S11.E03: Monster High

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The artists head to Mattel Headquarters where they create film ready versions of Monster High characters.

[GaT]

I'm excited for this one, I wonder if McKenzie will tell them "never before on Face Off" again?

[Primetimer]

Monster High dolls turn into living, breathing people. Or monsters. Or something.

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[sourpickles]

I was not sold on this episode.  Maybe once I watch it again I'll be ok, but at first watch, the premise was creepy and those superfans  were something else.  Look, I have my Crystal Barbie and She-Ra collection, but those regular people with a MH obsession?  I couldn't.  I don't have one note about this epi.  Plus, I thought it was product placement from hell.  On the other hand, I do love my 80s dolls and I did fall down the stairs today so....perhapsly no one should listen to me.

[Frozendiva]

I don't know much about Monster High - first I've ever really seen anything about those dolls. I go back to Swingy and Baby Swingy along with some Barbie and Zapf German dolls. I did like the idea of a balanced focus group - i.e. a mix of fans and non-fans - not the clear group of superfans.  Waaaay too much bias. Would have been great to get some non-fans who knew nothing about the dolls to give critique and if they would be interested in seeing a film with these characters.  I did enjoy some of their comments and feedback - to see things from a different, non-industry, non eagle set of eyes. Maybe if there were plans for a film it would be a niche film that only Monster High fans/pre and teens would see. But the reality is that a film should appeal to many demographics. Nice of Mattel to volunteer for some product placement and to both give and get some exposure from the show. I still consider Face Off to be one of the few well-respected (across the board) reality competition shows - no drama between contestants, no judges vying for attention or to keep themselves relevant. Actual quality industry people without selfish, self-promoting agendas.

I to admit to having a Tasmanian Devil and Grinch collection.

All three of the top looks belonged there and I really didn't care which one won. The two faves were the skeleton lady and the sea monster.

[mlp]

Venus flytrap girl's face looked awful but I loved the plant.  I hope Mattel produces that because I definitely need one.  

I thought the vampire girl looked like Lily Tomlin doing Ernestine doing a giddy monster doll.

Cig and George are easily my favorites and I loved their fish girl.  I am delighted that they won.

[Maelstrom]

I've never heard of Monster High before tonight, because apparently I'm really really old. That being said, I actually really liked this ep, much to my surprise. I liked that this pushed most of the contestants (except Emily, lol) outside of their comfort zone by forcing them to focus on beauty rather than monsters. After past seasons that were basically all monsters all the time, it was nice that the very premise of this one prevented them from covering their models in foam latex and fake gore.

I was sorry not to see the judges tonight. It's not Face Off if I don't get to make fun of Glenn's hair. And I wanted them to see the beautiful work Team Skeleton did on the bone makeup. That's always such a tough look pull off convincingly, and they did a great job! Though I wish they had just done a straight beauty makeup on the face and  hadn't bothered with a prosthetic.

My other favorite look tonight was Cig and George - they did a wonderful job IMO of balancing creature and beauty. And, Megan! It's funny, I didn't care for Cig in his initial season until he stepped out of his comfort zone (monster makeups) and did an ice fairy type makeup that turned out beautifully. I remember being impressed that he took a risk in a style he'd never done before and gave it his all. As for tonight, he and George practicing beauty makeup on each other was fucking hilarious. Period.

So glad team Blue scrapped the face prosthetic. Yikes. THat was scary alright, though not in a good way.

Either I missed it, or we didn't get a preview for best week. Boo. My satellite description says "the contestants create makeups based on a series of..." Excellent place to cut off the write-up, guys.

[zxy556575]

Seemed like some of the focus group panelists were perhaps more beguiled by the costuming than the makeup.

18 hours ago, mlp said:

Venus flytrap girl's face looked awful but I loved the plant.  I hope Mattel produces that because I definitely need one.

I had to move my ancient, decrepit fingers around the keyboard to look up Monster High, but yeah, I'd totally buy that plant.

I'd be tempted to poke a bit of fun at adult superfans of teenage girl dolls except my collection of Simpsons interactive figures and playsets would disapprove.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Lord Donia

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

I've never heard of Monster High before tonight, because apparently I'm really really old.

This

2 hours ago, sourpickles said:

at first watch, the premise was creepy and those superfans  were something else.

If I was a 20's something guy, I don't think I'd admit to being a superfan of a line of dolls.

