Line #53 YMMV/MonsterHigh


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4	* AluminumChristmasTrees:
5	** Bonita's colors may seem odd and like another needlessly girly palette for a decidedly un-girly creature, but they're based on the real-life rosy maple moth, which is just as pink and yellow as she is.
6	** The only real monstrous aspect of Peri and Pearl Serpentine is the fish elements, as dicephalic conjoined twins can and do exist, with Brittany and Abigail Hensel being a famous case of the phenomenon.
7	* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: The franchise itself has surprised a lot of people, since a line of fashion dolls including monsters of all kinds, and having unusual body parts wasn't expected to sell so well.
8	* {{Anvilicious}}: Racism and bigotry are bad, and you should accept those who are different from you. Come 2015-16, there's also the message to avoid cyberbullying. Considering MH's main demographic is young girls, that anvil really needs to be dropped.
9	* AudienceAlienatingEra: The franchise, along with its spinoff Ever After High, hit this in the mid-2010s. In general, toys began switching from fashion dolls to small BlindBagCollectables, which left doll makers in trouble. Monster High and Ever After High ended up switching to a more "budget" style, using cheaper materials, decreasing the moveability of the dolls, and reusing accessories. Monster High also underwent a contentious reboot in 2016 which took a LighterAndSofter approach, making the faces more gentle, the outfits more modest and bright, and the bodies less skinny in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, as well as shifting the core cast. This just alienated the existing fanbase who signed on for the edgy, creepy style and weren't as concerned with school-appropriate attire or realistic bodies and liked the cast setup as it was. These changes to both toylines ultimately ended up getting both series cancelled. Eventually, Monster High ended up with a reboot in 2022; while contentious with fans for other reasons, it's generally considered to be a return to form compared to the "budget" re-tool.
10	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
11	** Gaga for Ghouls, an awesome fusion of the previous Fright Songs that sounds great but also serves as a reassurance that what made G1 great isn't gone from the reboot- it's just changed.
12	** A number of the songs from ''Boo York, Boo York'' count, but what might be the most popular is [[https://youtu.be/SBMtMUdFYi8 Empire]], an epic VillainSong for Nefera de Nile.
13	* CreepyCute: All versions feature this in spades, though G2 trends toward the "cute" side.
14	* DiagnosedByTheAudience:
15	** G1 Ghoulia seems to evoke both physical disability and neurodivergence, with her impeded zombie mobility and unintelligble speech making parallels to mobility-impaired and nonverbal people. Ghoulia's super-intelligence, special interests in geeky things, formal writing style, and struggle to be accepted for these functional aspects that she was born with all contribute further to the parallel and made her resonate on those lines with the audience.
16	** Jane Boolittle's portrayal, being a shy girl more used to animals than interpersonal relations, and using animal life as a metaphor to sort out the social dynamics of her peers, has been interpreted as reflective of autism or other socially-affecting neurodivergence.
17	** Viperine Gorgon's design makes a good case for the character having albinism, since her skin is the color of an albino snake, her eyes are pink, and her hair is mostly platinum, all visual hallmarks of the condition. Even her use of sunglasses corresponds, as people with albinism have weakened and more sensitive eyes. Despite this, Viperine has never been textually stated to have albinism and her shades are never indicated as anything but a style choice.
18	** Frankie in G3, in addition to their nonbinary and physical disability representation, has been read as neurodivergent, with their brain literally being wired differently due to being composed of multiple sources and their short time alive leading to them misunderstanding social cues. Frankie is also portrayed in the movie as more blunt and objective and stressed by social improvisation, and takes some things literally and gets agitated when they don't understand the metaphor, further making them feel like they invoke traits of autism.
19	** Cleo displays symptoms of [[UsefulNotes/PersonalityDisorders Histrionic Personality Disorder]], in G1 moreso than the other incarnations. She speaks in an [[{{Camp}} exaggerated manner]], seems very concerned about her appearance, acts confident but is insecure, is emotional and extroverted, and can be selfish at times although she’s a good person deep down. Plus, being stuck in a tomb with your BigSisterBully and strict, controlling father (many people with HPD report growing up with helicopter parents) for thousands of years, and after all of that, being constantly taunted by the person who could have saved you but chose not to would probably have some kind of psychological effect on you.
20	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
21	** Ghoulia has been largely the fan favorite since her first appearance, which still remains. Mattel themselves have zig-zagged the way they've acknowledged this. She got some exclusive collector dolls, but was cut from G2 altogether and downplayed and heavily changed in G3 as a secondary character...but Ghoulia was also the subject of the first exclusive doll offered only to the paid members of the Monster High Fang Club in 2023, suggesting that the character was downplayed for kids who didn't care for her in the main brand, but is still recognized as very popular for longtime adult fans.
22	** A small faction of Monster High fans seem to love the adorkable ragdoll, Hoodude Voodoo.
23	* FanficFuel: Several of the themed doll lines (practically all in G2) have no media tie-ins, providing plenty of material for writer fans to expand on. The Fright-Mares, too, as not every one matches up to an existing monster, providing OC fuel and fuel for story explanation for them.
24	* FanNickname: Sixties Chick and Scary Lou for Scarah, Lala for Draculaura, and [[Series/DinersDriveInsAndDives Guy Fieri]] for Heath.
