When she was younger, Gabby’s Grandma Gigi (Gloria Estefan) built her a Kitty Dollhouse, and inside were a unique collection of toy cats, called the Gabby Cats. These toys can come to life and go on adventures with Gabby. Gigi also gave Gabby a special pair cat ears. When Gabby puts these on, hugs her stuffed animal Pandy Paws, and recites the special song, Pandy comes to life and they both shrink down so they can play inside the dollhouse.

A pinch on my left. Pinch, pinch on my right. Grab Pandy‘s hand and hold on tight.

Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner) is now a teenager but still as playful as ever. She’s excited to go spend the week with her grandmother. She packs the dollhouse and puts it on a trailer connected to Gigi’s van as they set out on their road trip to Cat Francisco. However, shortly after they arrive, the dollhouse gets loose and rolls down the steep, hilly city streets. Gabby chases after her precious dollhouse, but can’t keep up, and eventually loses track of where it went. The dollhouse ends up coming to a stop in the middle of a yard sale, where it is snatched up by kitty litter mogul Vera (Kristen Wiig), an eccentric but fashionable cat lady. Now that Vera is grown up, she no longer plays with toys. Instead, she puts them on display like a museum, to be looked at but never touched. She removes all of the Gabby Cats from the dollhouse and displays them in various locations around her property. Though, she throws the mischievous blue CatRat in a drawer with some other old toys. CatRat’s magic inadvertently reanimates Chumsley (Jason Mantzoukas), Vera’s childhood stuffed bear, and some of the other neglected toys, bringing them to life.

As Gabby and Pandy go on a mission to find and rescue the Gabby Cats and bring back the dollhouse, Chumsley is partying and living his best life. He’s missed being played with, and is having so much fun that he wants to keep “Chumsley’s Dollhouse” for himself. Gabby’s only chance of getting her dollhouse back may be to help Vera once again find her inner child so that she’ll play with her toys again, instead of treating everything like a collectible. Gabby had promised her own toys that she’d play with them forever, but now that she’s getting older, she’s starting to wonder if she’ll end up like Vera! Can Gabby maintain her childhood joy and imagination and save her toys and dollhouse before it’s too late?!

I will preface this review by saying I am far from the target demographic for this movie. I don’t have any children (and certainly not preschoolers) and have never seen the original Netflix series. So I went into this film blind as to what it was going to be about. However, I do generally enjoy DreamWorks’ animated films, so I was interested in checking it out. As I began the film, my initial reaction was Why is everyone so obsessed with cats?! It took me a bit to get used to the constant purr-age of cat puns, and understand the logistics of this dollhouse, and how its inhabitants and their proprietor work. But I quickly found these characters to be cute, fun and creative.

Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie is a delightful film from DreamWorks Animation, and the company’s first feature film to blend animation and live action. The movie moves at a rapid pace, and is filled with fun, adventure, quirky characters, and an imaginative world (and did I mention cat puns?). DreamWorks has done an amazing job of bringing the world of Gabby’s Dollhouse to life. The dollhouse and its inhabitants are bright and colorful, but the interaction between the animated and live action worlds feels natural and looks seamless. And when Gabby shrinks down to enter the dollhouse, her animated form is both recognizable but also fits in perfectly with the other toys. Gabby will often speak directly to the camera, usually to encourage the audience to help her out or participate in something. The film is loaded with clever wordplay (and puns, so many puns!), and there are lots of catchy original songs and recognizable needle drops throughout. However, it also has a deeper storyline of Gabby growing older and wondering if she will lose her sense of joy and wonder like Vera.

While the original TV series primarily takes place within the confines of Gabby’s bedroom, this feature film expands the adventure into the real world and the big city. But even though it feels much grander in scope and scale, the film still maintains the smaller, more intimate world of the dollhouse. The film brings back many of the beloved characters from the TV series, with the original voice actors reprising their roles—Cakey Cat (Juliet Donenfeld), MerCat (Secunda Wood), CatRat (Donovan Patton), Pandy Paws (Logan Bailey), Baby Box Cat (Maggie Lowe), Daniel James ‘DJ’ Catnip (Eduardo Franco), Pillow Cat (Sainty Nelsen), Kitty Fairy (Tara Strong) & Carlita (Carla Tassara). This big screen adventure also adds a lot of recognizable comedic talent to play some of the fun new characters. The dollhouse Refrigerator (Fortune Feimster) now talks! And during their adventure, Gabby and her Gabby Cats meet some odd new creatures in Vera’s garden, such as gnomes Matthew (Thomas Lennon), Twiggy (Ego Nwodim), Existential Gnome (Kyle Mooney) & Sunflower (Melissa Villaseñor). They also end up in an arctic candy world, where they cross paths with friendly monster Cookie Bobby (Matty Matheson).