I liked 2 of the 3 top looks, but the Day of the Dead skeleton one didn't do it for me.  I appreciate the work from a special effects make-up perspective, but the model ended up looking old to me, and isn't the point supposed to be that she's a teenager?

[GaT]

Full disclosure, I collect dolls & I absolutely own some Monster High dolls. I thought everyone did a pretty good job considering that they weren't doing exact replicas of the dolls. I would have been OK with any of them winning actually. And for a little TMI, the dolls they showed were the revamped MH dolls, the line started in 2010, & in 2016 they rebooted it with all new revamped faces that would appeal to younger kids. The fans were not happy.

On 2/1/2017 at 1:05 PM, GaT said:

I'm excited for this one, I wonder if McKenzie will tell them "never before on Face Off" again?

I was waiting for it, & it didn't happen until the judging, but yep, there it was again. That's all 3 episodes so far.

3 hours ago, mlp said:

Venus flytrap girl's face looked awful but I loved the plant.  I hope Mattel produces that because I definitely need one.  

The original Venus Flytrap doll came with own little venus flytrap

[Richness]

Loved this episode as it forced them into doing beauty make-ups without actually being solely about beauty make-up. Very clever!

So glad the blue hairs ditched the bad drag queen look. That was just scary, and I've seen plenty of drag queens at their worst, and they still looked more fabulous passed out drunk than that. Rachel and Gage better be glad they weren't dealing out elimination for that frightening Venus McFlytrap. Her pet plant was the only saving grace. Niko and Cat also failed miserably. 

While the George and Cig show can get old quickly, I was very glad they won. While their work was fantastic, I was hoping they'd win just for practicing beauty make-up on each other since that isn't their forte. The other two top looks were great as well, though I thought Draculaura was pretty but too simple. And kudos to Monty the reviewer for the Red Dwarf reference.

[starri]

So, Monster High is just a less slutty version of Bratz, right?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Having a superfan focus group instead of judges was interesting. Part of me  likes that they got fans who know the dolls and characters to judge. One the other hand, I would like people who expertise in makeup/prosthetics to weigh in with their opinions and fully appreciate the technical skills that were used.

Emily and Tyler - Draculaura
I can see how they had the least specific physical characteristics to work with, so it was smart to add the little bat wings on the chest.

Cig and George - Lagoona Blue
I didn't like the multicolored wig they created, but their beauty makeup looked better than I thought it would. It seems lazy that they never even experimented a little bit with beauty makeup before coming on the show, but at least they tested some out on each other beforehand. I liked the fins on the arms. "I look like a clown hooker!"

Melissa and Keaghlan - Cleo de Nile
I don't know if they used too much bronzer or the wrong color base but her face looked too orange. Still way better than it would have looked with that terrible prosthetic, so I'm glad they were able to recognize their mistake and make the decision to scrap it. I loved the bandages with the hieroglyphics though.

Logan and Adam - Abby Dominable
I liked everything EXCEPT the makeup. The little furry pet they made for her was cute, the outfit was great, the hair looked good, and I liked the pink eyelashes. I didn't like the nose (heh, loved the guy who said it was too Voldemort) or the stark whiteness of her face without more beauty makeup.

Niko and Cat - Clawdeen Wolf
The model's face looked brown in a fake way. It also looked like they had done contouring without blending.

Ben and Evan - Skelita Calaveras
They could have done such cool sugar skull makeup on their model and they went with just painting her face white and adding a few black markings. I loved the bones on the arms and the neck.

Gage and Rachael - Venus McFlytrap
Rachael, when you are counting on a wig to pull off the iconic look, that probably means there are a lot of problems with everything else.

[starri]

I do like that they seem to have added more models of color this season. 

[Silly Angel]

"Fan" is short for "fanatic," so I'm not crazy about the rise of the "superfan." It means nothing. That said, this was one of my favorite episodes. I love when they do whimsical or monster/beauty--it really brings out interesting shades of their talents. Great results on the reveal stage, too. This is why it's an all-stars season. I don't feel I ever get that jump in quality from regular to all-star groups on other competitive reality shows.

I want interstitial footage of Team Cig and George playing with their dolls. I'd watch that all day.

[singsong]

Great episode. I always love seeing the contestants doing work that isn't horror or sci-fi, as that gets some of them out of their comfort zones with sometimes unusual results. And I loved the addition of the focus group, more than I thought I would. It was to see a different point of view. I'm liking this season with the teams and non-elimination weeks. I'm glad Cig and George won - their makeup made me gasp. Those colors and her face were so pretty.

