Monster High Ghouluxe Ghoulia Yelps by Mattel

One of the really fun things about blogging is that when I have a few hundred pictures to sort and edit, I tend to watch a lot of television.  Lately, that has meant blasting through Netflix's Queen Charlotte, which is a Bridgerton prequel.  I never miss Bridgerton content because I have a long and happy history of reading Julia Quinn's work.  In fact, one of her novels, An Offer From a Gentleman, is one of my top Cinderella stories of all time.  Why am I saying all of this?  Because I want to put something out there, just in case any of the big doll companies happen to visit (Mattel?): could we have some 1:6 Bridgerton fashion dolls, please?  With all of those beautiful gowns and decadent hair--and all of the wonderful diversity?  Pretty please?  I will buy all of them.

But I'm not here to talk about Bridgerton, even though it's been on my mind lately.  The past week has been a whirlwind, with a few trips keeping me busy, and so I thought I'd review something short and sweet to get back into the groove.  I also wanted to review something relatively uncomplicated because Tears of the Kingdom comes out tomorrow and I need to clear my weekend for that.  I'll make you the same promise that I made my husband: I'll try not to completely drop off the face of the Earth as I re-enter Hyrule.  Mind you, I said "try."  So, anyway, what review topic is short, sweet, and relatively uncomplicated?  One of my all-time favorite brands, of course: Monster High.

I recently joined Mattel's Fang Club, and it's been very damaging for my budget.  It feels like every other week the company releases another limited Monster High doll.  And not only that, but now I get emails notifying me of other special releases, too.  So, last week I bought the new Barbie and Ken set, the week before that it was Monster High's Chucky and Tiffany, and in mid April it was fang-favorite Rochelle Goyle.  But the ghoul who started it all, way back in March, is the star of today's review: Ghouluxe Ghoulia Yelps.

Monster High Ghouluxe Ghoulia Yelps by Mattel, $50.

I like these limited and Skullector Monster High dolls because they all have the older mold--not the new G3 design.  I like both styles of doll, but I'm more of a G1 girl at heart.  

The down side of the exclusive dolls is that they're only sold through Mattel for a short period of time, and so they can be hard to get.  I'm not sure what Ghoulia's edition size is (or why Mattel doesn't share that information) but since she sold out in mere minutes, I'd say her edition size is officially Not Large Enough.  Half of the people why buy these dolls are scalpers, too, and so the dolls are now easy to find on places like eBay...for $80-$100.  Sigh.  I feel lucky to have gotten mine for $50, I guess.

Ghoulia is presented in a beautiful, streamlined box.  The designers say that they tried to make it so that she would appeal to both collectors who want to play, and collectors who leave their dolls in-box:

I miss the binder-style boxes of the older dolls, but this packaging is very attractive, and a lot of effort was put into all of the little details.

The main body of the box has a greyscale stone-like pattern that's reminiscent of a grave marker.  One side of the box has "Monster High" written in bold lettering, while the other side has some designs specific to Ghoulia's character:

Ghoulia's Skulette and Sir Hoots a Lot appear at the top:

And at the bottom are the Dead Fast logo, some of Ghoulia's favorite foods, and the "Zombies are Monsters Too" bumper sticker that she talks about in her G1 diary:

Apparently zombies can get ignored or discriminated against because they "slowly shuffle along," and so Ghoulia bought this bumper sticker (and a matching tee shirt) to get herself psyched up for the first day of school.

I miss the Monster High diaries because they gave us amazing little details like this that really rounded out the characters.

The back of the box has a large photograph of the Ghoulia doll, alongside some elegant text:

The text is all about the different parts of Ghoulia's wardrobe:

I'd rather read information about Ghoulia herself (how's she doing?  What's she been up to all of these years?) but that's fine.

The photograph is dramatic, and shows off the cool exoskeleton corset, which is the focal point of the whole outfit:

Ghoulia comes secured to a cardboard backdrop that pulls out of the main box:

Her signature red, white, blue, and green accents looks really nice against black, and I love the gyri and sulci pattern on the backdrop:

There are some hidden messages in the brain pattern, too, like "Zombies Are Monsters Too!" on Ghoulia's right:

And "Ms. Dead Fast" behind her boots:

And the cardboard under Ghoulia's feet has little footprints that match her boot tread!

