Series: Disney Babies
Company: Aston Trading
Size: 22 cm
This is a Minnie Mouse plush as baby. It was made by Aston Trading with an official Walt Disney licensee. The plush is likely from the 80’s or early 90’s.
It’s a nice size plush that’s about 22 cm long. She is in a crawling position. Minnie wears a baby pink onesie and white gloves. She has hard, plastic button eyes with felt eyebrows. On top of her head sits a large pink fabric bow. The nose is made of fabric and the mouth is sculpted in the head.
Her body is made from a fabric similar to towel, while her head is made from that thick, sturdy plush common in these vintage plush. Despite her firm stuffing, she feels soft and can be slightly squeezed.
Minnie has no tail. Her proportions are hard to judge but they seem alright, although her limbs are a bit short and stubby. The Disney Babies are 2 heads tall, and this seems to be the case with this plush. The plush is simple in from, with stubby, round legs as was typical in that time. The head sculpture seems off though, and could have been rounder, with wider cheeks. The mouth looks a bit derpy, probably because the cheeks aren’t following form. There are no details on the body.
Her Tush Tag is one of the more unique and prettier ones I’ve seen. It’s a large, folded, satin ribbon placed on her left bum cheek. On one side it has a large, light blue Mickey Mouse printed surrounded by stars. At the bottom it says © Disney.
The back features the usual company information. The red must have been printed with a lower quality ink than the blue, as it’s mostly faded. I can just make out the red underline and the text Walt Disney. It reads: Aston Trading P.O. Box: 6418, Dubai – U.A.E. Official Walt Disney licensee Made in AFZ, Ajman – U.A.E.
I found this vintage Minnie plush in a local charity shop. I was surprised to find not only such an old plush there, but in such good condition as well. Her body was a bit tatty, and I’ve since cleaned that up. There are no scratches or paint missing on her eyes, which is usually the case with these plush, so I was really lucky!
As a child, I used to read the Disneyland magazine (tijdschrift) that ran in the Netherlands. It first ran from 1972 to 1974, and was the sequel to Sprookjesland (fairy tale land) which had more generic fairy tale stories. After 1974, 10 issues were distributed as extra’s in another magazine. In 1988 it got picked up again. These are the ones I mostly read. Especially the ones from 1996 I seem to recall due to The Lion King features, which I loved. As an 8 year old, I could now read by myself and had access to the local library, which had these backlogged, and these were my go to books. Apart from Disney movies, Pooh Bear and Scamp, it also featured strips from the Disney Babies.
Finding this plush made me think of those magazines again. It gave a lot of nostalgia! Although never a fan of the generic Mickey & pals gang, I always enjoyed reading the Disney Babies comics.
I’m intrigued to find more about this plush. I love stuff from the 80’s and 90’s, and I hope this one fits in that category. I don’t know anything of Aston Trading, but they seem to have done some Disney plush back in the day. I might sell this beauty when I need to downsize more, but for now I’ll try to find out more info of her!
Got any more details / information for me to add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own the same plush? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!
Hi! Just wondering if you found out any more info on Aston Trading UAE? I’m a Disney fan after some of their plush toys but can’t seem to find much about it. I’m eager to find their Lion King plushies!
Kind regards,
Jade
Hi Jade. Sadly not! I too am hoping to find their Lion King plush. 🙂
I know of Simba and Nala and Sarabi with baby Simba. They only pop up once in a blue moon it seems! Thanks for your message.