Between blind boxes, brainrot and whatever the hell Skibidi toilet is, children have a lot less quality entertainment now than they did twenty years ago. The digital age has slowly killed creativity. No toy is nearly as enticing as a tablet. Kids would rather be online than outside. Influencers have eclipsed genuine role models. So when a new figure comes along who grabs a child’s attention - and provides them the right message - it feels like a miracle. 

 

Sesame Street pioneered this. Shows like Barney & Friends and Dora the Explorer followed suit. As their popularity has dwindled, educational influencers like Blippi and Ms. Rachel have stepped up to carry the torch. And in the age of streaming, shows like Gabby’s Dollhouse have attempted to literally recapture the magic of imagination for younger audiences. After four years and 11 seasons (!) on Netflix, the latter is taking a confident leap to the big screen. 

 

For those unfamiliar with the series, it’s a live-action and animated hybrid which follows a young girl named Gabby with a magical cat ear-shaped headband that allows her to shrink down and enter her dollhouse. Once inside, she’s able to interact with all of her favorite toys, which happen to be unique variations of cats. For reference, one is a mermaid, one is a DJ, and one is a sentient cupcake! The average episode follows Gabby interacting with the audience as she goes on an adventure with one of her “Gabby Cats.” Like most other children's TV shows, it’s extremely lighthearted and there’s lots of songs about random subjects. 

 

Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie could very easily just be a cheesy extension of the show most kids know and love. But instead, it’s quite the clever commentary on the aforementioned death of creativity, as well as a reflection on whether growing up really means saying goodbye to our inner child. It’s a risk, but one that works so well it could set a new standard for similar shows looking to expand their brand. 

 

Directed by veteran story artist Ryan Crego, the film follows Gabby as she and her cats leave home and embark on a trip to visit her grandmother for a week. What should be a fun trip turns into a nightmare after the dollhouse filled with all of her friends rolls away and is stolen by a maniacal cat lady. To save them all, she must attempt a thrilling heist. In the process of getting them back, however, she is forced to confront her own fears about responsibility, growing up and potentially letting her friends go one day.

 

Laila Lockhart Kraner reprises her role as Gabby from the series - and she doesn’t miss a beat with keeping the spirit of the show alive. Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things), Donovan Patton (Blue’s Clues) and Tara Strong (nearly every animated show from the last 40 years) are among the supporting voice cast who return from the series as well. Newcomers include Jason Mantzoukas (Big Mouth), Fortune Feimster (The Mindy Project) and Thomas Lennon (Reno 911). Music legend Gloria Estefan also stars as Gabby’s grandmother in an admittedly small role, while comedian Kristin Wiig plays the antagonistic cat lady Vera. 

 

Wiig is particularly great in the film. While she incorporates much of her signature silliness into the role, her deadpan humor shines because she is the most serious character in the script. There’s one hilarious sequence where Gabby breaks the fourth wall, and Vera begins freaking out because she has no idea who she’s talking to. Although the marketing heavily implies Vera is the film’s villain, one of the film’s many surprises is that she’s not. In fact, the actual villain isn’t technically a villain either. If anything, the most hostile force in the film is Gabby’s looming adolescence. 

 

At the very beginning of the film, for the first time fans are presented with the origin of Gabby’s dollhouse and toys. We see who made them and why. From the moment she leaves on her trip with her grandmother, Gabby is constantly questioning how realistic it is to be with her friends forever. Being forced to be away from them only deepens this internal crisis, as well as learning Vera’s backstory and seeing how she turned her back on her own toys. But the moment in which she ultimately reconciles with this idea, and learns that letting your inner child die is a choice, is so profoundly beautiful. For the first time in a long time, Dreamworks turns on the waterworks in a way that deserves to be lauded similarly to the ending of Toy Story 3 or the entirety of Inside Out.

 

Aside from an arguable waste of Estefan’s talents, the film’s only other con is that the ending makes it seem like this may be one of the last times we see Gabby. After all, unlike many other children show icons, she is a real person who is still growing up herself. So perhaps it’s just the studio’s way of preparing fans for the inevitable. 

Still, Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie is one of the year’s biggest surprises. You do not have to be a fan of the original series to appreciate the heart and humor brimming at its seams. But its exploration of how hard it is to grow up without losing who you truly are makes it purr-fect viewing for fans young, old and new.