Is G3 Already Ending?: A Hypothetical Autopsy

So, news broke that the narrative media for Monster High G3 (the alternate continuities of the live-action films and the TV cartoon the dolls are matched to) will not be proceeding. This has obviously raised alarm bells about the prospects for G3 as a whole, and yeah, it is alarming.

It's possible the media will find a new life with a cheaper production to continue the story and debut characters to support the doll line with. But it's not encouraging that Mattel is shuttering the current story media, since that has always been a driving factor united with the doll designs. And the dolls themselves have had a lot of work put in to revamp and reimagine the characters and include new diverse body shapes. There are more 2024 releases on the way for G3, but who knows what happens next at this point. 

So let's consider the story that the G3 brand ends after 2024, or dies in 2025 after the last releases get pushed out. In this scenario, what have we had with this incarnation?

(Keep in mind that mine is a toyline-first perspective with only tangential familiarity with the G3 narrative fiction.)

Well, G3 admittedly feels shorter-lived than it is. It does actually outlast G2's run. The brand is also much better than G2. The designs have more depth and creativity, and particularly starting with Skulltimate Secrets Series 2, brought back the G1 extravagance and polish that G2 never reached. Fearidescent and the upcoming garden series fill a similar niche to the extravagant themes of specialty lines like Freak du Chic or Gloom and Bloom, if perhaps not as formal and genre-based as those. The older target age than G2 is palpable and beneficial. Credit to G2, though--the brand did retain characters' monster details introduced in G2 which were absent in G1.

The G3 brand is also the most inclusive, diverse, and sensitive incarnation with its representation. G3 Frankie Stein is a nonbinary (they/them femme) prosthetic user. Twyla is autistic and no longer risks appropriation with dreamcatcher imagery. Draculaura is Taiwanese-Romanian-American, Clawdeen is Afro-Latina, Deuce has lesbian moms, Cleo is attracted to Frankie, Catty is plus-size, and she and Venus have moved into the Black population of the cast. The actors cast for G3 also better reflect their characters in the media, avoiding problems with the optics and execution of non-White characters in G1.

We did also get back some characters who were missing. Heath, Spectra, Catty, and Purrsephone and Meowlody never had a G2 presence or dolls in that era. Nefera comes back in G3 (kind of as a new character due to her personality flip) after only having a delayed G1 release within the G2 era. The G3 cartoon also brings back Skelita to the main canon, as well as Finnegan, Iris, Jinafire, Howleen, Gil, Mouscedes, and Headmistress Bloodgood. The biggest gap in G3, notable for being a character who was otherwise in G1 and G2, is former mainstay Rochelle Goyle, who I'm shocked didn't get pushed out by now. She seems like a very safe character, such that she should have been on the shortlist of dolls who got to be in all three generations. Otherwise, Catrine is the only other G1-G2 doll not in G3 in any form. 

Is it a French thing?

And for those who resented the G2 characters and the characters they appeared to replace...they're gone. On the other hand, no G3 originals have dolls, and that might be a bad idea. Unlike in G2, the G3 new cast don't feel like usurpers for G1 characters. As with the new generation of Living Dead Dolls, I seriously worry that the absence of new characters could signify an overreliance on the familiar. I don't want familiarity to become stagnation.

What are the biggest failings of G3? 

For one, I think the brand started off weak, and its product drops have always felt glacial, particularly regarding character debuts. G3's aesthetic was softened and more colorful early on, not yet willing to hit the G1 attitude, and I think the slow evolution into a more G1-influenced but unique look hurt the brand just as much as it helped. 

An early-G3 Frankie faceup (restyled doll with factory paint)) next to a much more G1-esque later-G3 Frankie faceup.

