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When talks of the Monster High G3 reboot started going around in 2021, I made a tumblr post talking about how fans who had grown up with the original should lower their expectations. More specifically, I mention that ultimately it is a reboot, and therefore has to change in order to get the attention of its modern demographic. It would be unrealistic to expect the newest version to be a carbon copy of the original.
Now it's 2025 and we've had Monster High G3 for a while. Personally, I'm a fan! The movie (I only watched the first one) was only alright, but I think that the animated series and the dolls are great! Even then, I understand that it wasn't made with me in mind.
What I don't understand is how other people like me, who grew up with the original, hate G3 so strongly. I know that everyone has their preferences, of course, and nobody has to like anything. It's just that when it comes to the intense distaste for MH G3, I can't exactly put myself in those shoes.
Of course it isn't the same as the original, nobody said it was going to be! The fashion is different in the show just like how fashion trends have changed in real life. Many are bothered that it's not as "edgy" or alternative as the original, but when you look back at it the original wasn't exactly goth-central either. In fact, an important piece of each character is their own unique "killer style." Another complaint I often see is that the characters look particularly young, but they're high-schoolers. They can look like teenagers because they are teenagers. You mean to tell me you think G1 Clawdeen looks like a 15 year old?
As far as I can tell, the original message is still there; be yourself, be unique, be a monster. Embrace what makes us different!
To me, it feels like a lot of the people who are so passionately against G3 are blinded by their nostalgia to some degree. You are not the target audience anymore, it was not made with your preferences in mind. Unless you're a time-traveling 9 year old girl who came to the future to see more Monster High, you don't really have a foot in the race here. You're entitled to your opinions on the matter, of course, but you can't pretend that you're the audience they're catering to anymore.
What's especially outrageous to me is the people who shame the newest generation for its diversity. Yes, Generation 1 tried to be diverse, but it did not do it very well. A lot of the cultural diversity they attempted in G1 has aged very poorly, primarily due to the use of stereotypes (G1 Jinafire Long and Isi Dawndancer come to mind specifically). Generation 3 not only tries to do a better job with cultural diversity, but it also includes so many other forms of diverse characters. We have varying body types, disability representation, and LGBTQ+ identities, all of which that are clear and intentional. (Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but Clawdeen wasn't even written as a lesbian in the original MH. That was a fandom interpretation that was later accepted as canon once recognized by Garrett Sander. However, for Generation 3, it's written explicitly in the pitch bible: "Clawdeen is gay.")
I want to make it clear that I'm not slandering one generation or another! Generation 1 and 3 both have a place in my heart, but they're two separate beasts. The original generation is the one I grew up with, the toys and online games and webisodes sit fondly in my memory (and some in my collection). I also think that Generation 3 is fun and cute and a great translation of the original message for the modern day! I love that I'm able to see Monster High dolls in stores again like I used to, and I think these new dolls are awesome! Monster High themselves even say that G1 and G3 are alternate universes, there are a few different tiktoks or whatever that support that claim.
It's entirely possible to love one generation without bashing another. Heck, I'm even reconsidering my views on Generation 2 at this point for the same reasons. I actually wasn't involved with anything G2, my negative opinions on it were based on what I had seen online from other people... Hmmm... Sounds a little familiar...
I'm entirely open to hearing what other people have to say on the matter, but I don't want to argue.
Bonus notes about Monster High that aren't really related to the original topic:
- I like that all three generations of MH have a different "main" character from the Boo Crew. G1 had Frankie, G2 had Draculaura, and G3 has Clawdeen.
- As much as I love Draculaura, we really do not need that many dolls of her. Granted, her G3 dolls do usually look really nice, it's just that I don't see a reason for her to show up everywhere even if she is especially popular. Oh well. Whatever sells the best I guess.
- I really love G3 Frankie, they're such a fun character overall.
- While writing this I found out that there's a copy of the G3 Series Pitch Bible on the Internet Archive
Comments
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www.eden.com
real and true! too many people form their opinions on personal taste and nostalgia, then turn around and act like their preferences are objective fact. i think all mh gens have both good and bad designs, but that's just me and i'm not the target audience.
everyone needs to be nicer to each other about opinions in the community tbh. the entire message of the series is to love yourself and be kind to others, and at the end of the day? they're just dolls lmfao
starr_duzt
I think what a lot of people dont specify is that g3 and g1 target different age groups. G1 was for tweens and because of that was able to deal with nuanced topics with some level of maturity and seriousness. Tweens as a marketing demographic don't really exist anymore, so G3 compensated by targeting younger. The contrast of it being less nuanced and arguably more immature hits harder because its the same characters, same names, same IP. It also is loosing its alternative edge. In hindsight the outfits don't look crazy, but at the time G1 had news articles and angry mom articles going on about how much of a bad influence the clothes were. G3 has consistently pushed towards more mainstream trends over alternative trends even though there's a 2000s alt revival going on right now with younger people. For many, Barbie was for the 'normies' and MH for the alt/'weird' kids, and then we grew up into alternative adults. So it is noticeable and disappointing to see the brand loose its willingness to be weird, dark, and experimental. And for me personally, I think some of the moral lessons in the g3 show aren't well written, it wants to be educational but also silly monster show and I don't think it works. (which is an issue of a lot of modern children shows, y'know the cocomelon effect)
You make good points! I actually forgot about the concept of Tweens myself lol
I can understand missing the intended Weirdness of G1, that's what made it unique. I also understand that children's media isn't what it used to be in the slightest. It's unfortunate that G3 loses some of the alternative charm, but I personally think it's great that we still get to have Monster High at all :)
To be completely honest, the original blog was written to sorta combat what I saw as "unreasonable" reasons for flat-out Hating G3. I'm not asking people to love it or disregard G1, but to look at things a bit differently rather than jumping right to hatred.
by cherrystem_; ; Report
carnation_pink
For me personally, the G3 Dolls are a "Hit and Miss" given that I'm not the target demographic and it's a Play-line Doll. My Personal Favorite would be the First Core Refresh Dolls, but I am going to give G3 more Credit for their Designs the using different fabrics, trying to make a unique silhouette, and experimenting a lot more with fashion, which, given that other G1 Fans are blinded by Nostalgia, they hardly criticize G1 and how most of their designs are printed on, Monster High have a Skullector line for their Older Demographic, I don't even know why they are hating on Monster high G3 when It's clearly not made for them lol.