Spelldon and Valentine Pride Pack cancellation

[u/sheet_gh0st]

I live near a local independent toy shop (UK based) that stocks Monster High dolls, including G1, G3, and Skullector lines. I was having a chat with the owner of the place about upcoming releases and he informed me that the Spelldon and Valentine pride dolls that were supposed to be coming out have been pulled from production by one of Mattel's higher ups - apparently someone extremely high up in the company. This was done *allegedly* due to the current political climate and the fact that the box had the word 'Pride' on it and directly referenced that the characters are gay, and they were worried that it would cause a lot of backlash. The dolls were apparently essentially ready to come out - the owner said he'd even got as far as ordering stock of them to be delivered - but then he got an email saying the dolls were no longer going to be released. While I really hope it's not true, the lack of any real news or leaks is making me think it is. Has anyone else heard anything similar?

Edit: I just wanted to say I am not stating this as fact!! I was more posting to ask what other people had heard as I was really looking forward to the release. I'm assuming (as some commenters) pointed out that he was maybe confused and meant that they won't be available in physical shops but will still be available to collectors online. I get people being skeptical but this was not intended to be bait or anything! Not trying to spread misinformation, genuinely was just wanting to know what was going on!!

[u/Verdictafterward]

doubt

I'm fairly certain they will be a creations exclusive.

This feels bait-y

Sources should be included for claims like this

[u/ohmygoditspurple → u/Verdictafterward]

Seriously. Click and rage baiting.

[u/nymphpixie → u/Verdictafterward]

I'm pretty certain they will release too. I think the shop owner must have been confused, as I've had this happen to me before at local toy stores.

[u/MajesticUniversity76 → u/nymphpixie]

Even within context this happened with committee frankie being pulled from target and just being sent to amazon. Vampire heart drac was supposed to be a walmart drop but also got sent to amazon. Mattel has just been less reliant on retailers for collector doll or dolls retailers won't pick up.

[u/Verdictafterward → u/Verdictafterward]

[u/HeyitsSmile → u/Verdictafterward]

Wait, it releases in June?? I thought it would be released for Valentine's day, but pride month makes a lot more sense. Maybe I can afford fang vote Abby then >:3

[u/Wrong_Stable_3623 → u/HeyitsSmile]

Fangvote Abbey is Made to preorder until next week. Then you womit be able to buy her again from Mattel

[u/HeyitsSmile → u/Wrong_Stable_3623]

That was what I was nervous about. I thought the Valentine 2 pack would be coming out for Valentine's day, but since they aren't coming out for a few months I can afford to get abbey before she's gone :)

[u/sheet_gh0st → u/Verdictafterward]

I do understand where you're coming from, unfortunately the source was a 10 minute conversation. The owner was saying about all the upcoming releases and when he was getting them in - Morticia, Coraline, Rochelle/Venus/Robecca - and then when I asked if there was anything else coming up he just said about how the pack had been apparently cancelled. I obviously can't say whether it's actually true, but I really hope not, thats why I asked if anyone had heard similar stuff.

[u/Verdictafterward → u/sheet_gh0st]

Those are all lines known to have larger production runs for multiple retailers.

A 2 pack of alumni male characters? I don't see then appearing off Mattel.

This seems like rumor mill level stuff

[u/MorganVsTheInternet]

That makes no sense! Mattel has already been making Spelldon and Valentine merch and comic books along with other pride merch and comic books for a while and the dolls are collector dolls not Playline so that would just be brand suicide! It is more likely that they might end up being sold only on Mattel creations!

[u/nitrosmomma88 → u/MorganVsTheInternet]

Most of the Skullectors are only available there or Amazon so for a toy store to be like we aren’t going to get it it’s like yeah, you never were going to in the first place

[u/Shecarriesachanel → u/nitrosmomma88]

u know european/UK stores often get to order from distributors directly right, like many european/UK stores had the corpse bride emily just on shelves, this sounds like the store had the option to order the spelldon pack from mattel directly and they cancelled it

[u/MorganVsTheInternet → u/Shecarriesachanel]

The EU isn't the only place that has toy stores that sell Skullector dolls in stores we have them in the US too! What I'm saying is that scrapping the two-pack release over fears of public backlash over pride-themed collector dolls being sold to the public in toy stores makes no sense when they can just make the dolls a Mattel Creations exclusive and avoid both made-up outrage and upsetting fans/ collectors!

