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Monster High getting a less scary reboot this fall.

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  • Werewolf
    Inhuman
    • Jul 14, 2003
    • 14616

    Monster High getting a less scary reboot this fall.

    This is been rumored since last fall. It's official, they are going to be cuter and less scary.

    I guess their freaky flaws didn't make them unique or beautiful just the way they were for enough people. I personally blame too many unappealing themes too far removed from the original idea of sons and daughters of classic movie monsters for the decline in sales. Like the recent Scarier Reef, for example. I'm not exactly surprised an entire wave of Octopus themed dolls didn't really fly off the shelves. Several near impossible to get comic con exclusive dolls probably upset a lot of kids and collectors as well.

    Worst, for me, it sounds like my favorite character, Ghoulia, is not being included in the reboot. Apparently, a nerdy girl with glasses isn't good enough for Monster High anymore. She is being replaced by a more glamorous Zombie called Moanica D'Kay.

    Welcome to Monster High reboot trailer.

    You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...
  • Werewolf
    Inhuman
    • Jul 14, 2003
    • 14616

    #2
    I'm going to miss Ghoulia.

    You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

    Comment

    • rche
      channeling Bob Wills
      • Mar 26, 2008
      • 7383

      #3
      Ghoulia was great. She had the brains. But, as you said, I guess the freaky flaws did not last forever. I rather liked the underwater glowing fish monsters.

      Comment

      • Werewolf
        Inhuman
        • Jul 14, 2003
        • 14616

        #4
        Originally posted by rche
        But, as you said, I guess the freaky flaws did not last forever.
        The point I was trying to make the change goes against the whole positive theme of the line that being different doesn't make you ugly.

        I think this is one of those times were some exec is looking for an excuse to penny pinch and finger point. I mean, yeah, sales are slightly down. There could be a lot of reasons. Maybe the Ever After High spin off cut into sales. Maybe the decline in quality and design of the clothes hurt sales. Maybe the it was the flood of themes and product. But, nope, a line about Monsters just isn't conventionally cute enough for Mattel now.

        I think they are just testy they lost the Disney Princess license and are taking it out on Monster High. They want them cuter to compete with Disney's pretty princesses.
        You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

        Comment

        • Marvelmania
          A Ray of Sunshine
          • Jun 17, 2001
          • 10392

          #5
          Seems they always try to improve on what made them popular and successful in the first place and it's almost always a big failure. Comic Con exclusives and chase figures always ruin a line for me. They're almost impossible to get unless you're willing to pay people that scoop them all up to sell on Ebay at a ridiculous price.

          Comment

          • Earth 2 Chris
            Verbose Member
            • Mar 7, 2004
            • 32498

            #6
            Mattel did the same thing to their popular Kelly (Barbie's little sister) line, and it backfired on them horribly. Those "lemon head" dolls rotted on the shelves, and by the time Mattel came to their senses, all of the collectors and even the kids had left.

            They never learn.

            Chris
            sigpic

            Comment

            • Falstaff13
              Persistent Member
              • May 28, 2008
              • 1251

              #7
              A few years back, I saw something where there was a Monster High cartoon using the "Cyrano plot."
              1) Is that available?
              2) Did it spawn a specific toy?
              Hugh H. Davis

              Wanted: Legends of the West (Empire & Excel) and other western historically-based figures. Send me an offer.
              Also interested in figures based on literary characters.

              Comment

              • Werewolf
                Inhuman
                • Jul 14, 2003
                • 14616

                #8
                Originally posted by Falstaff13
                A few years back, I saw something where there was a Monster High cartoon using the "Cyrano plot."
                Cyrano De Ghoulia

                You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                Comment

                • Ssylyss
                  Museum Patron
                  • Jan 16, 2008
                  • 142

                  #9
                  It looks like they are changing the style of the cartoon. Are they changing the look of the dolls?

