Tiki

The Tiki (sometimes plural Tikis) are a species of living wooden idols and the only indigenous inhabitants of Skull Shores.

They debuted in "Escape from Skull Shores", in which they are voiced by Jonathan Lipow.

Personality

The Tiki are kind creatures, though a little wary for strangers. Getting past their initial defensiveness may require some effort, but the hospitality and generosity that follow are well worth it. The only thing overshadowing the Tiki's sense of loyalty is another fear of theirs: the one for the mysterious Beast of Skull Shores. Eager to get rid of it and feel safe on their own island, the Tiki are prone to go with whatever anyone promising to help them, get rid of the beast tells them to do, no matter how much it goes against their ethical beliefs.

Classic Monster

The Tiki are a Monster High original species of monster, though with a basis in real-life objects. The Tiki are living wooden idols with heads almost as large as their bodies. The heads are designed to look like Polynesian masks, while the bodies are equally so idol statues. In history Tiki were the images of the gods of the Polynesian people. The Tiki shown in Skull Shores are more correctly referred to as Tiki Masks.

Appearances

They made their debut in "Escape from Skull Shores". Farnum takes the group to Skull Shores, which he excuses by claiming he has to pick up supplies. Lagoona is suspicious and a bit stressed since her parents are waiting for her, but accepts Farnum's story. Once docked, the group, and Frankie in particular, is welcomed by the local population, the Tiki. Farnum has had previous dealings with the Tiki and knows of their fear of the beast, so he easily convinces them to keep the group entertained so that he can work out a trap for the beast.

However, Farnum's plan missed to take one thing into account: the Monster High students are primarily non-judgmental and nice folks. Their attitude wins over the Tiki, who express concerns over the plan to trick them. Farnum deals with it by reminding the Tiki of their life in constant fear of the beast.

While suspicious of the fact that Skull Shores is littered with statues that look a lot like Frankie, the students are convinced to spent the night on the island because the Tiki are organizing festivities for them. Frankie is declared guest of honor and asked to participate in a performance Farnum and the Tiki want to do. Naturally, she accepts. At the same time, Lagoona's suspicion grows again when Farnum refuses her entry to his boat to check the maps on the distance between Skull Shores and the Great Scarrier Reef. That evening, she and a reluctant Gil sneak aboard to figure out what Farnum's up to and find a recording of the beast and the explorer who befriended him, finding out that Farnum is using Frankie as bait to capture the beast, they then rush off to warn their friend.

At the island, the performance starts with Farnum giving Frankie a necklace. He proceeds to tell the "Tall Tale of the Beast of Skull Shores", which is visualized by the Tiki's shadowgraphy. Farnum reveals the existence of the beast to the students and how only one person has ever been able to soothe it. Frankie's chair suddenly rises in the air and Farnum elaborates that the Tiki gave the girl to the beast to keep him from attacking them. Clawdeen is the first of the students to demand the performance to end because it's starting to become scary, but only a moment later the beast appears, lured by the drums of the Tiki. The students are shocked and Frankie is very afraid in her vulnerable position, until she notices the way the beast is looking at her. Farnum and the Tiki launch their attack, throwing spears at the beast. The spears cannot pierce the beast's skin though, and the beast makes sure no harm comes to Frankie either. After a few seconds, it grabs Frankie and marches off with her. Ghoulia and Abbey are forced into a pitfall trap, but Clawdeen, Draculaura, and Cleo are able to escape. Farnum splits up the Tiki in two groups: one that will remain in the village and keep guard under the Tiki chief's guidance, and one that will follow the beast's trail as well as the tracking device in Frankie's necklace with Farnum. Lagoona and Gil return shortly afterwards to find that they are too late and set off to save Frankie on their own.