[enoughcats]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

 

12 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

I've never heard of Monster High before tonight, because apparently I'm really really old.

This

 

yup.

Also I need some of the coffee the contestants are drinking because their mornings are full of bounce.

[Cowgirl]

So, I was wondering who would be lucky enough to get the model with the really big eyes who is often featured on this show (sorry I don't know her name), because she had the perfect eyes for these dolls. I think they even made her a doll on at least one other past season.  They didn't have her there though, which really is more fair in this challenge. It would have given an advantage to the team who go her. Her eyes and features resemble one of these dolls to a "t." 

I thought a lot of the makeup looked caked on the models last night.  

[Madding crowd]

I just saw a bunch of the Monster High dolls on clearance at Tuesday Morning! This was kind of an odd challenge. I'm sure the artists wanted to do a creative rendering but if a movie is made they will all look like cute teenage girls. I found the adult fanatics a bit much but they were mostly positive. I agree the day of the dead model looked old for some reason and really none them were or looked like teenagers. I thought the vampire girl should have won because she embodied the teenage vibe, but the winning doll was also good.

[Maelstrom]

1 hour ago, Cowgirl said:

So, I was wondering who would be lucky enough to get the model with the really big eyes who is often featured on this show (sorry I don't know her name), because she had the perfect eyes for these dolls. I think they even made her a doll on at least one other past season.  They didn't have her there though, which really is more fair in this challenge. It would have given an advantage to the team who go her. Her eyes and features resemble one of these dolls to a "t." 

I thought a lot of the makeup looked caked on the models last night.  

If you're talking about the model with big brown eyes and dark curly hair, that's Nayeli (though I have idea if I've spelled it right). I've wished for a long time they'd do a special episode focused on the models - some of them we've seen for so long, it'd be cool to get to know them beyond the makeup.

Definitely agree that some of the makeup looked way too caked on. The ones that took time for a proper beauty makeup were smart to do so.

[Kelda Feegle]

That focus group seemed way too old imho, I am reserving judgement on the model as doll until I get the opinion of my 9 year old granddaughter as I too am old! She collects, I buy.

[starri]

They seemed like a gayer version of bronies. 

[frogzapper]

Count me as one of those who knew nothing about Monster High before this episode!

That said, I thought the dolls were cute, but in most cases I just didn't think they transferred that successfully to live models. (If they were really going to make a movie of them, I would think they'd have to be computer-animated characters!) Most of them looked too old to me, not like high-school kids, especially the Dia de los Muertos one - sure she was pretty and I was very impressed with the skeleton effect, but she looked 40-something to me! I thought Venus McFlytrap had potential, but like someone above mentioned, they should have done more blending in the makeup and there was no reason to give her such ugly looking teeth! I agree that the key to this challenge was getting the beauty makeup right. Even the Draculaura character, as cute as she was, I thought could have used more in the beauty makeup. For that doll-like look you need those big prominent eyes, and I think her eyes could have been brought out more.

My favorite by far was Cig's and George's Lagoona Blue. I thought the makeup was gorgeous and I think they were very fortunate to have Megan as their model - she did a great job of selling the character as usual. And I think her heart-shaped face lent itself better to the doll-like look than some of the other models with narrower or squarer faces. I also liked how C&G accentuated the shape of her face with the cheek appliances. I loved the added touch of the surfer guy in her hair too - very clever!

[Cowgirl]

1 hour ago, Maelstrom said:

If you're talking about the model with big brown eyes and dark curly hair, that's Nayeli (though I have idea if I've spelled it right). I've wished for a long time they'd do a special episode focused on the models - some of them we've seen for so long, it'd be cool to get to know them beyond the makeup.

Thanks Maelstrom!  She sure is a striking model.  I like your idea to do an epi focused on the models! Some of them have been with the show since season 1.  

[Canada]

I'm surprised at how rough some of these looks were.  They have two days to do a make-up on one person.  That should be plenty of time, so lack of time is not an excuse. 

What kind of adult gets excited and jumps up and down over dolls???  That who idea is just frightening to me and makes me feel very sorry for these 'adults', including the 'superfans'.

The irony of weird blue-haired chick complaining that their face piece was too much bad drag queen.  Honey, you constantly look like a really bad drag queen!

Shocked by how bad Emily & partner's look was.  That vampire looked to be about 50.  It was not a good look and I was expecting so much more from her.

The team challenges are quickly wearing thin for me.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Canada

[Toaster Strudel]

2 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

If you're talking about the model with big brown eyes and dark curly hair, that's Nayeli (though I have idea if I've spelled it right).

