Gabby’s Dollhouse, Review: A tonic for cat-a-tonics

Gabby’s Dollhouse, Review: A tonic for every catatonic

Gabby Dollhouse is the second live-action film produced by DreamWorks Animation, after the 2025 remake of How to Train Your Dragon (2010). It is also DreamWorks Animation's first live-action +animation film that is not a remake. DreamWorks is a ComCast company, as is the international distributor of the film, Universal. It is the big screen version of Gabby's Dollhouse an American interactive television series, premièred on Netflix on January 5, 2021. At its première in Mumbai’s PVR Icon multiplex, the audience consisted of a large number of children, with an average age of about 7.3. And here I am, all of 73, reviewing it. Gabby’s Dollhouse is that kind of film which must be rated, ‘Adults allowed only of they are accompanied by at least one child, aged 7 years, or less’. I wasn’t. And that’s the catch. I had a hard time reducing my sensibilities to the level of a pre-school or early school level, but when I could, I found the film quite suitable and enjoyable.

Gabby is a pre-teens kid who is smitten by every kitten. She dotes on her Grandmother, whom she lovingly calls Gigi. Gigi gifts her a Dollhouse, full of toy cats of various sizes, and other toys, like a box-house named Baby Box. Gabby is beside herself with joy. What is more, Gigi takes Gabby, Pandy Paws (the stuffed toy she is most attached to, her Gabby cats, and her dollhouse, on a road trip to visit her home, in Cat Francisco, for a special craft project. The dollhouse is attached to Gigi’s van. While Gigi is busy coking for Gabby and the guests, a member of the dollhouse, CatRat, accidentally unlatches the dollhouse from the van, causing it to roll on for miles, until it reaches a store, where Vera, a ‘cat lady’ famous for promoting her product, a Kitty Litter Glitter that is fragrant, wants to buy it, for her collection. But Kitty Ranger 1, a very young girl, tries to stop her, by saying that her mother will buy it for her. Vera thumps wads of dollars on the cashier’s table, and takes possession of the dollhouse, which she takes home. Vera then splits the Gabby cats up, placing them at various positions in her vast mansion, as pretty objects.   

CatRat finds a plush cat named Chumsley in a drawer. Chumsley used to be Vera’s favourite toy when she was a kid, but has been confined to the drawer ever since she grew up. As an adult, Vera has a real cat named Marlena as her pet. When Gabby finds the dollhouse missing, she is determined to find and recover it. So, she shrinks, using her unique, magic head band, which has the ability to help her shrink from feet to inches. All she needs to do is give one pinch to the left ear and two to the right, and hug Pandy tight. The minuscule Gabby, Pandy manage to reach Vera's home. Gabby learns most Gabby cats are missing, but meets Chumsley at Cakey's kitchen. Chumsley offers to help. Gabby and Pandy find MerCats (mermaid cats) in Vera's aquarium, and jump in, turning into a mermaid herself. They free MerCat, and, travelling in a bubble, find the Gabby cats in a bag that is fastened by a zip. Vera opens the door, causing them to fly outside, and fall into a bush. They meet kitty gnomes, who take them to the Kitty Fairy, their queen, pretending that they have captured the intruders. The rescue is yet to begin.

Here are the names of the adult writers who have spun this yarn: Screenplay by Mike Lew,

Rehana Lew Mirza, Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio, story by director Ryan Crego the basis being Gabby's Dollhouse, by Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey. Curious about the names Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza, both new to me, I looked up their credentials. The two first met in 2005, Writers Lab, in Manhattan. Reading a part of a play, The Good Muslim, in which Rehana had humanised Islamophobia and taken a sharp dig at proselytisers of American ideals, who try to convert others to their religious and political belief systems, Lew, a Chinese American and a Yale graduate, said it had “blown his mind”. Lew’s play, A Better Babylon, intrigued the half-Pakistani, half-Filipina Rehana, Rehana Mirza and Michael Lew were married in 2011.

There are about six live action characters, and many shots of cities and roads, with real traffic. Besides Gabby and Gigi, the other four are Kitty Rangers 1,2, 3 and the shopkeeper. Creating Kitty Rangers, three young girls who love kitties, was a good ploy, and the interaction between them and Vera is hilarious. However, the little girls appear as adults, having walkie-talkies to communicate and tracing the dollhouse to Vera’s home. One would have loved to see more of them. As was to be expected, there is no back-story about Gabby and Gigi, and none of their family, if they have one, is shown. At the very end, there is a momentary mention of Gabby’s younger sister. Another trope is the distancing technique of playwright Bertolt Brecht (most probably contributed by theatre veterans Mike and Rehana), wherein Gabby addresses the camera (the audience) whenever she finds herself helpless, and asks them to join in her recitation/singing too. Getting Vera to sing was another funny idea, though I could not decide whether she was hitting the right notes, or singing off-key.

