Ever After High Dolls From Mattel

I am a HUGE fan of Monster High Dolls from Mattel and have a collection of my own (many grown ups play with Monster High dolls).  I love that they are

• highly articulated, or poseable,
• they have adorable story lines with quirky personality flaws just like some real teenagers,
• lots of funky fashions that can be mixed and matched,
• are sold at a reasonable price point and are high quality for a toy doll,
• and they have big heads. 

I'm a big headed doll fan for some odd reason.  I think my Blythe doll got me started on the trend.  Monster High heads aren't as big in proportion to their bodies but they are still large for the skinny doll frames. 

They are a great alternative to Barbie dolls, which I haven't been interested in for years.  There are also lots of exclusive sets made by Target, Toys r Us, Walmart, and Kohls, to name a few. So far no other toy manufacturer has even come close to rivaling the Mattel franchise, and many have tried.  For example MGA Entertainments "Bratzilla" dolls were supposed to be comparable and their sales don't even come close.  The Playhut Mystixx vampire dolls with two faces is another line that is trying to capitalize on the Gothic style doll popularity.

I didn't get started collecting Monster High until a couple of years after they first hit the market though and now the early dolls are rare and selling for much more than I can afford.  If the Ever After High dolls are comparable to Monster High, they are already a big hit.  And the great news is that I can get in on the first wave of dolls and have one of each.  You can bet I'll be scouring the stores and standing in line to get doubles though so I'll have one to play with and one to keep collectible in case I ever need quick cash.  

The story takes off when C A Cupid - Daughter of Eros the Greek Love God from Monster High revealed in April 2013 that she would like to help other groups of teenagers with love problems.  It turns out Ever After High has some relationship issues that can use some of Cupids loving care.  They involve a different kind of problem though.

The problem is that the students are required to take only studies that prepare them to fulfill the scripted storyline of their parents lives.  The school is tasked with making sure all of the wonderful fairy tales we love will continue for generations to come.  Poor Raven Queen doesn't want to be an evil character when she grows up so she's planning to rebel.  Her roommate Apple White needs Raven to become evil enough to administer the poison that will allow her Prince Charming to kiss her.  Her happily ever after ending could be in jeopardy.  Others could follow Raven's lead and re-write all our favorite legends. 

It's a dilemma that is causing problems for the future of all fairy tales. We will have to wait and see if Cupid can help them.

The official Ever After High website is live and there are already some character profiles up.  Also 3 new Ever After High related blogs are also slated to showcase the Ever After adventures - The Village Book of End, where they hang out after school; Rewrite Destiny, a library with indoor trees; and Royal or Rebel, which tells of the rivalry between those who know they will have a happy tale and those with those who are doomed to be evil, ugly, or devious.

And of course an Ever After High Facebook page is live.  Below are the first 3 in the series of Webisodes to tell the characters altered Fairy Tale stories.  Looks like Mattel is revving up for a full blown marketing media blitz aimed at doll collectors and little girls worldwide.  I can't wait.

Click here to

Buy Ever After High Dolls From Justice Online

It looks like the first dolls, along with their personalities and stories will be revealed in July of 2013.  So far the dolls names are:

• Apple White - Daughter of Snow White has a prototype doll and is shown on the Ever After website.
• Raven Queen - Daughter of the Evil Queen is also currently a prototype doll.
• Briar Beauty - Daughter of Sleeping Beauty with a profile on the website and presumably will become one of the first line of Ever After Dolls.
• Madeline Hatter - Daughter of the Mad Hatter is the only one who can hear the narrator in the webisodes.  She likes to drink tea and wear hats.

And these are mentioned on the website or have parts in the webisodes, although no doll drawings yet:

• Kitty Cheshire - Daughter of the Cheshire Cat will be rooming with Madeline Hatter.
• Ashlynn Ella - Daughter of Cinderella is mentioned as a room mate for Briar Beauty.  Her favorite activity is shoe shopping.
• Daring Charming, Dexter Charming, Darling Charming - Children of Prince Charming
• Cedar Woods - Daughter of Pinocchio
• Cerise Hood - Daughter of Red Riding Hood
• Hopper Croakington - Son of the Frog Prince
• Gus & Hilda Crumb - Children of Hansel and Gretel
• Hunter Huntsman - Son of the Huntsman and secretly dating Ashlynn Ella in the webisodes.
• Blondilocks - Daughter of Goldilocks
• Tiny - Son of the Giant in Jack in the Beanstalk
• Lizzy Hearts - Daughter of the Queen of Hearts

The headmaster of Ever After High, the school founded in 1812 to prepare fairy tale protagonists to their destinies is Milton Grimm.  His only objective in life is to channel the students into their proper course in fairytales and fables.  He's not sensitive at all to their individual wishes and desires and could care less which path they will have to follow. 

His brother is Giles Grim.  Giles is the keeper of the Vault of Lost Tales, a sort of librarian under the school   He doesn't agree with his brother's methods and knows there is the possibility to change.  He's researched it and knows there were some fairy tales that don't exist any more.  It seemed they had been altered sometime in the past.  Why can't these students do the same?  I think we will need to watch and find out.