25	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The franchise is quite popular in Japan, to the point of Mattel producing {{animesque}} flash shorts of it only available there.
26	** Monster High and its spinoff Ever After High are also quite big in Mexico, where the dolls are top sellers.
27	* LGBTFanbase: ''Monster High'' has resonated with queer audiences due to its fabulous and over-the-top distinctive fashions and campy storytelling with a strong message of diversity and acceptance for being atypical. The brand's initial creator, Garrett Sander, tried (unsuccessfully) to provide explicit queer representation in the characters in G1 and fans embraced his intent, and G3 ''MH'' finally canonizes queer characters with examples like G3 Frankie Stein being nonbinary and teased in a pairing with Cleo, and G3 Deuce having two moms. The brand's collaborations with outside celebrities have also felt queer-focused, with the first licensed celebrity collector doll being based on Music/LadyGaga, and Creator/TrixieMattel voicing an implicit drag-queen character in G3.
28	* {{Narm}}: The [[FantasticSlurs human-directed slur]] that monsters typically use is "normie". Even ignoring how silly it sounds on its own, it's actually a [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/normie real slang term]], the meaning of which, while often pejorative, is nowhere near as serious as a racial slur.
29	* QuestionableCasting: An unusual example, with the "actors" being the characters chosen for certain doll lines. Frequently, completely random characters will be included in themed lines, and often, thematically appropriate characters will be omitted from said lines. Just some examples:
30	** The ''13 Wishes'' line included a sound booth playset with a doll. Instead of the doll being Holt Hyde, the resident DJ, it is Spectra, the resident reporter.
31	** The TV special "Boo York, Boo York" introduces five teen characters: Elle, Astranova, Luna, Mouscedes, and Seth. Seth has by far the most plot relevance. He also is the only one without a doll, which could be put on him being a guy, but then he follows on the previous lines' Porter and Neighthan so that doesn't matter too much.
32	** ''Shriekwrecked'' is a line of the characters going on a pirate adventure. Does it include boat-knowledgeable characters like Operetta and Vandala? No. Does it include aquaphobic characters like Catrine and Rochelle? Yes.
33	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Half the complaints about G2 and G3, even on this page, just boil down to "why isn't it just like G1?"
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37	[[folder:[=G1=] Monster High]]
38	* {{Adorkable}}: Iris Clops. She's an avid fan of poetry and romanticism, with one of the cutest smiles on a cyclops girl you ever did see. The clumsiness also adds to the cuteness.
39	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
40	** Is Spectra just a know-it-all gossip with nothing better to do, or is her past so traumatic (and possibly [[TheAtoner guilt-ridden]]) that she blocked it out to the point of not actually remembering it and surrounds herself in the lives of others because of this?
41	** Are Holt's feelings for Frankie all of his own? Or are merely an extension of Jackson's feelings? While both do wish to be her boyfriend and fight over who should date her, it should be noted that Holt hasn't met Frankie until the party and he not only had a crush on her but he even knew her name, and this was after Jackson already had feelings for Frankie. And if the latter is true, this gives another question: How much connected are both personalities and how much influence they have over the other?
42	** An early point of discourse was: Does Draculaura still attend high school because she's still mentally a teenager, or because she desperately wants to be one? This later faded as the franchise added many more ReallySevenHundredYearsOld characters.
43	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The main reason the Lisi Harrison series didn't do as well as hoped. It was too mature for young readers, older readers weren't interested in books based on dolls, and it was too InNameOnly to attract already existing fans of Monster High. Plus, it couldn't evade numerous [[FollowTheLeader comparisons]] to Literature/TheTwilightSaga.
44	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The dolls, which are a CastOfSnowflakes and have very high quality designs.
45	** The Japanese shorts do a great job of adapting the character designs to anime despite the LimitedAnimation.
46	** Also, some of the movies have some really beautiful moments--Great Scarrier Reef, 13 Wishes and Freaky Fusion being standout examples.
47	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
48	** Fans are divided on the later edition of Astranova, which changed her skin from indigo to mauve for no discernible reason. Some prefer the original for film/artwork accuracy and resembling the night sky, and others like the softer, sweeter look of the later release.
49	** Isi Dawndancer, who contains design elements from multiple Native American tribes. Is she okay because she's more inclusive to a wide Native American market and the deer-woman legend is told by many tribes, or is she insensitive, homogenizing tribes without much care toward their traditions?
50	** The [[CatGirl werecat]] species. Some think they're the best dolls in the series, others think they're overused.
51	** [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Neighthan]]. Dear lord, [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies Neigh]][[{{Unicorn}} than]]. Whether or not he's interesting or a stalker. Whether or not he belongs with Frankie. Whether or not his character concept is creative or stupid. The boy's got influence!
52	** Frankie herself is one, mostly due to many adaptations making her TheGenericGuy (some even make her a FlatCharacter). In the reboot her personality change is more warmly received in which she's given a MadScientist streak similar to her grandfather Dr. Victor Frankenstein. But given this is the [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks reboot]] we're talking about an equal number if not great amount of fans resent her for taking the spot of "tech-geek" from fan-fave Ghoulia.
