You can have your ‘Aliens’ and ‘Predators’ and so forth, but creators will always go back to the classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolfman, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera and so forth. Well, nowadays, the influence of these vintage ghouls is popping up in an unexpected place– the girls’ toy aisle. Launched in 2010, Mattel’s ‘Monster High’ fashion doll collection features Frankie Stein, Draculara, Clawdeen Wolf, Operetta, Cleo Denile and their vibrantly colored, but slightly freaky pals as they attend the titular high school (available, of course as a playset for the dolls). To flesh the characters out, Mattel has maintained a website where kids can watch cartoon shorts starring these children of classic monsters all of whom have their own unique style (Spectra Vondergeist, the daughter of a ghost, is goth; Operetta is rockabilly; Draculara has a Harajuku style and so forth.)
If you’re not already familiar with the line, you have a new opportunity as Mattel is adapting the dolls/cartoons to the big screen. The toy company already has movies based on its other properties on the way, including Hot Wheels (produced by Joel Silver), Max Steel and 80s icons ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe‘ (although that project appears to have hit yet another snag as director John M. Chu recently abandoned the project).
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will write and produce ‘Monster High’ for Universal Studios for their imprint Fake Empire, along with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Mattel is executive producing through its Playground Productions studio.
Schwartz and Savage recently worked with Universal on the movie ‘Endless Love’ but are best known for creating ‘Gossip Girl’. Expect to see far less drinking, drugging and sex in ‘Monster High’, than on The CW hit.
The toy line has proven a break out hit with several lines coming out each year and several animated movies already. The line is popular enough that it has spawned a spin-off doll line called ‘Ever After High’ which features another school attended by the children of famous fairy tale characters. Like ‘Monster High’ Mattel created a website for ‘Ever After High’ with animated shorts detailing the rivalry between the two cliques The Royals and The Rebels. Will this also lead to a live-action movie? Fairy tales are pretty popular right now in the media!
Are you interested in seeing the colorful “freaky and fabulous” teen creatures from ‘Monster High’ on the big screen? Or rather is your teen or tween daughter? Comment below!
Source: Variety
