The return of Monster High

Hello and welcome back to my blog. Today I want to do something that I don't do that often and that it's write an opinionated post. I don't typically talk about doll news or comment on dolls I don't own yet, but from time to time I like to do something different. Please, keep in mind that is my own personal opinion, which is subjective. Also, my criticism is meant to be constructive, and not meant to disrespect the designers involved or their work. If anything, my main critiques are directed to Mattel as a whole. I will also try to break this post into sections, for easy reading. And now, let's finally get into it.  

A while back, it was announced that Monster High will be making a comeback. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I love Monster High. Hence, my nickname is "Monster Crafts". However, since the line was discontinued around 2016-2017, I have been focusing more on my Barbie dolls. 

A little backstory on Monster High

For those of you who aren't familiar with these dolls, Monster High was a line of fashion dolls produced by Mattel from 2010 to its cancellation around 2017. The line was centered on the teenage children of some legendary monsters (quite influenced by the Universal monsters). The first launch included the "Core characters" of the line, which includes: Frankie Stein, daughter of the Frankenstein monster, Cleo deNile, daughter of the Mummy; Deuce Gorgon, son of Medusa; Draculaura, daughter of Dracula; Clawdeen Wolf, daughter of the werewolves and Lagoona Blue, daughter of a sea monster (I always assumed she was based on the Creature from the Black Lagoon). 

The franchise also launched a series of self-concluding webisodes which allowed you to get to know the ghouls. They also included their bios on their website, which gave the characters more depth and some traits that kids could relate to. The diaries included with the dolls also gave them a backstory and help you immerse in the Monster High dolls. It was a brilliant marketing idea, if you ask me. 

Garrett Sander is considered the creator of Monster High, and I also believe he was the main designers. Other designers involved in the line were Rebecca Shipman (who also created the Wild Hearts Club dolls), Natalie Villegas and Javier Meabe. 

Unfortunately, the sales of the Monster High dolls started decreasing, so in 2016 they decided to reboot the line. The new dolls had more childish faces, less detailed clothing and accessories and many of them weren't articulated, which was one of the things fans complained about. More or less at the time the reboot happened, Garrett Sander quit Mattel and moved to Australia to work for Moose Toys (the company that makes Shopkins), where he worked on the Capsule Chix and Fail-Fix lines. The line was canceled not long after the reboot happened,  leaving some fans sad, but also upset at Mattel because they thought they ruined a doll line that was perfectly fine. 

So, what's happening now?

Draculaura, Deuce Gorgon, Frankie Stein.
Ghoulia, Clawdeen and Howleen Wolf.

The news

Around mid-late-February, Mattel started posting again on the different Monster High social media profiles and updated their profile photos. On Instagram, the Monster High account started commenting and liking on some random users Monster High photos. This made fans speculate if this could mean the return of Monster High, that had been speculated since... well, almost since the line was cancelled. It didn't seem to be happening anytime soon, but when the limited edition Skullector dolls (Grady Twins and Pennywise) were announced last year, fans started having hope again. 

On February, 23rd, it was revealed that Mattel and Nickelodeon had teamed up for two projects meant to air in 2022: an animated series and a live-action movie. Shea Fontana, who worked on the DC SuperHero Girls franchise, was announced as the showrunner for the animated series, which I'm quite excited about. I'm not so confident about the live action, since those can go terribly wrong. Plus, it's meant to be a musical, which I find a very divisive genre.  You can read more about it on this article from Deadline. 

Coincidentally, more or less at the time all of this was happening, Garrett Sander announced that he was leaving Australia and moving back to the US. Of course, this sparked the rumor that he was going back to work at Mattel on the relaunch. Garrett has denied those rumors, but I personally would love if he was involved. 

What can we expect?

Little is known about the reboot yet, since there's not much official information out there.  For what I have been able to find, it seems there will be some "high end" collector dolls based  on the original line, that will hit the shelves around late 2021. The full doll line (playline, I assume) will hit the market in 2022. It is said that one of the releases will be a reproduction of some of the main ghouls in their original outfits, which I believe it will be the "high end" line. If this is true, it might be my chance to get a Signature Ghoulia.

