Ever After High "C.A. Cupid"

While I was doing my "research" at Target the other day, I noticed a ton of new Monster High and Ever After High dolls.  The Monster High additions were from the "Frights, Camera, Action" series and also from a new group called "Sweet Screams" that I had never seen before.  The Ever After High additions included Cupid, a new "Getting Fairest" Maddie Hatter and Apple White, and the highly anticipated Cerise Hood.  I was going to choose one new Ever After High doll (Cupid) and one new Monster High doll (Sweet Screams Frankie--she's crazy-fancy and fun), but the Ever After High girls were really hard to resist, and so I left with two of them: C.A. Cupid and Cerise Hood.  I will review both of these dolls in two posts.

I was probably most excited about the appearance of Cupid, because she is the crossover link between Monster High and Ever After High.  I have been wondering how Mattel would handle the re-introduction of this character.  As excited as I am about Cupid, though, I'll tell you right now that Cerise Hood outshines her promotional pictures and seems, at first glance, to be the most unique doll in this line to date.  Cerise's review will come soon, but for now, here's the lovely Chariclo Arganthone Cupid:

Ever After High's new C.A. Cupid doll.

"Khaki Girl" Monster High Knockoff Doll from China

Since Halloween is rapidly approaching, I thought it would be fun to look at some monster dolls.  As I hunted around for an appropriately spooky doll to review, I was struck by how many lines are still imitating the spindly look or supernatural theme of the mega-popular Monster High characters.  There are the Mystixx zombie and vampire dolls, the Zombie Girls, Midnight Magic Day and Night dolls, the Once Upon a Zombie line, Mattel's own Ever After High dolls...and even a bunch of shameless bootlegs of actual Monster High dolls.

It would be great to show off several monster-themed dolls this week, but as things are going I'll probably only get to one or two.  I'll start with a very blatant example: a knockoff copy of Monster High Clawdeen that I found on eBay:

Khaki Girl knockoff doll (left) and Monster High Scaris Clawdeen Wolf (right).

Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze Dolls Arrive!

It's been a while since I've seen a new Monster High doll--there hasn't really been anything new since the great granite Rochelle Goyle, who I reviewed back in April.  I guess April wasn't actually that long ago, but given the typically furious release pace of the Monster High dolls, it felt like a long gap in the action.  Today made up for that gap, though, because all of the roller skating Monster High dolls arrived at my doorstep.  I tried something new this time and pre-ordered an entire case of dolls from Entertainment Earth.  If you're not familiar with it yet, Entertainment Earth is a fun store with a huge variety of merchandise including Monster High dolls, Pullip dolls, Living Dead dolls, Tonner dolls, Littlest Pet Shop toys, a huge diversity of action figures and lots more.  My transactions with this store have always been reliable and professional.  They have excellent communication, which is especially nice with pre-orders.  I've also had a lot of fun just recreationally browsing their site.  Anyway, a case of Monster High dolls sounds impressive, like it should be a hundred dolls or something.  It's actually six dolls--the four dolls in the release and two duplicates.  I paid $80, or about $13 per doll, which isn't too bad.  Here they are:

Monster High Skultimate Roller Maze from left: Ghoulia, Lagoona, Frankie and Operetta.

Monster High Review: Rochelle Goyle and Roux

The newest lineup of Monster High characters is fantastic.  Rochelle Goyle, who is the daughter of the gargoyles, was just released, and in the next few months we should see Venus McFlytrap (there's so much awesome in that name, I don't know where to start) and Robecca Steam.  I am probably the most excited about Robecca (she is a steampunk robot), but all three dolls have great themes, interesting skin tones and fun accessories.  I hope I will be able to find them all at some point, but for now, here's Rochelle Goyle:

Rochelle Goyle and Roux

Monster High "Headless Headmistress Bloodgood"

For the better part of this week, I have been working on a different Monster High review, but I was getting bogged down by too many pictures, mixed opinions and stuff like that.  I took a break to run some errands and check out what's on the shelves at Toys R Us and Walmart...and I am so glad I did.  I knew about the Headless Headmistress, but she had dropped off my radar somehow.  When I saw the shelves of Toys R Us lined with blue horses, I think I squeaked out loud and maybe jumped up and down once or twice.  What made it better is that I was clutching some beloved Toys R Us dollars, so the $42.00 price tag on this set wasn't quite as intimidating as it might have been.  I'll get back to that other Monster High review some day, but for today, I just couldn't wait to get Mistress Bloodgood and her blue steed out of their box:  

Monster High Headless Headmistress Bloodgood and
Nightmare.