53	** Amanita Nightshade is a light case. While some fans like her design and think she's amusing in her own right, many seem to think of her as little more than a self-centered, useless addition to the franchise with an annoying voice and a color scheme that doesn't please the eye. There also seem to be fans who regard her as a disappointment altogether, whose interesting backstory and unique personality went to waste the second she appeared in the webisodes as little more than a ValleyGirl. Others feel that her dark and elegant design doesn't fit her shallow and petty personality.
54	* BrokenAesop: The main theme of Monster High is tolerance and acceptance, but that message falls flat when one looks at how [[FantasticRacism Jackson is treated.]] When he’s not being actively bullied, mistreated, or ignored for being a normie, people often trigger his shifts into Holt without his consent, or only invite him to things so Holt can DJ. Fans of the series, especially those with DID who relate to his dilemma, weren’t happy about how no one ever bothered to stand up for him or consider his feelings.
55	* BrokenBase:
56	** The design of the G1 doll bodies split opinions, with many finding the spindly skinniness to be appropriately stylized and appealing for a spooky horror-themed fashion doll line, but others, often parents, found the dolls to look alarming in their slenderness and felt they sent a poor body-image message due to their semi-real glamorous aesthetic. After G1, the mainline doll bodies became more robust likely to avoid these negative interpretations and to draw in parents who were turned away by the skinny bodies while the target demographic shifted younger.
57	** The accents and voice actors of the characters in G1 are divisive, especially Lagoona and Draculaura. Some are happy that underrepresented accents, such as Draculaura's Romanian accent and Lagoona's Australian, are spoken by main characters while others think the accents are over-exaggerated and sound nothing like the country they're supposed to be from.
58	** With voicing, there is also the issue of the majority of the characters of color being voiced by actors who don't match their race or ethnicity, with the question of whether their performances were fine or should have been cast to match. The most prominent case is with Cleo and Clawdeen--memorably and effectively voiced for many, but also awkward due to being a brown Egyptian and black American character, respectively...who are both voiced by the same white actress. G3's take on this problem seems to agree with G1's casting being flawed, as it makes a wide shift toward casting actors who match their diverse characters' backgrounds or at least fall in the same general sphere.
59	* CreepyAwesome: Some of the designs, like C.A. Cupid and Freak du Chic Twyla take advantage of darker gothic themes and pull it off really well, and some are ridiculously detailed and balance the strange well, like Gigi, Luna, Viperine, and Jinafire.
60	* CrossoverShip: Kieran Valentine gets shipped with Cupid sometimes, who has since transferred to ''Toys/EverAfterHigh.''
61	* DieForOurShip: Despite the franchise being all about accepting your "freaky flaws", many Frankie/Jackson shippers give a lot of hate towards Neighthan Rot (Frankie's love interest in the Freaky Fusion movie.) as well as Claire (Jackson's love interest in the Ghouls Rule movie.)
62	* {{Fanon}}: There are a few different theories about the characters that aren't outright supported nor denied.
63	** There are many racial/national headcanons for characters without explicit roots. Toralei and Gil could be Japanese due to the former's name (which is confirmed to be derived from "tora", ie "tiger") and the latter's wave prints. Elle's forehead button gets interpreted as a bindi. Lagoona and Kala are theorized to be Aboriginal Australians, possibly with Melanesian influence.Due to his name, Spelldon Cauldronello is thought to be Italian.
64	** Frankie is German, and is confirmed to be Bavarian in Electrified.
65	** Spectra and Sirena are German American due to the "von" in their names.
66	** Van Helscream and Lilith are most likely Dutch, and is justified by Van Helscream speaking with a Dutch accent.
67	** The Create-A-Monster Gorgon may be the daughter of the third sister, Euryale, since Medusa and Stheno's children are characters, and there's just one other Gorgon.
68	** Iris and Cy are related, possibly siblings. They've got the same last name, both green eyes, and they are of similar appearance (unlike the towering Simon Clops).
69	* FanonDiscontinuity: Most fans ignore the Lisi Harrison book series, due to it having taken serious liberties from the webisodes and diaries (it's basically a ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' knock-off), having a CanonForeigner as the protagonist, and putting the series' ''actual monsters'' OutOfFocus compared to her. Although the later books revealed Melody was a monster herself and was raised without this knowledge so she could pass, but the damage had been done. So, it ''tanked'', was cancelled after 4 volumes, and was replaced by the ''Ghoulfriends'' series (making it CanonDiscontinuity). Then there's the [[LicensedGame videogames]]. See TheProblemWithLicensedGames below.
70	* GeniusBonus:
71	** In "Frightday the 13th", when bad luck is striking everywhere, a horseshoe hanging over a door behind Heath is rattled by the passing of panicking students. Heath notices it get flipped so it's pointing up, as if it's about to fall on him, but it just flips back so it's pointing down. He breathes a sigh of relief, only for a crowd to rush out of the door, running over him. According to superstition, a horseshoe on a door pointing up brings good luck, but if it's pointing down, the luck is lost.
72	** When Nefera summons a miniature Cthulhu in the season two finale, it's defeated by the [[CatGirl werecats]]: cats were one of the few things Lovecraft actually liked.
