Saturday, August 9, 2014

Inner Monster "Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love" by Monster High

After finding Avea Trotter, who for me is the ultimate Monster High doll, I didn't think I would be spending as much time in the Monster High aisles of my regular stores.  However, I have found myself quite interested in seeing the new dolls come into stock--particularly the remaining items in the Freaky Fusion line.  It's fascinating to see the different combinations of characters.  So far, my favorites are Lagoonafire (Lagoona and Jinafire), Dracubecca (Draculaura and Robecca) and maybe Neighthan Rot...although I still think he should have been a centaur.

Anyway, while I was examining these mixed-up monsters last week, I noticed a lone box with a slightly different design sitting off to one side.  At first, the bright neon colors on this box reminded me too much of the Sweet Screams collection and I was a little turned off.  But then, I found myself seduced by how many accessories seemed to come with this doll for her relatively low price--it looked impressive.  Finally, a single sentence made me grab the box and head straight for the checkout: push brain to change my eyes.  Well, that's the kind of thing you don't have to tell me twice.  I was sold.  This ghoulish temptress had me at "push brain."

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love
Inner Monster doll, "Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love" $21.99.
The doll I happened to find at my Toys R Us is called "Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love." That's a mouthful (I'll just call her "Feisty"), but the doll has two names because she's supposed to convey two different emotions.  There are other characters in this series, "Spooky Sweet and Frightfully Fierce" (who has a blue body) and "Scared Silly and Shockingly Shy," who is orange.  They all look interesting, and can all share body parts and accessories, so I suspect that this is yet another case where owning more than one doll significantly increases the fun.

Feisty's box is made primarily out of clear plastic.  It has large, bold, neon graphics, but they don't hurt my eyes quite as much as Sweet Screams Frankie's box did.

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

In fact, the two half-faces that decorate the edges of the box are pretty neat.  I especially like the detail around Fearfully Feisty's orange eye:


Here's a closer look at the two faces:


And here's the decal that made me buy this doll:

I've never touched doll brains before!
Behind that paper hair, the doll's pink brains are exposed, and there's a hole in the top of the box that allows you to reach in, poke her brains, and test the eye-changing mechanism.

It's disgustingly awesome.

The other thing that attracted me to this doll was her range of accessories.  Peering into the box's slanted sides, I could see a wig, a mask (fun!), a saddle stand (yay!), some creepy-looking spider legs, some flaming wings, extra shoes, glasses, and little decorative charms:

That's a lot of goodies for $20!

The back of the box reveals some more of Feisty's tricks:


There's the eye-changing feature, of course:

With three different eye styles.
There's a mask that looks like it snaps on and off...and something very fascinating at the bottom about a changing chestplate and an exposed ribcage:


Then, there are pictures of the two characters (emotions?) that can be made with this doll.  There's Fangtastic Love:

Hearts and spiders.
And Fearfully Feisty:

Flames...and also hearts.
I got a little confused here and had to read the doll's official description.  It says that she can "go from scarily fierce to madly in love in an instant!"  I'm still confused, though, because I'm not sure which represents madly-in-love more...the fire or the spider.  Based on the labels above, I suppose it's the spider, but that imagery doesn't work so well for me.  Isn't fire the more quintessential symbol of love and desire?  If poetry is the language of love, that's certainly what the talented Mr. Frost is trying to tell us:

Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire, 
Some say in ice. 
From what I've tasted of desire 
I hold with those who favor fire. 
But if it had to perish twice, 
I think I know enough of hate 
To say that for destruction ice 
Is also great 
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost

On the other hand, E.B. White makes a decent argument for spiders:

Natural History
The spider, dropping down from twig,
Unfolds a plan of her devising,
A thin premeditated rig
To use in rising.
And all that journey down through space,
In cool descent and loyal hearted,
She spins a ladder to the place
From where she started.
Thus I, gone forth as spiders do
In spider's web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken thread to you
For my returning.
- E.B. White

With tangents like this, it's an epic wonder I get anything done.

Anyway...going back to this picture:


...it seems that the little charms represent additional emotions that can be placed on the exposed ribs to express different things.  That's a little obscure--we'll investigate later.