Ever After High "Apple White" by Mattel

I don't like to be too repetitive, but ever since AJ's wonderful guest review of Madeline Hatter, I have been even more excited to get a look at my favorite of the first four Ever After High dolls, Apple White.  

While I was in Boston visiting the American Girl store, I took a few minutes to pop into the Natick Mall to see if they had a Justice store.  Sure enough, there was a Justice (and just about every other store on the planet) and several of the Ever After girls were in stock.  There's something funny going on with the prices of these dolls, though, because they're marked $36 (which can't possibly be the normal retail price...) but everything in Justice is 40% right now, so the price ends up being around $21, which is perfectly reasonable.  I assume and hope that when these dolls appear in other stores, they will cost $20.

Ever After High doll, "Apple White."

Monster High Create-a-Monster Werewolf and Dragon Starter Pack (and Skeleton Add-on)

I think that the best thing about Monster High dolls is the creativity behind their design.  Each new doll has a fascinating and unique character with a wardrobe and accessories intricately matched to a theme.  When the "Create-a-Monster" line of Monster High doll kits was announced, it seemed like another in a series of innovative ideas from Mattel.  Why not let the buyer have a part in the design of these fun dolls?  Sell the raw materials and let everyone share in the excitement of creating a new monster.  I was definitely looking forward to getting my hands on one of these toys.  When I saw that there was a starter pack that included parts for a dragon doll, I was giddy.  I love dragons.  Once I got a peek at the scaled limbs and green wings that are included in this set, it became an absolute must-have for me.

There are two starter sets for the Create-a-Monster line, the Dragon and Werewolf set and a Vampire and Sea Monster duo.  They retail for $26.99.  These starter sets include all of the parts to make two complete dolls with the irritating exception of there being only one torso.  I was disappointed to learn that the dolls have to share a torso, but I assumed I could use the torsos from other Monster High dolls, like my wonky-eyed Lagoona, and that in the end there'd be plenty of body parts to go around.

I bought both of the starter sets when they came in stock at my Toys R Us, figuring that more parts would equal more fun.  Here's Dragon and Werewolf:

Monster High Create-A-Monster Werewolf & Dragon set.

Monster High's Skelita Calaveras: A Guest Review!

For this post, I am thrilled to introduce an overseas friend who asked to write a guest review for the blog this week.  She and I both have Skelita Calaveras, one of the new Scaris Monster High dolls.  Since I am always bursting with opinions, I'll have to get my two cents in at the end, but I'll let our guest, known here as "LagoonaLicious," tell you all about Skelita first.  In fact, I'd like to start the review with her wonderful portrait.  I love this:

Skelita Calaveras portrait.

Monster High 13 Wishes "Haunt the Casbah" Clawdeen Wolf

After a long dry spell in doll releases, there were a ton of new Monster High dolls at Toys R Us last week.  Many of the 13 Wishes dolls were in stock, as were the Ghoulia/Cleo and Heath/Abbey two-pack sets.  My first instinct was to grab 13 Wishes Lagoona (because of her bright yellow hair, and because she comes with Neptuna in a purse-bowl) and Twyla (because she's a new character with the shorter body mold).  But then I put Twyla back because I don't really think she's very interesting and I'm not wild about her face.  I grabbed Ghoulia's two-pack because of that periodic table dress.  Eeep!  That is the best piece of Monster High clothing I have ever seen.  I eventually put that set back, too, though, because while the dress is amazing, the dolls don't look that different from dolls I already have.  The Heath and Abbey set was tempting because Heath is a new character (and a guy) and I don't have an Abbey doll out of her box yet, but Heath looks a little plain to me.  He doesn't have a lot of detail in his face or hair.  The deluxe 13 Wishes characters (Draculara, Frankie and Clawdeen) appeared to be the most interesting of all the new dolls, and among these three beauties, I find Clawdeen to be the prettiest.  I think Clawdeen is simply my favorite character--she always stands out to me with her dark skin and elegantly threatening claws.

