‘How Do You Boo?’ This is the new slogan for the new Monster High reboot. It doesn’t make much sense to me now…Let’s see if we can make sense of it later…
As of summer 2016, following the Welcome To Monster High movie, Mattel (the company that produces Monster High) decided to give the go and have the MH franchise rebranded, rebooted, revamped (however you want to call it). The new “reboot” also comes with a brand new story retelling the origins of the MH series with a few new characters and some returning ones. In particular, the main crew, except Ghoulia and Deuce, returned upon launch of the new reboot with new face molds, brand new fashions, and other characterizations.
The biggest question many Monster High fans have is: Why try to reboot an already successful brand after only SIX YEARS? It is the question that plays on my mind as well. It baffles me how Mattel, when the brand is at its height, in such a short time frame, even thought this would be a prosperous business idea. What demographic research have they been studying?
Despite the fact that I couldn’t fathom the idea of a reboot at this point, I still took my time creating this review of the product, thinking maybe I should give this a chance. I gave it a chance, and so far, this reboot fails to impress me.
So, right now, I’m going to let Mattel have a voice. Apparently, Mattel had these things to say:
“A bona fide pop culture phenomenon and a massive global franchise in over 60 countries Monster High is ranked as the third biggest fashion doll brand a $1 billion franchise annually and a top 5 global property for girls! Monster High empowers girls to express their individuality and form friendships that last beyond a lifetime.”
Great, we know this, and this is why we’re confused about the necessity for a reboot…
Now entering its 6th year in the market, in 2016 the brand will embark on an exciting new chapter to maintain its relevance to the ever changing consumer. As an exciting disruptive everygreen brand Monster High will continue to represent via the monster metaphor what it means to be different, unique and empowering girls to be themselves as Mattel leads the way in creating, maintaining and driving strong girl empowerment brands.
“exciting disruptive”…Hey, that sounds just like the Bratz’s producers (MGA) at relaunch….right before they failed to be disruptive…
Apparently, Mattel’s reason for changing the new Monster High dolls was so the brand can be “relevant to the ever-changing consumer”. This could mean two things.
First, it could mean they want to appeal to a new generation. In my opinion, it wouldn’t make much sense to reboot the brand just to appeal to the next generation as the old Monster High is still pretty relevant to kids today…After all, this brand is just six years old…But maybe they see the brand as having a different meaning than it did in 2010 at launch…
Second, it could mean that much of the Monster High fan base have been expressing their boredom with the line and Mattel wants to make it “relevant” to these “ever-changing” consumers.
I’m likened to believe that the real story is that they started Monster High to be a competitor to the Bratz dolls and capture the tween audience when Bratz were removed from shelves. Now that the edgy trend is dying, and Bratz became a thing of the past, Monster High’s old image and story is no longer “relevant”. But that is just my theory…
The key elements that make the brand disruptive will remain but now infused with more play in the product whilst adding renewed focus on the core characters and stories as well as marketing what the brand stands for. The brand will have a fresh new look with new contemporary colours and graphics whilst still incorporating the iconic signatures that make the brand unique and relatable to the core audience of 6-10 year olds.
Supposedly, they said they wanted to keep “key elements that make the brand disruptive”. So far, I don’t understand what they are talking about. Are they talking about the fact that at least they will keep them monsters?…That’s the only thing that makes this brand disruptive anymore.
Monster High was originally designed to capture the tween audience. After all, Garrett Sanders made the doll franchise after observing tweens and teens shopping at Hot Topic. And it has been popular among girls 10 to 14. It’s pretty obvious that Mattel has shifted their demographic focus from the tween audience to the kids with this reboot (the same mistake their competitors at MGA made). This is probably why so many people are complaining. There are many Monster High fans that are over the age of 10! It’s almost as if Mattel forgot who they directed this brand to in the first place. The new reboot looks like it’s made for kids.
They also claimed to focus on the core characters, but they didn’t relaunch Ghoulia as one of the main core characters…In the original, she was one of the core characters. Her name is even in the original theme song.
If they mostly focus on the core characters, it also means they don’t really plan to bring any extra character stories to the table. It’s probably because fans have been complaining about Mattel regurgitating new monsters all the time without focusing on the dolls they already have within unique doll lines…
The brand will also launch an exciting new multiyear brand campaign and new consumer rallying cry “How Do You Boo” encouraging consumers to embrace what makes them unique and share how they Boo. Working with celebrities and brands spokespeople the campaign will communicate what it means to boo, to be yourself and start a movement encourage girls to do the same.
So, Mattel explains that the new slogan “How Do You Boo?” is supposed to encourage us to embrace what makes us all unique and to share that. But Monster High always encouraged people to embrace what made them unique before they changed to this cheesy slogan. So why this slogan? Still no answers. I don’t get what this slogan is supposed to mean..How is “Boo” relevant to embracing what makes us unique? Are they asking how we scare people? Are they asking about our own special “scare”?
Maybe it’s supposed to go over well on Twitter…
So far, you can already tell where this reboot is headed and you probably can guess I’m not a fan of it.
Upon rebooting, the MH look very different from their original counterparts. The Monster High dolls are no longer the glossy eyed freaks of nature that haunted the shelves of every store…No…They are now doe-eyed little monsters that hardly seem as if they could haunt anything. In fact, to refer to them as haunting is laughable…
Let me compare the old dolls to the new to show you all the unique differences between them. Let me know if what I’m seeing is just my imagination. In my opinion, the Monster High dolls look more like Elementary School kids now instead of saucy teenagers…
Some people like the cute look better, just like they liked that “anime” that came out.