On the reverse side of the backdrop, there's a certificate of authenticity and some stand pieces:

Ghoulia was fairly easy to remove, save for a few tight plastic ties in the back of her head.  

In addition to the stand (which she doesn't need all of the time), Ghoulia comes with a green plastic purse:

There is a lot going on with this doll!  

On her head alone, not only does she have an elaborate headpiece and bright green earrings, but she's wearing thick-framed glasses with some kind of protective plastic behind them.  All of the layers make it hard to see her eyes clearly:

She has really long, straight, bright blue hair that feels soft and nice, but clearly has some styling product in it:

Let's take a closer look at the purse before I start to examine Ghoulia.  

This is a brand-new mold that we haven't seen with any other Ghoulia dolls:

The purse is coffin-shaped and says VIP on one side (for "Very Important Presence") with a chain-and-bone handle and a tiny Skullette.

The opposite side of the purse was meant to be a big secret, since it wasn't shown in any of the preview photos and it can't be seen when it's still in the box.

This side has some more Ghoulia-specific decals:

The designs are similar to what we saw on the box, with the addition of boyfriend Slo Mo's Skullette and a foam finger that references an earlier Ghoulia doll's accessory:

The sides of the purse have an amazing molded arm bone and hand design:

The purse opens, which is great, but the whole front piece comes off...which is not a very realistic way for a purse to open:

After inspecting the purse, I wanted to tackle all of the stuff on Ghoulia's head so that I could get a good look at her face paint:

The first thing I did was remove the glasses...which was not easy!

The glasses were slotted into a strip of flexible clear vinyl, and the vinyl was plastic-tied into Ghoulia's head:

Oh, good grief.

I snipped the plastic tie and tried to pull the vinyl out, but there was yet another plastic tie hidden in the front of the hair!

Overkill.

After clipping four plastic ties, I was able to remove the vinyl and the glasses.

The glasses have the same shape as the first wave Ghoulia's glasses:

Here's a reminder of what the first wave doll looks like:

First wave re-release Ghoulia.

Ghouluxe Ghoulia's glasses have clear ear pieces, which is different.  And they have tiny little molded Skullettes on either side:

Here's a look at Ghoulia without her glasses.  She has an amazing face!

Unfortunately, the glasses were fastened so tightly that they made a little dent on her nose:

I'm hoping this will relax over time...or that I'll relax over time.

Also, the effort of removing the vinyl layer behind the glasses messed up the sides of Ghoulia's hair:

That should be easy to fix.

But let's forget about those little issues for now and take a closer look at her face:

She has striking, sunken-looking eyes with bright green and blue eyeshadow.  I love the pattern in her vivid blue irises, too--it reminds me of stitches.

She has fierce eyebrows with a few hairline details, and absolutely no blushing:

Earlier Ghoulia dolls had thinner and more expressive (worried?) eyebrows, but these thick, low brows give the character a confidence that I like to imagine she's grown into over the years.

All of the paint looks glossy and crisp, even up-close.  There's no pixelating except a little in the eyebrow shading.

My favorite versions of Ghoulia have bright red lips, and so I was glad to see that the designers went with that color for this special doll.  The margins of the lip paint could be a bit cleaner, but they look great overall:

I wanted to remove Ghoulia's crown next, but I wasn't sure if that would mess her hair up further.  I was also nervous that the crown wouldn't fit back onto her head and look as good as it looked in the box.

So, I paused to take a few pictures so that I could remember how she looked fresh out of the box:

She's such a dramatic doll:

And she has a ton of hair!  I think this is the most hair I've ever seen on a Monster High doll:

After having a little fun, I got back to work and examined Ghoulia's crown:

She reminds me of the Statue of Liberty!

It came rubber-banded to her head in a serious way:

And of course it was secured with yet another plastic tie.  I think that brings the total head tie count up to seven.  Seven!

