My sweet four-year-old daughter desperately wants this for her birthday |
This post will be short because I’ve been running around all
day trying to find the perfect birthday present for my youngest daughter. She wants this Monster High doll named
Toralei Stripe (werecat), and apparently it’s sold out everywhere except on
e-bay or amazon where they are asking $77 to $100 for this toy that is normally
$20. I love my daughter, but I just can’t
pay that much, so please if anyone finds this toy for a decent price, let me
know. I really want to make my little brown eyes’
birthday wish come true.
Anyway my adventure of trying to hunt down this doll, along with Trisha’s
recent post, has gotten me thinking about how these toys, movies, books
become so wildly popular. I know it is the million dollar question, the
secret formula that everyone would like to know, and here I am giving it away for
free on the internet.
So here’s my quick and dirty theory.
Concept-Something new
and different, but still the same.
I can see why Monster dolls are so popular. The concept is rather clever. They are the children of the classic monsters
like Draculaura (daughter of Dracula), Frankie Stein (daughter of Frankenstien’s
monster), Clawdeen Wolf (daughter of the
wolfman), Ghoulia Yelps (daughter of zombies), Deuce Gorgon (son of Medussa),
and even my favorite monster The Phantom of Opera has a daughter, Operetta. These monsters are put in a modern high
school setting with clever word play like fearleaders instead of cheerleaders
and creepateria instead of cafeteria. The
whole thing is pretty fun.
But honestly these dolls aren’t that far from the classic Barbie
dolls. These monster teens are all very
beautiful and thin. They all dress in stylin
outfits with way too short skirts and way too high heels. There are a lot of similarities to those Barbies I
played with as a child and that are still on toy store shelves today. So the Monster High dolls do have a unique
concept (monsters in high school), but still shares many of the features as those
classic toys that have successfully sold for years (Barbie dolls). A little bit different, and a little bit the
same.
Novel example: Hunger Games. Collins took the classic concept of Roman gladiators
and twisted it by having them be children in a futuristic society. Also the strong romantic subplot and love triangle had already proven very successful in the YA market.
Theme-Needs to
resonate with the readers
I believe that every story, no matter how shallow and inane
it may seem, has a theme. Some themes
are complex and amazing and make us ponder them for days. Some are very obvious and even trivial, but still every story has a
theme.
These Monster High toys are more than just dolls. There is a much larger design behind them
that is adding to their appeal. My daughters love the Monster High website
which has character bios, short videos, and games. I think there is a cartoon series on TV (not sure because we don't have cable), and I've even seen Monster High novels. From what I've seen, there seems to be a theme running through
the whole thing about being inclusive and being okay with what makes you
different. Individualism is a theme
that resonates with most Americans. I
think this adds to the dolls’ appeal.
These dolls do come in every skin, hair, and eye color imaginable, but all them are pretty,
very thin, and hip which kind of detracts from that theme. A little bit of conformity is going on there
too. So I guess the overall take home message is be yourself, but make sure you are pretty, thin, and stylish in the process. I think that is as much depth as we can expect from these types of toys.
Novel example: Harry Potter: the themes of friendship and sacrifice
resonate with most readers which I think contributes to its appeal.
Love-you gotta love
it or no one else will
I’m a big believer in writing or creating what you are most
excited about. That passion slips into
the text, and the readers can feel it as they read, almost like magic.
I really think the creators of the Monster High dolls had a
lot of fun creating these dolls. If they didn't, it sure looks like they did. The way they worked monster elements into the characters' personalities and story lines is clever and
funny, and I know I would've fun coming up with them. But the creators didn’t slop through this. They put thought and energy into the dolls
creation and story lines, and it really shows.
I think this is one of the main reasons why these dolls are doing so
well. My girls definitely have been
influenced by it.
Novel example: Twilight-There is no doubt that Stephenie
Meyers loved her story and her characters.
You can almost feel it on the pages.
I think that passion she had while writing it has played a huge role in
why Twilight is so popular. Write what
you love and that love will shine through.
Those are my thoughts on how to write a novel that will shoot
to the top of the best seller list. I’m
not going to ask for any portion of your sales when you hit it big using my
amazing advice. Just send me an autograph
copy of your best seller and we’ll call it even.
J
Happy writing,
~MaryAnn
Wow--I've never heard of these (my kids are older). But I can see their appeal. I kind of want one of those cat monster dolls myself.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you did a great analysis of their appeal and success! Thanks.
Thanks!
DeleteThe werecat really is cute. I can see why that particular doll is so popular. My sweet little four-year-old loves cats, so this really is the doll for her.
I'll keep my eye out for it here in Colorado. When do you need it by, in the event I find one?
ReplyDeleteThanks Trisha, you're so sweet. I need it by next Friday, so I don't really have much time, thus the frantic searching.
DeleteI like barbie better, but different generations like different toys. I guess everything just keeps evolving. It reminds me of a quote from college the more things change the more they stay the same.
ReplyDeleteI saw the monster dolls at Walmart today, but they didn't have the cute girl/cat one. Great tips, MaryAnn. Good luck with the doll!
ReplyDeleteDid you find it??
ReplyDeleteNope. :( But thanks everyone for trying. She picked out another monster high doll for her birthday and is very understanding about it. But I know she still wants Toralei with all her heart. Maybe they'll get some in stock before Christmas.
ReplyDelete