13 Wishes Clawdeen Wolf, $29.99 at Toys R Us.

The 17-Inch Freak du Chic "Gooliope Jellington" from Monster High

Mattel seems to wait until my interest in the Monster High line is waning, and then they announce a very cool and unexpected new addition that gets me all enthusiastic again.  The last time this happened was in June of last year, when the centaur Avea Trotter came out.  In one fell swoop, that exceptional equine renewed my awe for the creativity behind the Monster High concept.  My enthusiasm also got a mid-year boost with the release of the Inner Monster dolls. This year, just as I started to skip the Monster High aisle at Toys R Us, or yawn as I scrolled through pictures online, the new 17-inch dolls were announced.  A Monster High doll this large would have been plenty exciting on its own, but these new giants also have an updated style of articulation.  Yay!  Monster High articulation is already so good, the idea of improved and increased joints on these dolls was enough to make me absolutely giddy with curiosity.

I want to thank everyone who emailed me about the appearance of the first super-sized Monster High doll: Gooliope Jellington.  Without your tips, I might not have noticed from the online pictures that Gooliope was any larger than a regular Monster High character.  This doll is scaled up so accurately that when she's photographed alone, she can easily be mistaken for an 11-inch doll:

Freak du Chic "Gooliope Jellington," $29.99.

Ever After High "Madeline Hatter" by Mattel: A Guest Review!

It is very exciting to see the new doll lines hitting the shelves so early in the summer!  Ever After High dolls are already in stock at some Justice stores (not here in Maine quite yet...) and the Pinkie Cooper line seems to have made its debut in Great Britain.  I have dolls from both of these lines on their way to me (she says, pacing in front of the mailbox...), but in the meantime, I am super-lucky that a fellow blogger has offered to share her impressions of Madeline Hatter (a Rebel) with all of us.  I will step in and represent the Royals after I have a closer look at Apple White next week (Update: here's the review!).  For now, though, I am absolutely delighted to introduce my guest reviewer, AJ, and her gorgeous Maddie Hatter:

Ever After High Madeline Hatter.

Now, I will turn the rest of this post over to AJ.  Take it away, girl!

Monster High Ghouls Alive Dolls--A Joint Review!

I have been wanting to review a Ghouls Alive Monster High doll for quite a long time.  When the first wave of these dolls came out, I would look at them in the store and consider buying one (Clawdeen was my favorite), but it seemed like there was always a problem with the dolls in stock--dirty outfit, funny hair, banged up box, malfunctioning electronic features, things like that.  Also, I found the original near-$30 price tag off-putting, and good reason to select a simpler doll.

Several months ago, a reader named Eoin wrote to ask if I would be interested in a Ghouls Alive guest review, and I was very excited to have a way to finally learn more about this group of dolls.  After I read what Eoin wrote about Ghouls Alive Frankie Stein, however, three things happened: I got even more curious about these dolls, the older characters went on clearance at Target, and two new Ghouls Alive characters were released!  This prompted me to finally purchase a few of the dolls myself.

So...Eoin and I will show you several of the Ghouls Alive Monster High crew.  Eoin will review Frankie, and I will take a look at Toralei and Deuce.  I'll also throw in a quick look at Clawdeen, since she was my early favorite.  To begin, I want to turn things over to Eoin--a wonderful doll enthusiast from Great Britain, and perhaps the most patient person on the planet.  Thank you Eoin, for your help and inspiration with this post!  It would never have happened without you.

Ghouls Alive Deuce Gorgon, Clawdeen Wolf, Toralei Stripe and Frankie Stein.

Monster High Update: "Jinafire Long" from the Scaris Collection

I am a huge fan of Monster High dolls, but I haven't been tempted to purchase any new ones recently. Even when I saw that the Scaris line has two new characters (Jinafire and Skelita), and also includes a great version of Rochelle (who I think is great), I still didn't feel any need to go on a hunt for one of these dolls.  Then, the other day, I saw the whole Scaris line at Walmart and they looked wonderful in person.  Jinafire, in particular, struck me as something new and different (and shiny) so I picked her up:

Scaris Monster High "Jinafire Long."

Monster High "Picture Day Cleo De Nile," A Guest Review!

I am delighted to introduce a young reader who wrote to ask me if she could review a doll for the blog. I always love to have new voices and new perspectives posted here.  My guest, who I'll call "Monsterific," lives in Sweden and is a Monster High super-fan who also collects Barbie, La Dee Da and Liv dolls (a girl after my own heart!).  Monsterific just had a big birthday, and with it came some wonderful new dolls.  She let me pick which of her new dolls I would like to see on the blog, and I chose the saucy Cleo de Nile.  Happy birthday, my Monsterific friend!  Over to you!