Let me just be honest: this reboot smells like a failure to me. I’m pretty sure it’s a failed attempt at competing with the Disney Princess line. With their old Bratz competitors out of the way, I’m sure Mattel is less interested in keeping up with the outdated edgy trend and more interested in keeping up with the Disney Princess/Frozen/Descendants franchise that is getting the attention of consumers these days. Keeping that in mind, while I find the reboot to be laughable…I’m not at all surprised that the reboot happened this way and so soon. In fact, I predicted that Mattel would eventually run out of a way to keep MH interesting and would maybe have to reboot the whole thing eventually.
Monster High: The Halloween Trend
And considering how Mattel is not the kind of company that cares about originality, diversity, or anything else unless it is a selling trend (which is also something I had mentioned at this article 14 Ways Mattel Can Screw Up A Doll Line), it also does not surprise me that the Monster High dolls look more like little monster Barbies. After all, the same producers of Barbie created the Monster High. I’m surprised anyone is surprised about the outcome of this reboot, considering this fact.
I want to talk about which parts of the reboot I liked and which part I didn’t…
But I’m going to be honest with you…I haven’t quite found a whole lot of things to like about this reboot.
Monster High’s Doll Features
Monster High’s newest dolls, as I’ve explained before have changed…Honestly to the point that it seems like a totally different line from Monster High. It is hard to believe they are called Monster High. When I look at these dolls, none of them actually look like Monsters. Seriously, they look like…well…normal little girls. Seriously, Mattel? The one thing that made MH unique, you take it away? What business sense does that make, exactly?
I guess freaky is no longer fabulous…but at least they’re cute right?…(*puke*)
One of the features that are distinctively different (and disgusting) is their eyes. Their new eyes give no sense of personality or attitude. They just look like a bunch of goo-goo-eyed girly girls made only to stand there and look cute. There is no message behind them; no depth or mystery. Just enlarged eye pupils that scream “we’re kid friendly”.
Other parts of the new features of MH that seem to be lacking are the details and quality. Let me use Frankie as an example. Frankie had one of the most detailed bodies, with the various stitches made to seem patched to her skin and the bolts aligned with the detailed patch work right on her neck…But now the patchwork that was so nicely constructed on Frankie’s neck looks like someone put a bunch of stickers together. It hardly looks like patch work. And poor Lagoona Blue. Her old doll had webbed hands to represent her water monster greatness, but now her fingers are just your average fingers with no distinction from any of the other dolls. Skelita Calaveras’s new look is what troubles me the most. For a skeleton…she seems to have a very fleshly face in comparison to her old look which maintained a bony structure. Observe.
Old Skelita: Absolutely flawless design capturing a skeleton with such style and grace. Too bad, this version no longer exists.
New Skelita: Someone on the design team apparently failed anatomy because last time I checked skeletons do not have noses as noses do not have bones. SMH Be honest, does she seriously look like a skeleton?
What really takes away from MH’s monstrous look is the articulation of the dolls; they hardly have the monstrous body articulation the originals had, neither are the articulations distinct from one another.
Maybe this all has to do with budget cuts? Quality sometimes decreases when a company is struggling with a line. But seriously…The big doe-eyes were quite unnecessary.
Can I also mention how all the dolls upon reboot have pink lips now? Thank goodness Deuce is supposed to be a guy who is uninterested in make-up, otherwise he also would have pink lips like all the rest of them.
What message is Monster High trying to send by making the monsters look “normal”? Well considering the slogan is no longer “Be yourself, be unique, be a Monster” or “Freaky Just Got Fabulous”, I guess Mattel no longer cares to promote such values any longer. They care more about how someone “boos”…whatever that means.
I got the hint from reader discontinuedtoylines regarding why they made such drastic changes to these features. And it was just as I feared: the soccer moms have struck again.
Apparently, monster high was too “scary” for children (though the original target demographic should’ve been old enough to understand how harmless these dolls are). Some parents really thought this doll was designed for their 8 year old child, when the original target age was 10 to 14. That being said, Mattel couldn’t risk getting on parents’ bad side, not in this declining market. I guess they had to sacrifice a quality doll line just to stay in parents’ good graces.
Monster High’s Doll Clothing And Accessories
The main appeal of Monster High was their freaky fabulous fashions that were made to accentuate the monsters in various unique ways. The outfits usually had just as much details as the body, and the accessories are always to die for. With the reboot, while the outfits are not typically hideous, they are simply uninspired and ordinary compared to the original outfits for most of the lines. There’s no pizzazz and the detail has been downgraded, especially when it comes to the accessories.
Let’s compare the relaunch with the original launch, shall we?
Original Launch
In the original launch, each of the girls have their own style and flair. They have accessories that simply bring out the best in each outfit. Not one part of their outfit resembles the other, which shows that the monsters are very different from one another both by personality and monster hybrid. The patterns do a good job in captivating each monster, letting us know which monster they are while still making them look fabulous. Now let’s look at the new monster high reboot.
Relaunch
The new monster high dolls for the 1st wave of the reboot have a lack of interesting and diverse clothing accessories in comparison to their original dolls. To add, look at the patterns. They do not give me any indication as to which monster any of them are. For example, Cleo looks like a tree monster to be sure. Clawdeen looks like a leopard or a cheetah. Seriously, look at her pants. Leopard/Cheetah print? I thought she was a werewolf…or is she now a werecat? Of all the outfits presented, Draculaura (who usually had one of the most adorable pieces in the line) has the ugliest outfits in this reboot. Compared to her original look which was just spooktacularly vampirous and cute at the same time, the way her outfits are put together now are simply just tacky. I should also mention that Draculaura and Frankie have basically the same shoes on in different colors with the first wave of the reboot.
Most of the other lines (besides Shriek Wreck) resemble this 1st wave reboot. Most of them are boring enough to literally make me yawn. I think the most disappointing of all of the MH reboot doll lines was Monster High’s Electrified line. You would think that more would be electrifying about these dolls besides their hair…
Of course, there was one line that stood out from the rest. Of all the lines set to be released for the MH reboot, Shriek Wrecked has given some good fashion details…
In comparison to MH’s past lines, however, it lacks a lot of sass. The fashions are really girly, lacking the edge that MH’s past lines had.
