Mattel’s Monster High is coming back to the screen in a couple of upcoming projects with Nickelodeon.
Mattel and Nickelodeon announced on Tuesday that they are teaming up to produce a new animated series and a live-action musical movie based on the fashion doll franchise that centers around the children of popular monsters and creatures in fiction.
Monster High launched in 2010 with the release of the dolls and an animated series that ran for seven seasons on YouTube. Over a decade later, Mattel and Nickelodeon are now looking to refuel the franchise by introducing it to a whole new generation of kids through the abovementioned projects.
The new animated series follows fan-favorite characters Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura, and Frankie Stein as they navigate the hilarity of high school in the hallowed halls of Monster High. Scheduled to premiere in 2022, the show will be available globally across Nickelodeon platforms. Similarly, the Monster High movie musical event, which marks the first time the franchise will be brought to life in live action, will also available on Nickelodeon platforms across the world next year.
Shea Fontana, (Polly Pocket, DC Super Hero Girls) will serve as the showrunner on the new animated series. Meanwhile, Jenny Jaffe (Big Hero 6: The Series, Rugrats) and the writing team of Greg Erb and Jason Oremland (Princess and the Frog, Playmobil: The Movie) will pen the Monster High live-action musical movie.
“Monster High’s strong message of inclusivity is more relevant than ever,” said Mattel Television general manager Fred Soulie in a news release. “Nickelodeon shares our passion for the brand and its purpose having worked on the franchise when it first launched more than a decade ago. They are the ideal partners to bring these beloved characters and their stories to life through episodic television and the live-action television movie.”
“These classic monsters have always captured kids’ imaginations and we are so excited and proud to welcome Monster High to our brand for a new generation of kids,” said Ramsey Naito, president of Nickelodeon Animation. “We have terrific partners on board at Mattel to create original content in different formats, and, with the expertise of the Nick creative team helmed by Claudia Spinelli on the animation development side, and Zack Olin and Shauna Phelan on the live-action side, we can’t wait to showcase the comedy and adventure of these characters as they defy expectations and take on the world.”
The Monster High animated series and the live-action musical movie are the latest projects to join the growing list of other Mattel Television content in production, including series and specials based on Barbie, Masters of the Universe, Thomas & Friends, Polly Pocket, and Fireman Sam, among many others.