Hello! I'm Monsterific and I will be doing a review on Cleo de Nile Picture Day from Monster High!

I was walking in my local toy store two months ago when I saw around 20 Abbey Picture Days, but only one Cleo. I convinced my mom to buy it, but she said I would get it for my birthday, in August.  So now I finally got her!  She is my first Cleo, and as I live in Sweden, it's quite hard to get Monster High.

Monster High Picture Day Cleo de Nile.

Zomby Gaga by Monster High and the Born This Way Foundation

Whoa.  What a wintry week we're having here in Maine!  Thursday was the second snow day in a row for the local kids, and we're looking at another two feet of snow for tonight.  I'm hoping to get this review posted before that storm hits!  So far we've been fortunate enough to keep power (and avoid any more branches through the roof) so it's been an excellent time for me to work on my next several reviews.  I'm really excited about all of the dolls that I have planned for the upcoming month...I just hope I can work as fast as my mind is racing!

This particular review has been a long time coming.  I pre-ordered Monster High's Zomby Gaga back in October (after Dmitry's excellent suggestion).  Zomby Gaga is a special edition doll meant to depict Lady Gaga from her Born This Way music video.  Zomby Gaga arrived in early January, but I've had a hard time tracking down the other doll I needed for this review--Robert Tonner's Zombie Boy.  Zombie Boy is the screen name of Rick Genest, the tattooed model who appears alongside Lady Gaga in her video.  I finally found the Zombie Boy doll safely tucked away on a back shelf.  He's fragile, and so I don't keep him on display.

The timing actually worked out really well, though, because the real Lady Gaga performed at the epic Super Bowl game last weekend, and so I've had her songs going through my head all week.

"Zomby Gaga" by Monster High, $23.99.

Monster Exchange "Lorna McNessie" and Haunted "Vandala Doubloons"

Before I start this review, I just want to say a quick word about my email inbox.  I really love to get emails about the blog and recommendations for interesting dolls that I should look at.  However, I have recently become overwhelmed by messages and can't find the time to give everyone the response they deserve.  So, if you are waiting for a reply from me--I am so, so sorry for the long delay.  I will do my best to get caught up soon, but there never seem to be enough hours in the day!

One reason for my email ineptitude is that I spend way too much time photographing dolls.  This review, for example, was meant to be just of Lorna McNessie--one of the new Monster High "Monster Exchange" dolls.  However, when I was shopping for Lorna, the other new Monster High line, "Haunted," also caught my eye.  I've had several requests to look at both of these new groups of dolls, so I figured I would try to do one of each in the same post.  So...yeah.  It's another long review.

I'll start by taking a close look at Miss Lorna, whose red hair and Scottish ("Rottish") heritage was too much for me to resist--even for $23.  I'll end the review by taking a slightly less in-depth look at Vandala Doubloons, the fancy, ethereal daughter of a pirate ghost.

Monster Exchange "Lorna McNessie," $22.99.

Scaremester "Invisi Billy" by Monster High--A Guest Review!

I have two neat guest reviews for you this week, but they are about two very different things, so I decided that instead of doing a Review Fusion post, I will publish the reviews separately with a little break in between.

This first review is written by Ana, a new friend of mine from Italy.  I always get extra-excited to share reviews from different parts of the world, because I think they highlight the universal and timeless fascination with dolls in our culture--a phenomenon that makes me really happy.  Ana and her six-year-old daughter Ellie are fortunate to share a passion for dolls, and are both particularly fond of the Monster High characters.  Ellie is a girl after my own heart, and has an impressive collection of the Monster High werecats and werewolves.  Ana's own favorite dolls are Scarah and Venus, who she likes for their beautiful personalities.  From the short time I have known Ana, I can tell you that her personality is equally lovely.

Ana is just the right person to review one of the new Monster High boy characters, Invisi Billy, because she has an extensive collection of ghoulish guys and a keen eye for their similarities and differences.  Without further ado, I will turn the post over to Ana!

"Invisi Billy" by Monster High.

Monster High Dolls by Mattel

Arguably one of the most popular toy lines of the season--if not the whole past year, is Mattel's Monster High.  These 11" fashion freaks have grabbed and held the attention of kids of all ages.  I know eight-year-olds and eighteen-year-olds who are equally obsessed.  In fact, what amazes me the most is how these dolls now haunt the discussions and displays of so many adult doll collectors.  That's a real feat for a $20 play doll.  Perhaps this kind of inexpensive doll is exactly what people need when money is tight. On the other hand, perhaps an affinity for this kind of doll, with wave after wave of new and tantalizing release, ends up costing the same as an AvantGuard doll or a JAMIEshow model...dare I say even a BJD.  Whatever the case, Monster High dolls are creative, unique, highly collectible, full of personality and definitely worth a look.

