Catrine DeMew

I happen to be one of those 90s kids who thinks that most animated shows went down the gutter as we aged. That's not to say that all of today's cartoons are without merit. One show in particular that has caught my interest is Mattel's hot new franchise Monster High. The characters are highly individualized, which is rare for a show that is based on encouraging little girls to purchase fashion dolls. Each character has a unique look (different skin color, eye shape, height, clothing style etc.), and most of the female characters have unique accents, which makes the dialogue pretty enjoyable. Rife with puns based on various well-known monsters and mythologies, the show is quirky and cute. Each of the character's names is a play on the name of a particular monster/fantasy creature (Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Howleen Wolf). I'm ashamed to admit that it took me a couple of episodes to recognize that one of the male leads, Duce, whose signature look is live snakes for hair and sunglasses that act as a barrier to a gaze that temporarily turns others to stone, is based on Medusa.

I conceded that the show was cute and entertaining enough to keep me interested, but I never had the desire to purchase any of the dolls, despite my love of jointed dolls. I have my fair share of Volks, Elfdoll, Obitsu and other Japanese balljointed dolls, but it wasn't until the release of Walmart's exclusive Catrine DeMew that I suddenly had to have a Monster High doll.


For anyone who knows me, my love of cats is no secret. Moreover, I adore Catrine's white-pink-purple color scheme, and given that her character bio stated that she was both a perfectionist and an artist, character traits we have in common, I knew I wanted this kitty. And so, I set out to buy her.

Little did I know that this was no simple trip to the store and back. I had to try several Walmarts just to find one that seemed to have an up-to-date stock of MH dolls, and then I had to locate the product code and call that store each week to see when the new shipment would be dispatched. I live 20-30 min away from any Walmart so I was not going to drive down there if I wasn't sure they had the product I wanted. Finally, after days of tiring phone calls, getting shuttled between the electronics and garden sections when I specifically requested the toy department, I was told that the doll was in stock.

I hopped on the freeway right after my shift at the lab and went right to the toys section of the store. Unfortunately, many of the newer dolls have imperfections in their face paint. I found one that was fairly flawless, a couple of smudges on her leg, but that is easily fixed with some acetone. She was even lovelier than I'd imagined and was well worth the $19. As I handed her to the cashier, a middle-aged woman who seemed to be hocking up something in the back of her throat and swishing it around, she peered at the box and remarked, "I don't get the obsession with these dolls. They're completely ugly if you ask me. Not like barbie at all." I politely replied that their stark contrast to Barbie was part of the appeal, but the lady didn't seem to be listening to me as she, I kid you not, blew her nose into the hand that held my change and then stuffed the change and the receipt in the bag. Walmart, where employment potential and manners go to die....

Anyway, on to the doll itself. I'm not going to do a full review because there are already some really nice ones on youtube right now. Here is a very thorough Video Review of Catrine by Corey Wilken.

This is my Catrine wearing the outfit from the Draculaura fashion pack plus a little plastic hair bow
that came with one of the polly pocket Tangled dolls. I have styled her hair to give her some side-swept bangs, which I think looks very cute on her.






The hot pink in the dress complements the pink highlights in her hair, while the combination of pink and black accentuates her pink eyeshadow and thick, black lashes.

If you have monster high dolls and want to find more outfit options, you might try these LaDeeDa fashion packs. I saw several at Target last week and this adorable pink dress with a cherry print caught my eye. Obviously the shoes are much too small (I put them on my elfdoll tiny actually), but the dress, arm warmers and skirt seemed like the right size for MH dolls, so I went ahead and bought one for my Catrine. 

The result.........

It fits like a glove!

Is anyone else out there a Monster High fan? If so, who is your favorite character/doll and why? Leave your answers in the comment section below :)