I prefer the traditional Monster High boxes because they are made mostly out of cardboard and are very simple to open, but this box was easier to manage than most plastic boxes I've encountered.  The back of the box is made out of a folded piece of cardboard.  The cardboard is attached to the plastic with little tabs.  I unfastened the tabs from the back flap of cardboard, and this revealed some instructions and a hidden journal:


The journal has blanks for the doll's owner to fill in:


I am not crazy about the journal.  It seems like a throwaway.  My doll's journal came pretty wrinkled, and each page has the same exact blanks to fill in: name, age, killer style, freaky flaw, favorite activity, biggest pet peeve, favorite school subject and favorite color.  Six times.  Probably I am just spoiled by the incredible Maplelea doll journal at this point.

I slid the plastic tabs all of the way out of the cardboard and removed the plastic part of the box completely.  Here's the blue cardboard backdrop with all of Feisty's goodies still attached:

There's a black purse and a brush that I didn't even notice at the store.
Here you can see how a cardboard support holds the fake hair around Feisty's head.  This hair looks neat and doesn't interfere with removing the doll at all:

Spoiler: the cardboard hair is better than the wig.
As with most Monster High dolls, the attachments holding this doll to the cardboard were mostly the easy-to-cut loose plastic threads.  There weren't even any plastic ties in the head (hurrah!).  I had everything removed from the package in very little time:


The brush is a typical black plastic Skullette with no painted decoration:


The purse is also a black Skullette, but it's a much better accessory.  Not only does this Skullette have a pink painted bow...


...but the purse opens and closes and has a nice, roomy interior:


The wig looks ok--it's a mixture of straight pink and black hair styled with some bangs in front.  There's also a small, flat, slightly scruffy ponytail coming out of the top of the head at the back of the part:  


Unfortunately, the packaging manages to include two plastic ties that are holding the wig to an underlying clear support:


Argh.
Now let's take a closer look at the little charms or "emotions" that can apparently be added to the doll's exposed spine.  There are eight of these emotions, and each one has a different color and a different design:


The backs of the charms have small pegs that fit into holes in the doll's skeleton:


I wanted to see if I could figure out which emotion each charm is supposed to represent.  I figured I could call on the assistance of Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions if I got stuck:


We'll start simple.  Here's a lacy-edged pink heart with an arrow through it:

Love.  True love.
This one's a little harder, but since it's red and the Skullette has slanted eyebrows, I'd say we're looking at anger of some kind:

Flaming rage, perhaps.
We seem to be back to a love-related emotion with this next Skullette.  It's cheery and pink with little heart-shaped eyes (and off-set paint):

And they say love is dead.
Now things start to get a little tricky.  There's a black Skullette with some kind of protrusion coming out of its head.  It might be a party hat, it might be a head explosion.  Or maybe it's a brain-eating fungus?  I think I'll stick with party hat and some kind of joy-like emotion:

Because black is such a joyful color.
This next one is my favorite; it's intestines made out of a snake.  It reminds me of "butterflies in the stomach" but magnified, so I'm going to go with some kind of extreme apprehension:

Heebie-jeebies.
This next charm has three dripping pink hearts that all look eerily happy.  They look contemptuous and duplicitous to me, as though they're pretending to love someone, but are secretly mocking them:

Bless your hearts.
This one is hard, too.  It looks like an evil little face hiding inside of a cabbage...or like the Pokemon character Gastly:

Gotta catch 'em all.
Ok, so I saved the best for last.  This looks straight out of the Sweet Screams repertoire.  It's a demonic little laughing jalapeño pepper, which I think represents the emotion where you seem happy, but there's the threat of a spicy explosion at any moment:

If you're happy and you know it...KA-BOOM!
All of the emotion charms fit perfectly into Feisty's black Skullette purse:

She wears her emotions in her purse, apparently.
This next accessory is my favorite piece in the entire set.  It's a two-toned pink spider than can be worn over Feisty's shoulders like a backpack:



My only issue with this spider concerns its number of legs.  There are six larger legs that stick out (three on each side), but all spiders have eight legs, so that's not enough.  The straps that hold the spider to the doll's body also resemble legs, but that would add two additional legs to each side for a grand total of ten legs--too many.  I see the design constraints here, though: any less than three legs sticking out on each side wouldn't look enough like a spider, and there's no way around needing those support straps on the top and bottom.   

