#Like personally I liked Abbey and Ghoulia more in g1

[lulughoul]

I'm curious: are there any mh characters that you liked more in previous gens than in g3?

[persephone-s-moon]

Who I think the Lost Boys' favorite Monster High characters would be

This turned out longer than I expected, but I also included explanations for my picks. Let me know your guy's thoughts :))

(I did try to put a read-more link, but it fucked up the picture formatting, so I apologize for the long post)

David: G1 Toralei Stripe and G3 Draculaura

For Toralei, David LOVES a messy bitch. He supports women's wrongs always, and Toralei causes almost every problem in Monster High. I definitely see David as a cat guy, and Toralei is the true embodiment of cat-attitude. She's a leader and your classic mean-girl, but doesn't like kicking people who are already down, and you know what? He respects it. He respects it a lot.

When it comes to Draculaura, he didn't really get the G1 hype. She's very sweet and pink, which is Totally not his style (so he says), and he thought the Monster High take on vampires was incredibly silly. But by G3, Draculaura's grown on him. He doesn't really get the whole vampire-witch thing, but he's surprisingly fond of her new style. He likes the dainty little sheer details on her main doll's top especially. Also, the image of this "cool" vampire with a cute little pink doll is Very Good.

Honorable mentions: G1 Cleo De Nile, G1 Nefera De Nile, G1 Spectra Vondergeist

Marko: G1 Venus McFlytrap and G3 Frankie Stein

Look at Venus and tell me Marko wouldn't be obsessed with her. Her overall personality is really inconsistent, but he's super fond of her being depicted as a loud, chaotic party animal. He really likes her bold colors and all of the patterns she wears and the fucking sharp teeth on her shoes. I could see him trying to recreate that. He'd also add little details of his own to her battle vest.

He wasn't really big on G1 Frankie because she was sort of basic to him, but really likes the new take on their preppy/punk style, especially the new bright color palette. Neons really stick out to him. The new prosthetic leg is so goddamn cool y'all, and he'd be all over the idea of Frankie doodling on themselves. Also! Canon trans doll! I headcanon Marko as transmasc, so the inclusion of a nonbinary doll that actively binds? Sign him up, he wants that.

Honorable mentions: G1 Ghoulia Yelps, G1 Howleen Wolf, G1 Holt Hyde

Paul: G1 Lagoona Blue and G3 Ghoulia Yelps

Lagoona is such a cute monster, and she's so fucking friendly. She can get along with any monster without letting anyone walk all over her (except for Gil, who Paul HATES), and Paul would just adore her passion. He really likes how she leans into the whole fish-aesthetic with her outfits, and he just thinks she so cool. Like, look at the fishnet shorts!! He'd love that shit!! Specifically I think he'd like her Dawn of the Dance look, but moreso the official art rather than the doll.

G3 Ghoulia is so cool y'all. He already liked G1 Ghoulia, who was easily in his top five monsters, but G3 has that skater/gamer aesthetic and this man just eats it up. I feel like he'd be disappointed that she doesn't speak Zombie anymore, but her new cool-girl schtick makes up for it. He definitely gets rid of her eyebrows with nail-polish remover as soon as he gets her out of the box though. Thinks she looks better without them.

Honorable mentions: G1 Ghoulia Yelps, G1 Deuce Gorgon, G1 Clawd wolf, G1 Viperine Gorgon

Dwayne: G1 Clawdeen, G1 Abbey Bominable, and G3 Ghoulia Yelps

Yes, Dwayne gets THREE because I genuinely couldn't decide between G1 Clawdeen and G1 Abbey for him, and I didn't feel like G3 Abbey was really his style.

G1 Clawdeen is That Bitch. She's confident, bold, and does not hesitate to call someone out on their bs. I think Dwayne would really admire her feircly protecive nature and her no-nonsense attitude. And that fur coat? That fur coat that she wears to high school? Increadible. Amazing. Showstopping. Dwayne would also figure out how to curl doll hair just for Clawdeen because he Knows what she deserves. The irony of a vampire liking a werewolf character is not lost on him.

Is Abbey's accent accurate to the Himalayas? No. Does Dwayne care? Also no. Abbey is way too charming of a character for him to be terribly bothered by her Russian-esk accent (even though he points it out Every Time). She's honest to the point of accidently insulting her friends and doesn't really understand a ton of cultural differences, which Dwayne thinks makes her more fun. He'd really love her dry sense of humor and her strong disposition. And honestly? Maybe I just think he has a thing for faux fur.

Another G3 Ghoulia enjoyer. I feel like we've somehow collectively forgotten that Dwayne skateboards. I haven't forgotten though, and I think Dwayne would redecorate Ghoulia's skateboard and then promptly lose it (he'd end up stealing Paul's and then gaslight him into thinking it was his the whole time). I think he'd really enjoy this more confident version of Ghoulia, but again, disappointed by the language shift. (I'm projecting at this point.)

Honorable mentions: G1 Cleo De Nile, G1 Frankie, G1 Clawd Wolf, G2 Deuce Gorgon

Star: G1 Spectra Vondergeist and G3 Cleo De Nile

Look me in the eyes and tell me that Spectra DOESN'T make you think of Star. She's pretty reclusive but a mega gossip, and she's super quick to make judgements. Spectra will literally make shit up and then start to believe it herself, including lies about her own past. Her aesthetic is somewhere between the lost boys' and Star's, which looks both cool and super flowy. Star would totally see herself in Spectra in both appearance and personity, and as another supporter of women's wrongs, I think that she'd adore her.

Honestly I feel like G3 would be a hard sell for Star because she's already so attached to the original versions of the characters, but if she had to pick, it would be Cleo. Her jacket and accessories are so fucking cool, and Star definitely wishes she could see herself properly so she could do makeup like that (she does NOT trust the boys). She would try to paint Cleo's molded-on bandages and ruin the plastic, but she'd wrap real fabric around it to hide her fuck up.

