Ever After High

Let’s talk about Ever After High.

EAH is a sister line to Monster High, made by Mattel.  They created a literal crossover, with the Monster High character C.A. Cupid stepping through a magic mirror into storybook land, where fairy tales have children and everyone has a really round head.

The premise of EAH “revolves around the enchanting teenage descendants of the world’s most celebrated fairytale figures as they confront the destiny set forth by their story at high school and either embrace it or reject it.”

Ever After High takes place in an alternative universe where fairytale figures are real, in the sense that they exist but are aware of their status as characters in a story. In the world of Ever After High, the continued existence of these figures depends on the preservation of the story. And the preservation of the story depends on the figures’ ability to provide new figures, their children, who will relive the story. As such, each child has their destiny already laid out before them the day they are born. For some, this is a beneficial situation, while others can only look forward to a gloomy future.

Ever After High is a high school founded in 1812 where the children gather not only to follow classes, but also to be prepared for their destiny. Every aspect of the school is designed so as to push the children in the proper direction. Ever After High is managed by Headmaster Milton Grimm, who has no regard for the students with less fortunate destinies except for their obligation to fulfill their destiny. He has a brother, Giles Grimm, who does not agree with Headmaster Grimm’s beliefs and promotes choice through what few channels he has. Giles Grimm is the keeper of the Vault of Lost Tales, a secret library underneath Ever After High. Supposedly, he has knowledge of the fates of tales that ceased to exist that makes him more certain of the possibility of change.

At Ever After High, the student body has split in two sides: the Royals and the Rebels. The Royals are generally those with a luxurious destiny, and who thus are eager to obtain their much-promised Happily Ever After. The Rebels, on the other hand, are generally those with a negative or inconsequential destiny, and who thus are interested in the idea that their futures would not depend on destiny. The main figures within this conflict are Apple White, the future Snow White, and Raven Queen, the future Evil Queen. Raven’s open rejection of her destiny is at the start of the conflict, while Apple White is tasked by Headmaster Grimm to convince Raven that her ideas are wrong. All the while, the two are roommates with an uneasy friendship going on between them and many friends who are all affected by the conflict in their own way.

When I was a kid my mother had a beautiful old leather-bound set of the complete Grimm’s fairy tales; what with my nostalgic love for those books and my high opinion of the Monster High property, I’ve been looking forward to Ever After High since the first whispers arose across the interwebs.  Let me tell you, it has not disappointed.

I just finished reading the associated novel, Ever After High: Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale, and am even more of a fan than I was initially.  Having recently read some of the Monster High books, Ever After High really impresses me as being well thought out and it works as a world and a story even aside from the toys; the book was a fun and charming expansion of the canon, whereas the MH books had a tendency to feel like reading advertisements.  There are lots of silly puns in the EAH books and all the flavor text, but they manage to make them seem cute and fun, where they can feel a little forced at times in the MH world.

The webisodes are really cute as well, with nice art and great voice acting.  The characters are likeable and quite well-rounded when you delve into the details.  The character designs are all really appealing and individual, and recognizably appropriate according to their fairy tale origins, with some fresh quirks and an aesthetic that’s a really successful mix of fairy tale tropes and modern fashion.  The “message” of the  line is a good one too, with the whole “write your own story, choose your own destiny” thing.

Obviously, I’m a fan.  I’m also super excited because the Ever After High dolls just became available in Canada two weeks ago, and the newest ones (which happen to be ones I was very much looking forward to!) are already in stores here as well!  The best part for me is that it was just my birthday this weekend, so I was able to get a few of these beauties.

Maddie Hatter was my first purchase, as she is part of the first case assortment that came to stores.  It was going to either be her or Raven Queen, as I love both their characters and designs; however, none of the Raven dolls had good faceups, and one of the Maddies totally did.

I’d say more about Maddie, but I’m planning to do a review soon, so I’ll leave the gushing for that..

The other EAH dolls that I got are Blondie Lockes and Cerise Hood.  Both of these *just* came to stores, and I didn’t even expect to be getting them already.  My husband took me to Toys R Us to pick out a birthday present, and to my great surprise I saw Cerise’s red cloak peeking out at me from the EAH shelves.  ^_^  I’m pretty sure I did a little hop and a *squee* when I saw that.

Stay tuned to the blog for full reviews, with lots of photos, of Blondie and Maddie, and Cerise as well!