Frank and Drake Redefines “Urban Legend” with Otherworldly Roommates

Not all tall tales stand the test of time, but something’s…different here. An urbanized version of Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula live together in Frank and Drake, the rotoscoped branching narrative adventure developed by Appnormals — the award-winning creators of STAY — and published by Chorus Worldwide (Coffee Talk series, early 2023 indie darling A Space for the Unbound) — but they have no idea.

Toy Fair 2012 : LEGO Monster Fighters

I'm always amazed at how casually monsters and horror have worked their way into media seemingly made for "kids". The Pirates of the Caribbean films (from Walt Disney) have had zombies, fish monsters AND unkillable skeleton pirates. Hell, those lovable Ewoks from Star Wars set out to EAT our heroes when they first met. Never forget what the "Luka Luka Luuuuka" song really means.

LEGO has obviously always had an appreciation for the macabre, whether it be the inclusion of a zombie in the first series of Mini Figures or the extra bits that come with the Star Wars Hoth Wampa Set ... like the pile of bones, human skeleton and Tauntaun leftovers. FAMILY FUN!! Now LEGO is taking things up a notch, replacing its awesome salute to Mars Attacks (Alien Conquest) with a line called MONSTER FIGHTERS!

Since the New York Toy Fair is actually three weeks away, all we've got for you is the art displayed on an outer wall at the UK Toy Fair and as complete a description of the sets that we've seen so far. These titles are not 100%...

The Wolf Man - Seems to have mini figures of a werewolf and an old school adventurer or scientist...you know the kind with a pith helmet? Center pieces include a launching tree and a little buggy for the professor.

The Swamp Creature - Includes a water craft with two rockets to fire and a hunter to drive it into battle against the Creature with his harpoon! There's also a little alter-looking configuration for the Creature with a dead fish at its base.

The Mummy - A female monster hunter rides a sort of gyro-copter in pursuit of the Mummy on his chariot pulled by a skeleton horse. The Mummy has a whip and a sword while the hunter has a crossbow with a bolt and a spare bolt in her hair!

Vampire Hearse (aka Dracula's...totally awesome batmobile) - Picture the family car from "The Munsters". That can be the only inspiration for this. Dracula's long black ride features fangs in the grill, piercing red headlights, bones along the engine and more. In hot pursuit appears to be an English gentleman on a motorcycle with a fencing-type sword. There appears to be another figure with Dracula, but we can't make him out.

Zombies - We've only heard about the existence of this set so far so have no further details.

Frankenstein - A tower for catching electricity, a table for resurrecting dead flesh and a wacky scientist to scream "IT'S ALIIIVE!!" This set features the mad scientist, Frankenstein's Monster and what appear to be two angry townsfolk as well as a monster hunting vehicle with a projectile, what appears to be a holding cell for the Monster and a slice of the scientist's lab.

The Ghost Train - Exactly what it sounds like! A black engine with spectral fire coming out of its stack and green lights leading the way pulls three carts with little bat wings! The bat wings are said to flap as they go along!! The set seems to include three ghosts to battle two monster hunters in their prop plane with projectile firing mechanisms. We see the female monster hunter can hang off the bottom by a rope, brandishing a crossbow.

The Vampire Castle - Comes with a Man-Bat (or 2), Dracula, his Bride and two human monster fighters as well as a tricked-out monster hunter mobile with a launching net! The castle has some sort of crystal ray feature in the tower, which pops out from behind what looks like a stained glass window. This ties into the storyline, which I'll get to in a minute. There also seems to be a trap-door feature in the tower.

So here's what I've put together. Each set comes with an idol/gem stone that both monsters and fighters are after..probably some sort of ultimate power dealy. The bit that looks like stained glass in the Vampire Castle tower is actually all the idols/gems plugged into a wheel, which I suppose activates the laser of doooom!! There is also a glow in the dark element in each set.

Our pics show the Monster Fighters, complete with robo parts (dark for LEGO!) and the Monsters, themselves; The Monster, The Vampire and The Wolf Man. We've also provided two extra pics to our story. One looks a lot like the Swamp Creature but is missing the fin on top of his head and some minor redecos to his overall look. The second is my little collection of LEGO Mini Figures, which come single-packed and have included at least one monster-looking dude in each wave! You'll notice Dracula and Frankenstein are close cousins to their Monster Fighter counterparts!

June 2012 is the tentative date set for the launch of LEGO's Monster Fighters, so keep watch.

CLICK HERE to dive into our ever growing picture collection for Toy Fair 2012!

The Terror of Monster High

Mattel's first in house line just might be more terrifying than they'd bargained for. Before the Bratz dolls line was exterminated, they took some DNA and spliced it with the frozen sperm of the Universal Monsters. Now THAT is a horror movie I'd cringe from. Mattel becomes the masters of your nightmares with...MONSTER HIGH!!

