Freaky is about to get fabulous as the popular Mattel toy line ‘Monster High‘ graduates to the big screen.  The movie just took a big platform-heeled step forward, lining up a director.  Academy Award winner (2007 for Best Short Feature – Live Action ‘West Bank Story’) Ari Sandel who made his feature debut earlier this year with the high school comedy ‘The Duff’ will head back to school to helm the adventures of Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Cleo DeNile and the rest of the ghoulish gang.  In addition to ‘The Duff’ and ‘West Bank Story’– a comedic Middle Eastern-American adaptation of ‘West Side Story’– Sandel also directed the McG-produced web series ‘Aim High’ about a– yep– high school student who secretly works as a spy.

‘Monster High’ is a Mattel doll line (with loads of ancillary tie-in merchandise) featuring the adolescent children of the famous monsters of the world.  The toys first arrived in 2010 and were an immediate smash with kids and collectors, becoming almost impossible to find at retail.  The line has continued steadily since, introducing literally dozens of new characters based on monster legends from around the world, including a Dia de Muertos skeleton from Mexico, Skelita Calaveras and a Chinese dragon, Jinafire Long, just to name two.

The various characters are developed via an animated web series and direct-to-DVD CGI movies which have also aired on TV.

Mattel has reportedly been developing a live action movie since before the dolls hit the market, back in 2009.  Producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage also penned the current script based on an initial pass by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.  Mattel’s Playground Productions is executive producing.  It was earlier reported that the film would be a musical.

The movie’s IMDB page lists the release as being in 2016, but considering that it’s still in the incubation stage, that seems doubtful.

If you are a fan of the toys and/or cartoons, are you excited to see them in a live action film?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter