In the “TMSM Nation” we see some interesting questions. One of the ones we saw recently that I felt needed addressed publicly was “How do I know if the Shellie May I am looking at online is real or not?” As most know Duffy is Mickey’s bear made by Minnie so Mickey wouldn’t be lonely, Shellie May for those who have never seen her, was also made by Minnie so that Duffy could have a best friend. Sold only Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan Shellie May and Duffy are hugely popular in the Japanese Disney parks, even having special photo areas set up for them.
Shellie May and Duffy in their Jedi outfits and Star Wars Weekends name tags at the 2014 Disney Social Media Moms “On the Road” Conference in Philly representing TMSM.
For those of us in America who are Dufffy fans, we know that every Disney character should have a best friend or true love so we of course WANT the cuteness that is Shellie May. Unfortunately for many of us, jumping on a plane to Japan and standing in line for 3+ hours to buy a Disney bear isn’t feasible and Disney hasn’t made her available directly through the Japan parks online for purchase so we look at resale options available to us. Many of those options though, sadly are fakes.
Now I can hear you saying “FAKES? In the Disney world? For an item in the US that the majority of Disney fans have never heard of? NEVER!” Yes my friend it is true, and sadly I was taken advantage of by a faux seller on Ebay, which I discovered when showing her photos to a Shellie May collector online after she arrived at my home. Thankfully my wonderful friend Lori (who runs www.operationnoah.info) was amazing enough to purchase a Shellie May for me when she visited Tokyo Seas in April 2013. One of the benefits of having an authentic Shellie May, and the forgery that my husband named Shellie Faux was the ability to show people the differences between the two dolls and hopefully keep others from being scammed. (Sidebar, the authentic Shellie actually cost me LESS even with shipping from Lori’s home than the counterfeit Shellie!!!)
So now I present to you “TMSM Consumer Reports How to Tell the Difference between Shellie May and Shellie Faux.” (For those of you wondering, both ladies are both wearing the finest BuildaBear fashions available in the photos)
Let’s start with a quick full bear shot so you can see some of the quick visual differences between the two. Shellie May on the left, Faux on the right in all the photos below. As you can see their main fur colors are slightly different.
Notice their leg shapes? May’s legs are skinnier in the center and flare out at her foot like Duffy’s where Faux’s are barrel-esque from the bear thigh down.
Notice the leg tag directions on each? May’s is on the left “outside” part of her leg, and notes she was made in Vietnam, and copyrighted by DISNEY. Faux is on the “right” part of her leg, and notes she was made in China, and copyrighted by DI5NEY.
Their feet are very close, but you can see the Mickey is a bit smaller on Faux, and May’s hands have more definition to her fingers. Their “Cutie mark”s as my friend’s daughter would call them vary a bit, May’s is a bit bigger.
Now on to the side-by-side facial comparison where the differences REALLY start to show:
May and Faux from the side, May is closest to the camera . Notice their snout shapes?
May’s eyelashes are different lengths, and her nose a bit darker. Notice how Faux’s eyelashes are all the same length? May is on the left, Faux on the right. May’s smile has a bit of a indent in the center, Faux’s its just about even between the left and right sides of her smile.
May is on the left, Faux on the right. May’s ears are smaller, Faux’s basically match the entire height of her head.
May’s neck is thinner than Faux’s neck which is almost as wide as the base of her head with no “slimming” effect between the chin and shoulders.
Many Fauxs come with a hair bow that is glued or sewed on. May’s is attached to a removable elastic headband.
And here is a final comparison shot showing Shellie May, Shellie Faux, and Duffy all together. For those unfamiliar with Shellie May is a lighter brown, and her eyes are blue where Duffy has slightly darker with dark eyes.
For those interested in purchasing a Shellie May I recommend researching the sellers and asking them for photos of her “made in” tag with a current newspaper from their area in the photo just so you can verify she is in fact real. My Faux also came in a clear plastic sealed back, which is not how May is sold in Japan.
*The purpose of this article was to help Disney fans avoid pirated Shellie Mays, it is not intended to demean the love an owner may have for a Shellie Faux.
Michele Atwood is the Owner/Editor of The Main Street Mouse and its subsidiaries. Co owner of the House of Mouse Expo & Lost Princess Apparel. Author of the books “Moving to Main Street U.S.A.” “How Many Sleeps Till Disney?” and “How Many Sleeps Till Disneyland?” Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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Let’s start with a quick full bear shot so you can see some of the quick visual differences between the two. Shellie May on the left, Faux on the right in all the photos below. As you can see their main fur colors are slightly different.
Notice their leg shapes? May’s legs are skinnier in the center and flare out at her foot like Duffy’s where Faux’s are barrel-esque from the bear thigh down.
May and Faux from the side, May is closest to the camera . Notice their snout shapes?
Very interesting. Now I will know what to look for so I don’t get ripped off.