I am happy, at least, that the spider's specialized mouthparts (called "chelicerae") have been included.  They're the little pinchers at the top of the head.  All spiders have chelicerae, and they're neat because not only do they contain the spider's venom, but they're one of the traits that classify spiders as "Chelicerate" animals--a group that also includes ticks, scorpions and horseshoe crabs.

Even though this spider is pink, the pattern on its back resembles the markings of a black widow:


This spider would have been neat even if its legs weren't articulated, but the fact that each of the six largest legs has a point of articulation makes it amazing.


It can do a dead spider pose:


And also an attacking spider pose!


The legs have little Skulettes on them and a simple hinge joint:


The legs are also covered in heart-shaped holes that suggest the presence of tiny hairs:


Feisty's other shoulder strap accessory is this pair of flaming wings:


The wings may not be as unique as articulated spider legs, but they're pretty impressive and very nicely painted:


I love the changing shades of orange:



Here are the pink sunglasses that came with Feisty:



On the box, these glasses are made to look transparent--with the doll's eyes clearly visible:


Which is not how they turned out:

Blinded by love.
Feisty's second pair of shoes are translucent orange feathered wedge sandals:

Mercury's shoes.
These have wonderful feather detail, but they're very hard to get on and off.


Ok, here we go on another tangent: in searching for winged shoes (because I couldn't remember if it was Mercury or Hermes who wore winged shoes--it was both), I found an actual pair of winged shoes called "pegasus" by Rachel Comey.  Ah!  They are awesome (and I'm not that much of a shoe person).  Here's a peek.

Feisty's other pair of shoes resemble C.A. Cupid's shoes, with a chain of hearts going across the toe of each shoe and then extending up along the outer edge:


Here are Cupid's shoes as a reminder:


I think Feisty's shoes, with their simplified color scheme and missing heels, are superior.

The saddle stand is great, except for some reason (even with her shoes on) my doll's feet don't touch the base of the stand.  She's levitating about a quarter of an inch:


Finally, here is Miss Feisty Pants herself:


You guys probably noticed that her eyes changed during the de-boxing.  She had her heart-shaped eyes facing out inside the box, and now she's showing her more normal-looking blue eyes:


The brain button that changes the eye design is large and very easy to use.  So easy, in fact, that I didn't even realize I had changed the eyes when I was de-boxing the doll--it must have happened when she got bumped or something.


Here are her blue eyes:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

These eyes are relatively normal, with their feline pupils being the only unusual characteristic.


Here are the heart eyes:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

These have turquoise heart pupils inside of larger pink heart irises.  They also have a band of shading across the top of each eye:


These last eyes are the most unusual:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

These have cat-like dark pupils surrounded by orange irises with a fire pattern.  The most spooky thing about these eyes is that the area that is usually white (the sclera) is midnight blue:


My doll has a defect in the reflective spot in her left eye, so here's a look at the right eye, too:


Adding to Feisty's facial diversity is the fact that she can wear a mask.  She has small indentations on either side of her head, and these accommodate raised strips on the inside of the mask:



Here she is without the mask (left) and with the mask (right):


The mask fits on very easily and doesn't seem prone to falling off.  I can't say I really like the way this particular mask looks (too much like clown makeup for my taste) but I love the idea, the design seems solid, and it would be really fun to swap in masks from some of the other Inner Monster sets.

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

Here's the mask with all of the eye options:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love


Feisty's dress is a sleeveless tank mini dress with plastic accents.  The main body of the dress has a print of the (upside-down...) Mocking Heart Trio against a blue background:


The waist of the dress is accented with two layers of transparent vinyl ruffles--one red and one yellow.  



The printed part of the dress has a sweetheart neckline, but then a black fishnet extension connects this area to a tight vinyl collar:


Underneath the dress, Feisty has a transparent peach-colored plastic torso with a visible purple skeleton:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love


The plastic torso splits along the seam and comes off pretty easily:


The underlying skeleton is made out of bendable vinyl and reminds me of Skelita Calaveras (although it's not the same mold):

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

The skeleton has four holes in it that look like gunshot wounds.  These are for the placement of the emotion charms:

Emotionally empty.
You can put an assortment of charms into the holes, and then re-attach the plastic torso, like this:


However, if you put the big lacy heart charm in the correct anatomical location (upper left), the torso doesn't fit back on over it...even if you rotate it around so it's sideways.

