Monster High

Monster High features a variety of fictional characters, many of them being students at the titular high school. The female characters are called "ghouls", and the male characters are called "mansters". When the franchise was first introduced, the characters were generally the sons and daughters of monsters that have been popularized in fiction; in later years, it expanded to also feature characters inspired by other various types of mythical creatures, such as figures from folklore, mythology, and pop culture.

The franchise's official website lists characters in four categories: "original" – the main characters who were introduced the earliest, "ghouls" – the female characters, "mansters" – the male characters, and "Frightmares" – characters who are half-centaur and half-monster.[5] The original characters are:

• Frankie Stein (voiced by Kate Higgins from 2010 to 2016 and Cassandra Lee Morris thereafter)[6] is the daughter of Frankenstein's monster and his bride. She has white hair with black streaks and light, mint-green skin. Frankie is a simulacrum, meaning that her body is made of many different parts. She is clumsy, sweet, and always kind to others. She has a crush on Neighthan Rot. In the series, she used to date Jackson Jekyll and Holt Hyde, but this is different in the diaries, where both characters are in a relationship with Draculaura instead.
• Draculaura (voiced by Debi Derryberry[7]) is a vampire who is the daughter of Dracula. She is in a relationship with Clawdeen's older brother, Clawd Wolf. She is a vegetarian who faints at the sight of blood.[8] The diaries show that she used to date Jackson Jekyll and Holt Hyde. She has fangs and typically dresses in pink, black and white.
• Clawdeen Wolf (voiced by Salli Saffioti[7]) is the daughter of a werewolf. She is described as outgoing and sweet. She likes fashion. She has a bit of a temper at times when messed with, but can easily control it when coaxed properly. Her wolf ears are pierced in multiple places. In the 2016 reboot of Monster High, she develops mutual feelings for Raythe.
• Lagoona Blue (voiced by Laura Bailey from 2010 to 2015[7] and Larissa Gallagher thereafter) is the daughter of a sea monster. Lagoona is from "Down Under" and speaks with an Australian accent. She can talk with water animals. She is in a relationship with Gillington "Gil" Webber, although their relationship status is unknown in the reboot.
• Cleo de Nile (voiced by Salli Saffioti[9]) is the daughter of the mummy pharaoh Ramses de Nile, and is 5842 years old at the start of the series. She is the captain of the fearleading squad. Cleo prefers to accessorize with light-gold bandages or mummy wrappings. She is based on Cleopatra. She is also the queen of the social scene, and has a boyfriend named Deuce Gorgon.

Fashion dolls were the first Monster High product to be released, with the media (such as books) and other merchandise (such as clothing and Halloween costumes) following soon after.[14] The first line, which included the original six characters, was released on its launch year of 2010.[15][16][17] Mattel was experimenting with a new business strategy which consisted of launching a new franchise by releasing the toy first—without a "traditional entertainment property first"—and then following up with the media and entertainment.[18] The original packaging boxes were designed by Garrett Sander.[19] According to a social media post made by Sander in 2020, the very first 2007 prototypes of the dolls were made using head molds from another Mattel doll line that was never officially released, bodies from Barbie collector dolls, and with some accessories from My Scene dolls. A good amount of the initial design remained unchanged, but the actual dolls ended up looking drastically different.[20]

Over 750 different dolls have been released since its launch in 2010.[21] They vary in size, features, materials used, type of packaging, types of accessories they come with, country of manufacture, etc. Most of them are about 10.5 in (270 mm) tall. Some dolls, particularly the ones which were released a long time ago or in limited quantity, are rare, collectible, and therefore expensive.[17] Most Monster High dolls were marketed to children as toys to play with, but some "collector's edition" dolls, priced higher and aimed at an older audience, were also made.[22]

In 2016, Monster High underwent a reboot, which was likely an attempt to make the brand appeal to a younger age category.[23] The sales were low that year,[24] and the line was eventually quietly discontinued in 2018.[25] In 2020, however, the franchise made its comeback when two new premium-priced collector dolls—dubbed "Skullector" and inspired by characters from the horror movies It and The Shining—were made available for purchase just in time for that year's Halloween.[26] In 2021, a new set of two Skullector dolls inspired by characters from the movie Beetlejuice was launched exclusively through the "Mattel Creations" website;[27] another doll, inspired by the movie Gremlins 2: The New Batch, was released, also exclusively through the website.[28] In 2022, Mattel presented a new Monster High line called "Haunt Couture" (wordplay on "haute couture") which consisted of three new collector dolls: the three main characters of Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, and Draculaura. They featured details such as rooted eyelashes and were priced at $75, and similarly were only available through the website. More collector dolls are scheduled to be released later in 2022.[29]

