NEWS: Monster High

Image Credit: OlenaZatler.com (If anyone official wants this removed, please contact me and I will do so.)

I was a double today, so I've had to wait to discuss the monster in the room. 

I honestly wasn't really enthused about any of the new MH stuff. I love the Skullector line because that's stayed true to the original design style and I love that they made dolls for some of my favorite childhood movies. I love that there is an official MH line that is decidedly catered to adults. But due to their higher price tags, I've become very picky with them. I sold off my Pennywise and Grady Twins sets, though I'm definitely keeping Beetlejuice and Greta. When they released the fashiony Frankie, Clawdeen and Draculaura, they just weren't worth the price tag for me. They're cute but I already own much better versions of each doll so why spend the higher price? 

That's how I feel about this new reboot. I'm GLAD they look different. Why? So I can enjoy them in a new way. I had no interest in the repros. Great for people that don't have them but I do. Maybe I'll buy Cleo when she comes out but maybe not. I don't need her. 

My bottom line, for my collection, is that I want NEW things. I don't want a continuation of a 12-year-old line, no matter how great it was. And it's not like it didn't change consistently throughout its early existence. Neither book series ever matched up with anything. The webisodes and movies had multiple different animation styles. MH was highly varied. 

So now it's back in a new style for today's kids (no one's ridiculous, entitled attitude is going to change that), while the adults still get something in the older style to shut them up. I mean..."for their enjoyment." Can't handle change? Buy the Skullector ones or hit ebay and buy some originals. Quit whining about this not being exactly the same thing because when EVER in doll history has a line come back many years later and looked exactly the same? And no, you cannot count repros. That's a reproduction. I'm talking about a new version of an old line. 

Let's take a break from that and look at the dolls themselves. I'll do my pros and cons for each. 

DRACULAURA:

Pros: THAT FRICKIN' ADORABLE LITTLE FACE. Look at that little nose! And her cute mouth with the smaller fangs. AND THOSE EARS. I think I saw some ear hate on IG but I LOVE them. I was always one that wanted more monstery features. Original Clawdeen was lovely but never brought much werewolf really. That's one reason I liked the previous reboot, because the monster features were even more in your face. So of course I'm a big fan of those pointy, adorable, definitely obvious ears. Lots of bats have pretty large ears, after all. I like the split hair color. I like her eyes. These girls are definitely more cartoony than the original line, but I'm okay with that. Think about the differences between the original dolls and the cartoon. The animated versions had much bigger features than the dolls. If you look at the leaked photos of the animation, these dolls actually match up quite well. I love her giant Lydia hat. I can't see enough of the outfit to judge but it looks promising. I'm not a huge fan of the bowtie and earrings but I don't dislike them enough to make them cons. 

Cons: I can't tell if it's just some photo weirdness or if she has yellow by her eyes. I never liked the addition of yellow to Laura's colors so that's not a good thing for me. 

Overall, I love her. The old Draculauras were very cute but never quite captured her bubbly character for me. This one does. 

CLAWDEEN: 

Pros: Love the ears and their earrings. Love that she wears glasses now, though these might be a smidge large. The freckles are cute but confusing. How does she have freckles if she's furry? I guess it could just be speckled fur but still odd. I love her lip color and her wider smile than Laura's. I really like the lighter brown hair color. It's very pretty. The leaked animation image looked like she had lighter purple hair, not light brown, but I'd definitely prefer brown. While she doesn't look like the sassy Clawdeen we knew, I still like her. My favorite thing is the nose! Predictably, considering I just explained why I love Laura's ears so much. Looking at the animation image, it's there. I think everyone assumed it was a shadow but nope. 

Cons: Not a fan of the weird topknot at all. Also not a fan of her outfit much. I like the design on the overalls or whatever those are. But that's about it. 

Overall, I like her but she's by far my least fave of the three. 

FRANKIE: 

Pros: Biggest pro has to be that they totally have Ceci vibes! I love that Frankie is getting to be such an important part of representation. MH desperately needed some updating when it comes to that. Not having LGBTQ characters in the original was a big mistake on Mattel's part and it wasn't for lack of trying by the brilliant mind behind MH. Having a non-binary Frankie is such a huge step forward. I love it so. This face sculpt is beautiful. Love the stitch-as-eyebrow piercing...or maybe that's just a piercing? I can't tell. Also love that they have some Venus style going on. The school jacket is excellent. Can't really judge the rest of the outfit. Love the earrings. The face though. All three of these dolls have lovely faces. 

Cons: I'm not sure why they're gray. I'm hoping this is just some weird early image issue. The leaked animation art made Frankie look their normal green, though the movie seems to be more blueish-green. (Maybe?) Definitely not gray for any version though. Not really digging the barrette.

Overall, I adore them. I think Laura is my favorite here but Frankie is a very close second and Clawdeen is nipping at their heels. 

I am definitely looking forward to seeing more and I'm finally excited for this new line. I'm hoping for some body shape diversity as well as height. I love that these match the new animation style quite closely, judging by the little we've seen of each. 

They're adorable. Simply adorable. I'm perfectly okay with them looking younger. They are only 15 after all. I love the original dolls but not many of them actually looked their ages. In today's world of dolls that look way older than they're supposed to be *cough*RH*cough*, these are a breath of fresh air. 

I hope kids will love these like they did the originals. They've got some stiff competition right now, but do you know what kids love? Movies. They love seeing their favorite characters sing, dance and be themselves on screen for longer than a few minutes every couple weeks. They love getting a chance to get to know these characters, which RH, OMG and Mermaze fail at miserably. (Don't get me wrong. Those shows are fun. But the characterization is extremely unbalanced.) MH has that aspect in its favor. RH and OMG may still have the design level, but I think a lot of kids are going to watch the MH movie and a lot of kids are going to want these dolls. I would have chosen MH over any of the others back in my kid days. Why? Because I love monsters. The same reason that brought a lot of people to the original MH. And I love the more varied characters with interests that aren't always the same. One gets a little tired of fashion, spoiled divas, and pop singers. 

Welcome back, Monster High!