Anyway, the crown itself is amazing.  All of the spikes are little finger bones:

The head band doesn't look very substantial, but it's designed well and fits back onto Ghoulia's head perfectly--it even feels fairly secure like this:

I like how Ghoulia looks without the crown, too:

She has two sections of pale blue hair that are tied down over her ears and secured at the back of her neck:

When Ghoulia tips backwards, you can see the little rubber band that holds this lighter hair in place:

The rest of the hair is a darker blue, much like the first wave Ghoulia's hair.  The rooting density is very good:

The last accessory that Ghoulia is wearing on her head is her worm earrings, which are radioactive green:

The mold of these earrings was taken from a G1 Deluxe Fashion Pack, but the original earrings were pink, not green:

I prefer the pink ones!

Ghoulia's outfit is incredibly detailed, and is made up of seven separate pieces--not including her shoes:

The most striking part of the outfit is the bright red exoskeleton corset.  This comes strapped to Ghoulia's torso with clear rubber bands:

The fit of this corset is very good.  It hugs the contours of her pleather romper with no gaps:

The corset includes a ribcage, a backbone, and what look like clavicle bones that wrap around to encircle Ghoulia's neck:

This piece is made out of slightly flexible vinyl, and so it's easy to get on and off without the risk of breakage.

The shapes of the bones are very detailed, but of course the overall anatomy is not accurate.

First of all, most humans have 33 vertebrae, and this corset only has 16:

Also, the ribcage would be at the top of the backbone, not down near the pelvis.  Here's a human skeleton for comparison:

Hey, baby.

But of course this exoskeleton isn't meant to be realistic--it's fashion!  And its incredibly cool.

Underneath the corset, Ghoulia is wearing a shiny imitation leather romper with a high-cut, puff-sleeved sweatshirt jacket on top:

At first I thought that the romper was two pieces--a top and shorts.  This is because there's a sewn waistline that looks like a tucked-in shirt:

The shape of the sewn waistline also makes it look like the shorts are slipping down a bit, but in reality the whole thing is one piece.

In back, the romper has a v-cut opening with a velcro closure underneath...and a slightly roomy fit around the bottom:

The sweatshirt opens in the front with a small piece of velcro, but it can't be removed while the puffed sleeves are in place:

In order to remove the puffed sleeves and the decorative red ribbons, Ghoulia's hands have to be popped off:

The red ribbons are meant to look like drips of liquid, I think, but they're just plain blunt-cut ribbons with one edge shorter than the other:

These ribbons remind me of Sirena Von Boo's wrist decorations, but those were much more detailed and flowing...especially underwater.

The puffed sleeves are made out of a slightly stiff gauze, and they have elastic gathering at the top, bottom, and in the middle:

These are nicely finished and can be slid on and off Ghoulia's arms even with the hands in place (although it's easier if the hands are removed).

I prefer how the outfit looks without the puffed sleeves:

This is a sleek, polished look, and with more of the sweatshirt's sleeves exposed, there's a great balance between the two areas of brain print.

The brain print is a carry over from G1, but I can't remember exactly which doll had it first.  Do you guys remember?  The Dead Fast fashion pack might have debuted this design.

In any case, the sweatshirt is very modern, with an ultra-cropped front, long sleeves, and a high knit collar:

The back is not as high-cut as the front, but it's still short:

The shirt has a bit of stretch to it, and is fairly easy to get on and off, but only if Ghoulia's hands are removed:

I love the rib-knit collar, and the stitching is very neat, considering how tiny this shirt is!

I also appreciate how there are grey shaded details in the brain print.  It's very well done.

Underneath the sweatshirt, all that's left is Ghoulia's shiny black romper:

This is held up by clear vinyl straps...which can slip off of Ghoulia's shoulders and make the romper's neckline lopsided:

The romper fits very tightly at the top of Ghoulia's chest, but it balloons out more at her hips.  This is nice because the fit doesn't restrict her movement too much:

The romper has a silver-accented ribbon in front that looks like a zipper, and two lines of decorative stitching down the legs:

Here it is from the back:

The romper is well-sewn with unfinished edges, but this type of vinyl fabric does not fray easily.

The last part of Ghoulia's ensemble is a dramatic pair of thigh-high vinyl boots:

These are made out of shiny red vinyl (imitation leather), and have a brain print that resembles the one on the sweatshirt.

The heels of the shoes are skeletal hands:

Apparently, the design of the hands was taken directly from Skelita Calaveras:

The flexible fabric makes these boots surprisingly easy to put on and take off, despite their skin-tight fit:

Deflated boots.