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love
Two sizes too big.

In fact, it's hard to see in this picture, but one of the connection points on my doll's torso doesn't link together very well even when there are no charms on the skeleton at all.  This makes the torso fall off a bit too easily.  

Failed connection.
Feisty's articulation is similar to other Monster High dolls, but not identical.  For example, this doll's head can only spin around, it doesn't lift up or down at all.  Furthermore, she looks upwards as her head turns to the side:



Feisty's limb articulation is the same as traditional Monster High dolls, but her plastic torso prevents certain poses.  For example, she can't lean too far backwards without dropping some pieces:


Of course this issue can be resolved by removing the torso:


She can do front-to-back splits perfectly, but extreme side-to-side splits cause her legs to pop off.


Feisty's legs pop off on purpose, though.  In fact, her whole body can be completely disassembled:

She comes apart at the knees,  elbows and wrists too.
This makes it easier to photograph the dripping heart pattern that's on her arms and legs:


Her body parts are interchangeable with all of the Create-A-Monster dolls I own.  Here she is mixed up with pieces from the Blob Girl:


Feisty has two large, rectangular holes on the back of her head that were a bit of a mystery to me at first:

They look like wing holes...but that can't be right.
They're actually for holding the wig in place, much like the peg-and-hole design of Liv doll wigs.


The wig has two clear pegs at the back that fit into these holes.


This wig isn't as bad as some of the older Create-A-Monster wigs, but it's not great, either.  Mine came out of the box with a crimp from the packaging, and this will probably have to be boiled out.


Also, the wig sheds a lot:


I'm never very happy with wigged doll bangs, but these are short and uneven.  There's also a patch of hair next to the left side of Feisty's face that seems to be permanently scraggly.


A somewhat amusing problem with the wig is that it can interfere with the brain button mechanism and cause the eyes to get stuck mid-transition:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

This reminds me of my Tangkou doll, Loli.

I thought that this might have been an isolated incident, but I took the wig off, put it back on again, and then tried to switch the eyes...and it happened again.  


This doesn't happen every time, but it's fairly common.  It can be fixed by just mashing on the button until the eyes drop down (or taking off the wig).

The wig works with the mask, which is nice...I guess:


But the clear vinyl wig cap blocks the area where the sunglasses are supposed to rest, so the doll can't wear the wig and the glasses at the same time:


...well, ok, I did get the glasses on once, but they popped off a few seconds after I took this picture.


Incidentally, the glasses work fine with the mask:


There are a lot of combinations to try with this doll, so I'll just show you a few of the things I came up with.  First, here is the Fangtastic Love arrangement, with the heart eyes and the spider legs: 

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

And here is the Fearfully Feisty persona, with the flaming wings, matching shoes, and fiery cat eyes:


Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

Every time I tried adding the wig to one of my looks...


I discovered that the same look without the wig was much better: 


Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

Not only that, but I think this doll looks better without her dress, too. 

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love


Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

I might even like her best of all without her hard plastic torso:


For fun, I tried to find the most normal combination of features, which is this:


Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

And then I tried to contrast that with the most unusual combination of features...which for me is this:

Fearfully Feisty and Fangtastic Love

One last combination I wanted to try was Feisty's fire wings with Avea Trotter.  Avea came with her own wings, but I found them unsatisfying--both because they're small, but also because they fall off too easily.

Avea might need a different top to compliment the orange in these wings, but overall I think she looks pretty amazing:



Bottom line?  I have been on the lookout for Mattel to do some fun new things with Monster High lately.  As I've mentioned several times before, the line is still great, but the sheer number of dolls is starting to create a bit of repetitiveness that detracts from the appeal of any one character.  Avea Trotter and her Freaky Fusion friends were a brilliant addition, and I think this smaller Inner Monster series is a smart move in its own way.

The addition of interchangeable eyes is great.  The internal mechanism is much better than the temporary tattoo customization of the earlier Design Lab dolls.  It's easy to change the eyes, the mechanism seems durable, the exposed brains are hysterical, and the creative potential for future releases is vast.  I especially like that this feature was added without taking too much away from the head articulation of this doll...and her head is still completely removable and interchangeable with other Create-A-Monster dolls.