Honorable mentions: G1 Purrsephone and Meowlody, G1 Cleo De Nile, G1 Operetta

Michael: G1 Frankie Stein and G3 Deuce Gorgon

Michael is nothing if not a basic bitch. G1 Frankie is very peppy and constantly confused since she's somehow always 16 days old, which I think Michael can relate to. She has the messiest fucking love-life known to man, and he gets it. She's exploring and trying to learn everything at once, which includes relationships, and Michael isn't exactly known for thinking things like that through. He isn't the biggest on any sort of fashion, but I think he'd like her color palette and the little stitch details. That, and I think he'd find her heterochromia really cool.

G3 Deuce is the first time Deuce didn't look like a weird asshole to Michael, and I think after meeting the lost boys, he's definitely more into alternative men's fashion than he used to be. This new Deuce is what Michael considers "cool" in a cartoonish sort of way. I wouldn't put it past him to try to figure out how to decorate his jacket a little to resemble Deuce's considering the lost boys all have something unique going on, but I think he'd end up regretting the snake motif since it isn't really Him.

Honorable mentions: G1 Jackson Jekyll, G1 "Slo Mo" Mortavitch, G1 Iris Clops

Sam: G1 Draculaura and G3 Twyla Boogeyman

He's going with the safe choice, but he's right. Draculaura is sweet, sensitive, and a shopaholic (something he can related to, Mr. Born-to-shop). I think, like Star, he'd be the type project onto her. He'd get as many different Draculaura sets his grubby little hands and mostly-empty wallet can get and he'd talk to all of them like, "You hearing this shit, Draculaura?" Even though she's a vampire and he's recently been on the anti-vampire bandwagon, he makes an exception for her because she's vegan.

I feel like he was surprised with how much he liked the new Twyla since he wasn't terribly fond of G1 Twyla, but I think changing the green to a nice teal really helped. Her patterns don't clash as much (neither do her accessories, which he was SUPER bothered by in G1), and her hair Actually looks nice. She just feels more cohesive, which really sells her to Sam. He's still a die-hard Draculaura fan, but there's room in his heart for two cute monsters.

Honorable mentions: G1 Clawdeen, G1 Clawd, G1 Rochelle Goyle, G3 Draculaura

[beemers-hell]

Gen q here: Aside from the banger outfits on the new MH dolls do u prefer the designs of the dolls themselves from the original run or this new one? I personally loved how the pets used to look now they look too cutesy imo I miss when Hissette and Lagoona’s fish looked like y’know actually dangerous animals lol

For me it kind of depends? Like specific aspects I'd say I prefer G1 over G3, other aspects I prefer G3 over G1. Like the pets, I also agree with that, I'm not a fan of how cutesy the G3 pets look, especially with how many of them are just basic ass cats and dogs, or at least look like it? Like, G3 Count Fabulous is a cute thing sure but it doesn't compare to G1's spindly ass actually bat shaped creature that was Count Fabulous. Same goes for G3 vs G1 Chewlian, Neptuna, hell I was annoyed they initially replaced Hissette with that dog G3 signature Cleo came with?? That's so uncreative. I think Crescent and Shiver are the only pets from this Gen that I think look just as good/better than G1 in Shiver's case.

Anyway! Aside from pets lmao, like I said I think they have their own design strengths and weaknesses. Like, the fashion? I do love a lot of the designs for the G3 dolls but I do miss the darker colors and more intricate outfit pieces of G1. It's only within like, the past couple of months that I think G3 has finally hit it's stride and is starting to live up to the same level of thought and purpose G1 was on? And that's a whole other discussion to be had about the difference in their fashion ethos, I'm not getting into it right now but it's interesting, and most certainly not a "MH isn't goth anymore" thing lol. MH wasn't goth in the first place, but that's for another discussion lmao <3

And like, both gens have ugly designs, it's not like either of them is good or bad 100% of the time. Like I can't stand G3 Ghoulia's design, but also I can't stand Howleen's redesign from G1. In fact there's quite a bit of dolls from G1 that I would say are objectively bad, not as bad as G2, but compared to what it we knew it was capable of, some dolls just look lackluster. Both of them are very much capable of fumbling the bag lmao

G3 I think has the biggest design strengths when it comes to the variety of the dolls, cause you can not look me in the eyes and tell me G1 was better at body diversity, or diversity in general, when all the ghouls had the same stick thin ass body molds lmao. Obvs there were a couple of dolls with different heights and specific changes to their molds based on the monster they were, but G3 is just doing SOOO much better in terms of actual varied body diversity. I know Draculaura isn't actually chunky or anything but she's short and has a wide waist and thighs and her figure resembles mine and that makes me so happy. Abbey being fucking TALL and wide fits her so much better than the stick thin body she was confined to in G1. And Catty's upcoming G3 doll having a truly fat body mold?? G1 would NEVER lmao. All the ghouls have bodies that better reflect them in my opinion, they all don't look the exact same in the body shape department and that's wonderful.

Also like, the face sculpts vary based on the race of the characters now and that's amazing? Like, one look at G3 Venus' face sculpt and we immediately knew she was Black, that's not something you can say about G1 and I'm happy they're putting in that extra effort nowadays.

Anyway my point is: each Gen is better than one another in specific aspects, they're worse than the other one is in others. I love both Gens for what they are, I don't think I could say I prefer one over the other because they're both special to me. I got a bit off topic but like, yanno lmao

[t4tails]

Since we already got Venus and Spectra's finalized looks, what's your top ten of the Core Signature dolls?