Agreed... she makes every makeup look very unique and special  It's the eyes!  She's got them.

[zxy556575]

2 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

I've wished for a long time they'd do a special episode focused on the models - some of them we've seen for so long, it'd be cool to get to know them beyond the makeup.

Oooh! They should totally do some interstitial/wraparound bits before and after commercials. Also, what do we call them? They've been referred to as models, performers, actors, and dancers that I remember.

I prefer actors, because the best ones bring a lot of (silent) emotion to the characters.

[bobbyjoe]

Ugh, not a fan of this challenge.  There's product placement and then there's product placement overkill, and this episode drifted way too far into that second category.  I could maybe have handled it if the challenge had been: here's the Monster High dolls, now design an original creation that could be a new member of Monster High.  That at least would have let the contestants play around more with their own creativity (and would have been a lot more interesting to watch).  But this "here's a product, now take that product and dress somebody up to look like that product" feels like just straightforward advertising, not what Face Off is usually about.  By the time we got to the part where Glenn, Ve, and Neville had been replaced by a bunch of Monster High "superfans," the "seriously, show? Seriously?!" in me had about reached its limit.  This challenge is probably my least favorite in Face Off history; it feels like the "substitute teacher" episode, where you don't only have the regular creativity-- and judges-- taking a day off, but our substitute teacher, Mattel, reeeeeeeally wants to tell us about this box of off-brand candy bars she wants us to buy.

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, bobbyjoe said:

here's the Monster High dolls, now design an original creation that could be a new member of Monster High.

I like that idea much better than what they actually did.

[hincandenza]

I am enjoying this season; other than a couple of misfires in the first episode, there haven't been really any comically bad makeups this season.  When Keaghan and Melissa decided to scrap the face sculpt after it had been applied, it was the absolute right decision- and shows the difference between the cannon fodder of other seasons and this all-stars season.  Maybe it's experience, or maybe it's just the aesthetic sensibility to know when something is much worse than nothing.

I like the idea of this episode and hope it recurs as an occasional thing (and obviously only as a non-elimination week), although as @bobbyjoe suggested they ought to dial down the heavy-handed product placement a couple of notches.  I really enjoyed when they got to watch the focus group make comments, as it was a chance to hear the facetestants speak candidly about feedback, and for them to hear what kinds of things laypeople pick up on.  I didn't like that this odd little focus group spoke the language of soulless mid-20's PR firm interns, with utterances like "I wanna see the monster high movie where this is Laguna Blue.  It's fresh, and it elevates the brand".  Puh-lease.  I'm also curious how the judges will consider this week in pairing with next week; I assume they are treating this as they would any other challenge/immunity, since I don't know that the judges would have had the same rankings and thoughts, and obviously couldn't inspect the handiwork up close.

Can we, once again, rave about how awesome Megan is?  She's fantastic at inhabiting the characters, and when I peeked at her IMDB I saw that she's gotten a lot more acting gigs since she started on this show, so good for her!  I think Cig and George's makeup was the best this week, and their solution for the cheekbone slits to sell the aquatic aspect was gorgeous... but it really sold it when Megan came prancing forward as a recognizable high-fashion clique-y high school girl.  The costume was also good because aesthetically, we all like those sort of brilliant, metallic, shimmery color palettes. When well executed it often outshines any conceptual flaws (not an issue this week), whereas even a fairly true-to-the-doll makeup like Venus Flytrap suffered with that flat, pasty mint green face.

This challenge was really in Emily's wheelhouse, and she and Trevor turned in another solid makeup although it didn't have the same "spark" as Laguna; I think if they'd downplayed the gothic heaviness for a little more teenage whimsy it could have won.  It looked (to me) the most realistic and plausible example of how the exaggerated style of the toys would be adapted for a live-action version, although Laguna was also great if we consider that the target demographic would be much more forgiving with the non-human characters translation from the original IP- dammit, that fucking focus group guy infected me with PR doublespeak.  Ugh, now I need a hot shower and a playlist of Bill Hicks on youtube...

Did anyone else think the Abbey Bominable looked an awful lot like an albino Paris Hilton?  The focus group liked it, as did I; I would have put it in over Ben and Evan.  It retained a youthful appearance, even though the nose was yes kind of Voldemort-y; Michael Westmore even warned them about the nostrils!  Still, the nose could be fixed with a little tweaking, and the overall appearance was very toy-come-to-life (Aspen Barbie!).  Oh, and that cute mammoth was really fantastic for a hand-made prop.