The backpack style accessories are also really fun and well-designed.  They are easy to put on the doll, stay on well, and they add a ton of character.  The articulated spider legs are especially unique...if only there were eight of them.  The other dolls in the Inner Monster series have peacock wings, bat wings, octopus legs (!!!), and curly vines and leaves.  I'd love to have them all.

The mask is yet another creative addition.  It gives the option of unusual makeup, but avoids the alienation that can come from extremes like this.  The masks are easy to take on and off, and they seem to stay in place.  I don't like the decorations on this particular doll's mask, but I love the idea in general, and some of the other masks look great.  There are even extra masks in the outfit accessory packs.

This doll would have been fun enough for me if she'd just come with the three features I mentioned above: the eyes, the wings, and the mask.  I certainly didn't need the wig, and I almost didn't need the dress, either...but it's pretty funky and I'm sure I will use it.  The removable torso and all of the emotion charms border on overkill.  They're not bad, but they don't add a lot to the play value of the doll, and they aren't as well conceived as the other details.  My doll's plastic torso falls off a lot, and the charms only fit in certain locations. 

Still, I certainly don't want to blame Mattel for trying too hard.  Overall this is a very fun, creative doll that makes me want to see (and play with!) the whole series.  She offers a lot of eerie surprises and unusual play options for her price.


43 comments:

  1. Woah. She looks so awesome with all the stuff she came in! (Although I don't think I would've handled "push brain to change eyes" seriously) I agree with you, she looks better without the wig and the spider clip on is one of the coolest accessories EVER! Oh, and by the way, have you heard of the new BeForever thing that American Girl is doing? Apparently, they're modernizing all the historical girls and bringing Samantha back! My instagram is http://instagram.com/darkdollies, and I post pictures of #25, Jess, and Josefina on there~

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  2. She is a very interesting creature, but I don't think she'll make it into my household. (Unlike Avea Trotter who I ordered online for my daughter's birthday straight after reading your review.)

    When you were showing the spider legs I very cautiously scrolled down and I half expected there to be a picture of one. They are remarkably creepy and also remind me of the face hugging creature from the movie Alien.

    All her features and pieces don't make any sense to me. But I do agree that she looks better without the wig and clothes. I think she looks her best with the spider legs, torso intact and nothing else. I can't imagine the type of game a child might play with her.

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    1. The legs reminded me of Alien too. In a bad way. I usually like creepy, but something about this crosses a line into nightmarish?

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  3. She's a bit too creepy for my tastes, (most of Monster High is! I'll stick with EAH for now; I just got Lizzie Hearts.) but those are some pretty cool spider legs and her eyes are hilarious when they get caught mid-transition. Great review as always!

    Lulu

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  4. I haven't collected Monster High in a while, but I might need these. The spider legs are phenomenal, And I love the fiery eyes and torso.

    Also, your tangents are awesome. I love that particular Robert Frost poem, so I geeked out when I read that.

    -Kayleigh

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  5. Super cool Monster High!! I sadly only have one even though I've liked these dolls for quite a while. (Honey Swamp) this is an awesome series in Monster High that I should look out for.
    - Zoë from Glowyzoe.blogspot.com

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    1. I only have one Monster High doll too (the Werewolf/Dragon CAM that Emily reviewed a long time ago), so you're not alone in loving them but only owning one. For me, it's simply a matter of money--I don't have the disposable income to buy much in the way of new stuff, so the majority of my dolls come from the local thrift stores, and the ones where I live NEVER have MH characters (I mostly see Bratz, Barbie, Disney, and Liv dolls . . . and I buy almost every Liv girl I run across, lol).

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  6. Between the poetry and the hilarious captions, this might be my favorite post of your ever. Thank you for always making my day!

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  7. Whoa. Where do they come up with these things? For some reason I think the " heart " eyes are creepier than the " angry " eyes. At first before I saw the name I thought she was a Draculaura doll. ( Maybe before and after a breakup. ) The wigs always seem to ruin the dolls for me, I don't know why but monster high doll with wigs just look bad.
    She also kind of looks like a freaky fusion doll: Jinafire + Skelita + C.A. cupid = C.A. Skelitafire?
    Thx for the review.

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  8. This girl is pretty cool. Being a Blythe fan I just love the colour changing eyes concept but the transparent torso is also fantastic. I could live without the emotion charms and the wig is very disappointing. I will keep my eye out for these but I have been swayed into the EAH camp. So fickle!!