No Clawd and Deuce don't count, boy dolls are fake.

okay here we go. warning that i start out as a bit of hater. teehee

10. spectra. im sorry, but the way its just a worse version of an already released collector? the complete lack of anything new fashion wise? this is nothing. the clear hands and feet are cool, but i heavily doubt a later deluxe version of her in a different line isnt going to blow this out of the water. absolutely nothing of interest is going on here.

9. toralei. between dumbing down g1s mean girl personality, AND giving her long hair? horrible. at least give her pants. she looks like the protagonist of a disney channel original movie. camp rock lookin ass. shes the most plastic & playline looking, easily.

8. ghoulia. the fashion, with the exception of the hunk of textureless fabric that is her skirt, is great. i love the jacket especially, and making her a skater is so fun. however the base doll is SO UGLY!!!!! whyd they give her BROWN EYEBROWS? an unflattering green skin tint? obscenely light pink lips? none of it matches. i hate it. i take offense to it

7. clawdeen. kind of the reverse of ghoulia where the base doll is mostly really nice, except the pastel hair 😒, but the fashion is... a mess. the first red flag of them not having a direction to take her style. the shoes and coveralls give sporty, but then theres the gold jewelry and fur coat...? at least her freckles are cute.

6. draculaura. big step up! from here on its mostly my personal taste. this is cute! im generally just of the opinion that most draculaura dolls are very similar, and its not a style i tend to LOVE, so they blend together for me. cool heart and bat motif, just not for me specifically.

5. cleo. the really busy patterns kind of drag it down, but overall shes really pretty and definitely reads pharoah! her makeup especially stands out. so nice

4. lagoona. some people dont like g3 lagoona. i am not one of those people. her pink and blue serves, sorry. she always has such nice makeup, not to mention a fun sporty mermaid motif. im a lagoona lover

3. frankie. the icon, the myth, the legend. already giving us transgender swag in their very first doll. could have a little more detail/accessories, but their color scheme is so nice i cant complain.

2. venus. FINALLY. DIFFERENT HAIR! she is so fucking beautiful, i need her. her color scheme? great. her fashion? fantastic. her accessories? so fun. dont look at her weird fucking pet

1. ABBEY. her comfy swag. her beautiful colors. shes so peak and she does it so casually too. the light freckles are so adorable, and shes able to look cold and welcoming at the same time. slay

[mmprviolet]

In order of personal favorites (MY OPINIONS)

Abbey (beautiful gorgeous TALL, actually wears pants, feels so unique while still retaining icy elements of the OG)

Frankie (love how it's an updated version of g1/2, but still fresh, prosthetic rep, unpop but I prefer her with blue skin)

Twyla (mhmm face is gorge, love the markings and i just love blue&purple combos altogether oh yeah she's also canon autistic)

Lagoona (she looks like she was carved from a pearl, love the gradient from solid pink to a semi translucent blue).

Cleo (love the details of giving her hair & eyes bluish tint, wish she had her tv pants )

Draculaura (her outfit is cute, but she is overrated so i ranked her lower)

Clawd (solely for the textured hair + combining his doll palette with the cartoon movies is a smart move)

Clawdeen (outfit isn't bad but doesn't really SCREAM Clawdeen; also her hair looks too pale, should be a darker purple or even brown)

Toralei (should've had her short hair and it looks too basic to me; needs pants or some leggings

Deuce (a problem with deuce as a whole is they seem to be holding back on him in terms of exploring styles; I do like the green skin and eyes it helps him look more uncanny)

Ghoulia (no true shade of red, the vest and glasses are not doing it for me. I say her outfit lools worse than clawdeen and toralei's at least theirs are coherent. I like her SS3 outfit more)

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

I love Monster High G3 with all my soul, heart, lungs and assorted organs neatly organized in decorative canopy jars, and I especially love the cartoon, my only "complaints" would be

1. That they introduced us to Barky and Teez, and is highly unlikely we will see dolls of them. Manny too. Iris has better chances, and I think Spectra was already confirmed, so yeah.

B. The amulets. SPOILERS. The werewolf one is hella important to the overall plot, and Cleo getting the mummy one, and Draculaura getting the Vampire one were part of their own character growth... While Deuce got his in a B plot (which is weird, cuz he has had 2 episodes about him) and Frankie getting the Frankenmonster one didn't even get that. I fear Lagoona getting the sea monster will be similar

And the last point would be about shipping. While I like how they're going the organic way instead of them just being together for the sake of being together, and that the guys aren't codependent accesories... But I wish they had played with the characters a bit more, like they did with Cleo/Frankie and Deuce/Clawdeen. With Heath being environment conscious, I thought they would eventually pair him with Lagoona, but it seems Heath/Abbey and Lagoona/Gil will be the ones to survive, along with Draculaura/Clawd. At least they all look like teenagers this gen.

I do like that the series has a LOT less emphasis in romance than G1, and Lagoona being in love with romance is more played for laughs, but again, personally, I would have switched things to explore other relationships (and piss off stan shippers) and make Lagoona and Heath environmentalist buddies, Abbey and Clawd would bond over being the new "outsider" kids, And I liked Draculaura vibes with Manny, they would totally be "Excuse me, he asked for no pickles!". Gil I don't know enough about, but in his debut Lagoona mentions that Ghoulia has similar tastes in graphic novels, so there's that.