Compare Skull Shores, a past line, to Shriek Wreck: 
As you can see in the above Skull Shores line, the original MH looked sassier and more grown up in the past. While in the Shriek Wreck line, they look much younger. And don’t get me started on the quality; painted on gloves for Lagoona is not a good sign.
And for crying out loud, will Mattel just cool it with the pink?! JEEZ! Monster High has gotten so pink, it’s sickening!
Still, Shriek Wreck is the best to date. It’s just not interesting enough to turn my head. I’m just not interested in buying any of the dolls (I would’ve gotten Rochelle had they not given her painted on gloves).
The lack of sassiness and diversity in the new dolls’ appearances could have something to do with the “feminist” movement. On Bit**Media, a feminist website, an article was written by feminist Deb Jannerson about how much she disliked the Monster High’s makeup and clothing, claiming they were “hypersexualized, heavily made-up dolls with über-Barbie proportions”. I’m sure there are more feminists out there who think the same way.
Feminists tend to hate anything that appears to them to be overly “sexualized”. They don’t often see how an empowering female can appear in diverse ways. It’s gotten to the point they seem to lack an imagination entirely and can’t see how the dolls resemble “cartoons” rather than real humans. And they aren’t even MEANT to be human!
Seriously, hasn’t anyone else noticed how long the skirts are in comparison to the originals? That smells like the feminist agenda written all over it. It’s that “agenda” that encourages doll companies to make their dolls look more like “normal” girls. But for fans, who fell in love with monster high because they were NOT normal, because of their short skirts, the make-up, the glossy eyes, the things these feminists call “hypersexualized” and “heavily made-up”, the details are what made Monster High an edgy and scary cool work of art. With this reboot, all of that has been taken from Monster High, making them look more like scared little girls. I’m not going to say all feminists feel this way. But even a small group of feminists who feel this way have a way of forcing their beliefs on various doll companies, television or movie industries, and book publishers. Do not underestimate the damage the feminist movement can do.
Now, I know what you guys are thinking. ‘Well, they might give more detailed fashion lines in the future like Shriek Wreck, so let’s not jump to conclusions’, right? You’re probably right. There are other lines that have to be seen. But so far, even some of the other future releases that I have seen after Shriek Wreck left me unimpressed. Nothing has motivated me to want to buy any of the new MH releases this year or next year. Absolutely nothing.
Monster High Story: New Story And Characters
So aside from the doll relaunch, a brand new Monster High story was born. Meaning the story that was once Monster High is no longer its story. Remember when Frankie was the new girl at Monster High after being born just a few days before attending the school? Well, yeah, that story no longer exists in this new reboot. All the movies and TV specials that came out, fleshing out the monster high characters, you might as well toss them because none of the relationships and situations that were in the original stories are relevant now.
In the old story, Monster High was an already established school. Mistress Headmistress was the strong empowering female leader of the school in the original story. In the original story, it was a normal school like ours, except everyone who attended were monsters. But now that story has been changed. In the new story, it is Draculaura and her father who turn their home into what we know as Monster High. Mistress Headmistress has been replaced with Draculaura’s father, a male figure (How peculiar for Mattel to do this during a modern era for women. And what this also means is that Mistress Headmistress may no longer be a character or doll in the future MH series). Anyway, the school is now a boarding school and all the ghouls live with each other in this school. Yep, no one has unique houses that they go home to. They just all come to this one school and live(I wonder how the playsets will look…).
Also, in this new reboot, Mistress Headmistress is not the only character that has failed to be apart of the new series reboot. In the original series, Clawdeen had two sisters and an older brother (along with a few other siblings). In this reboot, however, she only has little brothers. What does this mean for the future of Clawd, Howleen, and Clawdia (Clawdeen’s siblings in the original story)? It may mean that we may never see these characters or dolls in the future.
And with this reboot, Ghoulia is replaced by a new zombie character known as Moanica D’Kay. Unlike Ghoulia (who speaks zombie language), apparently Moanica speaks like a “normal” person (I guess Mattel really wants to put more emphasis on being “normal” and how great it is). And with an added touch, this new character’s signature color is none other than the color PINK…
Also new to the stage of new characters, Spectra is replaced with the character Ari Hauntington (which I’m pretty sure is Ariana Grande in monster form). It’s quite interesting because Spectra’s name was going to be Von Hauntington originally.
Check it out: Spectra-Von Hauntington
Ari is a typical Mattel character. She’s girly, shy, and she sings. Typical recipe for selling points, right? Not to mention she can also solidify herself into a popstar named Tash. And let me say that her other form looks just like Barbie. (I predict that Ari Hauntington’s human form may also have a doll…she looks like a “seller”). There are also some new characters that were introduced in the Welcome To Monster High movie such as Raythe and the Skeleton Boys, Skelly and Bonesy.
“She’s a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wooorrrlldd”…That should definitely be her theme song.
So, what do I think of the story change? I personally don’t see why it was necessary. Sure the movie animation was nice, but the new story feels less relatable compared to the original story. To add, I hate how the story butchered Clawdeen’s family…
Did anyone else notice that the males in this series seem even less relevant than they did before?
And it isn’t just the story, but the look of the webisodes that have had a change. Normally, I typically like stop motion and Monster High’s stop motion would actually be pretty good. If only the characters had their original face molds… To add, when I compare stop motion webisodes with MH’s cartoon web series, I honestly like the cartoon web series better.
One reason I prefer the animated web series is because the stop motions only make use of the characters that have dolls. Therefore, there is limited characterization within the web series. That also means most of the characters will be females (because naturally most of MH dolls are female), most of them will consist of the main characters without showing their interactions with other characters, and there may not be much story in each episode in comparison to the former webisodes.
So, the new webisodes will not do much as far as fleshing out the characters’ personalities and relationships. This bothers me a bit because the webisodes were originally really good at showcasing Monster High’s diversity. Even though not all of the characters had dolls from the web series, they were still very entertaining to watch. After the first few watches of the stop motion series, I honestly lost interest in watching anymore. Its only entertainment value lies in the fact that it is stop-motion, a cool way to bring animation to inanimate objects. But it is not something I would enjoy following for the next few years to come.
What bugs me even more is the change they made to the webisode animation style, which caused Mattel to cancel “The Lost Movie”, the movie that was supposed to be an animated crossover between the Monster High Characters and the Ever After High characters.
To see what “The Lost Movie” looked like in its early stages:
It’s ironic that they used the same marketing tools that competitors MGA used for the relaunched Bratz. The Bratz flopped after such awful marketing strategies. Mattel is following them right into the fire.
Overall, the new Monster High reboot may be perfect for children 8 years and younger. After all, the girls look like cute little 7 year olds, the clothing is age-appropriate, and the web series totally relates to little kids (including a webisode in which the girls in stop motion learn how to ride a bike for the first time. EVERY kid can relate to that)! Best of all, none of the girls have icky boyfriends (little kids hate that stuff, right?). And at last, parents may be pleased to see that Monster High looks “normal” and feminists will be pleased to see that MH dolls no longer objectify them by wearing too much make-up and almost all the skirts go to the knees…There is absolutely nothing daring about what they wear, which is a win for both parents and feminists alike, right?
But for some people who are tweens, teenagers, and adult collectors(the actual consumers), this reboot may be seen as a serious joke. I’m one of those collectors who find this reboot to be one of the most laughable doll reboots in history.
Leave a comment in the comments’ section below and let me know what YOU think about the new Monster High reboot. Do you love it or is it going in your failed reboot archives, like it is going in mine?
Generation Next 
The only thing that smiled at this reboot was my wallet and bank account. Why Mattel, why MGA? How do think Hasbro is handling the Disney Princess line and what are your opinions about Descendants. Also still catching up on your blog posts so I may be spam commenting you for awhile.
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Haha, don’t worry about spam commenting. Keep them coming. XD 🙂
Hasbro’s Disney Princess dolls are hideous in comparison to Mattel’s dolls. The only two I like are Mulan and Pocahontas.
I feel that Hasbro has done a decent job with Descendants, considering it’s based off of a DCom movie, the Wicked World series, and the books. The faces seem to capture the essence of the characters. But the outfits in the movie and show are pretty boring, so I’m not surprised there are very few details. I still prefer Ever After High. Hasbro has a long way to go before they make the perfect doll line. I think that with Descendants, they can grow. But they should stay away from Disney Princesses. They would do better re-inventing princess fashion for the modern world, not the fairy-tale world. They don’t yet have the experience.
I heard about the battle between Mattel and Hasbro. Mattel still has a hold on the doll market. Hasbro may not have the money to make half a decent Princess line. But with Descendants, there is a possibility.
How do you feel about the two lines?
I think I will cover this topic for one of my next articles.
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Apparently, Mattel wanted to reboot the brand because there were some parents who found them “too dark” and “too scary”. And this is what happened.
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Interesting…
I just don’t think they can get around the fact that the dolls are scary. They’re monsters after all. But that makes total sense to me now.
Thanks for commenting and sharing. 🙂
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No Problem 🙂
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Let’s all become Barbies, Mattel would love that! This remake makes me sick, no Howleen, but Twyla? Ah-Heckynah. I’ve never had a Monster High doll before, always wanted one, but this reboot makes me seriously doubt my thoughts on getting one.
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Shoot for getting some of the older ones. I’m with you on this. Mattel wants to turn all of its brands into Disney Princesses to compete with Disney’s dominance. Unfortunately, the result is that they look more like a bunch of Barbies. lol
Thanks for your comment. It made me laugh and smile. 🙂
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I have been buying Monster High dolls for my granddaughter, who is 6, and myself for the past 6yrs, but that has stopped with the reboot!!!! I am totally pissed and disappointed!!!! If I wanted a girly doll I would buy a Barbie!!!! I absolutely loved the looks, the fashions and the messages behind the original dolls and will not be buying the reboots!!!! I have personally heard negative comments from “soccer/religious mom’s” but they have plenty of dolls to choose from for their children, so why should they keep the rest of us from having an alternative. I really believe Mattel has made a totally unwise decision and destined for failure.
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I agree. My children have also not been interested. The liked the dolls’ original flaws, which were etched into the dolls, not painted on! Frankie used to have stitching across her neck. Girls with stitches related well to her. I think it made her unique. Now, she looks like a regular girl.
Then they replaced her as the main character with the cute, girly, pink Draculaura, who spends most of her time focused on love. Frankie was smart and shrewd. I don’t like that transition.
Thank you for your comment. I just hope Mattel sees the light before it’s too late.
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The dolls are ridiculous and are another part of trying of trying to make us believe that transgender is normal. They are demonic and have nothing to do with normal little girls and what’s relevant to their lives. AT LEAST I HOPE NOT. There are enough bad influences in kids lives these days, without trying to make their toys evil monsters too.
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I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a company normalizing it. Further, dolls are for imagination, they can be whatever and whoever they want to be. Unfortunately, I don’t think they are trying to make transgender normal, because Mattel has a largely conservative fanbase. It would actually make more people educated if they actually did.
I think the original purpose of the line was to help girls not be as afraid of monsters, you know, the monsters that they may watch on a scary movie like Frankenstein or what they may hear. It’s to make usually scary things, like Spiders, seem more friendly. It was simply a creative design by an artist who wanted to bring his favorite scary Halloween themes and monsters to a doll franchise.
