Cute is NOT DEAD! : My Research Blog on the Origins and Boom of Skelanimals™ (Jan 3rd)
Hello my fellow Skelanimals™ friends!
Welcome back to my fan blog!
The Creation and Rise of Skelanimals™ Part 1 Jan. 3rd 2025
Before I review and rank every Skelanimals™ character, I would like to post a cited research of this awesome brand, Skelanimals™. Next research and theory blog will be on the comeback of Skelanimals™.
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| Skelanimals™ ©2025 Hasbro. |
Hello! Welcome back again to Dead But Cute! Happy New Fears to all of my flesh and blood fans of Skelanimals™. Today I would like to do an cited research blog post origins story on Skelanimals™. Where they came from, and the unfortunate decline in popularity. I do this for my passion for Skelanimals™! You can too! Please share this research blog to any fans (and scholars such as myself) of Skelanimals™. The mission is clear! "Because DEAD ANIMALS NEED LOVE TOO" Without further ado, here's the story of our favorite non living mascots. Welcome to my first research blog. All individuals who posted interviews, articles, images, and presentations will be cited below.
The Scary Origins of our Spooky Friends
The story of Skelanimals™ dates back to the mid 2000's and was first thought up by genius author and illustrator Mitchell Bernal.
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| Mitchell Bernal at Toy Conference 2002 |
The idea came to Bernal in quite a peculiar way. According to blogger, illustrator, and storyteller "corvusblue" who's blog is titled Ruby Winkle gave to interview Cindy Baily an then CEO of toy publishing company Art Impressions Inc. in 2010. Baily said that Bernal was already an successful animator and he came up with the idea for Skelanimals™ in order to aide with his son who was coping with the loss of his pet. Baily further explains that Bernal had quite a dark sense of humor and wanted to make light of animals and how the "lived" in the afterlife. Baily later explains how Art Impressions Inc. moved forward and merchandised Skelanimals™ to Hot Topic in 2006. She continued to explain that the "edge" and cuteness of Skelanimals™ was appealing to audiences. Skelanimals™ became the highest grossing non music brand in Hot Topic stores all over.(corvusblue "Interviews", 2010)
https://rubywinkle.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/bearing-it-all-skelanimals-interview/
What's brilliant about this is that this merchandising company moved forward at the right place at the right time. Hot Topic during the late 2000s would of course feature the grim but cute Skelanimals™ toy line. Skelanimals™ managed to transcend the original audience from children into teenagers as well as adults alike. Creepy cute culture laid a foundation for fashion with a image and personality group of young people called "scene", sort of like emo (not goth because there actual difference) but with more colors. I remember store displays featured at Hot Topic and they were amazing to look at in retrospect. Unfortunately today there's no mall presence.
Before malls and big box stores were on the decline, Skelanimals™ as a brand transformed everyday shopping at these retail outlets to be a fun adventure. How I feel about Bernal, is that he is brilliant creative and terrific illustrator. How he used simple animal designs for the skeletons and the art is simply so amazing that aesthetic that it carried commercially is gorgeous. Here's an amazing store display at Target during Halloween.
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| This is a Skelanimals™ Halloween Costume store display at Target.2009. |
Let's continue with my research blog on Skelanimals™.
Invasion of the Living Dead!... animals : How Skelanimals™ took over the planet.
During that time major publications like Wired.com hopped on the trend of "nerdy" toy lines such as Skelanimals™. Skelanimals™ made a massive push distributing merchandise from stuffed animals to apparel. Animals that made up the Skelanimals™ include a cat, panda, rabbit, monkey and many many more. (Wired.com Staff, 2010). According to an article on alborde.com the marketing for Skelanimals™ never missed a beat. Bands from the emo scene of this time were also recruited for promotion at Vans™ Warped Tour. As I Lay Dying, Alesana, Automatic Loveletter, and similar acts set up booths for fans at the Vans™ Warped Tour to line up for autographs. (Gabriela, 2008 alborde.com) This diverse marketing strategy along with a appropriate demographic fueled Skelanimals™ success.
