School is back in session for “Monster High,” with an introduction of renditions of classic characters and a new live-action movie confirmed. The new line of dolls, “Haunt Couture,” will feature five different characters from the series including, Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf and Draculaura, and the other two will be announced later in the year. As for the movie, it will air on Nickelodeon this year and will feature Miia Harris, Ceci Balagot and Nayah Damasen as Clawdeen, Frankie Stein and Draculaura. These new additions to the Monster High franchise are doing a perfect job of welcoming back fans from their hiatus, unlike the past attempts back in 2016.

2016 was the year of the reboot for Monster High, and fans were not happy about it. During this reboot era, Mattel decided to change the faces of our beloved characters to make them look more “normal.” It was the worst thing they could have done for the series, and fans were livid about this major change. They had changed their iconic face look from fun, exciting makeup and features to wider and toned down faces. Fans were so upset about the reboot because Mattel had gone against the overall purpose of Monster High, that it is okay to not look like others and you should be your own unique self. They had taken away the only thing that differs the brand from the basic Barbie. Luckily, in 2020, the “Skullector” line was introduced and restored hope in the brand.

The “Skullector” line was introduced with the release of a Monster High adaptation of horror icons Pennywise and The Shining Twins on Oct. 23, 2020 and would include Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz and Gretta Gremlin. These dolls brought back the iconic look of the original dolls and made the boring, mediocre, why-do-we-still-make-these faces a thing of the past. These were the redemption for the mistakes Mattel made in the past and gave hope that the series could come back. Sadly, the next addition to the series was not until the announcement of Haunt Couture in 2022. 

During the wait for new content, the prices for the older generation dolls went way up in price, which really affected the prices of the newer dolls. Of course, the prices would go up due to popular demand for these new adaptations, but thinking about the fact that the dolls used to be sold for around $20  and now they can be resold for hundreds of dollars is crazy to me. The “Skullector” dolls were sold for around $60, but can now be sold on eBay for around $200. Who knows how much this new line could be resold for considering that the dolls are being sold for $75 and the releases are most of the beloved main characters. 

Overall, I am very very excited for these new releases, and I love that they decided to return to their original design to keep their motto of being unique. The outfits of the announced dolls have a perfect new modern feel to them, so I cannot wait to see how the two other characters, predicted to be Cleo de Nile and Lagoona Blue, will be depicted in the new revamp. The only thing that makes me nervous for the releases is the demand for the dolls. The line is releasing the dolls one at a time, with Frankie Stein having been the first one to be released on Feb. 18, and the next suspected release to be Clawdeen Wolf. However, with the recent gain in popularity these characters had, it is going to be very difficult to even get through the checkout process to order these dolls. So for those who are trying to get their hands on these creepy-cute dolls, I wish you the best of luck. The release date has not been announced for the next doll but, when the time comes, you can find more information about these new haunts on the Mattel Creations website.