                  Comment

                  • Werewolf
                    Inhuman
                    • Jul 14, 2003
                    • 14616

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Ssylyss
                    Are they changing the look of the dolls?
                    Yes, cuter, blander, less scary and more Disney Princessy. Plus dropping characters not deemed cute enough or too scary, like Ghoulia, to fit in with their new Disney Princess aesthetic.

                    You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                    Comment

                    • Werewolf
                      Inhuman
                      • Jul 14, 2003
                      • 14616

                      #11
                      I found a copy of the sizzle reel Mattel quickly pulled after the extreme negative reaction from MH fans and collectors.

                      "How do you boo?"

                      "Monster High es audaz e ingenioso, colorido, peculiar. Vamos a celebrar a nuestro monstruo interno y juntos descubriremos algo nuevo. Una nueva imagen, nuev...
                      You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                      Comment

                      • rche
                        channeling Bob Wills
                        • Mar 26, 2008
                        • 7383

                        #12
                        looking at the teaser reel seems to indicate they are still on the freaky differences bandwagon, but just wanting to cutsie it up a bit. The (even) larger anime eyes and brow treatment are certainly a bit softer than what was originally on the dolls. But - the teaser reel was touting the fact that monster was just a term to mean individual. So I am still thinking that freaky flaws are still part of the storyline; maybe they are just a little less freaky.

                        I am wondering if there is a demographic shift in the purchasers. I know my own daughter, who has been into this line from the beginning, is aging out of wanting fashion type dolls. She says she still likes them and usually takes a peek to see if there is anything new on the shelf when we go by the toy isles, but then states she does not really want any more MH because she is 'out of room' and 'wants more room for her art'. So that makes me wonder if the kid population (not the adult collectors) that was buying these has sort of shifted gears and the execs are trying to tap into the next generation, so to speak. Maybe one that had a whole lot of ice princesses??

                        I know the last things my daughter was interested in were the sea creatures and the hybrids. We all thought those were pretty clever, tho I admit we have not seen the corresponding movies or shows.

                        Really sucks to lose Ghoulia - she was my favorite as well. Hard to believe they would drop one of the early characters like that. She was the second SDCC exclusive (and one of the best). I hope there will be enough unrest to bring her back into the fold. I am supposing there will be a new onslaught of werecats with bigger eyes and raised eyebrows.

                        Comment

                        • Werewolf
                          Inhuman
                          • Jul 14, 2003
                          • 14616

                          #13
                          Originally posted by rche
                          Really sucks to lose Ghoulia - she was my favorite as well.
                          Yeah, the idea that the nerdy girl with glasses isn't good enough to be in the new "pretty" MH kinda sucks. I've seen the release listings for the reboot toys and she is not in it.

                          I get that Mattel is feeling the sting of losing the Disney Princess license. But they already have Ever After High for the Princess demographics. Forcing a princess make over onto MH doesn't really seem like a good fit to me. I think most MH fans could probably deal with a cuter MH. But the characters are not just cuter versions of themselves. In the pics I've seen, the new dolls look so bland, cheap and dull. The designs are missing all the originality and spark of what made MH toys so cool, unique and fun.
                          Last edited by Werewolf; May 6, '16, 5:53 PM. Reason: typos
                          You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                          Comment

                          • rche
                            channeling Bob Wills
                            • Mar 26, 2008
                            • 7383

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Werewolf
                            .....I think most MH fans could probably deal with a cuter MH. But the characters are not just cuter versions of themselves. I the pics I've seen, the new dolls look so bland, cheap and dull. The designs are missing all the originality and spark of what made MH toys so cool, unique and fun.
                            If they get rid of things like the cthulu octopus gal, or Irene, or even the ghosts with chains - they will indeed lose the spark that made creepy and odd an analogy to the unique nature of every child (or toy collector).

                            Comment

                            • Werewolf
                              Inhuman
                              • Jul 14, 2003
                              • 14616

                              #15
                              Originally posted by rche
                              or even the ghosts with chains - they will indeed lose the spark that made creepy and odd an analogy to the unique nature of every child (or toy collector).
                              Spectra is gone too.
                              You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...

                              Comment

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