[mossy-aro]

Top five monster high characters

OH BOY OH MY THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK!! i love them ALL so much so this is a hard decision but i do have a pretty thought out list:

1) Ghoulia Yelps

this might be surprising since my pfp is quite literally frankie stein but ghoulia is actually my #1 bbygirl beloved. which is interesting, because she was actually my least favourite as a kid and i was actively terrified of her (i had a serious fear of zombies). ghoulia is also extremely aromantic and no i will not be taking notes but if prompted (or even without. because i am nothing if not annoying) i can and will explain at length exactly why ghoulia is the #1 aro coded monster high character. also she’s just cool (ZOMBIE SCENE QUEEN AUGHHHH)

2) Robecca Steam

SHE IS A VICTORIAN STEAMPUNK ROBOT. need i say more. i don’t, but i will just bc i love her and want to share. if you don’t know her doll comes with spinnable cogs on her legs! and she travels around in canon with steam powered rocket boots. sick right, yes. her design is so over the top and cool in every way. i love her dorky polite personality and her inability to use any piece of technology invented after the year 1900. hashtag alive in the wrong era, but literal. bc she actually is, someone help this girl

3) Draculaura

who doesn’t love drac!!! she’s literally the sweetest girl alive. she was my absolute fave as a kid. draculaura on top (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)

4) Abbey Bominable

ABBEY!!!!! i love her. literal ice queen and actual menace (complimentary). she is literally everyone’s favourite mean friend except she’s not really mean at all she’s just too real for some people. forever iconic, abbey ilysm

5) Scarah Screams

I was really debating giving this spot to Operetta (Operetta apologist for life btw) but the thing that broke the tie for me was down to character design. i love them both but omg. scarah is on another level she is literally freaky weirdgirl personified i think she is so cool y’all

…6) G3 Frankie Stein

OK I KNOW THIS IS A TOP 5 LIST… but this is a g1 list so far so it doesn’t count technically. g3 frankie is honestly the best thing about the reboot to me so far; i like some of the other reboot designs but personality wise, g3 frankie is absolutely my fave of the new cast. i genuinely adore them so so immensely everytime they’re on screen they make me smile :)

now it’s time for the RUNNERS UP (ie. i love them a lot but not quite top 5s):

Operetta:

people who hate on Operetta need to rewatch like all the movies and webisodes bc um. she has never done anything wrong actually yall just forgot what happened. leave my girl alone 🗣️

Spectra:

NOIR DETECTIVE JOURNALIST GHOST GIRL!!!! literally no notes. go watch (or rewatch) this right now and be happy.

Deuce:

he’s just a surfer dude himbo whose voice may randomly turn into 2000s pop autotune at any given moment (he might need to get that checked out). is it possible to not love him

-

i truly do love every single MH character though (except manny.) they are all so cool and special so this is just a personal list of my fave designs, concepts and characters :))

[artistttjr]

Reasons why I love the g3 monster high characters=Nickelodeon series💀🎀

Clawdeen: I love that clawdeen is half human and the lore with her mom is so interesting she reminds me so much of Luz toh too

Draculaura : her being a witch is cool and I just love how popular she is in the monster world

Frankie : them is being nonbinary makes so much sense and I found them way more interesting than g1 Frankie

Lagoona : I love how she can go into shark mode and she’s so funny and her aesthetic is so pretty

Cleo : I love her valley girl voice I impersonate it all the time for fun and I find it funny how drac is more popular than her lol

Deuce : honestly deuce is ok to me I don’t find him that interesting

Ghoulia : I love how she just pop into some scenes in the show and her skateboarding is so cool

Heath : his design is definitely my less favorite but his personality is way better than in g1

Clawd : he’s honestly the same compared to g1 not much to say tbh

Manny : he’s way better than g1 manny hands down if u don’t agree “side eye”

Gil : one of my fav mh boy designs I hope his personality is great too

Abbey : she’s so cute I love her hairstyle

Twyla : talk about great representation and her powers are so cool

Howleen : I lover her voice and her fit is so cool but I hope she still related to clawdeen in some way

Romulus : annoying still but I like how he actually looks like a teenager in this gen unlike g1

Barkimedes : a new g3 character he’s so adorable I ship him and toralei

Toralei : speaking of her I lover her British accent it makes her more annoying

Headmistress BG : her design is so cool and it’s identical to the live action

Miss O’shriek : she reminds me of miss frizzle from the magic school bus

Dracula : the whole g3 fandom crush

Nefera : I was scared of her being nice but I’m okay with it now

Spectra : I found her g1 voice annoying I definitely prefer the new one but her outfit is kinda boring

Iris : she needs more scenes I need to see manny and her together

Werecat twins : I love that they have different personalities hopefully they don’t become mean like toralei

[idleglowingpixels]

I finally got my schedule aligned with a friend of mine to watch Monster High 2 (the live action movie sequel) and I have some thoughts about it

(Keep reading only if you're okay with spoilers, I go into a lot of detail)

Monster High 2 was a solid experience altogether. The previous movie was in a similar vain, but I think the special effects budget got amped up, because everything looked stellar and just generally better than the first movie. It's still not cinema film level quality but these aren't meant to be compared to that. It's a TV movie, and for what it is I thought that (almost) everything rendered out beautifully (idk why they keep having Lagoona do the oAo thing but okay).

As per the previous film, there were lots of highs in the comedy (Frankie is always the highlight of these movies for me, Cleo taking her job as campaign manager so seriously was kinda funny to me, and a lot of the Heath shenanigans were so reminiscent of G1 to me ESPECIALLY the teasing about Clawdeen being Deuce's girlfriend and general himbo behavior), but it's also a kid's movie, so there's bound to be misses too. Comedy isn't personally my forte, but I got enough chuckles and laughs here and there that it didn't really matter to me.

The songs sounded pretty nice! I went into the movie this time without hearing any songs in advance like the first movie, and was pleasantly surprised. None of them were particularly bad to me, but I think my favorite one was the very-poorly-disguised friend breakup song with the main trio. It reminded me of a similar song in Descendants 2 ironically enough, but I don't mean that as an insult, I love the Descendants soundtracks too!

Okay, now the story of the movie…I don't really know where to begin, there's so much to talk about. I guess I can start at the beginning.