Whether you believe they are demonic depends on your own religious beliefs, which people vary in.
Are monster dolls really so bad, especially if they make them nice and kind? I don’t think any kids see them as evil at all. The worst influence they can be is to allow a child to deviate from their family’s religious values against spiritism, but we see enough spiritism in Disney’s movies and no one cares to criticize them and their toys. Elsa is a witch, a queen with magic. Almost everything could be demonic if you look hard enough. I don’t think Monster High is really that bad of an influence as other dolls. But you’re entitled to your opinion.
However, I do think this reboot is trash and they never should have gone that route.
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I just started watching electrified movie and they had a preview of monster high origins at the beginning. I was in shock at the changes and immediately saw the similarities to hotel Transylvania. Dad running a school instead of a hotel to protect all monsters from the normal humans. I was disappointed at both the animation style and the rebooted story line.
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Most of us are in shock with how they decided to butcher the story. And this is all because of Draculaura’s popularity and their attempt to make her the lead monster in the story.
Frankie did fine as the original lead, as the new girl in school. The reboot is just a mess. And yes, the animation is of lower quality. Mattel had to down-grade on budgeting for better movie productions in the past year.
Mattel has even had to down-grade the American Girl movies to low-budget Amazon Prime short films.
Their marketing tactics aren’t making things any better.
Thanks for sharing your input on the new reboot and the Electrified movie. And thanks for reading, too.
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Wow, you thanked someone for a transphobic hate comment. That’s disgusting. Please learn to have compassion.
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@martydemayo7505 I don’t agree with everyone that comes to my pages, but what I do hope to do is keep dialogue open. My purpose in thanking them for reading was thanking them for giving my perspective a chance. What I hate about society today is people think implementing change means closing off dialogue. False. In fact, change can’t happen if you don’t allow open discussion. I agree that it’s disgusting to think of trans people in that way, especially as someone queer myself. However, to me, everyone is entitled to their opinions, even if I don’t agree with it. I encourage everyone to take that approach.
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I totally agree with you on all of this. I absolutely hate this reboot. It goes against mostly everything monster high was before. No wonder there so cheap. The only ones i personally like are the shriekwrecked clawdeen, rochelle, and catrine dolls. And also the silvi timberwolf doll. I plan to repaint each on e except the rochelle doll. But anyway, now in days everything that used to be good is going to hell. For example, Mattel, funny videos (vine,etc), even Netflix is getting boring because they don’t update fast enough.
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Yes, the doll industry, the toy industry, is on the decline, and retailers like Walmart and Target are to blame. They decide what they sell in their stores and they’ve forced companies to be more “family-friendly”. I also completely agree that funny videos are dying, especially because these video websites are getting extremely sensitive to the “PC” world we live in. And I agree with you about Netflix! Still waiting for Miraculous Ladybug! I canceled my subscription because they are taking too long.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
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A learning opportunity for sure! I suggest you look up PC culture’s origins. It was started by the far right to attack criticisms of nazi rhetoric and behavior. Basically saying it isn’t PC to call so and am a nazi because of some technicality. It got warped into being something that progressives are about. This is a clear mistake and shows the public just went with this narrative. In reality progressives just want to respect people, but not nazis as nazis are not people. Wikipedia has great sources for “politically correct” and its far right origins. Anyway, it always is a marker in someone’s life when they start with the “everyone is so sensitive these days”/“special snowflakes”/“PC culture”/“you can’t say anything these days” diatribe. Calm down Karen. If you feel attacked by basic human decency then you need therapy. 😉
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@martydemayo7505 I think you got the wrong person, boo. First off, I’m black. Black community INVENTED the Karen, which was hijacked by white people. I’m am DEFINITELY not the definition of a Karen. Second, I’m QUEER, pansexual myself and in a relationship with someone Transgender and nonbinary. When I say “PC”, I’m stating that everyone is on edge because they are trying too hard not to rock the boat, both on the conservative side and on the progressive side. You are definitely judging me, my platform, and who I am before getting the whole tea. I suggest YOU do more research. When everyone gets sensitive about every little thing, this is the result. You end up jumping to conclusions without getting all the facts, closing off real dialogue and discussion, and forgetting to laugh at yourself. There are people who are mad because you say “Trump is an orange”. Companies skate around queer relationships so they can be “PC”. I know very well that “PC” starts with conservatism, it’s YOU who is misunderstanding. My point in saying that nothing is funny or fun anymore is because companies can’t make fun of ANYTHING, on either political side. In fact, everything is MADE political, and that’s why stuff isn’t fun. There are people who think Mean Girls should be cancelled because of its implications. Shows like Powerpuff Girls, Totally Spies, Winx come under fire because people are so “sensitive”. You think all of the reasons for that are valid? Parents hated Monster High because it’s too sexualized and scary, so Mattel has to “skate around” to be PC. That’s the “PC” I’m talking about. So please. You’re preaching to the choir. Half of the people today who think they are “woke” are still asleep and missing the forest for the trees.
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This is actualy what I expected when they released first Monster high dolls. When Mattel has a cool new idea, they will end up ruining it completely. If someone is suprised by this reboot, they should find pictures of some old barbies. They looked so good, especialy their accessories. Also these moms didn’t help at all. Of course everyone can have their own opinion, but first they should try to think about people who enjoy collecting these dolls before they send their criticism to Mattel. They can buy a different doll they like and let us have the option to buy our favourite dolls. I remember when I started to collect dolls, the original Fashionistas dolls just came out. I bought Wild doll and she was my favourite since then. I was realy dissapointed when the second wave came out and Wild wasn’t there. Then I heard that some parents was against her, so Mattel replaced her with Sporty. Anyway, I don’t like this reboot at all and only thing I will buy will be some new clothes and playsets (if it will look good enough).The new Monster High dolls does not exist for me. What about their old slogan (be YOURSELF, be unique, be a monster)? Now it’s a lie. New faces, new look, even new pets. Also some of the old characters are gone, the story is totally different, and Draculaura is a new leader. She is my favourite character, but this was realy unneccessary. Sorry for a realy long comment and for my bad english. Have a nice day.😉
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Absolutely Kuky! I completely understand. Your English isn’t bad at all.