I'm surprised Ben and Evan's day of the dead makeup was a top look, as are many of us apparently; again, I think for a couple of these makeups the real judges would have had some harsh criticisms.  Between the rather sparse actual day of the dead makeup, the tendons in the neck, and the fondant lunar landscape complexion, she looked like a mid-40's Long Island mafia wife with a worsening pill habit.  Who is apparently also still in high school.  But that aside, those bone effects were great, and they did put a lot of attention into the required 15 pieces of flair, which the focus group seemed to really enjoy.  However, neglecting the face in favor of props is a time-honored Face Off blunder, and I think is a sign that Ben and Evan are not going to be around much longer.

[Cowgirl]

57 minutes ago, hincandenza said:

 I didn't like that this odd little focus group spoke the language of soulless mid-20's PR firm interns, with utterances like "I wanna see the monster high movie where this is Laguna Blue.  It's fresh, and it elevates the brand".  Puh-lease.

I agree! When they said it elevates the brand I looked up for a second, wondering if my DVR had switched over to Top Chef.  They are always trying to elevate their dishes over there. 

57 minutes ago, hincandenza said:

I'm surprised Ben and Evan's day of the dead makeup was a top look, as are many of us apparently; again, I think for a couple of these makeups the real judges would have had some harsh criticisms.  Between the rather sparse actual day of the dead makeup, the tendons in the neck, and the fondant lunar landscape complexion, she looked like a mid-40's Long Island mafia wife with a worsening pill habit.  Who is apparently also still in high school.

Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!  Your comment made my day!!!  I loved the bone effect they achieved. I wish I could have seen this in real life. On camera it possessed a great luminescent quality.  The face makeup, however, was disappointing and was one of the cakier looking makups this week.  

Edited February 9, 2017 by Cowgirl

[enoughcats]

1 hour ago, hincandenza said:

she looked like a mid-40's Long Island mafia wife with a worsening pill habit.  Who is apparently also still in high school.

And I was wondering if anyone else associated the over tanned, gaunt with "old", although I was thinking south Florida never-wore-a-hat-or-sun-screen bar hopper. 

[Quilt Fairy]

Day of the Dead makeup creeps me out anyway, so I'm glad others thought she looked old.

Interesting point about what the judges will do next week, since they're theoretically judging the bottom look over 2 challenges.

3 hours ago, hincandenza said:

 I didn't like that this odd little focus group spoke the language of soulless mid-20's PR firm interns, with utterances like "I wanna see the monster high movie where this is Laguna Blue.  It's fresh, and it elevates the brand".  

THAT"S IT!  I knew there were too many guys in that focus group!

[starri]

13 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I knew there were too many guys in that focus group!

There were three men in a group of, I think, eight.  That's too many?

[Betelnut]

I'm old as the hills (55) but I have a 10 year-old daughter so I am very familiar with Monster High dolls/movies/product.  I have seen all the movies and know the characters very well.

Although I really loved the challenge--so great to have beauty makeups as a challenge and make them do something pretty for once, I wasn't too impressed with any of the results.  The makeups made all of the models look too old.  MH characters are young cute teenagers.  None of these looked fresh.  Also, one of the main points of the dolls and even the movies is fashion and I didn't think very many of the teams really hit that out of the park.  I know it isn't a fashion design competition but it is still an integral part of the "brand" of MH.

Emily and Tyler - Draculaura
Hated the teeth.  Draculaura’s teeth are cute and just slightly protrude from her upper lips.  The teeth on this one took over the entire face and it looked like the model couldn’t even close her mouth.

Cig and George - Lagoona Blue
I guess it was the “best” one since it was completely different from the actual doll and actually was made to look like a semi-fish-girl composite.  I don't know if I would have pegged it as a MH character if I wasn't watching the show.

Melissa and Keaghlan - Cleo de Nile

Kudos to the team for removing the terrible rubber mask that “looks like a rubber mask!”  (Duh) Still, she ended up looking very old. Cleo is the fashionista of the group and I didn’t see that expressed either.  She is a QUEEN and didn’t exude that attitude.

Logan and Adam - Abby Dominable
Abby is one of my favorite MH characters (she is hilariously dry and no nonsense) and I would have picked her if I were choosing a character.  I actually thought this was one of the better efforts but I do think the nose was a mistake.  Yeah—Voldemort!  The accessories were great though.  Loved the mammoth cage/bag.

