The Monster High movies offer a spooky alternate take on the high school drama of many Nickelodeon TV show and film franchises. Originally released in conjunction with Mattel to promote the line of dolls of the same name, the Monster High films have accrued a devoted fanbase since they first arrived in 2010. With 17 Monster High movies available, fans have a wide range of stories to choose from, all of which come with an Addams Family-like horror-flavored twist on many common teen drama tropes.
Continuity isn’t hugely important with the Monster High movies, especially since the franchise has gone through several reinventions. The adventures of Frankie, Clawdeen, Draculaura, and the other Monster High students have come a long way since their 2D cartoon beginnings in 2010. The franchise has reinvented itself multiple times, jumping through different styles of CGI and even into live-action. With a new Monster High movie in development from Universal Studios, it’s likely that interest in the franchise is only going to increase.
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How To Watch The Monster High Movies In Release Order
There’s Over A Decade Of Monster High Movies To Enjoy
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The Monster High movies first arrived in 2010, coinciding with the release of the fashion doll toy line by Mattel. Made in conjunction with Nickelodeon, each of the Monster High films is tied into a specific line of dolls, though the focus is always on the spooky-themed high school dramas of Frankie, Clawdeen, Draculaura, and the other students of Monster High. There have been 17 Monster High movies so far, starting with 2010’s Monster High: New Girl @ School, and the series has gone through several reinventions.
Monster High: New Ghoul @ School (2010)
The first Monster High movie was the 2010 TV special Monster High: New Girl @ School. The film follows Frankie Stein’s first week at Monster High. It’s one of only two 2D animated Monster High movies, and originally aired on Nickelodeon. At 23 minutes long, Monster High: New Girl @ School was essentially an extended episode of the Monster High web series.
Monster High: Fright On! (2011)
The second 2D animated Monster High movie was 2011’s Monster High: Fright On! Like New Ghoul @ School, Monster High: Fright On! originally aired on Nickelodeon (and was double the length of the first film, at 46 minutes). The story focuses on two schools, one all-vampire, one all-werewolf, both merging with Monster High. This Monster High movie had multiple jokes and plot threads to tap into the popularity of the Twilight franchise, which was still at its peak in 2011.
Monster High: Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love? (2012)
2012’s Monster High: Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love? was the first animated Monster High movie to be rendered in CGI, setting the style for every film in the franchise that followed it. As the title suggests, the third Monster High movie is heavily focused on romance. The plot mainly focuses on Draculaura, who finds herself in a love triangle with two vampire boys (Claws and Valentine).
Monster High: Escape From Skull Shores (2012)
Released on Nickelodeon a few months after Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love? was the fourth Monster High movie, 2012’s Monster High: Escape From Skull Shores. The plot focuses on Frankie, Clawdeen, and Draculaura as they set off on a Spring Break adventure. While they originally plan to vacation in the Great Scarrier Reef, they are tricked by a meddling human who instead takes them to Skull Shores. It’s one of the more action-packed Monster High movies, and very different in tone from Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love?
Monster High: Ghouls Rule (2012)
2012’s Ghouls Rule was originally released on DVD and Blu-Ray before it aired on Nickelodeon in October the same year. Monster High: Ghouls Rule explores Halloween from the perspective of the various races and creatures of Monster High. In the world of Monster High, Halloween is the night that humans go out monster hunting, and it’s a night the students fear. Of course, by the end of the fifth Monster High film Frankie manages to get everyone to see that humans and monsters can enjoy the holiday together.
Monster High: Friday Night Frights (2013)
The 6th Monster High movie arrived in 2013 – Monster High: Friday Night Frights. This film focuses entirely on the Monster High version of Roller Derby, a sport titled SKRM (Skultimate Roller Maze). Of all the Monster High movies, Friday Night Frights is one of the clearest attempts to drum up sales for Monster High dolls, as the release came alongside the rollerskating-themed Skultimate Roller Maze line.
Monster High: Scaris: City Of Frights (2013)
Monster High: Scaris: City Of Frights arrived in 2013, and the 7th Monster High movie was also one of the most ambitious when it came to the plot. Scaris: City Of Frights stands out in the franchise as it’s a globetrotting adventure that sees Frankie, Draculaura, Cleo, and several others travel to Scaris, the Monster High universe’s equivalent of Paris. There are plenty of puns on popular Parisian tourist destinations such as the Eiffel Terror instead of the Eiffel Tower, and Ogre Dame instead of Notre Dame.
Monster High: 13 Wishes (2013)
Monster High: 13 Wishes debuted on Nickelodeon in October 2013. Much like Scaris: City Of Frights, 13 Wishes shows a whole new location in the world of Monster High, in this case a desert region filled with characters based on genies. While the plot in the present day takes place in Monster High itself, it was still interesting to see the lore of the franchise explored a little bit more. There are also some interesting fantasy elements in the 8th Monster High movie, such as the rivalry between genie Gig Grant and her sister, Whisp.
Monster High: Frights, Camera, Action! (2014)
The 9th Monster High movie is the Monster High take on the world of filmmaking and Hollywood. In Monster High: Frights, Camera, Action, Draculaura has serious issues with how vampires are portrayed in the hit film Vampire Majesty, and seems to be alone in her dislike of star Veronica Von Vamp. This eventually leads her and her friends travel to Hauntlywood, the Monster High version of Hollywood.
Monster High: Freaky Fusion (2014)
Monster High: Freaky Fusion is the 10th Monster High movie and the second to arrive on Nickelodeon in 2014. Like Monster High: Friday Night Frights, Freaky Fusion was a clear marketing product, as it tied into 4 lines of Monster High dolls, all of which were mashups combining different pairs of fantasy horror creatures. The plot of Freaky Fusion still has a considerable amount of action and tension compared to other Monster High movies, as Frankie and her friends are being harassed and chased by Hybrids.
