Monster High reboot Moanica D'Kay and Draculaura review

[Werewolf]

I just got the Welcome to Monster High Moanica D'Kay and Draculaura two pack.



Like the newer series, like Scarier Reef, this set comes carded instead of boxed like the earlier dolls. Unlike the promo pictures the dolls do not come with stands. No big loss they were terrible stands. One standard MH comb is included. Both dolls come on the new Ever After High style bodies with slightly thicker limbs. The joints are nice and tight and have the full articulation of the original MH dolls. Neither doll had any of the glue tackiness to their hair that has been plaguing some MH dolls.

First up, new character, Moanica D'Kay.

I don't get how she is supposed to be less scary. She is actually one of the more traditional spooky looking dolls since the original releases. Her purse looks like a brain. Her belt and shoes have a brain texture. Her bracelet and necklace pendant look like a rib cage. Her earrings look like earthworms. Her tank top has a silkscreen ribs pattern. So, yeah, I don't see how she is less scary.

The quality of her clothes are very nice. Her jeans, shirt and sleeveless jacket are separate pieces. They didn't cheat and make it a onesie. Lots of nice stitching detail on her jeans and jacket. Her clothes are probably on par with some of the earlier MH signature dolls.

Her hair is much paler than the proto pictures. It's a very soft pale purple with a stripe of neon green. The hair is not as bright or pink-ish as the promos. My camera flash kinda brightened it. It really is a pale purple in person. Unlike the bright glossy lips of the promo pics, her lip color is dark and matte. Her skin is a darker grey than Ghoulia's.

A very nice doll and fits in well with the earlier signature MH dolls. As a new Zombie as an addition to Ghoulia she'd be great. If she is Ghoulia's replacement, well, that would not make me too happy.

[Werewolf]

Now, onto, Draculaura.

She is much nicer than the pictures that leaked months ago. Mattel must have listened to the complaints and toned down the changes. Her new head is not in the round and bulbous Ever After High style. Her eyes are larger but not as crazy bad as the leaked pictures. Her make up is darker than the promo pictures and has black eyebrows instead of the promo pink. Her make up is really toned down and less gothic in comparison to her very first signature doll. It's pretty jarring side by side. But standing by the later Draculauras, it's not so noticeable.

Her hair is black with a few strands of pink mixed in and in a long ponytail. I would have preferred her classic pigtails. But there is a new signature Draculaura coming soon that does have them. Her bangs are gelled and needed to be combed out.

Her outfit is a simple one piece dress. It's a budget level dress. Thankfully it's redder in color and less pink than the promo pics. She has one accessory. A small clutch purse shaped like fanged lips with batwings. Overall, much nicer than I thought she'd be. I thought I'd just display Moanica and pack her up in a box. She is a nice budget level doll. Make that original budget level. Not new budget level with the reduced articulation.

[Werewolf]

I picked up a couple of the reboot "How do you boo" budget dolls.



Draculaura

This doll is from the new $5 budget level. I wasn't planning on picking any of these up but I got tired of coming home empty handed from toy hunting. The stores in my area have not restocked MH in ages. There's two in the set. Draculaura and Frankie. I think they started to hit Walmart maybe a couple of weeks ago mixed in assortment with $5 Barbies and Ever After High.

It's a $5 doll and it shows. Molded on top, molded on shoes, cheap skirt and drastically reduced articulation. To be fair, the hair is still pretty nice. I would only recommend these dolls for the youngest of MH fans. It's a cheap but sturdy doll that could probably take a real beating without any worries of hands or limbs falling off or losing the shoes. I would advise not paying over $5. The doll is just not worth the price some resellers are charging.

Clawdeen

This doll is from the new $11.99 budget level. This is the same level as the reduced articulation budget dolls that started showing up early this year. No ball shoulders, elbows and wrists but still retains the jointed knees of the original dolls. It's a new reboot body mold with little tufts of fur sculpted by the ankles and wrists.

Unlike the $5 budget doll, Clawdeen has removable shoes and a real fabric dress. It's a simple one piece dress. But it's a real dress and actually pretty cute. Her outfit is finished off with a green dog collar belt and bracelet. The hair is soft and fairly thick. Maybe a little frizzy at the ends. Over all she is a nice pretty doll. I do, honestly, really miss the arm articulation, though.

[Godzilla]

Great reviews! I don't collect the line, but I enjoy reading your insights.

[Werewolf]

Great reviews! I don't collect the line, but I enjoy reading your insights.

Thank you. I'm glad you liked my reviews.

[Werewolf]

Ghoul's beast pets.



I got the reboot Cleo and Lagoona with pets today. They are really nice and the pets are cute. Nice to have MH dolls with pets again. I especially like Cleo's cat. I think it really fits the Mummy theme. I do wish they had been named on the packages. The clothes are nice but simple. They are far from signature level but not terrible either.

Lagoona: I don't think I have gotten a Lagoona with this nice of hair since the first release. She has a new unique body mold with lots of little extra scale details sculpted in. She does still have webbed hands. It's very, very subtle but it's there. You cannot swap the hands with the webbed hands from earlier dolls. They've changed the peg sizes in the new body molds.

Cleo: Cleo has a new body mold with sculpted mummy wraps. It looks cool but it would have been nicer with a bit of a paint wash because it's the same color as her skin. Her hair is very nice and actually has gold hair mixed in instead of gold tinsel like the original Cleo. Looks really good. Her gold arm band was actually around her wrist in the package. All the promo pictures and box art has the band on her upper arm. You have to pop off the hand to remove it and pop off the lower arm to slide it into place. But I think it looks better there and the band fit her wrist very loosely.