73	* GirlShowGhetto: This has been pretty well averted, due to the genuinely-spooky horror appeal attracting fans of all ages and genders, and for having better male representation than in many other girl-targeted franchises. G2 may play it straighter, depending on how you see the changes.
74	* HarsherInHindsight:
75	** Kala Mer'ri in ''Great Scarrier Reef'' was only such a bully because her father the Kraken was so loathed and feared. This insecurity made her controlling and competitive, and she turns around when she realizes that she and her father will be accepted. A year later, Rochelle's Shriek Wrecked outfit features a headband of a ship being attacked by the Kraken. Guess somebody didn't get the memo...
76	** On the same note, Vandala Doubloons' dress features ships being attacked by tentacles.
77	** Even worse, "We Are Monster High" Lagoona's dress has an abstract print of a Kraken attack. It's especially bad in her case, as Lagoona was Kala's best friend, and this anti-Kraken attitude made Kala push Lagoona away without her knowing Kala's parentage and insecurities.
78	* HilariousInHindsight:
79	** Mrs. Kindergrubber, the Home Ick teacher, is based on the witch from Hansel and Gretel. Not long afterward, Ever After High introduced Ginger Breadhouse, the daughter of said fairy tale's candy witch.
80	** Honey Swamp's Freak du Chic performance is a marionette trapeze act, and so her doll comes with puppet strings and floppy legs and wrists. Soon afterward, [[Toys/EverAfterHigh another Mattel puppet character]] got a cross-and-strings setup for her 2016 SDCC release.
81	** The fusion dolls. Cleolei has molded-on bandage detailing, and Lagoonafire has Jinafire's scales. The reboot would later give Cleo similar molded bandages and Lagoona gets some scales.
82	** "Scarily Ever After" features Clawdeen as "Little Red Riding Wolf". MH's sister franchise would feature a similar "Wolf-girl as Red Riding Hood" dynamic with Cerise Hood, daughter of Red and the Big Bad Wolf.
83	** What's the FantasticSlur used against humans by monsters? "Normies". The word is probably more associated now with superior Internet users, as the term online refers to people who don't belong to certain online cultures or aren't familiar with the Internet.
84	** Wydowna Spider's name is a goofy pun reference to the actress Winona Ryder. Much later, in 2021, MH would make a doll actually ''based on'' Ryder with the Skullector Lydia Deetz being merchandise of a character Ryder famously played.
85	** Lagoona Blue's Beach Beasties doll, released in early 2013, would several months later come to heavily resemble Viperine Gorgon, who debuted in November that year. Viperine's signature look had most of the 1970s bohemian style accents (center-parted hair, a ring hairband made of some creature, huge rounded translucent shades, and an outfit with ruffles and pastel pink and blue paisley patterns) that the Lagoona doll did. Post-''Freaky Fusion'', the Lagoona doll now looks only a couple of steps removed from a hypothetical "Vipergoona" fusion design!
86	* HoYay: In the film ''Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love?'', some students end up falling for students of the same gender when hit by Cupid's arrows while Toralei was causing trouble with them, including Manny and Slo-Mo. Also, in the Harrison series, Lagoona and Clawdeen exchange some suggestive lines and casually mention that if they can't find boyfriends they'll date each other.
87	* JerkassWoobie: Assuming it wasn't a case of UnreliableNarrator from either her or Spectra, then "The Nine Lives of Toralei" reveals that Toralei is this; she was born the runt of her litter and had to fight her siblings for scraps of food, she had to watch as all of them got adopted except for her, and she had to turn to dirty tactics to survive on the streets -- tactics that eventually landed her in prison, at least until Headmistress Bloodgood found her and offered her a better life at Monster High. It goes a long way towards explaining her nasty, competitive behavior.
88	* LarynxDissonance: Jackson and Holt were both voiced by a woman, and it's noticeable. It's especially distracting in a cast where every other male student is seamlessly voiced by a male voice actor--the cast is old enough for the boys to be voiced by men, so the two who aren't stick out.
89	* {{Moe}}: Basically every female character qualifies due to their CuteMonsterGirl natures, but some are standouts. Frankie is a NaiveNewcomer StockShoujoHeroine, Draculaura is a GenkiGirl FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire who wears pink and has GirlishPigtails, and Ghoulia is a [[BespectacledCutie glasses-wearing]] CuteMute [[CuteClumsyGirl Clumsy Girl]].
90	* MoralEventHorizon: Nefera De Nile has always been a nasty combination of AlphaBitch, RoyalBrat and BigSisterBully, but her actions in ''Boo York, Boo York'' stand out. [[spoiler:Trying to manipulate Cleo into an ArrangedMarriage for her own gain may be what's expected of Nefera, but convincing their father to pick her sister over her for the prospective bride because ''she'' didn't want to have to be promised to the "weird" Seth Ptolemy? Not even with [[GoldDigger riches and power]] on the line?]] Yeah, not cool.
91	* {{Narm}}: The ending of ''13 Wishes''. Howleen wishes for Whisp to take Gigi's place, and she gratefully enters the lantern, awaiting her first service. Said lantern then tumbles unceremoniously into the depths of the pool, with the justification that the lantern will return when it wants to be found. Yeah, the resolution [[PutOnABus required Whisp to get out of the picture]], but couldn't the lantern have faded away to get rid of it?