Starting with a completely believable premise, the film proceeds in a linear narrative for about a third of its length. After that, it gets intro an adrenaline rush, challenging any rational thinking, introducing dozens of characters, of all shapes and sizes, including fairies and mermaids, making it impossible to keep track of their identities. It is a roller-coaster ride, at 200 kmph, which is bound to come to an end, but, while it lasts, does not give you time enough even to bat an eyelid. Differing from other films of this genre, the female antagonist is not anything like Cruela De Vil. She is merely a grown-up, who has out-grown her love for toys and dolls, and metamorphosed into a marketer, but still stuck in cat mode. She talks to her cat, Marlena, who, to be noted, does not talk at all. One scene, where Vera tries out yoga postures while conversing with Marlena, is well-written. There is an insider joke about Vera having a Mr. Spielberg as her client, but it turns out that it is not Steven. Such a reference, as the names Cat Francisco and Pexas, will not resonate with Indian children, and I wonder whether children of that age in any country, including the USA, will know who Steven Spielberg is.

An award winning show creator and Emmy nominated director, working in the animation industry, Ryan Crego was based at DreamWorks Animation from 2013 to 2017, and then from 2022 to the present, as well as a story artist and voice actor on DreamWorks’ animated features, Shrek Forever After (2010), Puss in Boots (2011), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Rise of the Guardians (2012), The Lorax (2012), Turbo (2013), and Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014). Gabby’s Dollhouse is his fantasy-animation-live action debut film. AS story-writer, he chooses to base this film on the premise that adults should not outgrow their affection for child-hood toys and dolls, because these inanimate objects have been a vital part of their lives. That is a noble thought, albeit a debatable one. Can we really expect to treat our dolls and toys at 20-30-40, as we did when were 2-3-4? I guess that is asking for too much. Yet, is a departure from the plots of many an animation film seen over several decades, and has novelty value. And with such lovable characters, and such delectable food, including huge cakes and donuts, he might succeed in hooking the toddlers+ age bracket.

In the live action scenes, we see Laila Lockhart Kraner as Gabby, Kraner also voices her animated counterpart. She has a broad smile and easy demeanour, though the inter-active scenes could have been better presented. Tina Ukwu plays the young Gabby, while, hold your breath, the eight-time Grammy Award winner Gloria (María Milagrosa) Estefan, a Cuban-American singer, songwriter and actress, is Grandma Gigi, and, like Laila, Estefan also voices her animated counterpart. Indians know her as the voice that gave us The Rhythm is Gonna Get You and Oye Mi Canto. Now 68, she is an endearing Gigi. Kristen Wiig is cast as Vera. Wiig gained on Saturday Night Live, known for her impersonations and original characters. Wiig has starred in successful films, including Bridesmaids, which she co-wrote, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. She has also been involved in voice acting and other creative projects. Basically a comedienne, she shows easy drifting into a character with ambivalent morals. Wiig also voices her animated counterpart.

Others in the cast are Gweneth Everlee as young Vera, Cassidy Nugent as teenage Vera, Kate Widdington as Kitty Ranger 1, Sophia Biling as Kitty Ranger 2, Lauren Chan as Kitty Ranger 3. All the rangers are within good range. Some of the animated characters are voiced by Jason Mantzoukas (Chumsley), Logan Bailey (Pandy Paws) and Juliet Donenfeld. There is not much to say about these gentlemen and ladies, who have done their jobs competently. Cinematography by Tony Elyzen, providing the platform for the animators to take over, works at a variable pace.

Editor Marcus Taylor and the decision of the directorial and animation team, to keep the length to just 98 minutes, is a wise decision. Music by Stephanie Economou includes 12 songs (12?  Really, felt more like 6) goes along with magic, miniaturisation, floating, flying and swimming characters, not to mention cake immersions and donut boats.

One cannot but help feasting one’s eyes on the nuclear explosion of colours and creatures (dolls and toys) on the big screen, that must be stuff the dreams of kiddos are made of. If your children are cat lovers, this is the right dollhouse you should be heading for. Even if they are not enamoured of cats, there are many other forms of animated life that they might resonate with. Going with the theme, I will give a dual rating for this film, for the benefit of the adults, who are going to read this review. Kids don’t read film reviews. They play games on mobile phones.                                                 Gabby's Dollhouse can serve as a tonic for those who are in a cat-a-tonic limbo.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/S-GFCPEWqe4

Kitty…er Kiddy rating: ** ½

Adult rating: **