Mattel's Monster High: Twilight Meets Britney Spears

Think of Mattel's new Monster High (which hit stores on Friday the 13th, naturally) as Twilight meets High School Musical meets Britney Spears, a tween scream brand with a sense of humor. "The latest fashion dolls from Mattel Inc. are a dramatic departure from the toy maker's most recognizable blond: As the offspring of famous monsters, the new Monster High girls are fearless, occasionally furry and a bit freaky," the Los Angeles Times writes.

"They're fun characters to build a world around," said Tim Kilpin, GM for Mattel Brands, tells the Times. "Who doesn't feel like a freak in high school? It started with that universal truth." Mattel has a lot riding on this new franchise, which isn't a spinoff so needs to build a fan base and buzz from scratch.

Monster High marks "the first time that Mattel has introduced a new toy concept as a complete franchise, far from its typical approach of rolling out a toy first and evaluating its success before moving forward with related products."

Mattel hopes kids will not only collect the Monster High dolls, clothing and accessories, but play games and watching animated webisodes on its website, become fans on Facebook, read the young adult book series, buy the Halloween costumes at Party City locations across America, and download its catchy theme song (above) on iTunes.