But anyway, I was that kind of kid who loved both fashion dolls and Halloween. Spooky lite, basically; vampires and ghosts and Frankenstein monsters, but on the Scooby Doo level. I wish that Monster High had been around back then, because I would have gone nuts.
The Monster High franchise, for the uninitiated, is one of the latest doll franchises owned by Mattel, the makers of Barbie. The idea behind the whole shebang is that Monster High is a safe haven for the teenaged children of the monsters, ghouls, and creepy crawlies that haunt the silver screen and history books. The main characters of the franchise are the children of the classic Universal Monsters, but there are characters descended from other legendary and mythological creatures, as well. It's very comprehensive, which allows for a large cast and lots of dolls.
There is a web cartoon series and direct-to-home video movies made to support the franchise, and many of the doll lines are based off of these tie-ins. This particular doll is made as a tie in to the web cartoon episode "Franken Styled." The main characters, "the Ghoulfriends," can barely contain their excitement over Picture Day, with the exception of our plucky heroine Frankie, who just doesn't get it. One sleepover and lots of fabulously freaky fashions later, they're all decked out and ready for their close-ups! The dolls in this line are dressed up in the same outfits that the ghouls chose. (It's kind of fun to watch the cartoon and spot the various doll lines. "Hey! So the Ghoul Spirit line was based off of THIS episode!" It's the little things, I suppose.)
Thanks to that pesky budget of mine, I'm limited in the amount of toys I can have. So I've decided to pick one of each of the doll characters that I love the most. Frankie Stein is my favorite MH character, followed by Draculaura. After a lot of waiting, I finally decided to bite and just pick up a doll already. I'm still looking for a Draculaura that I like, so I decided to just grab Frankie for now. So let's take a look at her.
To start off with, I picked up Miss Frankie Stein here at my local Target for approximately $23. That seems to be the going rate for most of the dolls, with the exception of some of the multi-packs and whatnot. According to the Monster High wiki (which is an excellent source for further information, by the way), the Picture Day dolls were released in two waves. Frankie Stein was part of the second wave, released in mid April of last year. I've never worked in toy retail, so I don't know if the fact that I could find this Frankie on the shelves one year later indicates that Mattel is still producing this line, or that the rest of the dolls didn't sell well. (Shrugs.)
The boxes are well-designed and asymmetrical, which I find to be very interesting. The cut-out in the window is stylized to look like a coffin, and is just one of the many visual gags and puns (check out the stitched-up hearts on the bottom!). The box is colored in black, white, and turquoise blue, which are Frankie's signature colors (along with yellow). You can see Frankie's name and her fearbook picture (Looks like a bad hair day, huh, Frankie?) down at the bottom; the subtitle identifying her as the daughter of Frankenstein has been omitted, unlike most of her other releases. The blurb on the box is totally Frankie: "I'm amped up for picture day!"
Did I mention that there are lots of puns and gags? Because there are. I'll probably remind you some more later, because they'll keep popping up.
Anyway, the back of the box has the rest of her bio, along with some of her friends' fearbook pictures. I love that Draculaura doesn't show up in photos; only her clothes do. It's a nice touch.
Now it's time to rescue Frankie from her cardboard prison. She's rubber banded in there good. There are slots at the top, bottom, and one side of the box, and you can kind of swing it open like a book. This is unlike some boxes where you can open the side and pull out the doll because it's attached to an insert. So if you're hoping to save the box, you'll need to be very careful (and not get your hopes up). Frankie's hair is rubber-banded to the box as well, which I hate; I always think I'll end up cutting her hair off by accident.
There were a few variations of Frankie available at Target, but I decided to pick this doll because she was somewhat basic. I can put her in all types of outfits and have it look good, plus her hair is easy to deal with. I also like that it's all salt-and-pepper, as opposed to some versions that toss in color streaks. I also like her makeup, which was a big hurdle. I'm not crazy about red lipstick on dolls, and was looking for something slightly more neutral. Frankie's hot pink lipstick is way bolder than I would have preferred, but it'll do.
Free at last! Now let's have a look at her. Monster High dolls are about as tall as normal fashion dolls, but are far more articulated. They're basically like ball-jointed dolls. You can even remove their hands, which is sometimes necessary to dress them. Frankie is articulated at the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, and knee joints. Her thighs seem bizarrely short in comparison with her hugely long calves, but she's a monster, so I guess it works.
Her skin color is a very pale mint green; it looks much greener here due to the green tablecloth. Her hair is a salt-and-pepper mix, which I suppose is an homage to her mother, the Bride of Frankenstein. It's done up in a high ponytail, and is very soft to the touch. Her hair brushes nicely, but she sheds everywhere! Her bangs are much, much stiffer, with lots of product. She also has hetero-chromatic eyes, but that is due to the fact that she is a "creation," made up of multiple dead bodies. Just like dear old dad! Appropriately enough, Frankie also has various stitches, scars, staples, and her trademark neck bolts. It's not hard to figure out what type of monster she is.
Frankie's makeup is coordinated with her outfit, as well. She has thick mascara, with blue and sparkly yellow eyeshadow. Her lipstick is a hot pink and is much bolder than the softer pink shown on the box artwork. It still works, and sort of serves as the focal point. Your eyes can't help but be drawn to her lips. Probably her intention. ;)
She's dressed in the adorable outfit that she picked out in "Franken Styled," which suits her very well. Frankie is decked out in a striped one-piece dress with an argyle-pattern ruffle at the waist, and lightning bolt accents in the design. Over top the dress is a cropped turquoise pleather jacket. She accessorizes with a yellow Skullette belt, bangles, earrings that look like the tops of screws, and these amazing little multi-toned pumps.
I want to give a brief shout-out to these shoes. Monster High characters always have the most amazing shoes, and they are usually themed to the character. These pumps are tri-toned, with lightning bolts on the toe, and bolts painted on the heels.
The entire outfit is done in Frankie's signature colors, which go amazingly well with her hair. She also comes with a tri-colored handbag (with a safety pin for a handle!), a turquoise trapper keeper, her fearbook, and a standard brush and stand.
Frankie is pretty sturdy, and it actually took some effort on my part to pull out her hands and arms, so this is a doll that can probably stand up to a lot of playtime. I shudder to think of how quickly her neck bolts might snap off, though; unlike her earrings, they are not removable. She doesn't come with a whole lot of small accessories, which can be good if you are the type of person (or your household is the type of household) who loses things easily. Obviously not a toy that you want around small children because of the small parts, of course, so I'd recommend this more for ages 6 and up.
If you get tired of Frankie's outfit, you can also dress her in any other Monster High doll outfit, since they're all the same size. Mattel also sells fashion packs of extra outfits. I'll have to dig out my old Barbie and see if Frankie can wear their clothes. I'm thinking they might be too baggy, given how small her torso is. She definitely can't wear Barbie shoes, since her feet are much bigger.
I'm very satisfied with my Frankie doll; she's both well made and pretty. If you're interested in Monster High and would like to start collecting, I'll point out that there are tons of doll lines within the franchise, and the main characters have multiple iterations, so it can get overwhelming. If you'd like to dip your toes into the franchise, I'd suggest picking up either one of the budget dolls without a stand (they usually retail for about $15), or a basic styled doll like this one, to try it out. Hit up the Monster High wiki, since it has information about the characters and the many doll versions so you can see what you like best. I'll probably pick up a few more characters; I'll have to take my time to go over the different versions.
Miss Scarlett Suggests: Check out the Picture Day line for a great introduction to the Monster High doll line!