Here's a closer look at the amazing heel:

Monster High does not disappoint with their shoes, that's for sure.  There's even a Dead Fast logo on the soles of the shoes...and it matches the footprints that were on the backdrop!

I love the boots.  And apparently these are the first-ever fabric shoes in all of Monster High history.

One concern I have about both the romper and the boots is longevity.  I've seen a few dolls with imitation leather clothing like this (My Way Kid Maggie and the Bratz Petz leap to mind) where the fabric has started to crack and look worn.  Both of the dolls I mentioned are about 20 years old, so the cracking might not start for a long time with Ghoulia's garb, which is consoling.

Underneath all of her clothing, Ghoulia has a familiar-looking body...but not a familiar-looking stand!  The stand has a wide grip that does not fit Ghoulia's waist:

This was intentional.  The grip is the same one used for male characters, and in this case it's meant to fit around Ghoulia's hips.  This keeps it out of the way of the exoskeleton corset:

As I was posing Ghoulia, I noticed a few little things that make her flexibility worse than what I would expect from a Monster High doll.

First of all, my doll's left elbow joint is very loose and cannot hold a lot of poses.  It always hangs down unless it's propped up with something...a comment that might be discriminating against zombies.

Sorry, Ghoulia.  You're a monster, too.

Also, the position of Ghoulia's arms is not what I remember; they angle away from her body quite a lot:

Compare that to G1 Clawdeen, whose arms hang down straight and almost touch the sides of her chest at the top:

Here are the two side-by-side:

Why does the position of the arms matter at all, you might be thinking?  Well, Ghoulia's angled arms restrict her movement.

I expect Monster High dolls to be able to touch their faces really well, like this:

But Ghoulia can't.  Her hands can get close to her mouth and eyes, but they stop short of making contact:

So close, Ghoulia, so close.

Also, while Clawdeen can cross her arms really well:

Ghoulia has a harder time:

She can cross her hands, but that's about it.

It's a small difference, granted, but Ghoulia feels stiffer and less flexible overall, and I found myself frustrated on a number of occasions.

Another thing is that my doll's left leg does not bend at the knee.  I tried using gentle pressure, and then firm pressure, and then I almost broke the leg clean off...but it will not move:

Rigor mortis persists, I guess.

Ghoulia's body has the 2008 copyright, so it's not a new mold or anything, but something has changed.

I wanted to tidy up Ghoulia's hair for her portrait session, so I took all of the hair down.  It looks great like this:

And with the hair loose, we can get a peek at her cute ears:

I love that Ghoulia's rooting pattern works with the hair up or down (unlike my Sindy doll), but I prefer the original style, so I recreated that:

As I got Ghoulia dressed again, I tried out different combinations of all her outfit pieces.  Here she is with everything except her corset, puff sleeves, and glasses:

I like how this combination focuses on the brain prints, but the earrings feel out-of-place:

Removing the earrings and adding the red corset looks amazing!

But who can resist those little worms?

Ghoulia's balance is funny.  She can't stand straight up on her own very well, but she can strike some action poses that manage to distribute her weight just right:

Overall, she's definitely a doll that is better off with a stand.

I wish that the wrist ribbons didn't have the shorter ends, since those bits can stick out awkwardly, but overall I love the drama that these ornaments add:

I adore Ghoulia's eye makeup, so I didn't use her glasses very often, but she really doesn't look like quintessential Ghoulia without her horn-rimmed specs:

There's my ghoul.

I like the glasses perched on her head, because then we can still see her eyes:

One outfit combination that I was surprised to like is the romper with no sweatshirt, but with the puffed sleeves:

Like an avant-garde pirate.

Maybe I like this so much because it's super-hard to put the puffed sleeves back on with the sweatshirt:

Too many sleeves.

The puffed sleeves fit over Ghoulia's hands okay, but then the underlaying sweatshirt sleeve bunches up and is hard to straighten.

I also wanted to include Ghoulia's purse in some of the photos, since this adds a flash of green that coordinates with the earrings.  

Ghoulia can't hold the purse in her hand, since her wrist joint collapses under the weight, but she can loop the strap over her arm:

I somehow got the purse to balance in her hand for a second, but this doesn't work in general:

She can also hold the purse in both hands--to show off all of the cute little stickers!