I've seen a few people complain about Clawdeen blowing up on social media and going viral when the characters would regularly go viral or get tons of views on their not-YouTube channels in G1. I know the Internet was different back in 2010, but it wasn't THAT much different going viral back then as it is now imo. I found it an odd complaint personally.

While I have no idea how a half-human ghost can exist in the first place, I ADORED the little bits where that new character was. Unfortunately I neglected to remember her name, usually I'm better with keeping up on this stuff. But she was so goofy, like yeah queen, walk through the door and immediately hit it on the way back out. 💖

The whole thing with the prefect is kind of irrelevant for the most part, so I don't mind it as much. I have an irrational love for the whole fire and water thing Heath and Lagoona got to do for it together, and I noticed characters like them actually have something to do in the movie instead of just awkwardly showing up at the end to record Komos and stand guard I guess??? And they had much more dialogue this time around (very few exceptions, I can only think of Ghoulia and Abbey but who knows, maybe they'll get to be main characters in the third movie I presume will release next year).

Torelai being a general nuisance was amazing, and here she really did feel like her G1 counterpart…if said counterpart was British lol. Her outfits were really nice, felt super edgy and it was a plus for me. I also liked the mention of her scarring from the witches in France, where she'd studied abroad, but I do think they repeated the point of her bringing it up against witches in the song was too quick after the initial mention, perhaps it could've been reserved to the song and have her sing-song her way through explaining the wraith silver.

Draculaura was the main focus in the film, and I really enjoyed her story. She's got every card stacked against her, even those she trusts, it feels like they turn on her in her point of view (Clawdeen and Ellis specifically). I've also seen characters like Ellis a billion times, but as generic as he is, he served the purpose he was in the film for (lowkey thought the name was a reference to Elphaba/Wicked Witch of the West).

Seeing Dracula as much as we did this movie was amazing, loved that, though Zamara kinda fell flat with me as an antagonist. Making a comparison here, but it felt like they were trying to replicate what they'd done with Komos in the previous film, just adjusting her to fit the new narrative, but Komos was much better executed imo (I promise this isn't my bias to Jekyll and Hyde characters showing, I just think his dynamics with the students flowed more organically). I found the whole thing about witches marketing herbal products as remedies with magical healing properties to exploit humanity's fears of appearing healthy to be funny with Z, but that's about it. I also could tell she'd be the villain a lot faster than I did with Komos haha. Seeing Apollo play a significant role here was nice too! I really like how the adult/parent characters can be just as important as the teens, as I find the lack of parent appearances in G1 to be too sparce for something so integral to the characters' stories.

As with pretty much anyone who's seen the film, it seems we were all shouting at Clawdeen towards the end to just turn human to avoid injury from the wraith silver bars (I was so confused lmao), but I think she was so desperate to save her friend that she was in too blind a panic to control that or think rationally. Frankie is in a similar vein; I thought their upgrades would've caused more pain than it'd be worth, and since we saw the electricity from their arm separating from the rest of their body earlier in the scene, it might've triggered a rush of pain to Frankie or their energy would've been zapped out like a light. Also, y’all, they thought their friend was going to forcefully commit genocide, I don’t think either of them were safe from having irrational/impulsive solutions to a situation in which their friend is literally gonna die if they take time to think critically. I do think there could’ve been better execution with the scene, especially how important it is for later, however. I may be explaining the thought process of my only other point of contention here, but it wasn’t thought out all too much imo — Deen could’ve tried to shift back and find it doesn’t work, Frankie could’ve tried to detach their hand/arm and found themselves getting hurt (but not scarred since that’s really the were-girls’ common thing).

But when Clawdeen died just from touching the bars for too long, I was so shocked it was happening from something so small, I figured the explanation was that it might drain a monster's life force or something. But I COULD NOT take the grim reaper thing seriously. Genuinely laughed my ass off cause WHAT WAS THAT??? It seemed so out of place for the pacing to me I guess. I felt like it could've been a perfect opportunity to have Komos reach out to her through his petrification, especially with how much she hangs around his statue during her troubles and looks to his statue for guidance, but I knew going in he was like 99% certain to be a one-off villain. 🥲

Anyway, Torelai and Clawdeen's little trauma bond moment with the scars at the end was very wholesome, a nice tie back to the "not afraid to show my secrets or my scars" line from Coming Out Of The Dark. And for once the franchise acknowledges were-animals as having kinship, like don't get me wrong, I know it's mainly for the cats vs dogs thing, but they're essentially the same monsters. I always found it odd that they were treated as completely different monster types entirely when all they are is just a human base with animal features and abilities (speed, agility, heightened senses, etc.).

A lot of people have a problem with Clawdeuce being a thing, but I don't mind it personally. It's a different gen, nothing has to stay the same as G1, so I’m just going along with the vibes. And I can tell Deuce leaving is going to be where we follow through in the next movie (unless he got tossed into the underworld in the end credits scene, I have no clue). To be honest I really like his prominent inclusion in the roster of characters, especially with how erased he’d get in the G1 movies (they literally cut his part of the rap out and it’s so apparent q-q).