Monster High even has a new slogan! This is why they are not about being “Yourself” or “Being unique”. They are completely different and it’s just not the same anymore.
Frankie and Ghoulia were my favorites. But everything has changed with this reboot. Mattel wants to capitalize on Draculaura’s popularity, and that’s why they pushed her to the spotlight. I just wish Frankie was more popular because I liked her as the main character.
And actually, it’s funny. I also predicted Monster High’s decline into a reboot when they first came out. As someone who has collected many Mattel dolls, this didn’t surprise me, but it still was disappointing.
https://soratothamax.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/monster-high-bratzillaz-halloween-dolls/
I’ve also made a list of things Mattel has done to ruin their doll lines. They still haven’t changed.
https://soratothamax.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/mattel-dolls-barbie-american-girl-dolls/
Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂
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Thank you for responding. You are really nice.
I will read your other articles and leave a comment ASAP😄
I know that Monster High has a new slogan, but I think that when Mattel started to think about this reboot, they should make sure that it isn’t going against their old slogan. At least Mattel is still being themself, they ruined another doll line.
Ghoulia was my second favorite. She had interesting personality and I loved the fact that she didn’t talk like other ghouls. It’s sad that Mattel get rid of her and some other characters. And of course Frankie was good as the main character. I almost cried when I watched the special episode about Frankie’s first week at Monster High.
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I loved Ghoulia too! She was very distinct. She was one of the originals. Something just feels off without her.
I appreciate you taking your time to read. You are welcome to explore as much as you like. 🙂
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Okay so I used to be a big fan of Monster High! Back when they were their usual selves. But then Mattel took over and now Monster High is toooo cuteeee. Which is not good. I used to collect dolls of Monster High and back then the Monster High Dolls had hands that could come off along with their arms and ever since Mattel took over, The Monster High Dolls don’t have bendable arms and hands and arms that can come off. Which really annoys me. Turns out that Mattel was being greedy. Monster High Dolls were outselling Barbie and Mattel was mad. They literally sued the makers of Monster High for stealing their idea of making dolls. And now Monster High looks like they are Barbie dolls. I have a little sister that watches the new Monster High Movies and since I share a room with her, I was forced to watch it. So apparently Deuce has fangs along with Frankie. Abbie was replaced by a random yeti. Toreli’s cat friends, Meowlody and Purrsephone aren’t in there. Operetta, Venus, Elissabat, Ghoulia, Manny, Gil, Skelita, Rochelle, Headmistress Bloodgood, Nightmare, Clawd, Claudia, Howleen, Catty Noir, Robecca Steam, Catrine, Gigi, Jinafire, Nefera, Scarah, Twyla, Viperine, Heath Burns, Jackson Jekyll, Holt Hyde, and Slo Mo are ALL GONE!!! They are no longer characters…. Their faces in the movies are too cute… DEUCE HAS FANGS!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE’S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE FANGS!!!! AND THERE IS NO CLAWD!!!! YOU CAN’T HAVE DRACULAURA WITHOUT CLAWD!!!!! HE IS HER BOYFRIEND FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It just make me more mad…. Monster High was unique and Monster High was basically telling us that it was okay to be different and that we need to stay true to ourselves and that we shouldn’t listen to what people say about us because we are all special in our own way. Who cares if the Monster High dolls were “too dark” and “too scary looking!” Monster High didn’t care about beauty, Barbie did… And now Mattel has ruined Monster High for me, my best friend and the whole world. I stopped collecting Monster High Dolls because I loved the old Monster High Dolls back when they were their usual selves. UGHH!!!! WHY!?!? Mattel ruined my life and now everytime I go to the store, they are no more original Monster High Dolls! The cute ones are out on the shelves and none are being sold. Same for Barbie… They are sitting on shelves gathering dust in the stores which is exactly what they should be doing… Nobody wants to buy cute dolls anymore they want to buy something unique and Monster High had that!
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I thought I was the only one who noticed the sickening sweet faces on the new Monster High Dollls. I started collecting them about 4 years ago when my sister gave me Draculaura for my birthday. I had never seen any of them and I loved her! The next day I bought myself Clawdeen and Frankie.
I am 58 and I love the original dolls and detail on them. I was glad to see your article as I thought maybe I was one of the only adult collectors who were saddened by this awful reboot.
Thank you for your article.
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Oh no, there are plenty of adult collectors who were disappointed. You may not hear of them because they either left the fandom or they’re still supportive of the brand despite their disappointment, just to keep the brand around. They are probably hoping for Mattel to wise up and return MH back to its original design. Unfortunately, Mattel is trying to please moms who fins MH to be “too scary”. But trust me, you are not alone.
Thanks for your comment and for reading.
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IKRR!!I was about to finally get a Frankie doll (I got the last draculara doll just before the reboot started taking place in stores) when I see the new dolls. I’d been waiting a while for her because for some reason (now I know..</3) there hadn't been any on the shelves. At first I was pleasantly surprised by the price and adorableness of the new swimsuit frankie but then I noticed IT WAS PAINTED ONNNNN!!!ughh and the fact that there were no other old Frankies! I'm brokenhearted knowing I'll never get my hands on her..she was GORGEOUS and now she'll always be this…
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I think what really happened was that they relied on the Monster High fandom for ideas to steal. In 2015 there was a big disruption in the MH fandom on creative sites like Deviantart and with no new or very few new OCs they had to try rebranding to maintain the interest and sales created by new characters. It was a miscalculation.
