NEWS: Monster High

OH.

MY.

RA.

It's time to talk about Monster High! I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. I was not expecting to want many of these. I love my originals. I just finished setting up their bookcase in my toy room. I left some space for the newbies, but I don't think it will be enough! I'll have to do more rearranging! 

I am completely impressed with what they've done. There's body diversity right off the bat, including body shape, not only height. The dolls capture the essence of the originals while bringing new things to the table, too, so it doesn't feel like a continuation of the line. Something others may have wanted, but I didn't. I like new things. I like that they look more their ages. I loved the originals to pieces, but Cleo, Clawdeen and others always looked more college age. These ghouls and Frankie look more like the 15-year-olds they're supposed to be.

So let's start with what I'm calling the signature line. These dolls come with an outfit, a purse, a pet, and a load of other accessories. They're supposedly $25.

We'll begin with Laura because we have the most info on her. A collector in Canada found her and has been awesome at giving people info:

https://www.instagram.com/catty13noir/

You can see all kinds of comparisons and other details on her Instagram. 

I like Laura. I like that she's curvy, though I think she could have used a wider torso and bigger boobs, too. Stop being afraid of giving your dolls boobs, toy companies. I had my DDs at 13. It's not unrealistic. I also like that she's short. I can't wait to see height comparisons when people start getting more than just one character. 

I love the gothy V bangs. Always a sucker for those. I like the split hair color, too. People complained about that, but I didn't see why. It's cute. 

Everything is cute. The outfit looks good. Shoes are adorable. Accessories are in character. I love the backpack in particular and how it gives her bat wings when she wears it. 

Count Fabulous is darling. 

My favorite thing hands down is her ears. I love how big they are, but we discussed this when the prototype pic snuck out. I do still think that face was cuter. I loved it and I'm sad it changed. But most people will probably prefer the face they used because it looks like her older face more and people can't handle change. 

And then we get to the good stuff! Well, Laura is good, but anything new is exciting. More of the signature dolls appeared on ebay! 

CLEOOOOOOOOOO. 

The doll herself is stunning. I like almost everything. The only things I don't like are the strange boots and the jacket. 

What confuses me are two things. 

First, why is she the only one (except maybe Lagoona, who we haven't seen yet) that got a different outfit from the art? 

The art has an amazing outfit! I love this so much more, especially the adorable shoes!

I'm hoping we see this somewhere else. Maybe the basic line? 

Second, I don't understand the poor pet's name change. He's clearly supposed to be a little Anubis-type jackal, so his name being the punny Anubyss was AWESOME. So what do they change it to? Tut. The most overused name in anything relating to ancient Egypt. The only way I appreciate this is that the most overused male name is the pet of the most overused female name, but Anubyss was clever and mine will be called that. 

Cleo is, to no surprise, my favorite of the ones we've seen so far. Lagoona may give her a bit of a run for her money though. 

Then we've got Frankie. 

I'm not a huge fan of this particular Frankie. The doll is okay. Everything is just okay. Nothing super spectacular. This is one I might actually skip. 

Watzie though is fantastic. I love. 

And I'm looking forward to backstory on their metal leg. Did Dad run out of body parts? You'd think there would be plenty around. 

Clawdeen is hard to judge. I still dislike the hairstyle and this particular one looks like her head got smushed. Everything else looks cute though. Crescent is adorable! I really love the new style pets. 

Very glad she has her glasses and that they're not on her face. 

So that's what we've seen so far for the sig line. Lagoona should also be a part of it and she has the most amazing translucent legs. And adorable ears. I love her so much. Then we've got Deuce, who was darling in the leak found a while ago, and Ghoulia and Toralei. Really cannot wait to see Toralei!

I'm going to jump to the basic line next. 

I like this Frankie but I don't love this Frankie. I do however love their ZAP ring. That's pretty awesome. 

Can't see their shoes to judge them. I might get this one.

I LOVE THIS DOLL. Look at that sweet little face! She is so cute! I really want this one. 

The final line so far is Creepover Party. These are supposed to be $25. I tend to be mixed on slumber party lines, but if the dolls are awesome, I'm in. And these dolls are awesome. 

Laura is my favorite. Her hairstyle is really cute and I like the tiny wings poking out of the robe. The pillow and slippers are over the top cuteness. And Count Fabulous is great. I like that he's different from the sig one. 

Now this is the Frankie I want. The doll is stunning. Maybe I just like them with less jewelry or something. The clothes are pretty cute. The pillow and Watzie are once again over the top cute. I might get this one and the basic. Maybe skip the sig. We'll see. I might cave on the sig mostly for the different Watzie. 

Clawdeen is cute, but this one is skippable for me. Crescent isn't worth the $25 and her pillow isn't nearly as cute as the other two's. 

I hope we get to see Twyla soon! You can see her in the art! She has a bunny hood but otherwise seems a lot like her original signature doll. The outfit definitely bears resemblance to her old dress.  

PHOTO CREDIT: Signature doll pics are from ebay. Basic and Creepover pics are stock. Not sure of original source or who even found them first, but they're stock pics, so their real credit is Mattel. 

As I said, I'm quite impressed by these. They're all darling and I want way more than I expected to. I really want to see the missing characters soon! I hope a lot of people realize that they shouldn't be negative and complain before they see the final product. I think they did a great job of revitalizing the line. Are these the old ones? No. They were never going to be. The old ones are great, but that doesn't mean the new ones can't also be great. New doesn't mean inferior and there are definitely some elements of these that are even greater than the originals. I love that we're in a place now where lines can try for diversity right off the bat. And I love that these ghouls and Frankie have more obvious monstery features than the originals. It was something I loved about the past reboot, too. Laura's ears. Clawdeen's nose. Frankie's leg. Lagoona's legs and ears. Deuce's greenness. I'm hoping Cleo has some molded bandages and I'd love to see Twyla with legs like Lagoona's but done in a smoky gray. There's a lot of potential here and I can't wait to see more.