But back to the point about the after credits, when I saw the grim reaper actually CAME BACK and just threw Deuce to the side (or maybe through the portal idk) I instantly freaked out, no laughter to be had, like "WAIT OH MY GOD WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THAT BIT FOR REAL—"

I know the third film is looking to be centered on Frankie (They 💖) but I do worry with how much elements they're taking from G1 movies to make up new/similar narratives (Drac's Sweet 1600, the previous gen's self acceptance narrative but specifically with a half human character, the emphasis on Jekyll and Hyde shenanigans, vampires vs werewolves but make it vampires vs witches instead, etc.). I just don't think another Freaky Fusion thing with Frankie sacrificing their life energy should be necessary. Especially considering the new antagonist is very clearly gonna be this Grim Reaper dude. And since the Underworld might be the main location for the third film, I wonder if the whole thing about Heath being Hades's son in the TV show will come up in the movie. Ik they're different canons from each other, but It'd be pretty interesting to see how they'd create a MH version of Hades. (I found his design from the cartoon after typing all this up and I mean, okay then I guess 🤷 Don’t love it but don’t hate it either, he just looks too nice to me haha. I love when Hades is actually a nice character, but his appearance and Resting Bitch Face make him out to be a huge dick.)

As of right now, that's basically everything I have to say on the movie. I personally prefer the first one, but I will not deny that it's because I liked Komos more as an antagonist than Zamara — antagonists are just as important as protagonists. He has the Jekyll and Hyde thing going for him too, which is just overall a favorite trope of mine (Though his change wasn’t as literal). I do think this movie had more going on and much higher stakes, what with characters almost committing mass genocide, suffering injuries and nearly outright DYING.

But I don't know, it was a solid 7/10 for me I think, on the higher end of 7 but Zamara keeps me from giving it a higher rating (sorry y'all I just REALLY didn't like her character, not even in a love to hate way, and villains’ likability matters too much for me personally). I guess my ranking for the first movie would be a low 8, but it’s based more on how much I enjoyed it than how objectively good or "perfect" it is.

[ellipticalglitch]

Monster High (2022)

Ever since it was announced Nickelodeon would be making a live action movie based on the popular doll line, fans were very skeptical as to what this giant corperation with seemingly no knowledge on the franchise would do. After a slight delay the movie released a few days ago on Paramount+ and was quite a delight.

As skeptical as I was about many details like Ghoulia and Lagoona roles mostly being replaced, the story more focused on Clawdeen and on top of that a bit of a personality overhaul for her. I still really enjoyed the film. The plot wasn't the most incredible but it was good old Monster High shenanigans with a bit more of a High School encorperated into it as there's more of a focus being put on them all as freshmen and not just Frankie.

The characters were all likeable and I can't think of a single one that brought the film down. Frankie was a highlight in the film with jokes and antics that just fit their character so well and having them not the main character actually helped there character more. Draculaura I will admit I have a slight bias for her because she's my favourite monster but that aside she made this newer Draculaura fit in universe well and I like her personality. Does that mean I now dislike the old one? No of course not. I love them both if I'm honest and think they both should garner the respect they deserve. Cleo was Cleo, nothing changed (minus the less screaming) and we've only seen her mean girl side towards the ghouls this film but maybe if they make another then we can see her dynamic especially if Clawdeen gets really into her fashion side and they can bond over it a little bit. Finally there's Clawdeen who, besides Ghoulia and Lagoona of course, has had the biggest character change and again, I don't hate it. I do miss sassy fashion no bullshit Clawdeen and would of loved to see her sexuality get further explored into because Mattel couldn't take a stand. There were some points where she teetered into that Disney Channel cliche 'geek' kind of acting but it was never a lot and not even for too long so I'll happily overlook it.

Onto the music now and there was not one song I hated either which surprised me because usually modern musicals like Zombies 3 recently released had some songs in I really didn't like or care for (more so Zombies 1 and 2) but this movie had a solid musical score throughout. I wasn't too big on Clawdeen and Duece's number but it just wasn't bad, it was alright and maybe it'll grow on me. Everything else slapped and it's such a relief after hearing Disney Channel movies have a weird mix. (I know I'm comparing this a lot to Disney but I have almost nothing to go off.)

My only nitpicks I suppose are that Ghoulia, Lagoona and Abbey were never further explored into which is such a shame because their all great characters. We never really know why Gorgan's are labelled as troublemakers and what exactly Heath and Duece did to get them that reputation. Sometimes the plot would go a little too 'on the go' which is fine but I really would've liked it if we got more scenes with the main ghouls together and even interacting with the background characters. It could have added a little more world building.

Overall as a Monster High movie I still think it's pretty good. it will never be the same as G1 (we don't talk about G2) and that's okay!!! It is it's own knew thing and I think it did pretty well at that. Even compared to some G1 films it can hold up pretty well against them like Skull Shores (not bad but certainly not amazing off memory). It's a fun little Halloween film to watch based on a beloved franchise. Has cute dolls, good songs, nice message, great acting. No matter what hesitations you have about this film I encourage you to give it a watch. It's different and that's great! That's what Monster High is all about! It's a decent entry point for new fans and more so those returning if they fell off due to G2. I would never say this is the definitive way to get back or simply just get into the franchise but it can be a good start, especially for G3 seen as this is what it is.

[jekyll2life]

Jester Comments on MH: Boo York! Boo York!

Some of you may know and some of you may not, but I’m actually pretty new to Monster High (having only started getting into it around July of this year). So I’m not familiar with all the material of G1 Monster High yet, including the movies. Prior to today, I had only seen Ghouls Rule, Scaris City of Frights, and Friday Night Frights. 

Well today, one of my IRL friends, who’s a bit more of a Monster High veteran, decided to sit me down and watch Boo York! Boo York! for the very first time today. Here are some of my initial thoughts/first impressions (click the read more!):

The fashion in this movie SLAYS! Everyone looks great. I think if I had to boil it down to my favorite looks though, Cleo’s outfit (the one she wears for most of the movie and that got a doll) and Luna Mothews’ gala outfit take the cake. 

