"Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie" is Cute But Non-Consequential

I sense that Uncle Kevin is no longer going to be welcome in a couple of households when he is done with his review of “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie.” Based on a DreamWorks show that streams on Netflix, “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is a big screen adventure of the titular Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner), who was given a magical dollhouse by her grandmother Gigi (Gloria Estefan), in which the toys inside the dollhouse come to life when she tugs on her kitty headpiece and says magic words. Gabby is then transported into the dollhouse where she and her friends (referred to as the Gabby Cats) take on an animated form and go on adventures.

As someone who has no real knowledge of the show that the movie is based on (I feel “Bluey” is a much better use of an adult's time if they are going to watch cartoons geared towards preschoolers), this is my first real introduction to the world of Gabby and the Gabby Cats. Of course, it was clear early on that I would need to temper my expectations a little bit, as entertaining adults is not the goal here. This is a movie where the main character talks to the audience, encouraging dancing and singing along, and the biggest conflict is that the movies antagonist Vera (Kirsten Wiig) needs to get in touch with her inner child and learn to play again.

There most likely was a way to make this preschool friendly while touching on the sensitive topic of growing up (again: see “Bluey”), but “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is not exactly up to the task as far as I can see. I will give Laila Lockhart Kraner a lot of credit: as far as children’s hosts go, she is a particularly good one, and the kids in my audience were focused on her every instruction when she spoke to the audience. A few of the musical numbers, I also must admit, are catchy and wouldn’t make for the worst listens if they needed to be played on a long car trip. In many ways, I can honestly say I get why the world of Gabby and the Gabby Cats are so appealing to young kids.

Had this been on Netflix or Disney+, it would be an easy recommendation to turn on and sit your kids down to. In that regard, it's one of the better kids' movies. The problem is its being released in theaters where ticket prices are too expensive for this to be a casual outing. As such, “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” does wear on the parents' patience fairly early on, and even some of the kids at my screening were getting antsy by the time the last twenty minutes rolled around. My apologies to my nieces and nephews, but while it is nice to see an honest to God G-rated movie in theaters again, “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” only appeals to the youngest of audiences, leaving the older audiences with little choice but to take a nap.