The first time I saw Ever After High, I was passing by the toy section while at Target. I passed by, stopped, went back, and stared. The dolls are certainly eye-catching, but it was the concept that caught my eye. Picture this: the daughters of Snow White and the Evil Queen are attending school together. Their names are Apple White and Raven Queen; and, somehow, it works.

The Ever After High web series resets the dynamic of the Evil Queen and Snow White as the breaker of rules and a stickler to conventions with Wicked-esque flair. Apple White wants to live up to her mother’s legacy as the fairest of them all. She’ll fall in love with Daring Charming (after high school since they have forever after to be together), gain the adoration of all good people, and gain the hatred of Raven Queen. She’ll be the best queen that ever was. Raven Queen, on the other hand, is unsure whether she wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Being evil’s just not all it’s cracked up to be, and it would seem she has personal experience. She’d rather make her own story, whatever that happens to be.

The conventions of story, however, are slammed firmly in place by Headmaster Milton Grimm, who explains that if Apple White and Raven Queen don’t follow in their parents’ footsteps, both they and their stories will disappear. Is it really worth it to make your own destiny if it means you’ll die in the process?

Escape is provided by Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter, who sees beyond the fourth wall and regularly argues with the narrators. She helps Raven Queen find answers in the Vault of Lost Tales in the school basement where the Headmaster’s brother lives. Giles Grimm speaks only in Riddlish, but Maddie’s translation explains that the Headmaster lied. Or not. Riddlish isn’t an exact language. The choice falls back to Raven Queen, and after seeing her destiny in the Storybook of Legends, she chooses to defy it.

Ever After High is a doll series, a web series, and a novel series produced by Mattel. By setting the story amid a deconstruction of story, the franchise ingeniously provides young girls with the tools to make and tell their own stories. Playing with dolls is the art of telling stories after all, whether Barbie’s shooting off in an astronaut suit to the moon or playing house at home. It’s rehearsing scripts for the future, and Ever After High encourages them to make their own script. Choose to be a Royal, or a Rebel.

            All the characters are burdened by their legacies in one way or another. Dexter and Daring Charming are twins and opposites. Dexter is geeky and fumbles around girls while Daring is heroic and charming. Daring’s charm, however, is undercut by his arrogance and vanity while Dexter wins friends with his good nature. Cedar Wood, daughter of Pinocchio, is cursed to always tell the truth, but she is sure that someday she’ll tell a really big story. Ashylnn Ella, daughter of Cinderella, is hiding her romance with Hunter, son of the Huntsman, because she’s a Royal and he’s a Rebel. Cerise Hood is hiding her parentage as daughter of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

Raven Queen, as the daughter of both the Good King and the Evil Queen, undergoes tremendous pressure from her mother and society to be the next Evil Queen. At the same time, Apple White puts pressure on herself and is pressured by the people around her to become who she is supposed to be. Apple’s struggle is just as compelling as Raven’s, and neither of them are truly villains. Raven genuinely wishes Apple well, and Apple would like nothing better than for Raven to be the villain of her story. Apple’s best friend has to poison Raven’s cake to give Apple a happy birthday.

The most truly villainous people in the show are Headmaster Grimm, Duchess Swan, and Kitty Cheshire, all of whom are obstacles for their own reasons. Grimm is invested in making stories turn out right, Cheshire is simply interested in making trouble, and Swan wants to steal someone else’s happy ending so that her life isn’t Swan Lake. All fail due to the actions of the main cast, though, through strategy, power, and wit. The conflict of Ever After High comes not from good versus evil, but from people versus people. And people, as always, mix those two up terribly.

Ever After High is a bright, light-hearted, and engaging web series. The novelization is being written by Shannon Hale, which recommends it even more. If you’re looking for a pleasant couple of hours, you can’t go wrong by watching these at everafterhigh.com.