All of the songs in this movie are bops. Top 3 hits go to Empire, Steal the Show, and Fright Lights, Big City

Before seeing this movie, I first heard Empire as a sound on TikTok and assumed it was a regular pop song by an artist I’ve never heard of. So when I heard the full version for the first time in this movie, I kind of lost my shit. XD

It kind of surprised me how much of a minor role the other ghouls played in this movie. Like, I feel like if Operetta, Draculaura, and Abbey were removed from this movie nothing would change. I’m not complaining, it’s more just an observation that stood out to me. In the other movies I’ve seen so far, I feel like even if the main plot centered an a few core characters, the other characters still played plot relevant roles. 

I can definitely understand why some people take issue with Deuce’s characterization in this movie (the brunch scene gave my second hand embarrassment), but personally it didn’t bother me that much. But maybe that’s just because Deuce being a dumbass is one of my favorite things about his character. 

While on that note, I really like how Cleo was characterized in this movie. She still keeps her pride, yet still holds herself up to the standard of a leader, willing to put aside her wants if she believes it’s what’s best for the people around her. I enjoy watching Cleo struggle between her family’s expectations and wanting forge her own path, and I wish that aspect of her character would have been explored more outside of just her relationship with Deuce. Either way though, I enjoy when she’s written as being more than just a diva. 

In terms of the new characters, I really liked Luna Mothews! She has a really cute design and just has a very charming personality. Mouscedes was pretty cute too. I didn’t really care for Elle Eedee (though I do have to admit her name is pretty clever), but since she’s a DJ, I wish she got to meet Holt :(

It is a crime that Pharaoh never got a doll. They gave him that fine character design and for WHAT!? Not even a 2 pack with Catty!? That would’ve been so cute! 😭 Pharaoh never getting a doll is going to bother me forever now. 

On that note, I also think that it was a crime that Holt Hyde was not in this movie. He’s a DJ and loves music too. If Operetta can be in this movie and barely do much, than so should Holt dang it. 

The boys all thinking that Ghoulia trying to stop a literal meteor from hitting the Earth was just a videogame is, while dumb, also very funny. 

Mr. Rotter in this movie reminds me of one of my old high school teachers who hosted secret Smash Bros tournaments in his classroom during lunch hour lol

Also who was gonna tell me that there was an Ever After High reference in the post-credit scene!? I’m guessing that since the crossover movie got cancelled, this would probably never get explained. But it’s still pretty cool. 

Anyway, 10/10 movie, would definitely watch again. Boo York has definitely rocketed its way to 2nd place on my favorite MH movie list. 

[dateamonster]

📂 Monster High? Your favorite character and also Abbey.

my favorite characters back when i originally got into it were probably frankie, abbey, and twyla. twyla is still def my fav in terms of design! i love her color scheme and her dolls were always just perfect.

i think ive definitely become more of a ghoulia stan in recent years. i think her whole like character concept is really interesting and im really excited to see more of her in the new reboot, where her vibe seems to have shifted from general nerdy smart girl to a mix of geek and skater aesthetics. which makes a lot of sense considering even in her original design her fashion had this kind of hot topic version of the geeky look.

abbeys been a longtime fav despite not rly liking a lot of her fashion from g1. i feel like the outfits they gave her didnt really fit her personality. there was this throughline of white/pastel outfits with patterns and accessories that were super delicate and sharp and glittery which obvi tracks with the ice theme but never necessarily felt like something she would wear. i would have liked it if more of her outfits kept the emphasis on furs and had a vibe of being like sturdy and simple. i get theyre kids fashion dolls so theres this impulse to throw as much color and sparkle into every character as possible but idk im gonna complain anyway.

personality-wise i think i like her bc she feels kind of like a natural foil to a lot of the teenage drama shenanigans that drive the series. like she is just vibing. unbothered. skin clear and thriving. she decides what she wants to do and just does it. icon.

--

Send “📂“ for a random yet completely useless headcanon I have

[mh-the13thyear-au]

MH: The 13th Year: Lagoona

Lagoona Blue is the daughter of the legendary Sea Monster, born and raised in the Great Scarrier Reef. She is known for her kind, bubbly, and loyal personality, always encouraging monsters to be their truest selves. By being one of the most athletic ghouls in Monster High, Lagoona is very laidback, but is also known to be rather pretty due to her being half sea nymph (from her mom). You can always count on this Australian water monster to have your back when things get down.

Click on "keep reading" for more information. Leave any questions you may have on my ask!

-BIOGRAPHY-

Name: Lagoona Blue

Age: 15 (at start of AU; 19 years at the end of AU's main story)

Gender: Female (uses she/her pronouns)

Hair color: Blonde with blue highlights (naturally born rather than from pool chlorine)

Eye color: Green

Notable traits: Scaly blue skin (with noticeable scales on her arms, legs, torso), fin-like ears (size between g1/g2 and g3 ears), freckles along cheeks, webbed fingers and toes, fins on lower arms and legs

Height: 5'8"

Birthday: June 10th

Freaky flaw: Skin tends to dry up when she's out of water for too long, so she constantly moisturizes

English voice: Laura Bailey (I know her second VA was Australian, but I preferred Laura over Larissa)

-FAVORITES-

School Subject: Oceanography, Biteology (mainly about marine life)

Activities: Swimming, surfing, water sports, roller-skating, (aquatic) dancing, hanging out with friends, cleaning beaches

Color: Ocean blue

Food: Sushi

-RELATIONSHIPS-

Family: Wade Blue (father), Coral Blue (mother), Kelpie Blue (younger sister), Dewey Blue (younger brother), Squirt Blue (younger brother), Barney Blue (baby brother), Ebbie Blue (baby sister), Finly Blue (aunt), Sheldon Blue (uncle), Sealena Blue (cousin)