92	** In the video game ''New Ghoul In School'' characters usually only have [[WelcomeToCorneria a few lines]] outside of story events. This becomes narmy when late in the story, they say these casual lines despite being BrainwashedAndCrazy during the main story.
93	* NoYay: Some fans are opposed to Clawd/Draculaura, because he's so much taller and feels too old for her, despite the opposite being true. [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood Wolves haven't had a great reputation with innocent girls]], either, so that may contribute to the discomfort.
94	** This also goes the other way where some fans are more than a little creeped out by how Clawd even mentions that he knew her since he was only a pup. Added to that that she's 1600 years old, despite both being monsters, it still doesn't make fans any less uncomfortable. If the genders were reversed, it probably wouldn't have been approved.
95	* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: New Ghoul In School, the game for the Platform/Nintendo3DS, Platform/WiiU, Platform/{{Xbox}}, and Platform/PS3, fixes a lot of the problems the older games have, has a unique story, and has way more customization.
96	* PeripheryDemographic: Many adults wish they had something like this out when they were young instead of {{Franchise/Barbie}} or Franchise/{{Bratz}}. It's also popular with adult fans of {{cute monster\|Girl}}s and horror fans.
97	* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: While, as mentioned on the main page, there are bits of story not seen elsewhere, the game for Platform/{{Wii}} and Platform/NintendoDS is seen as [[ItsEasySoItSucks too easy]], [[ItsShortSoItSucks too short]], the graphics look no better than a Platform/Nintendo64 game, limited choices to customize your monster character, and the fact that interaction with certain characters from the toyline can be limited at best. Fans were disappointed as a result of this.
98	* TheScrappy:
99	** Melody from the book series. Since the books bombed, [[TakeThatScrappy we haven't seen her since their cancellation.]]
100	* SeasonalRot: In later volumes, the webisodes shied away from arcs and character development and usually paraded out new merchandise additions with a lot less plausible context.
101	* {{Shipping}}: Some examples are [[OneTrueThreesome Frankie, Holt and Jackson]], Frankie and [[OneShotCharacter Andy Beast]], [[ChildhoodFriends Draculaura and Elissabat]].
102	* SoBadItsGood: The movies are full of this trope. The plots are silly, the characters are vague, the humor is incredibly cheesy, they're full of {{anvilicious}} "accepting others" morals...but they're just so goofy and fun it's nearly impossible to hate them.
103	* StrangledByTheRedString: Billy and Scarah's relationship, with practically no build-up and no follow-up, feels like a case of PairTheSpares. It's especially annoying, because yet again a male character has been turned into one of the ghouls' love interests, rather than being unteased, which implies that all guys need to have relationships.
104	* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: Spectra's Japanese voice (at least in the anime shorts) has been very well received to the point where many fans favor it over her English one.
105	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: While ''Ghouls Rule'' isn't considered outright ''bad'' (just very flawed), it's generally agreed that ''13 Wishes'' was a vast improvement over it.
106	** ''Freaky Fusion'' is considered this to ''Frights Camera Action!''.
107	* TearJerker: Gooliope's diary includes the note her creator left with her when he sent her to the circus. On it is a big pink spot. It may just seem like a result of her gooey fingers, but considering the note's contents, ''that's a teardrop''.
108	** Jackson pacing back and forth in front of Cleo's house, trying to get up the courage to go in. It hits surprisingly hard, especially if you've ever been bullied. He looks completely miserable as he mumbles "Nobody wants you there" to himself. Jackson seems to have a pretty sad life in general, really.
109	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: This became a thing after 2012, starting with the ''Scaris: City of Frights'' cast. Special mention goes to Catrine [=DeMew=], although her being relatively early meant that she did get some belated attention in the final years.
110	** Many of the special-introduced characters fall under this, since most are never or rarely seen after their debut movies.
111	** Venus, Wydowna, and the mansters tend to fall under this in the animated material, with Venus' only identity being "eco-freak", Wydowna getting only TV special cameo appearances, and the guys' most important role being "love interests for the ghouls".
112	** Jane Boolittle was meant to help promote the pet-themed merchandise line. The line didn't do well and Jane got little attention outside of this context.
113	** Gilda Goldstag was a background character popular enough to be made into a physical doll. How was she released? In a five-pack without a stand or diary, and nothing was done to develop her as a character and bring her out of the background.
114	** Casta Fierce was introduced as something of a "sequel" to Catty Noir. She got two webisodes, a booklet only containing art (which earlier happened to Catrine), and a music video using animation from the webisodes. That's it.
115	** Although Dayna's treatment is to blame on the reboot and she'd likely have gotten a diary and webisodes like Gooliope before had ''Shriekwrecked'' been developed into the full deal, fact is that didn't happen and nothing was done to make up for the gap.
116	** The Lady Gaga partnership has practically no involvement from Gaga herself. Granted, she was working on ''Joanne'' at the time, but it feels wasted to have a music video starring her character but not her vocals.
