Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie (U)
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Laila Lockhart Kraner, Gloria EstefanGenre: Musical
Author(s): Rehana Lew Mirza, Adam Wilson, Melanie Wilson LaBracio, Mike Lew
Director: Ryan Crego
Release Date: 16/10/2025
Running Time: 98mins
Country: US
Year: 2025
Gabby embarks on a road trip with her beloved grandma Gigi bound for Cat Francisco. The youngster's coveted dollhouse accidentally falls into the clutches of eccentric cat lady named Vera and Gabby journeys through the real world to save the various Gabby Cats and the dollhouse before it is too late.
LondonNet Film Review
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie (U) Film Review from LondonNet
Enthusiastic audience participation – cheering, clapping, singing and, yes, caterwauling – are actively encouraged from the outset of director Ryan Crego’s candy-coloured adventure based on the popular TV series for pre-schoolers, which melds live action and animation to chart the exploits of the eponymous teen heroine and her pawsome pals, the Gabby Cats. Laila Lockhart Kraner reprises her title role with the kind of unbridled effervescence and joy that should be bottled as a tonic for workday blues…
Repeatedly breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience (and invite attending parents and children to hold hands), she barrels through a simplistic storyline about cherishing childlike wonder and the power of imagination. In a masterful move, Kristen Wiig is cast as the purrfectly unhinged antagonist, who likes to unwind by performing yoga with her long-suffering pampered pet cat Marlena. This loopy set piece, which invites the actor to twist her body like a pretzel into various unorthodox poses – The Can Opener, The French Detective, The Keanu! – wedges a tongue so firmly in cheek it will surely be wasted on the target demographic.
Gabby (Lockhart Kraner) is thrilled to embark on a week-long visit to her beloved grandma Gigi (Gloria Estefan) in Cat Francisco. The pair travel across the pink gate suspension bridge and into the city via Arcatsas, Mewsiana and Mew Meowxico with the treasured dollhouse and the Gabby Cats safely secured to a separate trailer. CatRat (voiced by Donovan Patton) is impatient to get inside Gigi’s house and he foolishly loosens the dollhouse’s restraints, sending the miniature residence and its feline inhabitants careening downhill and into the clutches of glittery kitty litter maven, Vera (Kristen Wiig). Meowch!
Harnessing the power of huggable plush best friend Pandy Paws (Logan Bailey) and her cat ears headband (“Pinch on my left, pinch pinch on my right. Grab Pandy’s hand and hold on tight!”), Gabby shrinks into animated form and magically relocates inside the dollhouse. There, Gabby joins forces with Baby Box (Maggie Lowe), Cakey (Juliet Donenfeld), Carlita (Carla Tassara), Daniel James “DJ” Catnip (Eduardo Franco), Kitty Fairy (Tara Strong), MerCat (Secunda Wood) and Pillow Cat (Sainty Nelsen) to remind Vera about the power of playing with toys. Neglected plush cat Chumsley (Jason Mantzoukas) could be the key.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie exudes sugar-coated cheer down to the baking-obsessed Gabby Cat, who cries multi-coloured sprinkles of sadness and joy. Musical sequences reverberate to the beat of inoffensive bouncy pop songs such as Let’s Go For A Ride, Pinching In and Gabby’s Dollhouse World (“Come on put your paws up high/Shake your tail from left to right!”) I’m four decades too old for this relentlessly upbeat party but I enjoyed gatecrashing it for 98 minutes.
– Sarah Lee
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