In the first episode of the Seth Rogen-starring TV series “The Studio,” a director pitches a movie about the Kool-Aid Man. Adult chaperones to the cinema might experience that scene flashing before their eyes just before their minds go numb in “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,” an interactive adventure that could be mistaken for a feature-length advertisement for dolls.
The movie — directed by Ryan Crego and based on a Netflix series from the creators of “Blue’s Clues” — is a standard ode to imagination. Our hero is Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner), a preteen feline fanatic who shrinks to dollhouse size whenever she pinches her cat-ears headband and hugs her stuffed Pandy. Once small, she becomes animated to romp alongside a pack of kitten figurines with names like Pillow Cat and Kitty Fairy. (Want your kids to exercise their imaginations like Gabby? Just buy the merchandise!)
The story kicks in when a live-action Gabby arrives in San Francisco, where Vera (Kristen Wiig), a Kitty Litter tycoon with a turban-wearing tabby, kidnaps the dollhouse for her personal collection. What comes next is a case of sensory overload without substance, complete with nondescript pop songs and an array of outfits — each purchasable online! — for Gabby and the gang. Even Wiig, giving it her all as a modern clone of Cruella de Vil, appears somewhat shipwrecked amid the sugary material.
The short of it: “Gabby’s Dollhouse” is strictly not suitable for anyone over reading age. If parents want to stay awake through the drivel, I’d suggest bringing a book.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie
Rated G. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. In theaters.
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