Yes, the dolls got to a more appealing familiar place, but had the dolls had bolder personality and edge from the start, that may have boosted the brand and secured the early-days hype and loyalty G3 probably needed. It may have made a much bigger splash if G3 felt like an aesthetic return to form from launch. Then again, Shadow High was abandoned by MGA and they rebranded the greater Rainbow High franchise for a kid demographic, so who knows what sells? I think the G3 brand still lacks some of the spooky edge that made G1 so fantastic. Body detailing in G3 is not extensive, has never been all-over with each doll piece uniquely sculpted, and the healthier body shapes send a better message for kids but lack a stylistic creepy side. Notably, some of the weirder, more edgy, or more thoroughly detailed characters either did not return or did not get dolls, and that saddens me. The brand was all about the thorough monster detail to me, and G3 just hasn't delivered that. I love Frankie's prosthetics and Venus's cabbagey legs, but that's not enough. I want atypical body plans, full-body texture, or bizarre face sculpts like Wydowna, Iris, or the three-eyed Create-a-Monster. The G1 sculpts felt like they had so much nuance with inhuman details, like Ghoulia's sunken eyes and cheeks, Luna's massive bug eyes and wider hips, Avea's horsey nose, and many other subtle details that skewed toward the monstrous just as well as the overt features. I don't know if I see that as much in G3. 

Also, despite (or perhaps, including) Frankie, the early brand seemed to display a discouraging pandering toward traditional femininity standards. Red tones are lacking in favor of pink, with Toralei being the main exception. And she was exclusive to one store when she debuted. Ghoulia and Toralei's signature dolls both have inaccurately long hair, Cleo's signature doll wears a dress instead of the pants she should have, and the pets all the way through were chibified with cynically-cutesy big-headed massive-eyed redesigns that remove the cartoon charm and off-beat attitude the pets had before. And Frankie themselves, despite having every right to present as femme as they wish, really had nothing clear broadcasting their queer gender identity when taken as a toy in a vacuum. No pronouns on their boxes and fairly straightforward femme designs save for the mix of pink, white, and blue that nods toward the trans umbrella.  This issue did improve over time. Pant cuts appeared more on the dolls as the line progressed, Toralei got back her old short haircuts, and Frankie's looks began to include more awesome gender-neutral tones while maintaining their long hair and makeup. The pets are still a downgrade.

Maybe Mattel being the subject of a zeitgeist-dominating, year-conquering movie about their participation in gender stereotypes shook a few things loose.

While the G3 layered or multi-display costumes are a great trend, I personally find the dolls to be bloated accessory-wise... though I confess the bottles and food items are useful photo props. There are dumb design trends like gradient boots and colorful translucent shades that get annoying. The Skulltimate Secrets line has mostly great fashion assortments and doll bases...but the gimmicks and boxes can create wasteful plastic clutter and bely a more kiddie angle to the brand. The dolls also generally have bland packaging and no stands or diaries. I firmly believe G1 soared on the strength of its packaging branding, narrative supplement, and display stands for a more collectible experience. Heck, we don't even have full character bio/profile sections on the boxes like we used to. If we're ending around here, I think it will be a high note because G3 is the best it's been right now...but the peak of G3 just isn't the peak of G1 and I feel like it can still get so much better from here.

In the G3 narrative media, there were story and character changes that are a little odd and take away some well-liked elements of the older franchise. Howleen is no longer Clawdeen's younger sister. Ghoulia feels like a totally different character, and regardless of whether she was coded with disabilities in G1, and regardless of whether the execution was insensitive, people embraced and loved the intelligent, slow-moving groaning Ghoulia. The G3 character is fine, but doesn't feel as distinctive and wasn't awarded main-cast status. Accent diversity has lowered a fair amount within the cast who wore a foreign background more visibly pre-G3, and while the characters are welcomely less stereotyped and exoticized, losing an accent doesn't seem necessary. I'm not sure how necessary the use of grand narrative supernatural arcs is. Part of the appeal of MH at the start is how grounded the teen conflict feels in this strange caricatured world.