I think we can expect to see some characters from the original line, with maybe a couple new characters. As I'm writing this, Mattel has confirmed on their Instagram that Frankie, Draculaura and Clawdeen will be part of the reboot, which doesn't surprise me since they seemed to be the most popular amongst kids. Sadly, I assume some  characters that were added to the line later on won't be included in the reboot. One of the problems that  Monster High had is that it became too big in a short amount of time. There were too many characters, introduced in a short time span, most of which didn't really get much of a backstory or impact. I would assume that characters like Batsy Claro, Luna Mothews or the hybrids won't be included in the reboot. 

Considering how big of a flop the last reboot was, I would assume the relaunch will be closer to the original line than to the reboot dolls. Despite many people feel the line doesn't need another reboot, just to start doing things were they left them the first time, I have to disagree. Even though I do think it's important that they keep the essence of the first line, I do think that the line could benefit from some revamped and fresher looks. They can keep what made the first line special, such as the unique looks, the articulation, the backstories... and combine it with newer elements, such as new body types, clothes that follow current trends, etc. There's a sweet spot there were you can take the old and make it feel new. 

Hopes and concerns

One of my biggest concerns is the price point. Monster High wasn't the cheapest line out there, but the prices were on the playline range and still quite affordable. I didn't recall the US prices, so I asked on Twitter and a few users mentioned it was around 20-22$ for the more "complete dolls" (the ones that included a doll stand and a diary), while the more budget lines were around 12$-14$. 

Taking the current Barbie line as a reference, we can see that the prices of dolls have gone up, but not so much the quality. Some  current Barbie lines are quite pricey for playline. For example, the new Barbie Xtra dolls cost around 25$, for a cute box and a puppy. I don't know how much they would charge if they came with a doll stand, a diary and some unique accessories. Considering that, I don't expect Monster High to be cheaper than 25-30$.

My second biggest concern has to be the quality, specially if we consider that quality and price are related. Taking as a example the Fashionistas line, a line that hasn't changed is price, we can see that the quality has gone down since the 2016 Fashionistas line. And don't get me started on the BMR 1959 line, which is meant to be "collector". This issue particularly concerns me when it comes to the "high end" dolls, because I'm afraid it might mean "High price with cheap quality". I just don't want to pay over 35$ for a Signature Ghoulia to find out she has pixelated eyes and a cheaply made outfit. 

On a positive note, I'm really hopeful about the designs. The original line was praised for the fact that each doll was unique, with a distinct style, color scheme and their own unique head sculpt. That, mixed with the diversity that has been so praised from the Fashionistas line (dolls with vitiligo or prosthetic legs, curvy bodies, etc.), could become even more unique designs. I do really expect to see a new character with a curvy body. 

I also hope that, if this relaunch is successful, it could mean that Ever After High might come back again. One of the causes of Ever After High's downfall was the success of Disney's Descendants. However, like Barb pointed out on my last post, now that it's long gone there might be room for EAH to come back. 

Bottom line

I'm really excited about the return of Monster High. This was the line that got me into collecting dolls, so I'm really intrigued to see what they come up with. However, seeing how current Mattel is working, there's a chance they might not live up to the expectations. I really do think they have learned from their past mistakes, and will try to please the old fandom while trying to make it attractive for a new generation. If they screw this up, they might lose the trust of the fans and, of course, the money and time invested on it. Let's be real, if I don't like the dolls they come up with, the worst thing that can happen is that I will save that money for other things (which isn't that bad). I would say that I'm more curious about what's about to happen than hopeful of a line as exciting as the first one. 

So, that's all I have to say about the upcoming Monster High reboot/relaunch. What are your thoughts on it? Also, let me know if it was easy for you to read and if you would like more posts like this in the near future. 

As for my next post, I don't have anything prepared. Lately I've been slacking off when it comes to blog content. I've been keeping myself busy with other things and I don't seem to find time to focus on my blogs. Keep in mind that now I have a second blog (a cooking blog) where I am trying to put constant monthly content, and it takes a lot of time. I've wanted to do another wainscot for quite some time, so maybe I'll do that. 

I hope you're all staying safe and healthy, and I'll hopefully see you in a couple of weeks.

Monster Crafts