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That’s an interesting point.
Mattel claims they have a “we don’t accept ideas from fans” policy. Every time I’ve email them with an idea, that’s what they told me. But what they say and what they do are two different things. Money decides decisions too.
Mattel was caught between giving fan collectors what they wanted, which was a variety of different monsters, vs. Trying to sale to the primary demographic, mostly young tweens and kids, who were just more interested in core girls like Draculaura, Clawdeen, and Cleo De Nile.
Collectors were more interested in the newest ghouls that came out. Though the classic monsters are what drew fans to the brand, people began to see the potential of having many of their favorite monsters in MH. Fan collectors put a lot of pressure on Mattel to create the newest monster. Unfortunately, Mattel began just barfing up character after character and not expanding on any of those characters. Some characters just ended up in one line and that’s it. Many fans asked for so many characters, Mattel couldn’t keep up with all the demands. Fan collectors, impatient and disappointed with not having their ideal doll, began creating their own monsters. This is when the “OCs” gained popularity. Many fans also began to prefer the OCs because they were cheaper, people could create a monster doll in their own “image”, and they got the doll they always wanted without waiting for Mattel. Many times the OCs would look better too because they wouldn’t have to dumb the doll down to meet parents’ and retailers’ demands. Mattel initially was trying to please fan collectors. But then they began losing the interest of their primary demographic and scaring parents when stepping out of the box with their ideas.
Mattel was thinking about the primary demographic. The average kid interested in Monster High would mostly be interested in the core characters, not new characters, like fan collectors were. And when they walked down the toy isles, just average kids picking up toys, they would mostly pick up the doll that was the most attractive, which in a kid’s mind is the cutest or most stylish. The kids that followed the web series would be drawn to the dolls with the most kid-friendly and entertaining personalities. Those dolls would inevitably be Draculaura, Clawdeen, and Cleo De Nile. In this case, Mattel was considering what made the most profit.
Being caught between the two, Mattel decided to give up fan collectors’ interest, which was overwhelming and causing them to compete with the Secondary Market, in favor of their primary demographic, the group that guaranteed the most profit (because your average kid isn’t going to make their own characters).
I do believe they re-branded Monster High to bring back interest to the dolls, like making Draculaura the main character, but why did they think making them cuter would bring fans’ interest back to the brand? I think they really wanted to please moms and feminists and kids. Fans overwhelmed them with ideas, but it didn’t guarantee the most profit because most of those fans ended up creating their own characters anyway. They felt that casual fans and kids would buy the dolls just because it carried the MH brand. They wanted to make the webisodes to be more kid-friendly so they could bring kids’ interest back to the dolls. This isn’t a doll’s world anymore. Kids are growing up faster than they used to. While there are a lot of fan collectors, there are far more kids willing to buy and play with these dolls.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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I’ve been a major fan of MH EVER SINCE from the beginning like I was already going on my preteen stages and lit. even when I was already on 7th grade my watch,glue,school bag, pencil case and lunch box was legitly MH… Girls from my age trynna be like dolls when I still play dolls. I love MH so much because it helped get through my highschool doubts. But for bout 2 years, I stopped watching bcuz I got hooked up with another thing and the last MH movie was Haunted and since then I have no updates of MH until recently I was cleaning my old stuffs and saw my MH DVDs and decided to watch them cuz GOD I DO REALLY MISS MH so i rewatched the old webisodes and shockingly I still remember many lines that the characters said….anyways I WAS SO SHOOOOOOOOKED when I saw the new animation of MH…like “IS THIS MH?” “WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR FACES” “WHY THEIR EYES KINDA BECOME SMALL” …. TBH I didnt like it already but I was like you know what I’ll just watch the webisodes I missed out until I finished everything except for the new series or the new MH so I was curious a bit so I watched the introduction video of ari because I love ariana grande then I proceed to DRACULAURA cuz she’s my fave ghoul and her introduction video SHOOOOKS me because I was confused with the storyline like I thought Frankie was the new ghoul from the start and she didnt really have close friend but in the new MH like they were saying Frankie new Draculaura all along. MY MIND WAS SO BLOWN…and I watched clawdeen’s and I was hoping Clawd or Howleen or Clawdia will appear but NO…one of the reasons why I love MH Bcuz I ship clawd and draculaura…How they look so adorbs…AND also bcuz OF GHOULIA… Ghoulia is my second fave ghoul cuz I can totally relate to her but in the Freakin’ new MH SHE’S GONE…like the legit squad is nowhere to be found. I was around 9 or 10 when I started watching and addicted to MH and I really learned a lot from it…My batchmates thought it was childish for me to watch those stuffs but NO…It just shows what Highschool would be look like. IT WAS A CARTOON FOR KIDS TO BE PREPARED especially being a teenager…It was about friendship,drama frienship,self esteem, falling in love and most especially finding yourself in the stage where you are really confuse of who you are but NOW I just don’t know anymore what happened to MH… I know I am judging quickly since I havent watched the new ones but IF I WATCHED THE NEW ONES THE STORYLINE OF THE OLD MH WOULD JUST CONFUSE ME MORE and I am just sad they are making MH audience into a younger age range …So I’ve decided to stop watching…I am going to stop at GREAT SCARRIER REEF cuz that is the last good animation they had..oh I am just cnfused when they say lagoona has stage freight when the past webisode she was wearing fearling costume and cheering and she also did join the ballet auditions with operetta and howleen and etc….ANYWAYS sorry if this is so long….I just want to rant and share it to someone who could undestand me..just to make things clear I STILL LOVE MH and it inspires me to be an animator and a writer….Thank you for reading this…I mean if you will cuz your post was still last yr…aNd I know I am so unupdated
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No, I totally feel your pain. I was also disappointed. And even though I’m probably a couple of years older than you, I still aspire to animate and write. In fact, as you can tell, I write!
