Ever After High: Dolls and Cartoons

I already owned a few Monster High dolls before I checked out the spin-off line, Ever After High. I'm not a princess fan, but I wondered if sweet cute dolls would be more my style than creepy inhuman dolls. Yet, so far I like MH slightly more- it's a mixed reaction. Monster High seems to be better at diversity and creativity.

I currently own the same number of both dolls, but that is mostly because I bought several of these cheap. You can see I've been trying to modify two ladies with new faces.

Duchess is my very favorite! I may just be buying other dolls so she can steal their clothes.

My Ever After High gang

The Ever After High cartoon is fun, exciting, with beautiful artwork and some challenging themes. I prefer it to the Monster High cartoons. However, EAH has more head scratchers. Yes, there are many things in MH that don't make sense (wait, Draculaura is 1600 years old? Is she ever going to be allowed to graduate high school?), but EAH wins in the category for troubling themes.

Content note: long post

1. Weird Families

Ever After High School is for the teen sons and daughters of famous fairy tale characters. Unlike Monster High, where students are encouraged to be themselves, EAH students are expected to be exactly the same as their parents. Apple White, the daughter of Snow White will grow up to eat a poisoned apple, die, be kissed, become queen, etc.

Naturally, Raven Queen, the daughter of the evil queen, isn't as excited about playing the villain in this storyline.

a picture of Raven's future

I have so many questions about this. Who is Raven's other parent? If Snow White married Prince Charming, and Apple White will also marry a Prince Charming, won't she be marrying a direct relative?

Obviously the writers have fun playing with this. Beauty's daughter, Rosabella Beauty, is canonically the cousin of Sleeping Beauty's daughter, Briar Beauty. Cute! Though, does that mean the mothers both kept their maiden names after marriage? Or didn't marry? Wait, who is Rosabella going to marry? She can't marry the Beast's son, her brother.

This issue got super weird during an internet short cartoon about the daughter of Cinderella, Ashlynn Ella in Ashlynn's Fashion Frolic. Ashlynn gets an unwanted visit from her two step-sisters... Why does she have stepsisters? Did Cinderella die young, and Prince Charming married someone else? That seems closest to the original storyline, but it's super sad. Maybe Charming was the one who died? Did they get a divorce? Are the original fairy tale characters obligated to order their lives in a way that will enable their children the best chance of replicating them?

Step-sisters bein' nasty

Is Ashlynn's mom even the original Cinderella? Maybe this has been going on for generations?
(They could have been step-cousins, daughters of the School Librarian Step-Sisters.)

It's too frustrating. I'm probably thinking harder about this than the writers wanted me to think. But, a good story shouldn't discourage you from thinking too hard about it. I can utilize suspension of disbelief to a point. After that point, I just feel sad.

2. Destiny & Bad Role Models

I'm looking for someone to blame for this terrible idea of making teens live their parent's lives. The obvious candidate is the Headmaster of EAH, Milton Grimm. (I bet he has a brother, haha.) He spends a lot of time pressuring students to pursue their "destiny," and seems to rely on questionable ways of doing it.

A teacher who doesn't like ideas.

A principal without principles.

Don't be deceived by how cute he looks while playing with ponies. You know that Bronies can be jerks.

Did I mention he cursed his brother and banished him to live in the basement for years?
But now they're friends again, so I guess it's alright.

Headmaster Grimm is upset when Raven decides not to pursue her destiny. He intimidates her, makes up wild lies, blackmails her roommate to pressure her, and eventually makes a convoluted magical vision appear from a wishing well to show her how all her friends will be destroyed if she doesn't do what she's told.

Missing Headmistress Bloodgood yet?

Maybe worse than the headmaster are the parents.

Apple's mom wants Apple to be the most popular of the them all

Raven's mom wants to take over the world

Both of the girls feel depressed every time they talk to their moms. Snow White tracks Apple's popularity on an app, and has the same weird fixation on Raven's life choices as Headmaster Grimm. The Evil Queen longs for Raven to join in her evilness... and yet, she also seems content with continuing her own reign of evil over the worlds. (She even ends up poisoning Apple herself.)

More than teen angst.

3. Good characters

My favorite part of the series is the characterization. The students are divided into two cliques- "Royals" (obedient to authority) and "Rebels" (friends/supporters of Raven.) But, despite some conflict, the cliques are friends, and they overlap a lot. Madeline Hatter is happy to follow in the Mad Hatter's footsteps, but she's also Raven's best friend, and cheers for her when she decides to write her own destiny. Briar Beauty plans to sleep for 100 years... but she's sad that she'll lose all her friends, and is hesitant to sign up for her destiny.

It's like when two cliques spend all their time together?

Apple White, who deeply opposed Raven's choices, is not the villain of the story. She's kind and sweet, and loves Raven and wants good things for her. They become close friends. Apple's biggest flaw seems to be her vulnerability to deception.

Apple-logic

I also enjoy the character of Darling Charming, who shows up late in the story to out-hero her two brothers. She hides her secret identity as the White Knight of Wonderland...

gender flip! This costume looks hard to fight in, right?

and she saves Apple White after she is poisoned. 

It's not a kiss, it's mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?

4. Making good decisions

Without helpful guidance from the adults in their lives, the students take time, make mistakes, forgive each other, and try to figure out what's right.

The most recent series, "Dragon Games" has a goofy, convoluted plot... and some wonderful messages. You won't believe how many times the characters affirm each other, and intentionally use the word "choice." It made my little feminist heart flutter.

Another weird family fate- the older twin has to live out Rapunzel's destiny,
but the younger twin can do whatever she wants.

Love is a big topic in the decision-making issues. The students secretly celebrate "True Hearts Day," where they have an opportunity to share a heart-fruit with a person they care about. 

A page from the true heart's book- Wait, what? This is a story I want to hear.

Apple gives her heart to Ashlynn, finally showing approval for Ashlynn's romantic relationship with Hunter (even though she thinks it's unwise). She tells Ashlynn that she will always love her best friend.

One of many times Apple refrains from showing affection for boys.

Love is a weird topic since there has been a secret relationship going on much longer- the original Rebel, Little Red Riding Hood.

Marrying the Big Bad wolf isn't so weird, since he's human half the time.

I'm not sure why no one has noticed or explained this yet, but it certainly shows that Headmaster Grimm's worries about the world falling apart aren't valid. 

I think the series is doing a better job of bucking traditions and promoting tolerance than what we see at Monster High. Headmaster Grimm represents many stodgy politicians and authority figures in our real world, right down to the fact that he isn't as powerful as he appears, and he is only motivated by fear. Every time the students oppose him, I feel victorious.

I'm excited to see where these stories go next. How do you like Ever After High?

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