- For the separate TV series released in 2022, see Monster High.
Among the promotional material Mattel produces to bring attention to the Monster High dolls, the most prominent product is the Monster High cartoon series. Released as a mix of many webisodes of a few minutes long and a small amount of TV specials of around an hour, the cartoon is the primary medium through which new characters and accessories are brought to the audience's attention. The flash-animated material was produced by WildBrain during 2010-2012 and Six Point Harness from 2013-2015, though Top Draw Animation has been continuously hired by both companies for supportive work after it took over from Caboom. Meanwhile, the TV specials were CGI-animated, and were produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment and DHX Media until Great Scarrier Reef. Sound was done by Salami Studios.
The cartoon finished its Generation 1 run in 2015 with Volume 6. Its Generation 2 run, which began in 2016, had two separate series, Meet the Ghouls and Adventures of the Ghoul Squad, both of which were quietly cancelled by at least 2018. The G2 CGI-animated material for the TV specials was produced by Flaunt Productions.
Currently, as of 2022, the cartoon is in its Generation 3 run and is now co-produced by Nickelodeon. Each volume strictly has eight episodes that have a runtime of up to five minutes. Instead of TV specials, the CGI-animated material is for the TV series, which is produced by Xentrix Studios; however, the webisodes and the TV series are made by two entirely seperate teams at Nickelodeon.[1] In September 2024, all of the G3 webisodes have been set to private for unknown reasons.
The cartoon has had 16 TV specials. The cartoon is typically a 2D-animated webisode series, or web series.
Generation 1 webisodes[]
Volume 1[]
Between May 5th and July 30th of 2010, Mattel released 15 webisodes featuring the students, teachers and staff of Monster High. This was followed by a 3-month hiatus until October 29th, starting which another 12 webisodes were released until January 20, 2011. The webisodes of Volume 1 are a little less than two minutes, with the average webisode being 1:47 minutes long. There is almost no continuity between the webisodes and all rely on the "gag-per-webisode" format. The Volume 1-associated TV special "New Ghoul @ School", which details Frankie Stein's first days at Monster High, functions as an alternative version of the webisodes' story.
Volume 2[]
Volume 2 was released between February 8th and November 17th of 2011. Its formula is drastically different from Volume 1's. Instead of only 1:47 minutes, Volume 2's webisodes have an average time of 3:32 minutes, almost twice as much. Unlike Volume 1, the Volume 2 webisodes are heavy on continuity, featuring multiple storylines at once that span multiple webisodes. The TV special "Fright On!" was released during Volume 2's run and takes place between Volume 2 and Volume 3. Volume 2 also saw the release of a special webisode to promote the Kind Campaign, though it isn't marked as Volume 2 and has to take place after "Fright On!". This season of the Monster High cartoon had some improvements in animation.
Volume 3[]
Preceded by three promotional webisode releases in October and November, the first of the regular Volume 3 webisodes was released on the Monster High channel and site on December 8, 2011. The end of Volume 3 is not any easier to define; the webisodes of the regular schedule stopped on December 10, 2013, but three final Volume 3 webisodes were released on the "Frights, Camera, Action!" DVD on March 25, 2014. All the Volume 3 webisodes are 2:31 minutes long, less than the length of Volume 2's webisodes, and mark a return to the "gag-per-webisode" format. There is still a sense of continuity a la Volume 2, but less so. Notably, Volume 3 introduced clip shows, which did help establish a sense of continuity. Nine TV specials belong to Volume 3, but none of them has a distinguishable position relative to the webisodes. Volume 3 was the longest running season for the Monster High cartoon, having over 50 episodes (not counting extra DVD specials).
Promotional/DVD Extra[]
Regular[]
Volume 4[]
On November 21, five Volume 4 webisodes were uploaded on YouTube. Volume 4, like Volume 3, started while the previous volume had yet to reach its end. This season of the Monster High cartoon had the same length (in minutes) like Volume 3, but some episodes were 3:00. The webisodes varied in the 2:30-3:00 range, with the same “gag-per-episode” format. The animation in this season mostly stayed the same, with some small improvements.
Volume 5[]
On October 2, 2014, a Volume 5 webisode was uploaded onto YouTube. Much like Volume 4, Volume 5 started before the previous volume had come to its end. Notable changes in Volume 5 are an increased running time and a slight improvement in the animation itself, such as more varied facial expressions, new looks for some characters, and more. Monster High's main building exterior is changed to look more like the school, as seen in the movie specials. In other countries, sometimes the Volume 5 webisodes are categorized in the Volume 4 section.