117	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
118	** With both being marketed as daughters of the Mothman, Bonita Femur and Luna Mothews would be half-sisters. This is never touched upon or acknowledged. It's possibly been retconned as later fiction only lists Bonita's father as "a" moth.
119	** Spectra's backstory is hinted in her original doll's diary to be incredibly tragic, yet the only thing revealed about her past since then is that she's from the 19th century.
120	** Isi's friendship with fellow deer-girl Gilda would have been a great way to upgrade the latter from background status in the webisodes, but despite having a doll, Gilda never got an expanded role.
121	** Gooliope's backstory is mysterious and interesting, but we haven't found out much. Same goes with Jane and Cupid.
122	** Thanks to the reboot, the hinted crossover between ''Monster High'' and ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' was canceled...until [[https://www.amazon.com/Monster-High-Ever-After-Legend/dp/0316352829 this book]] came along. Even then, if the description is anything to go by, the only Monster High characters prominently featured are Frankie and Draculaura.
123	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: The CGI animation until the reboot. To elaborate, the CGI character models look almost exactly like the dolls, only animated. This even leads into some degree of canon discontinuity; for example, Operetta's hair is simplified in the webisodes yet totally on-model to the doll in the specials. The CGI gets a ''little'' better as time goes on.
124	* UnfortunateCharacterDesign: [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81DyEpEVqTL._SL1500_.jpg Catty Noir]] was meant to resemble a black cat, but her bright pink lips against black skin has been criticized for looking more like a {{blackface}} caricature. G3 somewhat tones down the resemblance by making her lips darker.
125	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The original dolls (such as signature Cleo) had keyboard phones, as the touchscreen revolution hadn't happened yet.
126	* ValuesDissonance: The closed captioning on the ''Ghouls Rule'' DVD censors all use of the word "spaz". This is presumably because [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch it's an ableist slur in Britain]], despite being seen as a perfectly kid-safe "silly" insult in North America (though this has been changing in the years since ''Ghouls Rule'').
127	* VanillaProtagonist: Tried though they did, Frankie never seemed as characterful as her friends, and her problems/subplots were less interesting.
128	* TheWoobie:
129	** Abbey in her first days at Monster High. Her cultural differences (such as sparing words to save oxygen) come across as rude, and she's genuinely heartbroken when she thinks Frankie doesn't like her. She is also upset about their mutual misunderstanding [[note]]Toralei starting a snowball fight between them, with their punishment to stay together all day[[/note]] and it makes her think Frankie's kindness is false. It's only when Abbey rushes to the bathroom in tears that they overhear Toralei's gloating and realize what happened.
130	** Gigi in ''13 Wishes'' once Whisp shows up. Once Howleen is corrupted, Gigi's powers are abused against her will, with her own sister and former friend being behind it all, and Gigi herself unable to disobey or intervene.
131	** Jackson Jekyll, the only human at a school for monsters, is continually bullied and ostracized. Frankie and Deuce are the only monsters seen being nice to him, and everyone else only talks to him because they want Holt to DJ at a party. Holt also qualifies in Ghouls Rule, where he's almost publicly executed for a crime he didn't commit, and at one point is straight up locked in a cage.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:[=G2=] Monster High]]
135	* AudienceAlienatingEra: For many existing fans, the G2 reboot fell flat. The line had been popular mainly because the dolls were darker and weirder than other girls' toys, and many feel that softening the faces to make the monsters "less scary and more approachable" completely defeats the purpose of the line, as they now look more generic. It doesn't help that the old tagline [[note]]Be yourself. Be unique. Be a monster.[[/note]] has been replaced, seemingly highlighting the dolls' own dilution. Furthermore, the proliferation of gimmicky dolls and cheaper dolls with lower amounts of articulation and fabric clothing did nothing to flatter the brand in the eyes of fans, as they made the younger target audience more obvious and delivered toys that little resembled the brand at its peak.
136	* GeniusBonus: Cleo's G2 age is 3357, which would mean she was born in 1341 B.C., a year shared with the birth of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
137	* HoYay: For a number of fans, Ari Hauntington and Draculaura in the 2016 reboot. Drac's obsession of Ari is a borderline StalkerWithACrush reminiscent of the stereotypical boyband brand of rapid fan girls. Plus, Ari's change of hairstyle towards the end of the movie feels like an AmbiguouslyGay metaphor of sorts. Mainstream masses may not get it [[{{Applicability}} but the minority underground sure understand the symbolism of the change]].
138	** Moanica could be gay due to the fact that so far, she's only kidnapped girls, and you could argue that she doesn't just want hostages, she is a yandere who wants a girlfriend.
139	* ImprovedSecondAttempt: Overall, nobody would call G2 better than G1 due to its tonal changes and budget decreases, but there were aspects of the dolls that had merit and favor.
140	** The doll characters overall got more sculpted detail to exemplify their monster types better after their G1 body details were notably minimal or they had entirely vanilla sculpts. Cleo got sculpted-on mummy bandages to make her feel more like a monster, since her dolls looked very human before, Clawdeen and Abbey got sculpted-on fur at their wrists and ankles, suiting their species and displaying a fun sense of embracing atypical features, Lagoona got some scale texture, Toralei got a painted cat nose, and plain-bodied Venus got some vines sculpted on her, a feature which felt especially absent on her after Honey Swamp was released with a vine-covered sculpt. All of these body details added in G2 have been retained for the characters' G3 designs.