The next morning, Frankie awakens in an elaborate tree house made from old ship parts. To her surprise, a shy, handsome boy is with her. She asks who he is, then remembers the monster and tells him they should flee while it is gone. The boy answers that won't be necessary, as the beast and he are the same creature. He introduces himself as Andy, and explains that he is different. He was born some centuries ago with a particular affliction that causes him to change into a huge beast if he experiences hate, anger, or fear, whether his own or another's. Due to this, his family had to move often to escape mob retaliation, which only made the affliction worse because Andy didn't get a chance to learn to trust others. Eventually, he reached Skull Shores in search of a place to live in peace. That dream was shattered when the Tiki found out about him and began to fear him. Nonetheless, he stayed, having nowhere else to go anymore.

Meanwhile, Clawdeen, Cleo, and Draculaura are following the trail of the beast on their own with the help of Clawdeen's superior olfactory sense. Back In the village, Ghoulia and Abbey trick the remaining Tiki down the pit to give them food, at which point Abbey freezes them, allowing the girls to use the tiki as stairs to escape. Abbey intends to go after Farnum immediately, but Ghoulia points out they can't leave the Tiki like this. Abbey agrees and unfreezes them, making sure they get stuck in the pit. She then holds a speech that the Tiki are foolish to trust Farnum and let themselves be treated like this, which moves the Tiki to join forces with the students to stop Farnum. In the jungle, Lagoona and Gil are spying on Farnum from a promontory and realize he has a tracking device planted on Frankie. They intend to follow him, but the rock slips away from under Lagoona and she falls down. On Farnum's orders, Kipling captures Lagoona. Gil runs off, leaving both Lagoona and Farnum certain he's acting on cowardice. As Farnum mocks both Lagoona and Gil, Lagoona tries to convince Kipling to break ties with Farnum, because he isn't anything like his cruel master. Kipling declines, certain he has no one else to rely on.

Out for a walk, Frankie asks Andy about the statues on the island. Andy tells her about his friendship with a girl a long time ago, who was the only one he ever met who wasn't afraid of him. He made the statues after she left, so as to be reminded of her whenever he felt upset. Suddenly, the duo notices movement in the bushes and Andy charges in to attack, only to find the surprised trio of Clawdeen, Draculaura, and Cleo. Any joy about the reunion is squashed mere moments later, when Farnum is spotted. Frankie urges Andy to run since Farnum is only interested in him. Andy does so reluctantly, but doesn't make it far before he has to hide and subsequently overhears the entire exchange between the students and Farnum. Though Farnum initially has the upper hand, Abbey and Ghoulia make their entrance, backed up by the Tiki chief who orders the Tiki with Farnum to turn on him. Only mildly bothered, Farnum takes his special cane and makes a magnet appear, which pulls Frankie to him. Threatening to suck the electricity from her with his cane, Farnum shouts for the beast to appear. Andy is enraged and changes, but like the others finds he can't do anything but obey lest he risks Frankie's very life. He changes back and turns himself in. Farnum is delighted about the beast's dual nature and how that makes him much more manageable than he had thought the beast would be.

At the end of the movie, Andy, Frankie, and Kipling join the students below, Frankie tells Kipling to stay. While freed from Farnum's influence, Kipling isn't sure he'll be accepted until he spots two monster girls who have elephant ears too and clearly think he's a looker. The happy end seems to be gone with that when Headless Headmistress Bloodgood announces she has grave news. Due to the damages done to the school, Spring Break is extended with a week to get reparations done. As Headless Headmistress Bloodgood ends in an upbeat tone of voice, the students cheer. On recommendation by Abbey, the entire student body decides to enjoy the extra vacation on Skull Shores, much to the Tikis' delight too.

Gallery

Artwork of the Tiki

Notes

• In Scaris: City of Frights, a few Tiki names are mentioned: Tuk-Tuk, Tiki-Tuk, Mik-Pop, and Dave.
• There are a total of four models of Tiki. The blue masked one is the leader model, and the rest is identifiable by the symbols on their foreheads. There is one with two red arrows pointing downwards with a white dot atop, there is one with essentially two "Y"s stacked atop each other, and there is one with two white arrows pointing upwards with a red "Y" below.