Pet: Neptuna

BFFs and Friends: Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo de Nile, Deuce Gorgon, Ghoulia Yelps, Holt Hyde, Jackson Jekyll, Spectra Vondergeist, Abbey Bominable, Toralei Stripe, Venus McFlytrap, Jinafire Long, Kala Mer'ri, Posea Reef, Peri and Pearl Serpentine, Sirena van Boo, Dayna T. Jones, Vandala Doubloons, Sloman Mortavitch, Scarah Screams, Jane Boolittle, Gilda Goldstag, Honey Swamp, Rider Wake, Lorna McNessie, Jaclyn Skellington, and many other monsters

Romance: Gil Webber (friend and later boyfriend)

-OTHER NOTES-

social media username is "._lagoonablue_."

lives in a house near a grotto.

gets stage fright whenever she does aquatic dancing (kinda remedying the biggest continuity error in Gen 1)

takes part of the Monster Exchange program and went to Madread for a semester (like in webisodes and doll line)

despite not enjoying Mr. Hack's scientific methods, Lagoona enjoys studying marine biteology (by getting up close and personal with the animals)

once got turned into a freshwater monster as a means to get Gil's parents to like her (just like in 13 Wishes)

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Well, I finally got the time to watch the new Monster High Movie. It’s a fun watch, 100% recommend.

But then again, I’m a fan of Disney Channel Original Movies like High School Musical and Descendants, so if you don’t like corny movies about the Power of Friendship and prefer more philosophical and deep movies, this is not for you.

SPOILERS

 Overall, the movie is fun, doesn’t take itself too seriously and it seems the actors were having a blast making it, which is always appreciated. There are a couple of cringe moments, but the new take on the characters is nice, as are some of the jokes that land really well.  

Draculaura: I like the original concept of her being the bubbliest and innocent of the group, sometimes it was a bit too much (as G2 Twyla can attest haha) although it always felt weird that she was the oldest in the group, yet behaved like the baby (Technically Cleo is the oldest, but most of that she was asleep and/or trapped in a cave, so a lack of maturity is not that odd). I like her new aloof personality and how she opened up to the Magic of Friendship™. The wording and behavior of Draculaura make me think she’s actually 16 in G3, but I could be wrong.  

Clawdeen: Unpopular opinion, but I like she has a different personality than the stereotypical “Sassy Black Woman”, and while I will miss her interest in fashion, she seems to be a more developed individual this time around. Her budding relationship with Deuce felt well developed and not forced like many other teen movies are. I liked their vibe together, and really wouldn’t mind seeing the Live Action of them get together, and I wouldn’t mind if they decide to be Better As Friends either.

Frankie: LOVED THEM. My favorite of all, the writers and the actor did a really good job of portraying Frankie as a “newborn” experimenting things for the first time. This limits a bit the plots they can get, but I love how they were Ride or Die immediately for Clawdeen.

Cleo: I think she’s the one who changed the least of all the characters, and I’m a bit annoyed that it took Clawdeen literally saving her life to get character development, but even that didn’t feel as forced as other instances. Her friendship with Lagoona is oddly sweet, as it seems Lagoona is no different than anyone else. And her snarky lines were some of the best lines, like calling Draculaura “Bat Girl”. Also props for mentioning Heka.

Deuce: I like that he is an actual character this time around and not just Cleo’s side piece, which started since G2. And unlike G1, it seems this time around he is not the Big Man on Campus, so even that is character development for Cleo, even if they don’t get back.

The rest: I love how unhinged and deranged Lagoona was. She’s the one who got less development in the whole movie, but outright offering to eat Deuce if Cleo was mad at him made me love her. She’s a true friend right there! Ghoulia was quirky and a bit of a jerk, and I loved how she kept popping out of nowhere, specially at the graveyard. Abbey felt like she would be also a good character to focus, as all her scenes imply that she’s as new to Monster High as Frankie and Clawdeen were, but having much less trouble fitting in. She even seems to have gotten on friendly terms with Heath rather quickly… and speaking of Heath, I thought he was going to be more of a bully jerk this time around, but other than explicitly being a jock, it seems he also retained his personality from G1, and along with everyone else named here, responded to Clawdeen’s plea of help, so he can’t be that bad.

Mr. Komos… I still simp for him, so yeah.

But jokes aside, I think it’s a bit unfair how he was treated by the narrative and all of that. His father was not only expelled of Monster High, but outright banned from Monster Society, for the crime of being part human, and then outright murdered by humans. We don’t get more of his backstory, but I don’t think his childhood was all peaches, and we aren’t even sure if he was abandoned or raised by his human mom… but even if he was raised by his mom… where? It’s pretty obvious his horns are natural, so he wouldn’t have fit with humans, and he didn’t attend Monster High, so he probably has been hiding his whole life. I hope he get a redemption arc in the future (We know Deuce stoning isn’t permanent, as he himself was cured)

And… like… Monsters kind of sucks for that one. Even if his story is biased, we see that both Dracula and Headmistress Bloodgood were part of the team that expelled Mr. Hyde. And it’s also heavily implied that he was friends with Dracula and Clawdeen’s mom (I think?). And none of them even try to help him. A parallel could be made that Clawdeen would have gone the same way (Hunted by human) if Frankie and Draculaura were as shitty friends as the previous generation, but they are actually decent individuals and went looking for her. I hope this is addressed in a future movie (There was a sequel hook, se it’s highly likely we’ll get a second one) because the Headmistress and Dracula getting off as being the “Good Guys” without any consequence on their part of this crisis really left me with a bad feeling, and makes me wonder if the “war with witches” and ban on witchcraft is not some more of their bullshitty bullshit.

PLUS, the fact that Frankie’s brain has the knowledge than monster-human hybrids can have changes while they’re teenagers and become more human means than monsters-humans hybrids used to be more common at a time, enough that one of Frankie’s brain parts retained the knowledge.

Anyway, the music is also a total banger. “True Monster Heart” and “I Can Trust You” are my favorites.