Liberation 62: Monster High Catty Noir Version 2

Monster High, after a brief four year hiatus from the play line scene, returned in 2022, to the joy of kids and collectors alike. The original line was prized for having unique face molds for each monstrous character. In the current line, they’ve added that diversity to body types, and they’ve been slowly adding new characters. One of my favorites from the original line was Catty Noir (Liberation 58), a burnt out teenage pop star. The new version, shown below next to the original, is simultaneously very similar and shockingly different, so it only seemed fair that I give her a review.

The new version of Catty has a much more solid build than the original, so I used a Mattel Fashionista doll with the curvy body for comparison. As you can see, Catty’s legs and torso are both shorter than the Barbie line doll, with her neck ever so slightly longer. The rest of the difference is in Catty’s larger head size. They are the same height if you count Catty’s ears. Her bust is a little fuller than the curvy body, with a much sharper, more defined waistline under the bust. She even has a round belly! Her thighs and arms are significantly larger and more defined. Her new, much thicker tail has molded tufts of ‘fur’, as do her wrists and ankles. Her molded panties have a spider web design. She’s also got a decent range of movement, with shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, and knee joints that both bend and swivel, neck and under bust joints, and her rotating tail.

The new version of Catty called for a new head mold, and Mattel took the opportunity to make her more explicitly black or African-American coded. First off, her hairstyle now has gracefully painted edges instead of long, face framing bangs. She has the same long ponytail, but now there are tiny microbraids throughout. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the braids are also a brighter pink than the rest of her hair, making them stand out even more. Her cat nose is also significantly broader. She still has the same pink cat eyes, this time with a side glance. Overall, her makeup is more subdued, with a grey/purple/pink design. I do like the addition of the little stars below each eye. Her lips are much fuller, with a dark purple on the outside with a reddish pink center. Her ears are missing the pink color I loved so much on the original version, but they do have a little bit of molded fur, which it’s almost impossible to see with her hair. Her entire face has a lavender shimmer, which looks great at normal eye range but as you can see in the full size image, looks pretty rough up close. She has a single earring, a silver studded heart outline.

The outfit got a significant glow up from the original version, while still using Catty’s signature good luck totems- shattered mirrors, the number 13, and broken hearts. The new dress uses a very similar silver lame with black ‘crack’ accents to mimic a broken mirror, but without the prominent pink ’13’. The sleeveless empire lace bodice turns into a diagonally cut overskirt above a pink miniskirt. Topping off the dress is a molded electric pink belt with two hanging ‘chains’, detailed with a silver broken heart and number ’13’. The spacing on the ’13’ designs is a bit odd- from any distance it looks more like a version of Barbie’s signature ‘B’ design. Subconscious marketing, perhaps? The outfit includes a pink bolero jacket with the unfortunate look of water resistant nylon but much stiffer. It is attached by two tiny bits of velcro under each arm. There is also a molded ‘bead’ necklace with a large pendant heart with the ’13’ design. The finishing touch is her thigh high pink boots. These are cut in the back to make it easier (or perhaps possible) for them to come on and off, and molded with a dizzying level of detail- cracks in the leather, side zippers, an assortment of chains, straps, and buckles, and of course, the 13 and broken heart designs from her belt. Interestingly, while the hearts and one of the buckles are accented with silver paint, the 13 is left plain.

Of course, no Monster High doll is complete without her accessories. First, the bad news- her glasses were deformed straight out of the box, to the point that I didn’t even bother trying to have her wear them for fear they’d break. Which was really annoying, as they are a super cute heart shaped cat eye frame with molded studs and cracked glass. Oddly enough, they are pale blue, which doesn’t exactly match the rest of the outfit.

Catty has a massive heart shaped pink backpack with all the molded trimmings- cat ears, cracks, the number 13, zippers, studs- it’s all here. Thanks to the molded silver ‘chain’ straps, she can actually wear it if you like. Unfortunately, the chains are attached with huge spikes, so even though it’s designed to open, you really can’t get most of her accessories inside.

She also comes with the necessary pop star tools- poorly folded cardboard sheet music, a water bottle, a cat eared hand mirror, a cell phone for selfies, and a microphone. Both the mirror and the cell phone are ‘cracked’. This microphone is far more sturdy that the original, and is silver with CATTY spelled out in pink on the outside of the grip. It looks like it could also double as a knuckle duster if a fight breaks out.

Last but not least, all Monster High characters have an adored pet. Catty’s is Amulette, who is described as a ‘furr-ocious sphinx cat’. Sphinx cats have no fur, but who am I to quibble over bad wordplay? Amulette has a molded smirk and some outstanding makeup, plus a pink fur collar, and is clearly just as much of a star as her monster.

I had to see how Catty and the curvy body shared outfits. Technically, the outfits fit. However, curvy’s bodycon dress really emphasizes Catty’s round tummy. There’s also no way to get Catty’s larger, stilleto wearing feet into any of the B-girl’s various shoes. Curvy fared slightly better- the bolero jacket fit well, and the dress fit, although with her shorter torso it barely covers her rear. I had to leave the belt off as it shifted the fit just enough that her butt was hanging out. Even though this particular Barbie has flat feet, the difference in thigh size was enough that she could put the boots on. As you can see, they look okay from the front, but in the second shot you can see just how odd they look from the side.

Honestly, I like this version more than the first, mainly because the body is so unabashedly large. The original Monster High line was groundbreaking with the unique head molds and character stories, and the new line is definitely expanding on that with the varied body types. Redressing her is going to be difficult, but I might try digging up some of my Hasbro Jem outfits and seeing if they work.

Scorecard
Face: A-
Body: A+++
Hair: A
Fabric: B- (that bolero fabric is just awful)
Style: A-
Execution: A-
Accessories: A
Overall: A