Wonder Wednesday 10-20-10 Halloween and Monster High Updates!

Most of the blogs I read have adopted a Halloween theme for the entire month of October and while I typically LOVE Halloween, and probably would have done the same, well... I wrote one blog about it this year and it was not a happy one. But as fate would have it, I am NOT going to Palm Springs! I think the whole reason we were going on Halloween was to go to some party, but once I expressed my frustration at the thought of going to some rich people party in cheap store-bought costumes, David and the two friends we were going with decided to back out of going to the party altogether! THEN WHY WERE WE GOING FOR HALLOWEEN?! But some other factors came up and now I'm not going so YAY!!! I get to go to Cathy's for The Weening! It will involve Just Dance 2, Thanksgiving Dinner and The Walking Dead premier! I asked about the Thanksgiving Dinner and she said things just spiraled out of control. Oh and I get to wear my Finn costume!
Oh, I have one more Halloween anecdote. Halloween at Target SUCKS!!! It's worse than Christmas in terms of how jacked up it gets. Let me ask you something. Okay, I GET that sometimes you want to try on a costume to make sure it fits, right? BUT if it doesn't WHY DO PEOPLE JUST THROW EVERYTHING ON THE GROUND?!?! How were you raised?!?! And WHY do people just put that crap on to walk around the store and then not buy it? That's actually kinda disgusting when you think about it! Like when people mash their face into the Pinpressions. I'm thinking, "You know like 500 kids who don't wash their hands after pooping have touched that, right?" It's the same for the Iron Man masks. I'm like, "Do you know how many filthy, germy faces that's been on?"

Oh, that wasn't even the anecdote! So, they put two rows of Halloween in F, my section. Okay, so what very few people know... if anyone, really... I am completely repulsed by latex Halloween masks! It's the material, it's just so... rubbery and squishy and gross and the WORST are the ones with that wispy gross fake hair! And they REEK!!! So of course, that's the aisle I get to straighten up every day. I have to like pick them up by the cardboard tag and even then, I only hold that with the tips of my index finger and thumb. And I have to hold my breath so as not to smell that rubbery STANK!!! And even then, EV-ER-Y time, I still feel the vomit welling up in the back of my throat! SO DISGUSTING!!! I HATE IT!!!

Ahem... happy thoughts...
So this week, my Monster High collection welcomed two new additions, Ghoulia Yelps, the zombie girl and Holt Hyde, the son of Mr. Hyde. Here is also a fun factoid that I learned this week. I'm not allowed to take stuff off the shelves and buy it as soon as the store opens. I have to physically walk outside and come back in. Huh. Woopsie.
This line has really taken off and is one of THE hot toys this year, so parents be warned. It seems that Lagoona Blue, the sea creature has become a fan favorite, but she wasn't supposed to be one of the stars, so not as many of her dolls went out as Frankie's and Draculaura's. But Mattel being Mattel, it seems they under-produced this line. We have been out of stock consistently since the beginning. The Mattel rep physically brought in the Dawn of the Dance line, pictured above. I passed. They're just not as cool as the regular line. They're "cheaper" looking, not as elaborate as the first. And they're repeated characters.
On the other hand, I jumped for joy at spotting Ghoulia! I was so excited by her, I walked away without even looking for Holt! (I came to my senses and went back of course!)
Ghoulia maintains the quality of the first batch. She may be my new favorite! I love her horn rimmed glasses! And her piano key belt and her cassette handbag! And her high heel Converse boots! She's the "brainy" one but speaks Zombie (which is just groaning) so the others can't understand her. Yeah, it's annoying. I don't like the cartoons, just the dolls!
I told Cathy that I strongly suspect Holt Hyde was actually supposed to be a Demon/Devil character but that Mattel probably changed it, so as not to offend Christians. But like, he has fiery hair and flames on his pants and all his other accessories and on the back of his box EVERY corny pun has something to do with fire/flames/blazes/etc. I could be wrong, of course. That's just my hypothesis. Because what do flames have to do with Mr. Hyde? I'm actually not a big fans of this doll. I like his face but not his clothes. I like that he wears skinny jeans, but the purple color is odd and I don't like his Michael Jackson-y jacket. But, I mean, hell, why would I NOT want a complete collection.

A new line has been revealed, Gloom Beach:
These actually underwhelm me worse than Dawn of the Dance! I hate dolls in bathing suits. What's the appeal? They're FASHION dolls wearing very little clothing! Also, um... why isn't Lagoona, the SEA CREATURE and CAPTAIN OF THE SWIM TEAM included? Like I said, she's a breakout character and this would be a way to get her into more kids' hands! Instead, you have Draculaura, a VAMPIRE who would BURST INTO FLAMES at the beach and Frankie Stein who is electrically charged and would probably SHORT OUT in the water! DUH!!!

In the center is "normie" Jackson Jekyll, the alter ego of Holt Hyde. I want a Jackson Jekyll doll, but not in a stupid bathing suit! He wouldn't fit in at all with my "school clothes" dolls! Also, according to Cathy, most little girls don't even want the boys in a doll collection. I'm all for more boys, but I think doing a normal-looking one in a series that's all about colorful monsters may be a mistake. I think that's why the Cleo DeNile/Deuce Gorgon boxed set isn't selling well. Cleo may look too normal!

But hopefully, little girls will like them and buy them so the line can continue. I hope they keep adding characters, though. I'm not interested in buying the same ones over and over in different outfits. Especially if they're LAME outfits. There are still a lot of possibilities! I think if they are cute enough, they could get away with a witch or demon without offending anyone. It would be neat if they did a giant character, like the child of a King Kong or Godzilla type. Oh and a ghost! That would be easy, I think! It might be hard to pull off like a hunchback or ogre or something, but there are still some options out there.