And since Ghoulia's crown reminds me of the Statue of Liberty, she can use her purse as a tablet and strike that pose, too (but only with the help of a rubber band):

Bring my your tired, your undead, your shuffling hordes yearning to eat brains...

I put Ghoulia back into her full outfit one more time:

All of the pieces in this ensemble are great, and I love that they can be mixed and matched.  The full look is a bit much for me, but I really enjoy some of the less-cluttered combinations.

I mentioned at the end of my G3 review that Mattel is doing a nice job of making sure there's something for everyone these days, and I feel like the current Ghoulia options are a great example of this.  

If you want an affordable play doll version of Ghoulia who matches the current animated show, then you can opt for G3 Ghoulia, but for adult collectors like me, perhaps a more expensive, detailed, throw-back doll is the better choice:

Here are my two ghouls together:

G3 Ghoulia (left) and Ghouluxe Ghoulia (right).

I have an overwhelming favorite here, but I also appreciate that there's a more affordable, easier-to-find version of the character.

G3 Ghoulia (left) and Ghouluxe Ghoulia (right).

Despite Ghoulia's articulation flaws, she's still a really fun doll to play with and pose.  I can tell when I'm reviewing a Monster High doll because my photo sessions just keep going on and on...

And this particular doll, with her super-long hair and variety of wardrobe combinations, was even more fun than usual:

I'm delighted to have this girl in my collection, and while she certainly looked amazing in her glossy box, she looks even better out of it:

Bottom line?  At $50, Ghoulia was an expensive ghoul, and she was also hard to buy.  I had to sit at my computer at exactly the right time, and try to secure a place in the online queue.  It brought back the trauma of trying to buy a Playstation 5.  But I'll admit that it was exciting to go through the purchasing experience--almost like the adrenaline rush of a competitive auction on eBay.  And while $50 is a lot, it's less that what I'd have to pay for an in-box G1 Ghoulia at this point.

Ghouluxe Ghoulia also has more going for her than a regular G1 doll, at least in terms of her outfit.  The outfit is really striking, and has a wonderful mix of old and new elements.  I also enjoy how all of the pieces are separate and can be mixed and matched.  The best pieces, in my mind, are the boots, the bone crown, and the amazing exoskeleton corset.  These were all made specifically for this doll and are incredibly detailed and creepy.  The puffed sleeves and red ribbons can clutter the overall look, but they also add drama that is fun for photographs.  The glasses and earrings are classic Ghoulia, and add some nostalgia to the outfit.  I also like the dual appearance of the brain print, which is a nod to Ghoulia's roots as well.  I can't see Ghoulia going to high school in these clothes, but it's almost like she's a child star who is all grown up and going to a reunion gala or something.

Ghoulia herself is more of a mixed bag.  I think her face paint and hair are wonderful.  She has the bright red lips that I love to see, and sunken, smoky eyes with intense brows.  I've only owned a few Ghoulia dolls, but this one's face-up is a favorite.  Her hair is also gloriously long, with dense rooting and sleek, easy-to-manage fiber.  The color is perfect for Ghoulia, and I enjoy the simple hairstyle and subtle highlights.  I found the body disappointing, though.  The articulation feels stiff and limited in ways that I did not expect--especially in the arms.  Not only does my doll have a few defects, like a loose elbow, weak wrists, and an immobile knee, but her arms are angled away from her body in a way that restricts her movement; she can't touch her mouth and face as easily as other Monster High dolls.  Ghoulia is still a very well-articulated doll, but there's absolutely no reason for her articulation to be inferior to older dolls with the same body.

Mattel seems to be settling into a pattern: they release wave after wave of play dolls with the new body design, and these tend to sell for around $20 and be readily available.  At the same time, there's a semi-regular stream of limited and Skullector releases, all of which have the older body style and are sold on the Mattel site for $50-$100.  I'm reasonably happy with this system, and find myself coveting dolls from both groups.  It may be frustrating and expensive to try and secure one of the limited dolls, but there's a lot of effort put into their design, and they feel special and rare.  I don't want to go back to the days when the market was so saturated with Monster High dolls that few of them made an impact.  All things considered, I'm thrilled with how Mattel has managed to find a way to introduce their new dolls while also keeping the beloved original design alive...or at least undead.