Universal Monsters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Universal Monsters are fictional characters created or popularized by Universal Studios in a number of famous horror films. The approach began with the 1923 film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and continued to encompass such movies as The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, Werewolf of London, Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
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[edit] Monsters
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Quasimodo)
- The Phantom of the Opera (Erik)
- Dracula
- Frankenstein's Monster
- The Mummy (Imhotep)
- The Invisible Man (Dr. Jack Griffin)
- Bride of Frankenstein
- Werewolf of London (Dr. Wilfred Glendon)
- Ygor / Igor
- The Wolf Man (Lawrence Talbot)
- Gill-man
- The Metaluna Mutant
- The Mole Man
[edit] Merchandising
Such is the popularity of the series that merchandising has been collected by fans around the world for decades. The complete list of merchandising for these characters is exhausting, with too many to mention. However, when the films were originally released there was little in the way of merchandising other than lobby cards and posters. The 1931 Frankenstein 6-sheet movie poster is considered to be the most valuable poster in the world. There is only one copy of this poster known to exist.
It would be many years later, after the films had become popular once again after being regularly shown on American TV, when toys and model kits began to appear for sale with the features of these characters on them. Universal particularly held to the copyrighting of their depiction of Frankenstein's monster.
Out of the first wave of collectables, the most notable and significant was the 1961 plastic model kit of Frankenstein's monster by the now-defunct Aurora company. In the next few years there followed models of Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon before the series switched to generic or characters from other firms, though there was a Bride of Frankenstein model in 1965. These hollow statues were quite popular among American boys, it being well before there were any "action figurines" (dolls for boys) at all.
After the popular Aurora series, other companies eventually began using licenced caricatures of the Universal Monsters; from Halloween masks and figurines, to coffee mugs and pez dispensers.
Other popular memorabilia includes the range from Sideshow Collectibles with very accurate 12 inch (1/6th scale) "action figures" of many of the Universal Monsters, as well as museum quality 1/4th scale "Premium Format" figures usually cast from polystone with screen accurate cloth costumes and decoration.
The Universal Monsters have also appeared in video games, such as Monsterville.
The films themselves have seldom been out of print and have been widely collected in numerous formats, originally in Super 8mm, then VHS and laserdisc. In 1999, the movies first became available on DVD, since then they have been re-mastered, re-released and re-packaged twice more; in 2004, as part of the Legacy Series and also under the 75th Anniversary banner in 2006.
In 2006 Necca Toys released all the main monsters as part of their Head Knocker range.
[edit] Film Remakes
In 1999 and 2001 the films The Mummy and The Mummy Returns were released to theaters. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is currently in post-production and set for a August 2008 release. These films were a re-imagining of the original franchise that ran in cinema's in 30's and 40's. Van Helsing followed the same trend and introduced the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Dracula as villains to be fought by the legendary monster hunter. Currently, a remake is in talks for The Creature from the Black Lagoon.[citation needed] Rumor has it that the film will be about a pharmaceutical company polluting the Amazon River where the Creature lives. The Wolf Man is currently filming and stars Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving. The film will basically follow the plot line of the original The Wolfman. It is unknown whether remakes of Invisible Man, Frankenstein and Dracula are possible.