The music of emo, post hardcore, metal core and many sub genres would include lyrics on romance, dark horror and other elements that were remarkable for the time. Vocally there would be screaming but also clean singing. This is the balance of "scary" and "pretty" that shares that same aesthetic and philosophy of Skelanimals™. Finding the cute in bleakness. It would make sense that Skelanimals™ would recruit these bands. The hard edge of punk mixed with pretty feminine pop vocals made a great combination. The most famous example is Hayley Williams of Paramore donning this vintage Diego the Bat shirt.
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| Hayley Williams performing at Vans™ Warped Tour, 2007. |
It's mad crazy in retrospect how big this brand blew up. It's like some sort of an Hello Kitty effect. Everybody wanted this cute, emos, nerds, people like me! Popular models such as Audrey Kitching and Hannah Beth of the late 2000's scene and emo fashion movement were also recruited to model the fashionable and stylish designs of their original apparel line. These hoodies were quite popular for their creative look that is still sought after to this very day.
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| Audrey Kitching and Hannah Beth Nov 2007. |
The Story So Far...
What an incredible success story. Really inspiring how much Skelanimals™ was bringing their version of creepy cute that paved the way for commercial juggernauts such as Monster High™. Next research blog I will detail the ultimate peak of Skelanimals™ commercial success and decline in popularity with the general toy buying audience and my theory on that as well. I will share a video from a fellow fan on the theory of Skelanimals™ in the next part of my research blog. Until then do your research and read up on this fascinating toy legacy! It's been a tremendous pleasure to post this research page. Once I pick up Skelanimals™ at Hot Topic I'll share my personal experience. But it's not gonna be the same as back then. I will post the conclusion of this research on this upcoming Tuesday after Music Monday.
Citations:
Ruby Winkle Interview Blog:
bluecorvus Bearing it all: Skelanimals interview. rubywinkle.wordpress.com. (2010, February 18). https://rubywinkle.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/bearing-it-all-skelanimals-interview/
Image of Mitchell Bernall at conference:
cosmicpencil “Mitchell Bernall” 28 December 2009. Online image. Flickr 3 January 2025 https://www.flickr.com/photos/21223397@N03/4221829546
Information on Skeanimals and marketing strategy. Skelanimals marketing presentation:
Sommer, Kourtney “Skelanimals They want your ♥… “How it all started….” Online Presentation 2009 https://slideplayer.com/slide/3502761/
Wired Article “Macabre, Yet Cute”:
Staff, WIRED. “Skelanimals: Macabre, yet Cute.” Wired.Com, Conde Nast, 22 Jan. 2009, www.wired.com/2009/01/skelanimals-mac
AlBorde Article “Skelanimals-Cute-as-a-Button-Cool-As-Hell”
Gabriela, H. (2008, July 16). Skelanimals: Cute as a button, cool as hell. Al Borde. https://www.alborde.com/lifestyle/skelanimals-cute-as-a-button-cool-as-hell/
Image of Audrey Kitching and Hanna Beth
Haleybrighter_thananyone “Audrey Kitching & Hanna Beth.” 30 November 2007 Online Image. Flickr 3 January 2025 https://www.flickr.com/photos/igor_loves_hayleywilliams/2076602978
Image of Hayley Williams
#TBT Hayley Williams Paramore Vans Warped Tour 2007! Online image. Facebook. Apr 2nd, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152838335405847&id=84212195846&set=a.149500185846
Image of Skelanimals display at Target.
Toons and Tunes, Tumblr (July 31st, 2021) "Target Halloween Displays" Online Image. https://www.tumblr.com/toonsandtunes/658253493645295616/target-halloween-displays-from-the-early-2000s?source=share
Skelanimals™ ©2025 Hasbro. This is not an official blog from Hasbro or Skelanimals™.
Monster High™ ©2025 Mattel This is not an official blog from Mattel or Monster High™.
Vans™ Warped Tour ©2025 This blog is not affiliated with Vans™ Warped Tour in any way.
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