Monster High: Haunted (2015)
2015 saw the arrival of the 11th Monster High movie on Nickelodeon following a direct to DVD/Blu-ray release. Monster High: Haunted saw ghosts take the center stage, and it’s Spectra who is the focal character rather than Frankie or Draculaura. It’s an entertaining and supernatural adventure, and like Freaky Fusion has an above-average amount of action and tension compared to most other Monster High movies.
Monster High: Boo York, Boo York (2015)
In the 12th Monster High movie the franchise takes on musicals. Monster High: Boo York, Boo York arrived in 2015, and features its own original songs including “Boo York, Boo York” and “Fright Lights, Big City”. Boo York, Boo York also followed on from Haunted by focusing on previously secondary characters, in this case Catty Noir. Travelling around the Monster High version of NYC, Boo York, also meant several new characters were introduced, such as robot DJ Elle Eedee.
Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef (2016)
The Great Scarrier Reef was previously mentioned in Monster High: Escape From Skull Shores, but it wasn’t until the 13th movie that the franchise took fans there. Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef debuted on Nickelodeon in 2016, and the story was centered around mermaids (to tie in with the three Scarrier Reef Monster High doll lines). This was also the final Monster High movie prior to the franchise being rebooted.
Welcome To Monster High (2016)
The second Monster High movie to release in 2016 was the 14th film in the franchise, and was also a reboot. Welcome To Monster High reset the story and characters, giving them all fresh origins alongside a significant tune-up of the animation. Draculaura narrates the new version of the story, revealing that Monster High used to be the mansion of her father, Dracula. The tone was somewhat darker than the previous Monster High movies, though it still primarily focuses on high school drama.
Monster High: Electrified (2017)
The 15th Monster High movie and second in the rebooted animated franchise is Monster High: Electrified, which debuted on Nickelodeon in 2017. While it was never followed up, Electrified did show that the new Monster High movies would be stricter with continuity, as it opens with Draculaura recapping the events of Welcome To Monster High. The plot of Electrified saw Draculaura and the rest of the Monster High heroes having to drive a horde of zombies from the town, continuing the slightly darker action-themed tone of the newer generation of animated Monster High films.
Monster High: The Movie (2022)
Monster High: Electrified was the final animated Monster High movie, but after a 5 year hiatus the franchise returned for another feature-length installment, this time in live-action. 2022’s Monster High: The Movie was directed by Todd Holland and released directly to Nickelodeon and Paramount+. The first live-action movie in the franchise reimagined the world of Monster High from the ground up and starred Mila Harris as Clawdeen, Ceci Balagot as Frankie, and Nayah Damasen as Draculaura.
Monster High 2 (2023)
Todd Holland returned to direct Monster High 2, the second live-action Monster High movie, in 2023. The plot sees Clawdeen struggling with fame and popularity after being the hero who saved the school in the first film. The main cast return, and the second live-action Monster High movie contains just as much action and drama as it does high school romance. A third film was teased at the end, though this was canceled when Universal opted to make their own live-action Monster High franchise.
The Monster High Movies Chronologically (& Generations Explained)
There Are Multiple Phases Of Monster High Movies
There have been 17 Monster High movies so far, though they’re not all part of the same continuity. The franchise has gone through multiple reinventions over the years, with each bringing a new animation style. The first generation of Monster High movies were 2D and directly tied into the popular web series. Only two films were made in this style, however, and the second generation introduced the CGI style that most fans associate with Monster High.
Generation Of Monster High Movies Years Number Of Movies First Movie Last Movie First Generation (2D Animation) 2010-2011 2 New Ghoul @ School (2010) Fright On! (2011) Second Generation (CGI Animation) 2012-2016 11 Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love? (2012) Great Scarrier Reef (2016) Third Generation (CGI Reboot) 2016-2017 2 Welcome To Monster High (2016) Electrified (2017) Fourth Generation (Live-Action) 2022-2023 2 Monster High: The Movie (2022) Monster High 2 (2023)
Generation 2 of the Monster High movies was the longest running, encompassing every film from 2012-2016. This started with Monster High: Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love? and ended with Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef. In total, there were 11 films in the second generation, with a 12th planned. However, this was canceled when Nickelodeon decided to reboot the franchise. The 3rd generation of Monster High movies were also CGI, though short-lived, only lasting two movies released in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The final generation of Monster High movies were the two live-action films, 2022’S Monster High: The Movie and 2023’s Monster High 2. Originally, the first attempt at a live-action Monster High franchise was intended as a trilogy. However, Monster High 3 was canceled due to Universal opting to move ahead with a feature-length theatrical Monster High film.
The Upcoming Monster High Live-Action Movie Explained
A New Live-Action Monster High Is In Development
The most recent Monster High movie was 2023’s Monster High 2, though the franchise is far from dead. There is currently a new live-action Monster High film in development, and it’s yet another reboot for the franchise. Mattel announced in 2024 that they were working with Universal Pictures on a Monster High movie with Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman (known for a variety of movies including I Am Legend) tapped in on screenwriting duties.
So far there’s little else known about the next Monster High movie, though with Universal and Goldsman it could end up being the most successful release for the franchise so far. Interestingly, this is the second time Universal and Mattel have planned a live-action Monster High movie. There was originally a project in development in 2016, with Ari Sandel tapped to direct. However, this Monster High film was canceled shortly after announcement.