141	** The G2 bodies are sturdier than the bodies from G1 in both joints and some details. The pegs are less fragile and thin, and Lagoona and Gil, who had flimsy paint jobs to give them semi-translucent limbs and hands, were reworked so they didn't have the same risk of paint damage.
142	* ReplacementScrappy: Due to Monster High's reboot marketing putting Spectra and Ghoulia OutOfFocus while heavily promoting [[RememberTheNewGuy Moanica and Ari Hauntington]], some people regard the latter two as SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitutes. It doesn't help that Moanica's first name is the same as Ghoulia's older sister's from the books and Ari's last name is Spectra's preliminary last name (minus the "Von"). Despite Mattel's promise that no characters would be retired, that ultimately came across as empty PR, as G2 fizzled out without ever reintroducing many missing staple characters, including Ghoulia and Spectra. Personality-wise, there's also been accusations of them replacing Toralei and Catty (Moanica taking the former's place as the resident AlphaBitch, Ari taking the latter's as the resident friendly pop star); while the two werecats didn't disappear completely, they were pretty much DemotedToExtra.
143	** To a lesser extent, the introduction of vampire princess Fangelica Van Bat did not go over well with fans of vampire princess Elissabat.
144	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Frankie to some, as she now has a more defined personality, but others resent that she rips traits from Ghoulia, possibly to the point of Ghoulia being canned during G2 in order to beef up Frankie's role.
145	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
146	** In 2016, Mattel rebooted Monster High to be LighterAndSofter. Due to Mattel's poor track record with this sort of thing, which even caused some franchises to [[{{Cancellation}} get the hammer]], some fans started foretelling the doom of the franchise and lambasting the new looks. The reboot itself was short-lived and poorly received, seeming to prove the fans right.
147	** Another problem with the reboot is the extreme cost-cutting measures, such as the lack of stands, an inclusion that was widely appreciated before, and the absence of diaries to provide more backstory. In some cases articulation has even been reduced. The worst part? The dolls still cost the same as they did when they came out- actually perhaps a bit more in some cases.
148	*** For example, compare the G1 [[https://dollnerd.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/gno-002.jpg Ghoul's Night Out]] four-pack with the G2 [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A10JC19xV%2BL._AC_SL1500_.jpg Ice Scream]] four-pack. These both cost the ''same'' on release.
149	** Great as the new molded details are, they also allow Mattel to skip on applying paint. This is most notable in Frankie, who now has molded stitches but more often than not in the color of her skin. Cleo's bandages aren't painted either.
150	** The shift toward unremovable joints is frustrating enough for fans because it limits the clothes that dolls can wear (everything needs to have sleeves large enough for the hands to go through), but the fact that the new joint system created gappy and obvious joints on the relatively seamless dolls of before just adds insult to injury.
151	** Some think the addition of previously-unseen siblings to the characters is lazy and outright jarring for the characters who have no backstory that allows for the sudden appearance of one, especially if you're still trying to link G1 and G2 or think G2 should be the same as G1. Lagoona has lots of siblings and so does Clawdeen, and Frankie's sister was clearly built at a presumably recent time, but Draculaura and Cleo? No reason.
152	** The greatly reduced presence of a canon to the line, making it obvious that it's just about the toys now. Granted, the webisodes were getting less meaningful by the end of G1, but now there's no real exploration of story beyond the yearly movies.
153	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: G1 didn't do so hot in the later years, but G2 dropped the ball from the start, largely owing to the diaries and other text bits being removed.
154	** Ari Hauntington got DemotedToExtra before she could develop. At launch, Ari was heavily promoted as part of the main cast, appearing alongside them in the "Meet"-webisodes, in artwork, and in the very first wave of the G2 Signature line. She had a decent role in ''Welcome to Monster High'', a so-so role in ''Electrified'', and then appeared only once in ''Adventures of the Ghoul Squad'' as part of a B-plot. She's also clearly not a main choice for inclusion in the doll lines after her initial inclusion.
155	** Moanica D'Kay had less promotion by numbers than Ari, but she did get better roles in the TV specials. However, she hasn't been seen since ''Electrified''.
156	** Raythe is a part of G2 received well even by nay-sayers. However, following a decent role in ''Welcome to Monster High'', he (along with Deuce) has been reduced to one-note comic relief whose initial interest in Clawdeen has vanished.
157	** Silvi Timberwolf got a B-role in ''Electrified'' and hasn't been heard from since.
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder:[=G3=] Monster High]]
161	* CommonKnowledge: One of the more common criticisms thrown at G3 by detractors is that they lightened Clawdeen's skin tone across the whole line, but [[https://storygirl000.tumblr.com/post/697279204236165120 a cursory comparison]] of her G1 and G3 dolls shows that they have the same skin tone. This misconception likely stemmed from complaints about how Clawdeen's actress in the live-action movies was lighter-skinned than the character, which eventually warped into "G3 Clawdeen is lighter than the original".
162	* ContestedSequel: The biggest point of contention in regards to [=G3=] is whether or not it's worse than, just as good as, or better than [=G1=] was; about the only thing that's agreed upon is that it's at least better than [[AudienceAlienatingEra G2]].