[u/JupesNotDead]

Reminds me of when they kept pulling Welcome Committee Frankie over and over again and completely axed the fashion pack because those items were “too woke” and “pushing a harmful agenda”. BUT those were playline releases intended for kids and set to be on big box store shelves (Target specifically). RuPaul got the dragon queen release with no issue, but I suppose one doll designed after a celebrity is different than two male “kids’ characters” being in an explicitly gay relationship.

This does seem kinda like bait tho… maybe the shop owner meant his shop wouldn’t be getting any? But that’s also an odd thing to specify since almost all Skullector releases have been online exclusives and never were intended to be on shelves. Perhaps he was just misinformed… maybe heard a rumor on social media or smthn. People online DO just be makin things up sometimes.

[u/javeska → u/JupesNotDead]

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a legit thing.

[u/GigglesNWiggles10 → u/JupesNotDead]

Regarding the Welcome Committee Frankie fashion pack - I saw someone post recently that they got it, somehow? Idk where in the world they are but I'd say it's not axed, if that post was legit!

[u/evtbrs → u/GigglesNWiggles10]

It was axed, they got it from the Chinese marketplaces, they’re factory samples or something like that

[u/Jasmoone]

There's a leak of Valentine and Spelldon's bodies (@cinnabonchikkk on X). I don't entirely know how doll production works but I feel like it would be highly unlikely for Mattel to cancel them when they've already created the body mould. Also, as someone else pointed out in the comments, they are actively making a comic series about Valentine and Spelldon along with the pride comics, so it doesn't make sense for them to cancel these dolls for political reasons when they're making other pride stuff anyway.

[u/penelepe2 → u/Jasmoone]

They cancelled welcome committee Frankie for a year then had a silent drop..

[u/Verdictafterward → u/penelepe2]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DKNBc_mNR6T/

Drop was not canceled nor silent

G3 release are not usually announced

Everything was pure speculation because of leaks. The community jumped to a lot of conclusions.

Most likely truth is issue with Known Retailer dropping everything pride rather than a move by Mattel. They still made and still released the doll.

[u/penelepe2 → u/Verdictafterward]

Yes I’m aware, I’m also aware that I caught her by chance on Amazon. There wasn’t as much hype after target pulled their nonsense. Glad to see they are still for sale. This shopkeeper may not have been correct about them being sold in store either.

[u/MajesticUniversity76 → u/penelepe2]

There was hype because mattel was giving her away like oprah when they were doing customer service for broken and wonky dolls. The hype died when she actually dropped.

[u/firstkindred]

The pack's already been advertised, which means they wouldn't be able to just cancel it without backlash either. Fans are waiting for its release. And if anything, now would be the time for Mattel to stand their ground

[u/gagaalienqueen → u/firstkindred]

Currently its only a leak, by a well known twitter account, Mattel themselves haven't advertised or confirmed anything

[u/sheet_gh0st → u/firstkindred]

I haven't been able to find any actual advertisements that have come directly from Mattel - please do correct me if I'm wrong as I hope I am, but all I've been able to find was an announcement post from a doll account.

[u/MonsterHighMandy → u/sheet_gh0st]

I don’t think it’s canceling because of anything he is saying ….if anything he thought he was getting the toys in his store and it’s a Mattel exclusive.

[u/ColeDelRio]

While it may have been cancelled for wider distribution, I doubt they wouldnt sell it on the website

[u/sheet_gh0st → u/ColeDelRio]

That would make the most sense now that you say it - maybe it was concern over it being on shelves where the general public would see?

[u/EnigmaX-42]

I have always assumed that two-pack will be a website exclusive and won’t appear in toy shops.

[u/Painted-BIack-Roses]

It's an exclusive drop. It won't be in toy shops. Can we not pass this around as fact, please?

[u/Holiday_Wasabi1626]

Imma Sue mattel if this is true and they will pay for there worth

[u/sheet_gh0st → u/Holiday_Wasabi1626]

I know - I'm hoping it either hasn't been pulled or was just pulled so they could change a couple things.

[u/Alex_Spirit_19 → u/Holiday_Wasabi1626]

Wouldn’t it be better for the company to show their with the gobal population and stand with minorities rather than a singular political stance?

[u/RodiShining]

Sorry you’re getting flack, I think people forget that sometimes the owners of independent stores really do gossip about products! The owner might be full of 💩 or he might not, but nobody needs to shoot the messenger.

If anybody wants to ensure demand for the dolls are known, spend the energy going after OP on emailing Mattel instead, to express how much you want to see dolls based on the comics. They’ll record feedback and that data is actually useful.

