Ever After High

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, to protect her and others' own destiny, believes that Raven should become the next Evil Queen. The students are generally divided into 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:

Apple White (voiced by Jonquil Goode) – The daughter of Snow White. She has light blond hair, light skin, and light blue eyes. She is described as a "motivated, smart, and natural-born leader" and aspires to be a Royal, following in the footsteps of her mother. She is roommates with Raven Queen. Her secret heart's desire is for people to know her as the fairest one of all on the inside as well as the outside. She is co-president of the student council and the editor of the yearbook.

Alistair Wonderland (voiced by Robbie Daymond) – The son of Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He has blond hair and blue eyes. He desires to explore the entire fairytale world. He has a crush on fellow Wonderland student Bunny Blanc but believes she only thinks of him as a friend. His doll debuted at the New York Toy Fair in 2015.

Ashlynn Ella (voiced by Laura Bailey and Karen Strassman) – The daughter of Cinderella. She has strawberry blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She typically wears dresses in floral prints. She works part-time at the Glass Slipper shoe boutique. Her special ability is being able to talk to nature's plants and animals. She and Hunter Huntsman are a couple, although the latter is associated with the Rebels faction and she is expected to marry a Prince Charming. Nevertheless, she initially sides with the Royals as she wants to keep her heritage.

Blondie Lockes (voiced by Julie Maddalena Kliewer) – The daughter of Goldilocks. She has long blonde curls with bangs, blue eyes, and wears a blue dress. She and Cupid are roommates, and she is best friends with Apple White and Briar Beauty. Her magic ability is to unlock any lock. At school she runs the Daily MirrorCast show, and she is the captain of the debate team.

Briar Beauty (voiced by Kate Higgins) – The daughter of Sleeping Beauty. She is Apple White's best friend and sides with the Royals. She fears her destiny of having to sleep for a hundred years and tries to learn as much as she can before facing that spell. She has been known to fall asleep at various times. Her favorite colors are pink and black. Her special ability is being able to hear everything for miles but only while she is asleep. Her favorite school activity is being on the student council, where she is a party planner.

Rebel main characters

Some of the following students do not agree with their destinies and want their own destiny:

Raven Queen (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – The daughter of the Evil Queen, and Apple's roommate. Raven has violet eyes and black hair with purple highlights. She has no desire to follow in her mother's footsteps in becoming a villain. Her actions end up starting the Rebel faction, which she is reluctant to lead. Her abilities include casting spells, but they are usually of the black magic kind. If she tries to use her powers for good, it usually backfires. Her romance status is "not even looking" as she is more focused on figuring out her destiny.

C.A. Cupid (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Transfer student from Monster High and the adopted daughter of Eros: God of Love from Mount Olympus. She has pink hair and wings, and carries a bow and arrow, although she is not a good shot. While her arrows can help people fall in love, she relies on her own magic to help people listen to their hearts. She would also like to fall in love herself, with an interest in Dexter Charming. C.A. Cupid and Blondie Lockes are roommates. She sides with the Rebels in that everyone should be able to follow their hearts, and has served as an advisor for her schoolmates on romance issues. C.A. Cupid also participates in the Daily Mirrorcast with Blondie Lockes.

Cedar Wood (voiced by Jonquil Goode) – The daughter of Pinocchio and a life-size puppet made of cedar. She has dark brown hair and a tan complexion and wears a pink dress. She harbors a curse where she has to tell the truth during her high school days; her friends are thus careful what they say around her. Her goal is to become a real girl. Her doll in the Hat-Tastic Party set has her wearing a Pinocchio-styled hat, a modern Harajuku-styled dress, and Mary Jane platform shoes. Her favorite subject is arts & crafts.

Cerise Hood (voiced by Rena S. Mandel) – The daughter of Red Riding Hood. She has black hair with a streak of grey. She wears a buffalo-checkered print dress with silver foil lace sleeves, distressed leather leggings and lace-up boots. Her purse is a picnic basket. She wears a red cape to hide her wolf ears, and has an appetite for meat as her father is actually Mr. Badwolf, one of the first Rebels. Her special ability is to "travel unseen through shadows".

Other students

The following students have website profiles, but it is not clear what faction they are part of:

Jillian Beanstalk – The daughter of Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. She has brown hair with green streaks, tan skin. She plays harp in the school band. She was announced in 2015 as part of the Where Princesses are Powerful line, and first appeared in cartoon form in Dragon Games. Although her website description associates her with the Royals with the statement "I'm ready to dive crown first into my story and follow it from Once Upon a Time to THE END", her doll description associates her with the Rebels.

Brooke Page (voiced by Marieve Herington) – A young Narrator-In-Training who is the daughter of the two Narrators. She lives inside the Magic Mirror called the Mirror Network.

The following students are supporting characters that have yet to have a doll or a website profile. Some are not tied to either faction.

Daring Charming (voiced by Evan Smith) – Dexter and Darling's brother who is the son of King Charming. He is very photogenic and hopes to marry Apple White as is his destiny.

Humphrey Dumpty (voiced by Cindy Robinson) – The son of Humpty Dumpty. He wears rectangular glasses and looks nerdy as he enjoys high tech, but he is also a rap artist.

Hopper Croakington II (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The son of the Frog Prince. He turns into a frog whenever he gets tongue-tied around princesses.

Sparrow Hood (voiced by Todd Haberkorn) – The son of Robin Hood, he enjoys playing guitar and singing lead in the band called the Merry Men.

Gus Crumb and Helga Crumb – Two cousins who enjoy sweets and are the children of the siblings Hansel and Gretel. In the books by Shannon Hale, Gus's mother is Gretel, and Helga's father is Hansel. However, the webisode "Ginger in the Breadhouse" associates Gus with Hansel and Helga with Gretel.

Ever After High faculty

The following are the faculty members of Ever After High:

Milton Grimm (voiced by Jamieson Price) – The headmaster of Ever After High and the brother of Giles Grimm. He treats the students with a favorable destiny better than the ones without but insists that everyone follows the destiny as dictated by their story.

Giles Grimm (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The brother of Milton Grimm. He spends much of his time in Vault of Lost Tales, a secret library under the school. Giles possesses a mirror that allows him to see whatever he needs so he remains up to date on everything. In "Thronecoming", he becomes the co-headmaster of Ever After High after Apple, Raven, and their friends broke his spell.

Baba Yaga (voiced by Kate Higgins) – A witch who is the faculty adviser of Ever After High. She teaches magic.

Mr. Badwolf – An anthropomorphic wolf who teaches home evilnomics and general villainy. He also has a human form. Though he is meant to be the antagonist of Little Red Riding Hood, Mr. Badwolf and Little Red Riding Hood learned to get along in secret which resulted in the secret child-raising of Cerise Hood.

Professor Pied Piper – The father of Melody Piper teaches "Muse-Ic" where his music summons rats from the sky.

Professor Rumpelstiltskin – The Science and sorcery teacher.

Coach Gingerbreadman (voiced by Audu Paden) – A gingerbread man who teaches "Grimnastics."

Professor Jack B. Nimble (voiced by Audu Paden) – Teacher of "Storytelling 101."

The White Queen – The co-ruler of Wonderland alongside the Queen of Hearts who is the royal advisor to the princesses. She also teaches "Princessology."

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 the 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.