163	* CriticalBacklash: The ''massive'' TheyChangedItNowItSucks reactions to this gen have led to some fans defending it, pointing out that it's ridiculous to automatically assume that something will be bad just because they changed a few things. And after its release, people who ended up actually liking it (or at least found it inoffensive) wondered what all the fuss was about in the first place.
164	* {{Fanon}}: With Frankie being confirmed to be nonbinary, some fans have been trying to come up with a [[PunnyName punny]] version of the term to fit with similar puns that have been used in the franchise (namely, girls being referred to as "ghouls" and boys as "mansters"). Examples that have [[https://storygirl000.tumblr.com/post/688522286143324160/all-of-these-are-valid popped up]] include "nonbitenary" and "nonboonary".
165	* ImprovedSecondAttempt: G3 is still contested compared to G1, but it has earned some favor in some regards, and is certainly seen as an improved take on ''rebooting'' the franchise, as opposed to G2.
166	** In terms of being favorable to G1, G3 has shown better diversity and cultural sensitivity, with the cast having different body types, more complex ethnic/racial backgrounds being represented, queer characters being established and visible in the cast, and non-American cultural depictions being less objectified and overplayed than they had been in G1 (as well as being more accurate in some ways, like Abbey being more authentically depicted as ethnically Himalayan).
167	** In terms of being favorable to G2, the reboot is largely more accepted over it due to not shooing out edge and maturity as much as G2 was heavily criticized for--while G3 isn't as dark as G1, G3 still embraces horror and depicts its characters with more maturity than G2 and retains detailed fashion styles that define the cast better. G3 being a clean fresh start in terms of continuity with a clear mission to reimagine the universe has also been respected, since G2's indecisive relation to the G1 canon created alienating narrative confusion and clearer tonal dissonance between G1 and G2. G3 has also, seemingly pointedly, stuck primarily with a cast of characters who originated in G1, with a few new-for-G3 characters being introduced but not yet placed in the main cast or marketed as dolls, and no G2-debuting characters in evidence within G3's continuity. One of the biggest criticisms of G2 came from the sense that it created ReplacementScrappy characters and altered the main cast and doll lineup to the detriment of previously-established and popular characters.
168	** Within the doll line, visual evolutions have occurred that seem to directly respond to prior waves and intentionally bring in more G1 visual traits and hallmarks to be more loyal to the older brand. The second major wave of dolls including the Monster Ball line and Skulltimate Secrets Series 2 demonstrated that G3 can pull off elegant and mature designs like G1's. In another aspect of this phenomenon, some of the "refresh" signature-v2 designs of the core characters display this for fans of the G1 style as these takes on the dolls visibly push the characters' designs closer to G1. Signature-v2 Draculaura is an overall reimagining of G1 signature, down to the outfit, lipstick, and pigtails, and signature-v2 Clawdeen's base hair color is a true brown like her G1 version, rather than pale lilac.
169	* ShipToShipCombat: This was the inevitable result of taking Cleo and Deuce -- who were a long-lived couple in the prior two generations -- and pairing them off with different people. Since Deuce/Clawdeen has few defenders (as it's not only working against the Cleo/Deuce shippers, but also years of [[ApprovalOfGod creator-supported]] headcanons that Clawdeen's a lesbian), most of the combat is between fans of Cleo/Deuce and fans of Cleo/Frankie.
170	* TaintedByThePreview: A number of fans were put off by [=G3=] once information on the live-action movie started coming out, being vocal in their dislike of the changes made.
171	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: To say that long-time fans of the franchise have been having this reaction to [=G3=] would be a bit of an understatement. Nearly every new change announced was hit with backlash -- from the AdaptationPersonalityChange and design changes made to several characters (most notably Clawdeen and Draculaura for the former and Lagoona and Deuce for the latter) to the changes to the setting's lore to the potential absence of fan-favorite characters (with fans of Jackson Jekyll/Holt Hyde being especially vocal about their worries that [[spoiler:Mr. Komos/Eddy Hyde]] would replace them) to long-time couple Cleo and Deuce being broken up.
172	* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Some ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' fans have accused Clawdeen's human/werewolf heritage and the plot about hiding it of being a rip-off of Cerise Hood's backstory.
173	* WatchedItForTheRepresentation: Once the initial pre-release material came out, about the one change that was near-unanimously positively received by the fans was Frankie [[AdaptationalGenderIdentity being nonbinary]]. This sentiment only increased once more information came out and fans discovered how diverse the cast really was, with multiple non-white, LGBTQ+, and disabled characters and (in the animated series, at least) a focus on [[ActorSharedBackground casting actors of similar backgrounds to their characters]].
174	* WinBackTheCrowd: Some fans who were still skeptical of [=G3=]'s quality after the movie found themselves won over by the animated series and toy line, which had largely better-received character designs and promised the return of several beloved characters that hadn't appeared in the movie. On the part of the doll line, G3 found more favor once later waves started displaying thematic and detail tones that pushed G3's look into more elaborate and dark (and yes, more G1-like) visuals.
175	[[/folder]]

Context YMMV / MonsterHigh