Niko and Cat - Clawdeen Wolf
Too brown and not in a pretty way (more cracked and addicted to a tanning booth)!  Sure she’s a wolf (werewolf) but she just looked overly tanned.

Ben and Evan - Skelita Calaveras
Eh, I liked the skeleton arms.  Skelita isn’t a major character—not sure why she was included in the group, frankly.

Gage and Rachael - Venus McFlytrap
The mouth was NOT cute and she was too green.  MH characters are cute, pretty, teenage girls. The hair and plant were good though. 

Also, where was Frankie Stein?!  She is one of--if not the most--- important characters ! I would put her up there with Cleo, Draculaura, Laguna, and Claudine.  A FRANKENSTEIN'S monster teenage girl!?!?  That would have been a great fit for the challenge!

Where was Ghoulia?!?  Another major character who is much more featured than Venus.  A zombie/ghoul!  She is hilarious because she only talks in moans/groans--the audience has no idea what she is saying but all her "ghoul friends" do.  She is the tech savvy one of the group.

Okay, I will step away now.  I actually did enjoy the challenge despite the disappointments in the final results...

[enoughcats]

Betelnut should have done the intro and background.  Thanks to her, the characters are much more memorable, and I may have been tired, but I didn't get any of this from the editing of the show. 

I'm surprised that some of the competitors who were so excited by the idea of this challenge didn't have this depth of knowledge. (Trying to take the high road here.)

[hincandenza]

4 hours ago, Betelnut said:

I'm old as the hills (55) but I have a 10 year-old daughter so I am very familiar with Monster High dolls/movies/product.  I have seen all the movies and know the characters very well.

Although I really loved the challenge--so great to have beauty makeups as a challenge and make them do something pretty for once, I wasn't too impressed with any of the results.  The makeups made all of the models look too old.  MH characters are young cute teenagers.  None of these looked fresh.  Also, one of the main points of the dolls and even the movies is fashion and I didn't think very many of the teams really hit that out of the park.  I know it isn't a fashion design competition but it is still an integral part of the "brand" of MH.

Your whole writeup was an awesome peek into that world!  Thanks for sharing, it really made the episode richer for understanding. It underscores that Mattell didn't offer much clear direction in terms of highlighting what you said so well: that these should be approachable, relatable, cute teenage girls with a hint of monster- and not the other way around. Why didn't they put you on the focus group, instead of those dang buzzfeed drones?

Edited February 10, 2017 by hincandenza

[LittleIggy]

I'm an adult and have several MH dolls. They were my gateway drug into expensive Asian ball jointed dolls! I agree with Betelnut: where was Frankie Stein? As you can see from my avatar, she is my favorite. Draculaura is my next fave, and I didn't like her teeth either. That fan was stupid criticizing her dress as not being "high school." She has party dresses.

Edited February 11, 2017 by LittleIggy

[Betelnut]

LittleIggy:  I was still thinking about it afterwards and remembered that Frankie Stein would have also been a great character because her body comes apart!  It would have been a cool touch to have a "real" person with a detachable hand, for example!

Thanks everyone for the kind words <blush>

Actually, I'm not that much of a super fan--just someone who has seen ALL the movies and whose kid has a lot of the dolls. 

[enoughcats]

Until Betelnut mentioned them, I didn't know there already were movies. Having the contestants see one movie might have been a way (the night before) to introduce them to the challenge (and the audience to this world). 

Nor had I ever heard of Asian ball jointed dolls. 

[qtpye]

Monster High dolls were game changers in the fashion doll world, because they celebrated your imperfections and uniqueness.  They made Barbie look stale and boring. I really do not understand why it is so hard for most of the contestants to do a good beauty make up.

I hated the results, but I do think having teenage or younger models would have made difference, but I know that would get into some child labor laws that the producers want to avoid.

However, there are many 18 year old models that could pass for much younger. 

[Nutjob]

I agree that the final products looked too old, but I think a lot of that was because the MH characters have the round, big baby head/eye trick animators use to make characters more appealing and cute to the human eye. Grown, adult women have more angular, thin faces that even makeup couldn't account for, which aged all of them quite a bit.

That said, I love Cig/George, so I'm stoked they got the win.

[LittleIggy]

13 hours ago, enoughcats said:

 

Nor had I ever heard of Asian ball jointed dolls. 

An expensive hobby, I assure you! I stopped at four dolls. The costumes alone can cost as much as human clothes! Unfortunately, I'm now into reborn babies! :-0