Universal Monsters Reimagined For Halloween Through Web3 Company Doodles

EXCLUSIVE: Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, and the other Universal Monsters are set for a digital reimagining this Halloween.

Universal Products & Experiences is working with web3 company Doodles to create a collection of collectible Telegram sticker packs, serialized digital comics and a short social film based around the characters.

Timed for Halloween, the plan is to mix Doodle’s digital production style with the characters, whose iconic appearances in early cinema making have gone down in history. You can get a flavor of the style in the teaser video above.

The Universal Monsters film series began with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1913, and went on to add Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and the Creature From the Blue Lagoon trilogy.

The characters have spawned dozens of movies, and in 2014 Universal began an attempt to build a Monsters Cinematic Universe similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at Disney, as Deadline revealed at the time. That was scrapped four years later.

Universal Products & Experiences looks after the Universal Monsters brands through retail and product experience deals. Part of NBCUniversal, it has business lines including Consumer Products and Games, and Theme Parks Products & Retail.

The latest use of the characters brings them firmly into the present, with Doodles being one of the more prominent web-first entertainment companies out there thanks to deals with the likes of Adidas and Crocs, and its relationship with Pharrell Williams, who is an investor and active collaborator.

“Doodles has always been about imagination and creativity – reshaping familiar ideas into something playful, emotional, and new,” said Scott Martin (aka Burnt Toast), co-founder and CEO of Doodles. “Universal Monsters are part of the DNA of modern storytelling, and bringing them into the Doodles universe lets us celebrate that history while showing what creativity looks like in this next chapter of entertainment.”

Doodles projects include Doodles Records, which saw the likes of Lil Wayne and Pharrell making songs for Dullsville and the Doodleverse, an animated short that launched at the Toronto International Film Festival. The company launched back in 2021 as an NFT business, but quickly expanded into animation, music and other entertainment areas.