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  9. That was...interesting? The angry eyes were my favorite though I can never see myself letting this doll into my house. Creepy is fine but even with how I am (weird) this is just a little too creepy.
    Also, even though you probably know this, Hermes and Mercury are technically the same god. Hermes is Greek and Mercury is his Roman counterpart. I'm a bit of a mythology nerd so I had I mention that.

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  10. I haven't seen one of these in stores yet, so this was fabulous! Such an interesting doll - I love how many different looks they've included for her (and that spine without the torso is so striking!) - thanks for the detailed overview!

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  11. I love these dolls! I have the blue and orange ones, and I've found that the accessories and fashions swap over very well between them. For example the green vines and shoes (and glasses) that came with the orange doll look amazing on the green one (who has an eye setting that looks like flowers). I really want to find the flaming wings, along with the shoes that the pink doll has to try out on the orange gal. I suspect she'd be absolutely stunning in them. XD Both of the other dolls have similar problems to yours with their stands, incidentally. You might be interested to know that the other dolls' outfits are two pieces instead of one, though!

    For my part, I think that they tried to cram just a little *too much* uniqueness in these dolls, what with the tiny mood "charms" that you can't even see when the dolls are dressed. I haven't even removed my charms from the packaging, as I suspect they'll immediately be lost or eaten by a cat.

    Have you seen the fashion/mood accessory packs for these dolls? The wigs on them are rubbery instead of rooted. I wonder if they'll be better or worse at goofing up mood/eye changes?

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  12. It's amazing how much detail they put throughout her body and all of these little accessories and your photos do a wonderful job of showing this up close...what a cool doll...I saw the Spooky Sweet one and she is very cute with her peacock feathers:)

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  13. That is the single weirdest doll I've ever seen, but I love its weirdness. LOL.

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  14. Hey Emily, have you seen these??? http://www.amazon.com/Monster-High-Inner-Fearfully-Feisty/dp/B00IVLIQ5G/ref=pd_sim_t_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TWP2VVMGRG15WSDSJGB This is the one to go along with your doll, but there is one for each doll. My favorite is the blue one :) I think that the removable torso/emotional charms are a good way for younger girls (think about 5-12ish) to express the way that they are feeling, sort of like a diary. If the child seems like something is wrong, the mom could even see how the doll is feeling to see that of her child. Overall I don't think that it is overkill :)

    - Morgan AKA Merida and Ariel girl ;)

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  15. i always love your reviews and i often agree with them. i love this particulr line of monster high dolls and have plans of getting all three. i have noticed some differences in your doll compared to mine.
    unfortunitally it seems you got a bad wig for mine has longer bangs and didnt come as crimped.((though i just boil mine all the time now so it doesnt bother me really.))
    i really enjoy the wig,they are good quality to me and the wigs look great on different skin colors.
    the various items are cool too((though the emtions are an ehh in the meter))) my spider legs are a little loose andthe op right one keeps wanting to come off for me.
    also i agree witht eh masks they are a great way to keep tthe creative makeup wthout alienatingit.

    i also hope they will put these eyes in other dolls too. im spoiled by certian dolls with the inset eyes so i would love if monster high had that theme going

    also p.s. Nieghthan Rot looks like 40 time better in real life then on screen. i prefer him with his hair down though.
    thank you for another fangtastic review~

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  16. Mattel has really outdone themselves with this doll and the Centaur doll but I will be passing on MH from now on. I own so many and I buy any that I see at the thrift store in one piece.

    I am impressed with the wig, changing eyes and the amount of accessories that she comes with, though.

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  17. The little black charm is a lit bomb I think. Also I think the legs are supposed to be scorpion legs. Lastly the changing eyes and face plates remind me of What's Her Face Fab Faces doll. The What's Her Face Fab Faces you reviewed is different from the My Scene ones and worked a lot similar to the Inner Monsters.

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    1. Oops I wrote this half asleep. The last sentence should have read: The My Scene Fab Faces you reviewed are different from the What's Her Face ones and worked a lot similar to the Inner Monsters.

