, only a window. Whenever Gothel visits, she calls, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," using it as a rope to climb up.
One day, a prince hears Rapunzel singing from the tower. Fascinated by her voice, he observes Dame Gothel's ritual and later uses the same chant to meet Rapunzel. They fall in love, and the prince plans to rescue her. However, their secret meetings are discovered by Gothel, who cuts off Rapunzel's hair and banishes her to a desert.
The prince returns to find Dame Gothel, who tricks him, leading him to leap from the tower in despair. He is blinded by thorns but eventually reunites with Rapunzel in the desert. Her tears of joy heal his eyes, and the couple returns to the prince's kingdom, where they live happily ever after.
The story of Rapunzel is a tale of love, betrayal, and redemption, emphasizing the lengths one might go for love and the transformative power of hope and reunion.
Sources and editorial notes
Toysit’s original account identifies a two-pack giftset. Mattel’s separate 55532 Rapunzel and 55534 Prince Stephan records and images support the pictured doll designs, extending hair, musical brush and spoken phrases, but do not establish the giftset’s exact boxed inventory. Exact giftset packaging and operating instructions were not recovered. The preserved fairy-tale summary is separate from the Barbie film story. New scenes below are original editorial ideas.
- Original Toysit image — Existing same-site image reviewed and retained unchanged.
- Mattel: Barbie as Rapunzel, 55532 — Individual doll description and photograph reviewed; not a giftset packing list.
- Mattel: Ken Doll Prince Stephan, 55534 — Individual prince description and photograph reviewed. Mattel uses the spelling Stephan; Toysit’s original giftset account uses Stefan.
- Original Toysit coverage — Complete historical account retained, including its original claims and wording.
Images and descriptions are retained as historical material. How Toysit covers toys.
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