Monster High dolls made their debut in 2010, not long after Liv dolls were first released (2009).  I remember being slightly irritated by their arrival on the scene.  Back then I was so excited about Liv dolls and their amazing articulation, and I was hoping they'd have big retail success.  Liv was exactly the type of play line doll that I wanted to see on the shelves.  I didn't like watching a Mattel doll steal Liv's thunder, especially because at first glance, the Monster High girls seemed very strange and vampy to me...pretty much the opposite of Liv in most ways.

After being irritated for a while, I became gradually drawn in to the Monster High mania.  I would circle ever closer to the section of the toy aisle where those dolls were displayed (it is, after all, usually right next to the Liv section...).  I found myself picking up the boxes and examining the dolls up close.  I finally broke down and bought Clawdeen Wolf, using some lame excuse like, well, I don't have any dolls with wolf ears yet.  There are definitely things about these dolls that I don't like, and yet my overwhelming feeling towards them is very positive.  But...I am getting ahead of myself.

There are tons of new and exciting Monster High releases that I want to cover at some point, and so this entry will serve as an overview.  I will, however, de-box a doll so that I can go over packaging and accessories.  I will de-box "Physical Deaducation" Ghoulia Yelps and also her "Comic Book Club" outfit:

Monster High Physical Deaduction Ghoulia Yelps.

Monster High Review: The Meowlody and Purrsephone Sister Set

There's been a lot of Monster High excitement lately, at least in my house.  Do you remember back in January when I mentioned that Meowlody and Purrsephone went up for pre-order on Toys R Us for about 5 seconds?  Well, I pre-ordered the set then, but didn't actually believe they'd ever come.  I mean, the whole Monster High availability thing has been strange, don't you think?  In fact, I'd love to collect data on this.  Which dolls are showing up where?  Here in Maine, we have a lot of Skull Shores dolls, and that's about it. The Sweet 1600 dolls were easy to find for about three weeks and have now disappeared.  There was one huge shipment of Nefera DeNile and Operetta, and then nothing since.  I have still only seen two of the original Abbey Bominables in the store and have never seen a single Cupid.  I think I'll start a new poll about this.  The old poll revealed that 62% of you think JAMIEshow Lee looks best without a wig, which is pretty definitive, so I think we're ready for a new poll.

Anyway, out of the blue, the feline twins arrived yesterday.  I have not seen them in stores here yet, so I am glad I pre-ordered.  I was a bit nervous about ordering these online, though, since hand-picking a Monster High doll is significantly safer than buying one sight unseen.  Still, I figured it would be educational to see the quality level of a random sample.  Here they are:

Monster High Meowlody and Purrsephone gift set.

Monster High "Clawdeen Wolf" Pen

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone welcomed 2014 safely and merrily.  I thought I would start this year of reviews by sharing something small and fun that I found at Toys R Us the other day.  As many of you know, I love miniature things.  One of my dreams is to have a big Victorian dollhouse (like the ones I saw in Arizona...) filled with all kinds of wonderful, detailed tiny accessories.  I also get a huge kick out of small versions of larger dolls, so I'm a softy for things like the American Girl mini dolls, the old Liv Happy Meal toys, Annette Himstedt's club Kleine dolls, and mini Pullip and Blythe dolls.

When I first glimpsed the Monster High pens at Toys R Us, I have to say, I got pretty excited.  I wasn't even aware of these toys, so it was a big surprise to see them hanging there on the shelf.  After doing some reading online, I discovered that these pens have actually been available in Europe since 2012.  Perhaps they've been for sale in the United States, too, but I had never seen anything like them here in Maine.  Initially, I assumed that the dolls were miniature figurines, and I was slightly disappointed to learn that they are ball point pens (I imagine myself getting ink everywhere...).  However, when I saw that they are dressed like the first wave Monster High dolls, my enthusiasm was renewed.  First wave Clawdeen Wolf is my favorite Monster High doll, and I love the idea of having a miniature version of her--pen or not.

First wave Clawdeen Wolf and Clawdeen Wolf the pen.