Nickelodeon's Monster High is welcoming Ghoulia Yelps (played by the fabulous Felicia Day) to their ranks as of episode 7, “Nightmare Nightmore.” First launched by Mattel in 2010, the franchise began by introducing characters inspired by mythical creatures who all attend a special school together. The animated reboot series began in October and is helmed by Shea Fontana, who crafted the 2018 reboot of Polly Pocket.
Monster High follows protagonists Frankie Stein, Draculaura, and Clawdeen Wolf as they juggle their high school activities with their higher monster callings. As the daughters of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Werewolf, they each have the burden of familial legacy to live up to while at the same time trying to shine as individuals. In the next episode, airing December 19, Draculaura hopes to host the perfect holiday party and struggles with her disappointment when things don't go according to plan, all while Day's Ghoulia enters the monster spotlight.
Screen Rant spoke to Day about how her role in Monster High came about, why she seeks alternatives to Princess culture for young girls, and what draws her to fandom-heavy projects.
Felicia Day Talks Monster High
Screen Rant: Are you a Monster High fan from its original conception a decade ago, or a Mattel enthusiast generally speaking?
Felicia Day: I really think it's adorable. Yes, I'm a little bit old to have been a kid excited for a Monster High. But at the same time, as a Hot Topic lover from my youth, I loved the aesthetic when it came out. And even now as a mom, before I even got this job, I was like, "This is gonna be a show that I could show my kid one day." She's five now, but as someone who's tried to avoid a little bit of Princess culture, it's really nice to have an alternative role model for girls—not necessarily royalty, but monsters.
I love how this series dives into typical teenage insecurities, but in a really inventive way.
Felicia Day: I mean, the analogy with puberty and being monstrous is right there. Especially in this iteration, this new version of Monster High is so inclusive and grounded and down-to-earth. It uses the analogy of monsters in a really interesting way to deal with a lot of emotional issues, which I really appreciate.
Also, my character is super cute and quirky and very much somebody I would love to be if I were at Monster High.
What can you tell us about Ghoulia Yelps? She seems like she was created for you.
Felicia Day: I will tell you the story. I actually auditioned for Toralei [Stripe], and it was my first online callback that was voiceover. I had never done a callback online for voiceover, and I was so nervous because there are all these boxes on Zoom. I can't see who's in the spaces, and they're like, "Go, go!" I logged off, and I was like, "That was such a bad audition..."
But I guess it was all in my head because they called back and said, "Ghoulia is the role for you." I was so excited because, like you said, Ghoulia is a gamer. She's super quirky; she skateboards everywhere, and she's just really funny. I have such fun voicing her, and I get to do a lot of fun things in the show.
First off, I have to say, I was surprised that I didn't immediately recognize your voice. How did you step into that character, and what was the recording process like?
Felicia Day: Obviously, I am doing a younger character, so I did work on trying to create an authentic geek girl. It's not putting a voice on, it's just really finding who this girl is. She's kind of into brains because she's zombie, so she has a little bit of that monstrous quality to her—of course, since she's at Monster High.
But she definitely is enthusiastic and not afraid of being herself, and I think that's a really wonderful theme of the show in general: embracing who you are not letting your differences make you ashamed. Your differences are really your strengths, and that's my philosophy in life. I like to talk about that in my own work, if I create it, and in any role I have. I was bringing that out with Ghoulia; it was already there on the page, and I was enhancing it with my voice and just having fun acting her out. It really is a gift.
I love what you said about wanting to bring those things out in your own work, and I do feel like your ionate personality always comes through in everything that you do and choose. How do you make those decisions when presented with different career options?
Felicia Day: I do a lot of voiceovers lately. Sometimes I'll just look at either the audition or the offer, and I'll be like, "You know what? I don't think I can do this part to the best of my ability," or "Creating a character for this isn't going to make me really excited to go to work." I have the privilege of being able to turn down jobs and not do every single thing, so when I see something that makes me activated as a person and makes me feel like this is something I want to convey onscreen? That's what I'm like, "Yes, let me do this one."
Monster High as a story world is really interesting to me because young girls are going to be watching the show. They don't have a lot of characters other than princesses to look up to, and I feel like offering more grounded and more alternative [options]. I mean, the monsters are geeky, and that's what I love about it. This is a role that definitely attracted me, and I was so excited to be offered it. Hopefully, I can be Ghoulia for a long time.
Aside from Ghoulia, do you have a Monster High lady you are most fond of?
Felicia Day: Maybe it's because of the relationship with my character and the other cast, but I really like Lagoona [Blue]. My kid is obsessed with mermaids, so I'm deep in the undersea culture. She's a lot more confident and very romantic in the way she throws herself into things. I feel like she might be one of my favorites.
But when I was 15 years old, I was wearing all black lace and crushed velvet, and I adored Winona Ryder to the point of worship. That's really part of who I would be as a kid, so it's easy to channel that.
I hope that we will get to see Ghoulia at Hot Topic soon to come full circle.
Felicia Day: It wouldn't be weird for me to wear a shirt with her on it, right? Yeah, we're still gonna do it.
I think that would be iconic. I love seeing you get involved with the fans, and also with projects that are very deeply rooted in fandom. You just did The Walking Dead: Last Mile, and of course The Rings of Power podcast. What is your favorite element of engaging in that fan loop, if you will?
Felicia Day: I like belonging. I was a lonely, homeschooled kid. I never had friends. I don't know how to articulate how lonely I was a child; I never went to a birthday party, never had a sleepover, and never had a play date. It was very extreme, but I'm pretty functional. But I was wanting to be a part of a group, and that's why I like creating characters who are part of friend groups. I like to belong.
As you said, I've become the face of a lot of IP and been doing a lot of hosting in the last couple of years. I get offered a lot, but I take the only ones where I feel like, "I'm home here. I'm as excited about this as you will be as a fan." That's where I really activate and am excited because you have a shorthand when you're part of a fandom, and being able to know characters in and out and share that enthusiasm with other people is really a blessing.
We've got many Nickelodeon shows and many Mattel toy lines to choose from. If you had a Monster High crossover, who would you like to forces with?
Felicia Day: Oh my gosh, that's really tough. I when I was a kid, I really wanted a Skipper. Do they have still have Skipper? Because that poor girl. She needed to find herself because she was in the shadow of Barbie her whole life. And she had flat feet, thank God! I was always like, "I want to be Skipper because I like the way her feet are made."
I feel like Skipper could use some colors in her hair. She could really embrace who she is in a way that's outside of Barbie's perfection because, listen, that's a high bar. And with the movie coming out, I'm sure it's gonna be awesome. It'd be a little bit into that crossover. Let's let's get the underdog in there too.
About Monster High
Clawdeen Wolf is sinking her fangs into high school hijinks and teenage troubles at her new school, Monster High! Alongside BFFs Frankie Stein and Draculaura, she’s finally found a place where she can be herself.
Monster High episode 7, "Nightmare Nightmore," premieres December 19 on Nickelodeon and will be available to stream on Hulu.