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  18. Emily,

    Another awesome review! I have been waiting for this line to come out for a long time. There is a deluxe set coming out that is going to be a Wal-mart exclusive (according to the pictures from San Diego Comic Con). Here is a link with a picture: http://www.monsterhigh.com/en-us/shop/productdetail.html?id=42237306&productxxx=1&productname=monster-high-inner-monster-deluxe-pack-shivering-sad-eek-excited-hauntingly-happy

    One question I kept wondering and searching for an answer for online prior to these sets being released was if their limbs were interchangeable. I'm so excited to know that they are!. This way I can interchange them as I've had lots of fun doing with the Bratzillaz Switch-a-Witch sets (which were limited due to varying sizes of the legs).

    I do prefer the doll with her wig and outfit. I do not find any of these sets creepy but instead find this line outrageous and daring in a good way. This is the first Monster High line that I plan to collect the entire line.

    I almost bought one of these tonight but found the new werecat twin set on sale for $15 at Target because it had the same DPCI as the werewolf sister set. I couldn't pass on the werecats for half off, especially since I love cats (and have had two grey female cats).

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    1. $15 for the Meowlody and Purrsephone set was definitely a great buy--I would have jumped on that too! I'm also a big fan of kitties (we have three).

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  19. Fantastic review!
    I was just wondering, for curiosity's sake, does the plastic torso fit over Skelita's skeleton?
    :D

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  20. I normally don't buy the non character dolls, but I am really sold on the firey wings and boots, as well as the spider leg wings! I could totally see some interesting customs with these pieces!

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  21. This is about the My Twinn post--There's a Facebook site called "Fairy Godmother to the Dolls" that has a picture of an 18" Kim face mold. Also, I was unhappy I had missed the good sale; but guess what? It's back on again! I ordered a Berkeley and a Cai. Thank you for your face chart--even with it, still having trouble knowing who is who. I asked My Twinn if they could group the girls by face molds, and they said, "Sorry, no way. I want to write again and ask if they can post better pics of the dolls; the photos are from all different angles. Anyway, thanks for introducing me to the My Twinns!

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  22. Interesting and rather creepy (which is fine considering the theme).

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  23. could make review of Equestria girls rainbow rocks? please! appreciate the attention

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  24. Oh blankety-blank-blank-blank! Now I want these!!!! I love your blog.

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  25. These dolls aren't my favorite Monster High releases, but the clear torso and visible insides are really cool. The anthropomorphized intestines remind me of how the ancient Egyptians and Greeks assigned different emotions to various parts of the body (for instance, the stomach was supposedly responsible for cunning).

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  26. Hi Emily, Have you seen these new Lalaloopsy dolls that poop charms cuz apparently girls love to wear bracelets full of poop charms? lol I thought you'd get a kick out of them. At first I thought the charms were inside the doll but then it says you can collect more charms with refill diapers so I'm confused. http://www.kmart.com/lalaloopsy-babies-8482-diaper-surprise-8482-peanut-big-top-8482/p-004W007979440002P

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    1. The doll itself is actually just a standard drink and wet doll. The charms are hidden in a secret part of the diaper and get revealed when they get wet.

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  27. Hello from New Hampshire!
    Oh, Emily, I hate to ask but do the Liv wigs fit? If they do, I'd love some color suggestions! X3
    Amazing article and I'm SO glad you reviewed these, I'm VERY in love with the peacock tail of the Sweet&Fierce set and I originally planned to buy just the tail online when people began to break the items down. The more I see of these dolls the more I really enjoy them and I too would enjoy having all of them.

    I've seen images of a 4th character that is apparently a deluxe set called "Shivering Sad Eek Excited Hauntingly Happy". This doll comes with 3 masks, two wigs (One hair and the other molded to look like a single curl ponytail made of a twister?), two outfits, outfit accessories, a giant beautiful set of yellow wings, and a dirt devil/genie type tail that you can use instead of her legs. She also appears to come with a second torso that matches the rest of the skin tone, which I appreciate.
    http://38.media.tumblr.com/d5a324304af04749154b5f3f2fa6cbbb/tumblr_na4jlpvmZu1szstkso1_1280.jpg

    Also the charm gimmick generally feels more geared to a younger audience. I watched a few Toy Fair videos of the MH releases and the host was explaining that the charms are there for you to set the dolls emotions, each doll has different charms, so you can give them literal butterflies in their stomach if you have the charm for that. The appeal is intended to be setting the doll to feel like you do but I feel the choice of charms loose something in translation.