Volume 6[]
On June 19, 2015, Volume 6 began. Volume 6 carried on the new changes made in Volume 5, including multiple-part webisodes. It ended with Decomposition Class on October 30, 2015, and stands as the last set of webisodes for Generation 1. Just like the Volume 5 webisodes, this season of the Monster High cartoon was sometimes categorized as Volume 5 webisodes. This season of the cartoon is the shortest of all of the seasons produced for the web series.
Special[]
In addition to the storyline webisodes, there have also been two special webisodes released in honor of Monster High's partnership with the Kind Campaign in 2011 and WeStopHate in 2012.
Generation 2 webisodes[]
Meet the Ghouls[]
On August 19, 2016, the Generation 2 webisodes began with the Meet the Ghouls story-arc. These follow the storyline set up with Welcome to Monster High, and thus use the new character and school design. Mattel released a new webisode weekly as long as an arc is running via the Monster High YouTube channel and the video portion of the Monster High website. These webisodes never had an official ending, and were quietly cancelled due to Generation 2's overall discontinuation in 2018.
Adventures of the Ghoul Squad[]
Adventures of the Ghoul Squad is an animated series with ten-minute episodes, which started in August 2017. Set in the second generation, it features the main five ghouls as they travel around the world, searching for lost monsters to bring to Monster High, following the Welcome to Monster High story-arc. Much like Meet the Ghouls, these webisodes never had an official ending, and were quietly cancelled due to Generation 2's overall discontinuation in 2018.
Generation 3[]
Volume 1: Monster High Mysteries[]
On November 18, 2022, the official Monster High YouTube channel released the first episode of Monster High Mysteries. This series contained eight full episodes, each up to 4-5 minutes long. The first four webisodes released in 2022 before taking a month hiatus. The webisodes later came back in early 2023, with the fifth episode being posted on January 13, 2023. Additionally, this mini-series relied on continuity, with each webisode occuring through the POV of one of the characters via a video game-like style of multiple choice interactive story ones. In this volume, the Boo Crew try to investigate and find out who is terrorizing the scare rally.
Volume 2: Sparks and Spells[]
On May 5, 2023, the official Monster High YouTube channel released the first episode of Sparks and Spells: A Monster High Musical. The series contained 8 episodes, each up to 3-5 minutes long, and yet again relied on continuity for each episode. Unlike Monster High Mysteries, the animation is slightly improved, with more varied movement in the 2D puppet-animated character models. The series focuses on a singular night, where the Boo Crew comes together for a talent show. One (or more than one) ghoul performs a song each episode, culminating to the final showstopper in the last episode. The series also features a narrator (voiced by Merk Nguyen[2]) who speaks at the beginning and end of every episode, providing viewers conxtext on an episode's events. The first, fourth, and eighth webisodes re-use songs featured in Monster High: The Movie; these are "Spark", "Here I Am", and "We Are Monster High" respectively. The rest of the webisodes each contain original songs.
Volume 3: Monster Ball Homecoming[]
On October 27, 2023, the official Monster High YouTube channel released the first episode of Monster Ball Homecoming. The episodes are exactly 5 minutes long, and yet again relied on continuity for each episode. Similarly, to Monster High Mysteries, the Boo Crew try to figure out who is sabotaging the Monster Ball, but the animation moreso resembles how it was done for Sparks and Spells, abandoning the video-game like narrative entirely.
It is currently unknown if this volume is meant to take place during the Monster Ball arc in the TV series, specifically in the season 1 finale, "The Monster Way". Both star the Boo Crew attending the Monster Ball and they wear the same attires, and it can be assumed that the webisodes takes place shortly after the Boo Crew free Selena from Beheme, but the night of dance occur in different sets of events. A minor inconsistency is referring to the dance as the "Monster Ball Homecoming" instead of just the "Monster Ball", but major ones concern Bloodgood suddenly having her own Monster Ball attire and Clawd indirectly beginning the whole mystery due to a mishap in the science lab before the dance that caused him to be absent for the beginning of the ball, when he was not missing at all in the TV series. This would follow a trend from the G1 webisodes, in which continuity from Volume 1 would later be rewritten in the TV specials.
Volume 4: Monster Fest[]
In 2024, the official Monster High YouTube channel released the first episode of Monster Fest.
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