Don’t ever let the new stuff take away your love or what inspired you. That will always be with you.
I think this is just a phase that will hopefully go out. Hopefully, Mattel will come to their senses. Until then, this is just one bump in the road.
It’s awesome that you liked MH even in high school. I also loved dolls in high school, and all my friends knew it. I knew how to stand up for myself, even if it made me seem weird.
As a woman in my late 20s, I still love dolls and hope to pass them to my own children. I do share them with my school children for free time. Just not my collectors’ editions. 😉
Thanks for sharing your story.
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Well, there goes my 7 year olds interest in Monster High. The whole reason she loved these dolls in the first place was because of how much they DIDN’T resemble Barbie. Not every little girl looks at the Barbie type of look and coos at its pink perfection, some girls are just made of sterner stuff. Thanks for nothing Mattel.
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I completely agree. All of the kids I work with love Monster High because it represents a different culture than the one Barbie offers.
Hopefully, Mattel realizes they’re not going anywhere with the reboot and decides to squash it. I hope they return to the original format.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂
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Now I can see that this post is really old, but I just couldn’t stop reading and commenting.
I completely agree with everything you said, the new animation style is kinda ugly to me? It’s nice they tried something different but this isn’t a good different to me.
I have a few of the old dolls (Rebecca, Ghpulia, Rochelle, Serena and Draculaura and Rebecca as a fusion)
I love them, there gorgeous and don’t look scary at all to me.
The new hairstyles and clothing is no my cup of tea and I just don’t feel like it’s them anymore.
Spectra was a favorite character of mine and it’s sad to see her go.
I haven’t seen any of the new movies, but I sure hope they didn’t remove Torali, she was an amazing character that I loved the whole time watching the show / movies.
I still have about 8 monster high movies in total, all old ones.
(Ghouls Rule, Why do ghouls fall in love? Haunted, 13 wishes, freaky fusion, scaris, Friday night frights, shriek wrecked and fright on)
I watch them when I’m bored and immidytaly feel nostalgic.
It’s sad to see the brand going this downhill.
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I agree. I think they ousted Torali. Ugh. I also liked Spectra! I’m so happy to meet a Spectra fan!
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To be honest, Mattel just set theirselves for failure and heading in the same direction of Bratz. Thought it would be a great idea. Nope. They would’ve probably made more money continuing the old MH. This is disappointing. I miss the old movies, i watched the “newer” ones and its trash! I just watch the old MH and they’re just so good. I cant believe that Mattel threw their title in the garbage like that. What were the creators thinking?
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Thank you for writing this, and I hope it will be seen and taken into consideration. Monster High is a great series, but it was a mistake to rewrite or change anything. Barbie changed through time, and yes she did not always stay the same. Although, Monster High really had something in the beginning that could have had a longer shelf life, and yet I guess they tried to cut back and try to please people. I agree with many of your points about how they just seem to be trying too hard to please a younger audience and the parents of that said audience.
I believe they should have focused less on introducing new characters, and maybe instead they should have put more effort in releasing monsters and ghouls that have played a part in the original story of Monster high such as back ground characters like adding Gory, Johnny Spirit, other monsters such as Archer, Andy Beast from skull shores, and teachers so those who play or collect the dolls can actually have teachers rather than just the Head-mistress. After all it is Monster High, a high school, and the teachers exist in the story, so why can they not be a part of the school? Especially since a high school playset was released….This is just my opinion as someone, who loves monster high.
I like having new characters, I do, but rereleasing “new” versions of the same main dolls so many times can be repetitive, so instead for playing and collecting maybe having clothes packs instead of new versions of the same dolls would have been nice options, just like how barbie has individual clothes that can be bought. New characters are welcome, but eventually a high school gets crowded, maybe even the creators get writer’s block, as I am sure having too many monster can get overwhelming. So a shift in directing a more solid storyline and using the characters that have been introduced released into the doll line, would have been a more solid, beneficial, and fun way to go. I hope the “old” monster high can be returned, not every person can be pleased, but the point of them being monsters is for people to not be scared, to embrace freaky flaws, to be yourself because we all matter and are all unique with our own similarities and differences. I am sure not everyone likes monster high, as not everyone likes Barbie, but I love Barbie and Monster High and I know I am not alone. I am twenty-one, and I collect Barbies, Monster High, and other dolls, I wanted to work for Mattel when I became an adult, as I love dolls and toys as it brings imagination and expression of creativity. I am glad to own and to have grown with monster high, since I was in high school, when they released. Thank you again for taking the time to write this and call attention to it, for the lovers of Monster High.
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Sometimes change can be good, but I think it’s best to take out what was bad and leave what was good about the doll franchise. Overall, I just don’t understand why Mattel made this decision.
Thank you for your comments. I think it’s great to aspire to work for a toy company. It gives me hope that the toy industry will be around a little longer since there are still people who want to save it.
I agree that the reboot should have focused on beloved characters, not characters no one knows. Again, I just don’t understand why the changes had to be made.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts on the issue.
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I LIKE THE OLD MONSTERS HIGH BETTER THAN THE NEW ONES, AND I AGREE WITH YOU. MATTEL CHANGE BACK TO THE OLD MH
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I LIKE THE OLD MONSTERS HIGH BETTER THAN THE NEW ONES, AND I AGREE WITH YOU. MATTEL CHANGE BACK TO THE OLD MH
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I hated the whole reboot I am 9 years old and I can’t believe they’re get rid of Claudia howleen Claud and duce,
changed the whole story line and for what if I can’t have the old fierce ghouls I know then I hope the whole Monster High company falls …into deep… deep….. water
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I understand your frustration. Hopefully, Mattel understands how damaging the change is before they fall into deep water. 😉
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