    Anyway, I adore your blog and all of your reviews! ♥

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    1. I've put a brunette Liv wig, with the peg cut off, on an older CAM doll, and it fit, although a bit loosely (a rubber band, wrapped around the doll's head, which gives something for the wig cap to grip, easily fixes that though.) The older CAM dolls have one rectangular-shaped wig cap peg hole, while Liv dolls have round ones, so, unless you're willing to cut off, or shave down, the wig cap pegs, they're not interchangeable between the two doll lines, which is a shame. As vinyl has some give to it, I suppose you could force a circular peg into a rectangular hole, and vice versa, but I wouldn't recommend that, as there's a chance that you'd damage the wig cap peg, head, or both, in the process, or, even worse, not be able to separate them again. Emily's Inner Monster MH doll has a different double peg arrangement for its wig cap than the older CAM doll I have does, but, I don't see how a single peg Liv wig cap could properly interface with that newer double hole set-up either. So, in short: if you're willing to cut off the Liv wig cap peg, then yes, a MH doll could wear it (albeit loosely), if not, then no, the peg/hole interfaces aren't compatible.

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  28. I was hoping you would review these dolls! I love this pink one with her pretty default face and (workable) pink wig!

    Speaking of dolls you might like, have you seen the new Our Generation mini dolls at Target? They have detailed fashions and run at (I think) ten bucks a pop! I thought you might be interested in them!

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  29. I really like this doll--Mattel has been doing some great creative stuff with MH lately, which I think bodes well for the line's continued prosperity. It's a bit surprising, although certainly not unwelcome, that they crammed so many features into one doll--usually toy companies focus on one gimmick at a time. Her spider legs remind me more of a sea spider than a terrestrial one, but they're cool either way.

    Instead of the swappable organ charms feature that this doll has, maybe Mattel could have cribbed a page out of Playmates' TMNT play book and duplicated the original Mutagen Man toy's transparent torso, which consisted of a hollow chamber, containing his guts, which you then filled with water and/or mutagen ooze, along with an assortment of tiny plastic accessories like apple cores and fish skeletons.

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  30. I do love this doll, but the spider thing reminds me too much of the giant bug from Turn Left in Doctor Who. *shiver* I am going to customize the blue one into my own character though!!

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  31. Do the wigs fit on the regular CAMs? I know they don't have the peg, but I'm tempted to get an add on pack for the wig if they will go on and (mostly) stay.

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  32. I figured out why the spider part only has six legs; the doll's arms are the other two "legs". :) Found your blog through Paper Thin Personas, and it's funny that I did, because I wasn't really into dolls ever (more of an original MLP girl, and then the new MLP as well), but now I'm driving my husband crazy with "Ooooh, check out the detail on this doll!" Thanks for the very detailed reviews and excellent photography!

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  33. i'm pretty sure the black one is supposed to be a bomb, with that thing being the fuse

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  34. This doll is soooo Awesome-she has alot of play value & with all the interchangeable parts you definitely will not be bored-simply put its entertaining. I found an actual MH pack available at a local dollar store-so NOT all dollars stores have the same merchandise-for a dollar? shoes, mask, dress-STEAL!

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  35. I love the creativity to these dolls, and I think it's so cool how genuinely disturbing she is for Monster High and girls' toys in general. A doll with an exposed brain and translucent body would have been sold as a parody toy to boys a couple decades back, but here, it's played totally straight and sold to girls!
    The play value behind the changing eyes and masks is really cool, and I appreciate how these are more like blank slates for customization than the Create-A-Monsters, whose parts were designed for only one character, and a more detailed character at that.

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  36. Just a heads up, the black skull emotion pin is a bomb! I think it symbolizes surprise or something!

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  37. I've gotten this doll recently and had a bit of a different experience. I think you got a dud wig and sunglasses, Emily, because mine's bangs were more appropriately long, and the glasses are translucent, not opaque. You had success with the glasses and mask but not with the wig- I'm the opposite. She wears her shades just fine wigged, but the mask makes them stretch and sit awkwardly.

    Then again, mine was stained yellow in a few spots from who knows what (the dangers of a try-me box) and her knee joints were stuck, causing me to almost bend the pegs in half before I realized the problem.

    I guess these dolls are just variable!

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