Other Monster High merchandise includes vinyl figurines, plushies, costumes and Mega Brands toys.[30]

There have been several Monster High-branded animated shorts, television specials and films just months after launch, beginning with the release of "New Ghoul @ School" on October 30, 2010, and continues with "Fright On!", "Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love", "Escape from Skull Shores", "Friday Night Frights", "Scaris: City of Frights" and "Boo York, Boo York". These specials and films were broadcast on Nickelodeon in the United States. Starting with Fright On! in 2011, the specials films were released in direct-to-video home video formats by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The films ranked Monster High as the second in the list of children's direct-to-video franchises that year, according to online magazines and publications.[31] The films and specials have also appeared on streaming services/platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.[32]

In 2014, a series of Japanese animated shorts, produced by Shougakukan Music & Digital Entertainment and animated by Picona Creative Studio, was broadcast as a part of the Oha Suta morning television block in Japan.

Monster High has several video games based on the franchise; the first of which was Monster High: Ghoul Spirit for the Nintendo DS and the Wii consoles on October 25, 2011, which includes a special "Ghoulify" feature for the Nintendo DSi. The game revolves around the player being the new 'ghoul' in school and must work their way through activities and social situations to finally be crowned 'Scream Queen'. Another video game for Nintendo DS and Wii titled Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze was released in November 2012. The third video game for Wii, Wii U, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS titled Monster High: 13 Wishes was released in October 2013. In this game, players take on the role of Frankie Stein who must free her friends from a magical lantern by collecting thirteen shards of a magic mirror. A couple of apps titled Ghoul Box and Sweet 1600 are available on iTunes for the iPad and iPhone devices. The Monster High website has also released a series of catacomb-themed web games: "trick or trance", "phantom roller" and "scary sweet memories". In November 2015, Monster High: New Ghoul in School was released for the Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Wii.[33] The PC version was delisted on Steam in 2017.

The Monster High young adult novels are written by Lisi Harrison, who previously wrote the book series The Clique and The Alphas. The books take place in a different fictional universe than the webisodes and deal with the Regular-Attribute Dodgers (RADs) and their struggles with love, social life, school and not to be outed as monsters to humans. Mattel released Harrison's first Monster High novel on September 26, 2010. The book revolves around Frankie Stein and Melody Carver. The second book in the series, The Ghoul Next Door, was released at the end of March 2011[34] and features chapters on Cleo de Nile. The third book featuring Clawdeen Wolf is titled Where There's a Wolf, There's a Way and was released on September 29, 2011. The fourth novel titled Back And Deader Than Ever was released on May 1, 2012[35] and features Draculaura. Another Monster High book called Drop Dead Diary was released on January 19, 2011; it was written by a pseudonymous author Abaghoul Harris.[36]

Author Gitty Daneshvari has written a Ghoulfriends series focusing on Monster High characters Venus McFlytrap, Robecca Steam, and Rochelle Goyle. The four books include: Ghoulfriends Forever, Ghoulfriends Just Want To Have Fun, Who's That Ghoulfriend? and Ghoulfriends 'Til the End .

A book series by Nessi Monstrata was released covering five of the main characters.

Two songs titled "Fright Song" and "We Are Monster High" have been released digitally along with live-action music videos on YouTube.[51][52][53]

In July 2013, a new spin-off line launched as a companion line to Monster High titled Ever After High (abbreviated EAH) is based on the children of characters of well-known. The show stars Apple White, daughter of Snow White and Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen from the Snow White tale. The two are representative of the main conflict in the show, Royals (students like Apple White who want to follow their predetermined fairytale story) versus Rebels (students like Raven Queen who wish to “rewrite” their tale). Monster High's C. A. Cupid character is featured in the Ever After High webisodes where she is an exchange student there. In the 2015 film "Boo York, Boo York", a character known as Astranova makes contact with Apple White and Raven Queen suggesting a crossover in the future.[54] However, the 2016 reboot resulted in the cancellation of those plans; brief storyboard animatics were released during summer 2016 on the official Monster High YouTube channel under the title The Lost Movie,[55] and early designs for the EAH characters intended for the crossover have been released online.[56]

In 2017, Mattel released another spin-off, named Enchantimals.

Monster High was also the subject of some controversy and criticism. Some claimed that the dolls' unrealistic bodies, often revealing outfits, and characters' focus on romantic relationships were a bad influence on young girls.[68][69] They were criticized for being "hyper-sexualized" and reinforcing gender stereotypes about women; it was even implied that children could develop low self-esteem and eating disorders due to the presentation of unattainable body types.[70]