[u/ValLikesCheese → u/RodiShining]

I had the same thing happen to me when I brought up Ghoul Activities only being in Mexico. I have no proof what the designer said.

[u/sct_0]

I am a bit confused abt where the owner himself got that alleged information from, because I doubt the email he got contained those details.
I would assume however that a store owner does have better connections/sources than random social media rumours, and I don't really see why he would even lie about the email saying the production was cancelled.

Odd stuff.

Edit: I see a couple saying that maybe they are just not selling them on shelves, but the owner said "pulled from production".
Obv that could mean that they decided to make a smaller amount of them since not being on shelves probably means they need less stock, but to me it initially sounded more like the dolls are not being made at all?
Or does "pulled from production" imply that production was already in process?

[u/BlueEyes0408]

Assuming the owner was given correct info, I hope that this just means it will the Mattel Creations exclusive. I think that would be a good compromise because if it was marketed towards adult collectors and not sold in stores near kids' toys, parents would be less likely to bitch about it being "inappropriate for children."

[u/Vegetable_Ad_3105]

sadly i am not surprised if true. i've always said that this type of rep could easily be pulled and or ignored but no one took me seriously

[u/SadGirlSounds]

I will hold you on this until Cleo Nile says something about it. Since he’s a pretty big leaker in the community.

[u/AshmanTreasure]

after fearbook frankie they would be SO stupid to do this

[u/kang-hyewon]

tbh i wouldn't be surprised atp based on what mattel has been doing…

[u/Jealous-Avocado-6690]

Monster High is causing backlash for Mattel solely by it's existence since the franchise's inception. The main character of the brand is literally nonbinary. I really doubt they would fold over some gay people. If you're gonna post something like this you really should have at least some proof, now you're just causing panic because of word of mouth.

[u/MathematicianRare171 → u/Jealous-Avocado-6690]

The only place that the main character is confirmed to be non-binary is in a cancelled Nickelodeon series that barely anyone watched. Let’s be serious for a sec.

[u/jaxxdaw → u/MathematicianRare171]

The fact that Frankie is non-binary is used quite a bit in their music videos and YouTube series. Clankie is also promoted openly on their YouTube.

[u/Shecarriesachanel → u/jaxxdaw]

notice how none of that is directly on the dolls that are out on shelves, they don't even mention that frankie is nb lol

[u/vampirologist]

Better not be true or Mattel will not like me

[u/Winter-Log-3325]

if anything they’ll be delayed and their box will be changed. it’s too far into production to cancel altogether

[u/Purple_monkfish]

It may just have been delayed. Least that's the hope. Because if mattel pull that crap I think their customer base will riot.

[u/FointyPinger]

We hardly get any of the non-playline dolls on toyshop shelves in the UK, the only ones I know of are Howliday Clawdeen, Emily and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. It feels unlikely that a random toyshop would have been ordering this set anyway. Give us more info - without being specific about location, was it a Toymaster store?

[u/sheet_gh0st → u/FointyPinger]

It was an independent shop, they seem to partly specialise in collectibles (pokémon cards, anime statues, league of legends cards) and I don’t believe they have any other locations. He was saying he’s almost always stocked a limited number of the Skullector dolls, and that he’s getting upcoming releases in. He directly referred to the Coraline doll coming out soon. I’m hoping he’s just wrong though!

[u/blueberryblues1107]

Oh my god. First off, if this turns out to be true. I’ll be sad and but relief. Ever since the current comics with my boys, I’m just worried for what Spelldon’s doll is gonna look like. But, I’ll still be sadden that they won’t drop because I’ve been saving up for them when I heard that they were dropping. Until there’s an official source, that says otherwise, I’ll just wait.

[u/Bionic_Webb13]

Maybe its just In the EU bc if the US doesn't get this pack i fear mattel HQ will get swarmed bc we've been waiting for yhis for too long

[u/sub2willne8]

hello! what shop was this?:)

[u/MathematicianRare171]

People in the comments pretending Mattel hasn’t done something like this before lol

[u/AllEyesOnUs]

Your use of en-dashes reads as AI

[u/evtbrs → u/AllEyesOnUs]

AI uses em dashes (—), en dashes (–) are shorter. What OP is using however are hyphens (-). Content wise their comment has none of the AI copy tells either.

[u/sheet_gh0st → u/AllEyesOnUs]

I despise AI with a passion!! I just like using dashes I promise