Ever After High

Ever After High is a fashion doll franchise released by Mattel in July 2013. It is a companion line to the "Monster High" dolls. However, in this line the characters are based upon characters from fairy tales and fantasy stories instead of monsters. As with "Monster High" and "", the line varies in different countries and varies in languages. It has spawned a web series, a film, and five book series.
Premise.
Ever After High is a boarding school located in the Fairy Tale World. It is attended by the teenage children of fairy tale characters. The main characters are Raven Queen, who does not want to be evil like her mother the Evil Queen, and Apple White, the daughter of Snow White who wishes to live "happily ever after". Raven prefers to be free to create her own destiny, while Apple, in order to protect her and others own destiny, believes that Raven should become the next Evil Queen. The students are generally divided between two groups. The "Royals" are the students who side with Apple in embracing their destinies and following in their parents' footsteps. The "Rebels" are the students who side with Raven in wanting to create their own destinies. Many of the stories are about the students' regular interactions as teens, but there is an underlying story arc where, according to the school's headmaster, if the students do not follow their individual destinies, their stories will cease to exist and they will disappear forever.
Characters.
"Ever After High" has a number of characters from its various media. The characters listed below are profiled at the franchise's website and most have featured dolls.
Royal main characters.
These students are content with following their destinies as listed in their fairy tale:
Rebel main characters.
Some of the following students do not agree with their destinies and want their own destiny:
Other students.
The following students have website profiles, but it is not clear what faction they are part of:
The following students are supporting characters that have yet to have a doll or a website profile. Some are not tied to either faction.
Ever After High faculty.
The following are the faculty members of Ever After High:
Development and release.
Building upon the success of "Monster High", in July 2013, Mattel announced plans to launch a spin-off line of dolls. The company estimated only about 10-20 million was budgeted for the development. Mattel's 2013 annual report noted that visitors of the website had spent an average of 20 minutes viewing content, and that it had contributed to gross sales.
In October 2013, Mattel launched "Ever After High" globally, reaching 14 countries, with plans to reach 30 territories in 2014. Six fashion dolls were initially released, and related social media such as a website, YouTube channel, global Facebook, and an interactive music video directed by Wayne Isham.
Media.
Web series and movie.
"Ever After High" has a series of animated shorts on YouTube. In June 2014, Netflix announced it was developing a series of episodes based on the webisodes - which was released on February 6, 2015.
The theme song was composed by Gabriel Mann and Allison Bloom, and was performed by Keeley Bumford. A live-action music video was released on October 15, 2013, featuring Stevie Dore as a high school senior and four younger girls dancing at a campus.
Book series.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR) has developed a book series for "Ever After High". The company had worked on the "Monster High" book series, which had sold over two million copies. LBYR vice-president Erin Stein said in an interview for "Publishers Weekly" that when he was first exposed to the "Ever After High" franchise, "immediately dozens of ideas were spinning in our heads...How could we resist publishing this? It was a no-brainer." The first book, "The Storybook of Legends" was written by Shannon Hale, who had worked on other titles such as "Princess Academy" and "The Goose Girl". It debuted in October 2013, with a first print of 300,000 copies. Hale has remarked that she likes that the "Ever After High" books can reach kids who are not regular readers. The first book reached number 7 on the New York Times bestseller list for Children's Middle Grade. In addition to the trilogy, Hale was written a collection of short stories that were compiled in "Once Upon a Time: A Story Collection".
LBYR has also released a second "Ever After High" book series by Suzanne Selfors. The first novel, "Next Top Villain", was on the Publishers Weekly best-sellers list of Children's Frontlist Fiction for ten weeks.
LBYR released a third book series called "The Secret Diaries"
LBYR released a fourth book series called "Once Upon a Twist"
Parragon Books has licensed "Ever After High" for activity packs, novelty-and-book sets, and gift box sets.
Leigh Dragoon has written and published the first graphic novel book of Ever After High. http://leighdragoon.com/