And the boys were done dirty, if this is where we stop. Only three male characters made it to doll form as of writing (Deuce, Clawd, and Heath), and only one of those got multiple editions (Deuce had three). They all have the same fairly short and buff body, lacking the shape diversity of the femmes, and Clawd and Heath's faceups don't feel polished or personable. Their costumes also feel kiddie and I really hope this isn't the end so the boys can benefit from the G3 aesthetic growth and expand as a demographic. I opted to restyle each boy character (see Clawd's here.) I think signature G3 Deuce was the only worthwhile factory boy doll design. The rest looked silly. Also, their ankles were flimsy. Boys have always suffered many double standards in doll lines (which Barbie the movie leverages toward a salient commentary on the flipside of gender inequality), but in an era of MH focused on more tangible, thoughtful diversity, and even challenging gender a little with Frankie, the male cast feels starkly underdeveloped in the toyline and it ought to benefit from the care the girls and Frankie do. If nobody challenges the market consensus that boy dolls aren't worth it, then nothing changes. 

I guess, overall, G3 proved itself too timid and too safe. The dolls got back to a fashion place of fabulousness, but riskier moves like a higher population of boy dolls (or interesting boy dolls), thoroughly sculpted bodies, or bolder packaging were not tried. I think the brand had to start cautiously, being a rebrand after a reviled prior attempt, but the flair familiar to MH that people wanted to see again may have returned too slowly and not powerfully enough. I'd love to see more rollout of boys, bolder boxes and more exotic body designs for full monster effect. It worked once. Why can't it again?
Then again, I don't know the doll market. I'm not sure the brand has sold all that well, nor if changes could get it there. 

If the prognosis for G3 has been drastically shortened, what do I want to see before it closes shop? 

• G3 Iris Clops. Bring back the weird era. Most of the correct body sculpt for Iris already exists through Catty, so this should be easy. I like her design and we deserve another Iris after the G1 incarnation's dolls became so valuable. Or maybe just I deserve it. Just for me, Mattel. Please? 

• G3 Gil. Why not. See how he'd be executed and add to the paltry offerings for boys.

• A few more boy characters and dolls (extremely unlikely at this pace and projected finale). A potential G3 Slo Mo or Billy, and a doll of Finnegan or Manny's established G3 looks would be cool.

• G3 Nefera and Skelita (fairly likely on the former; the latter would be awesome and could be the watershed for body detail that G3 desperately needs...if it continues). 

• Skulltimate Secrets series with a greyscale or pop-art/comic-book theme?

• New characters and monster types in the doll line. If the end is now set, then who cares, might as well make it interesting. And if the line continues, new blood could keep things fresh as old characters return. 

• Customization dolls again? 

• Second dolls for characters who still need them, or refresh editions for everybody, not just the core five.

• Bolder packaging.

• Oh my gosh can we have more than three signature debut dolls a year please?

At the end of the day, I'd like Monster High fans to be catastrophizing and for this brand to continue for a few more years at least. There's so much growth it can still achieve artistically, and so many chances to bring back more beloved brand staples and tones that we've been missing. I acknowledge some hypocrisy in this opinion. Much of my interaction with G3 has been colored by comparisons to and a preference for G1 in many aspects, down to restyling each of the G1 core six's G3 dolls in a G1 throwback style. There is truth in the notion that I want G3 to continue only insofar as it has the opportunity to approach even closer to the G1 brand. If it's going to stay tonally timid and slow on character drops, then I can't cheer it on that much further. Still, there are those aspects which are unequivocal positives over G1--the diversity and representation can't be traded for the G1 standard, and Cleo and Venus are executed so much better than their previous incarnations, in my opinion. 

If Monster High flops now, I think it's unfair because there's a lot to like about G3, and certainly in comparison to G2. I think Mattel was overall far too slow with the brand, making releases glacial and turning up the classic charm and flair too late in the game. I think it's still a little too safe and cheery, and with teen appeal for edge never changing (look at the smash success of Wednesday), I think a darker lean, or just going back to the G1 standard of spookiness, could potentially help the brand going forward. 

Now that the G3 team have begun to rev their engines, I don't want the crash. It feels like we could be going somewhere now. Maybe the market has spoken, and G1 can never be dethroned. Or maybe the brand just doesn't do the numbers regardless of how Mattel tries to serve it up now. It just makes me sad this time, if this is the beginning of the end. G2 failed justly and Mattel rightly seemed to take some lessons from that. But for G3 to fail here feels very wrong.