For the first time in company history, Mattel will roll out a new intellectual property, Monster High™, across a number of diverse consumer products categories simultaneously at launch. This new franchise targeting tween and teen girls brings together the hip teenage descendants of the world’s most famous monsters to brave the trials and tribulations of high school. The property delivers rich content and relatable storytelling via publishing, web, animation and live-action theatrical entertainment and launches consumer products in notable categories including apparel and accessories, and toys. Mattel has partnered with best-in-class category experts including Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, best-selling author Lisi Harrison, Universal Pictures, Justice® and Party City to bring this property to life.

“We know tween and teen girls need to immerse themselves in stories and worlds as they engage in new properties and trends,” said Tim Kilpin, General Manager of Mattel Brands. “With Monster High, we are confident that through the development of relatable characters and clever storytelling, this property will resonate with girls of all ages.”

Grounded in a fun and humorous storyline, the frighteningly fashionable students at Monster High capture all the awkward moments that teens experience in their high school years, the powerful bonds of friendship and the challenges of fitting in – all delivered through a “monster” chic aesthetic and tone.



Monster High reaches girls via a line up of all–star products and partnerships enabling teens and tweens to discover the brand in their own way and engage with the Monster High characters and storyline through multiple points of entry.

“Understanding the need for multiple touch points to successfully engage today’s complex tween, the rich characters and storyline of Monster High made the brand the ideal property with which to launch our new franchise model – a sustainable business strategy that we believe is the future of brand management,” said Kilpin.

The robust offerings and impressive first-year partner roster for Monster High include:
Monster High Book Series by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers:
• Publishing: Fitting in is out and freaky is about to get fabulous! Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Mattel have entered into a multi-year, multi-book global partnership to publish a series of books written by #1 New York Times best-selling young adult author Lisi Harrison (The Clique, Alphas). Monster High, the first book in the series, goes on sale September 1, 2010.

Online and Entertainment:
• Live-Action Feature Film with Universal Pictures: Bringing the Monster High characters to the big screen, Universal Pictures has acquired the film rights to create a live-action theatrical musical. Award-winning producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Hairspray, Chicago) will team with writing pair Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (“Smallville,” The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) on the film.
• Monster High Website: The Monster HighTM website offers an interactive platform to further explore the world of Frankie Stein™ and all of her freakishly fashionable friends. The site features scary cool games and activities rolling out throughout 2010, as well as introduces the characters of Monster High through original animated webisodes and witty bios highlighting their personality traits, “freaky flaws” and monster heritage.
• Animated Webisodes: Mattel has developed a series of short animated webisodes which highlight the trials and tribulations of a group of monster chic teens that come face-to-face with the awkward, yet relatable, moments of high school. New webisodes rollout on monsterhigh.com each Friday through the end of July 2010.
• Animated Special Featuring Music by “American Idol” Allison Iraheta: Mattel will develop a 30-minute animated special with music from Allison Iraheta, season eight “American Idol” star, whose pop-goth style is a natural fit for the brand. Iraheta’s songs “Scars” and “Friday I’ll Be Over You” touch on the challenges of “fitting in,” a recurring theme within the Monster High property. The special is set to air this fall on a variety of mediums including online, broadcast and mobile. (Fall 2010)



Apparel and Accessories:
• Apparel with Justice®: Just in time for the back-to-school shopping season, Mattel has partnered with Justice to launch a full line of Monster High products for tweens. The edgy, fashion-forward offerings include apparel, lifestyle accessories, back-to-school items and jewelry. Justice will also feature Monster High and its webisodes on the Tween Network in-store media screens, brand ads, the Justice catazine and on the company’s website. (Available in store July 2010)
• Costumes with Party City: An exciting partnership and extremely organic extension for Monster High, Mattel has partnered with Party City to launch tween and teen character costumes for Frankie Stein™, Clawdeen Wolf™ and Draculaura™ complete with wigs. (Available September 2010 exclusively at Party City)
• Licensed Consumer Products Partners: High IntenCity, Accessory Innovations, Ashko Group and ACI International have each designed a line of freaky chic products from fashion bags, hair accessories and jewelry to socks and slippers that mix edgy fashion with softer lace and charm accents to give tween girls killer style. (Available in Fall 2010)
Toys:
• Mattel Toy Line: Mattel introduces a multi-category toy line, anchored in a collection of drop dead gorgeous fashion dolls, which also includes Monster High-themed plush, electronics, role play and novelty items. (Available at mass retailers July 2010)

Please visit www.monsterhigh.com for more information.