Universal Classic Monsters
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Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
based on a series of
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
s primarily produced by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially conceived as a franchise, the enduring popularity and legacy of the films and the characters featured in them has led the studio to market them under the collective brand name of Universal Studios Monsters. Steve Jones of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' described Universal's most famous monsters as "pop culture icons", specifically Dracula, Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Mummy, and the Wolf Man.


Merchandising

After the Universal horror films were syndicated to television, this led to a rise in the popularity of merchandise based on Frankenstein's monster and Dracula. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, the Universal monsters were promoted via merchandizing which included: Halloween costumes, Aurora model kits, paperback novelizations, makeup how-to manuals, T-shirt iron-ons, posters, trading cards, and more. Since 1991,
Halloween Horror Nights ''Universal's Halloween Horror Nights'' (originally ''Universal Studios Fright Nights'' in 1991) is an annual Halloween-themed event at Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan and Singapore. The event was originally named '' ...
at
Universal Parks & Resorts Universal Parks & Resorts, also known as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme par ...
have featured characters from the Universal Classic Monsters franchise. From 2006 to 2014, the characters also appeared in the year-round walk-through attraction,
Universal's House of Horrors Universal's House of Horrors was an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. It was the fifth variation of a walk-through maze housed in the "Stage 13" building. (Previous themes featured include Chicken Run, GrinchMas, The Mummy and Van Hels ...
, at
Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...
. The franchise is also the central theme of
Universal Orlando's Horror Make-Up Show Universal Orlando's Horror Make-Up Show (previously titled The Phantom of the Opera Horror Make-Up Show and The Gory, Gruesome and Grotesque Horror Make-Up Show) is a live show located at Universal Studios Florida that opened on June 7, 1990, al ...
. The live show opened in 1990 at
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
and is still in operation. Merchandizing of the characters in formats such as clothing and board games has continued into the 21st century.


Home video line

Louis Feola was the head of Worldwide Home Video for
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
and said in 1999 that "a couple of years ago" he decided to "reinvigorate and re-market" Universal's Classic Monsters catalog which included the series ''Dracula'', ''Frankenstein'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''The Wolf Man'', and ''The Mummy''. In 1992, in an interview with ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', Feola stated that to market and sell home video, the most important thing was the packaging of their sales which was "probably our single biggest priority and has been for a number of years", and that it was key to make the series of films "look like a line". In 1995, MCA/Universal released a collection of the films on home video under the title "The Universal Studios Monsters Classic Collection". This series included ''Frankenstein'', ''Dracula'', ''The Mummy'', ''The Invisible Man'', and ''The Creature from the Black Lagoon'' series. A collection of stamps featuring Universal Classic Monsters were also released in September 1997 titled "Universal Classic Movie Monsters series". Other characters included in the series included the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster (
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
), Phantom of the Opera (
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
) and the Wolf Man (
Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...
).


Films

The columns show the subsequent home video releases.


Legacy

After the success of the 1999 film ''
The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...
'', Universal spent the next decade attempting to reboot their classic monsters with films such as ''
Van Helsing A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...
'' (2004), '' The Wolfman'' (2010) and ''
Dracula Untold ''Dracula Untold'' is a 2014 American dark fantasy action-horror film directed by Gary Shore in his feature film debut and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. A reboot of the ''Dracula'' film series, the plot creates an origin story f ...
'' (2014). 2017's ''
The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...
'' reboot starring
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...
was an attempt to establish a "Dark Universe" series comparable to Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Following the failure of ''The Mummy'', Universal scrapped the Dark Universe and returned to standalone features, starting with ''
The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...
'' (2020). The success of popular crossover series has led to reassessments of Universal's monster films to be among "the earliest cinematic universes" starting with ''
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ''Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. This was the first of a series of later called "monster rallie ...
''.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Saturn Award for Best DVD or Blu-ray Collection Mass media franchises introduced in 1931 Universal Classic Monsters Home video lines