The cast of the film is excellent. Star Laila Lockhart Kraner is so delightful, and I can see why her Netflix series has done so well. She is really engaging for the target younger audience, welcoming them into the world of the film. Kristen Wiig is perfectly cast as Vera, the cat lady. You can tell that she is having so much fun chewing up the scenery and just acting crazy. Vera feels like an amalgamation of traits from so many of her hilarious SNL characters. But some of Wiig’s best moments are actually when she’s acting against Vera’s pet cat, who never responds, and just gives her a confused/indifferent smirk. Jason Mantzoukas is another actor who is perfectly cast. His voice is instantly recognizable, and there is this infectious and over-the-top playfulness and optimism that he imbues into Chumsley. I particularly enjoyed one scene when Chumsley and some of the other toys are all wearing top hats and speaking with British accents as they serve one another tea.

Universal has released Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie on Blu-ray, DVD & 4K Digital. We were sent the Blu0ray release for review. The presentation looks and sounds great. The animation for the world of Gabby’s dollhouse is so bright and colorful, and the level of detail is excellent. Everything looks so crisp and clean. But this also blends in seamlessly with the live action portions of the movie. There are moments where I couldn’t tell you if it was a real dollhouse or a CG one. The audio track is also very impressive, providing clear dialogue, showcasing the film’s wonderful original songs, and also making excellent use of the surround channel to provide a fully-immersive experience. This was especially noticeable in many of the garden scenes, such as echoes as the gnomes enter a cave, or the buzzing of a plane.

The Blu-ray release consists of a single disc, which is placed in a standard HD keepcase and covered with an embossed cardboard slipcover. The release also includes a code for an HD Movies Anywhere compatible digital copy of the film. The disc offers a single deleted scene, nearly 25 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast/crew, 2 craft activity instructional videos, and a filmmaker commentary track.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:38:00)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 1/31/2027):

• HD digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

• Deleted Scene: “Vera Meets Cakey Cat” (1:30)
  Director/Story Writer Ryan Crego provides an audio introduction to this deleted scene where Vera (Kristen Wiig) shrinks down to Dollhouse form for the first time and meets Cakey Cat, Gabby, Grandma Gigi, and Kitty Fairy.
• Gabby’s Dollhouse: Making the Meowvie! (6:10)
  Star Laila Lockhart Kraner (“Gabby”) sits down with crew members director/story writer Ryan Crego, production designer/character designer Marcelo Vignali, head of character animation CJ Sarachene, producer Steven Schweickart to ask them questions about the making of the movie. They talk about the inspiration for the movie, the look of the film, creating the animation, the new characters, casting the movie, creating DreamWorks’ first live-action hybrid movie, and more. Includes concept artwork, rough animation, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with actresses Kristen Wiig (“Vera the Cat Lady”) & Gloria Estefan (“Grandma Gigi”).
• Pawsome Performances (3:56)
  Fun montage of footage of the cast in the recording booth, including Fortune Feimster (“Refrigerator”), Jason Mantzoukas (“Chumsley”), Kristen Wiig, Laila Lockhart Kraner, homas Lennon (“Matthew”), Matty Matheson (“Cookie Bobby”), Donovan Patton (“CatRat”), Gloria Estefan, Juliet Donenfeld (“Cakey Cat”), Logan Bailey (“Pandy Paws”), Maggie Lowe (“Baby Box Cat”) & Ego Nwodim (“Twiggy”).
• Meet the Clowder (15:53)
  “Clowder” is the collective name for cats. The cast and crew discuss the characters and the actors behind the roles, and what it was like working with one another. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer Steven Schweickart, director/story writer Ryan Crego, production designer/character designer Marcelo Vignali, head of character animation CJ Sarachene, and stars Laila Lockhart Kraner, Kristen Wiig, Logan Bailey, Juliet Donenfeld, Donovan Patton, Sainty Nelsen (“Pillow Cat”), Tara Strong (“Kitty Fairy”), Secunda Wood (“MerCat”), Gloria Estefan, Jason Mantzoukas, Fortune Feimster, Thomas Lennon, Ego Nwodim & Matty Matheson. Play All, or select from:
  • Gabby (3:35)
  • Vera (4:22)
  • The Gabby Cats (3:00)
  • Gabby’s Guests (4:53)
• Kitty Cat Surprise Snack Box (7:18)
  Learn how to make your own Kitty Cat Surprise Box, to hold your favorite movie night snack.
• Cakey’s Pretzel Cabin (5:56)
  Learn how to build your very own cat-tastic Pretzel Cabin like Cakey makes in the film.
• Feature Commentary (1:38:00)
  Director/Story Writer Ryan Crego, Producer Steven Schweickart, Visual Effects Supervisor M. Scott McKee, Head of Story David Colman, and Head of Character Animation CJ Sarachene provide an entertaining and informative commentary track throughout the film. The participants talk about the cast, the story, expanding the world beyond Gabby’s bedroom, the animation style of the film versus the TV show, the seamless blend between the live action and the CG, the costumes, the original music, and more. They also share lots of behind-the-scenes stories about the production.

Final Thoughts:

While I am certainly not the target demo for Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, I think there is a lot to enjoy in this film for everyone. The animation is bright, fun and really well done, and blends in seamlessly with the live action. Fans of the series will have a blast with this movie—it not only includes many of the characters from the series with some enhanced 3D animation, but the film also expands the story outside of Gabby’s bedroom, and adds some fun new characters. The cast is amazing, from Laila Lockhart Kraner reprising her role from the series, to the over-the-top Kristen Wiig, the iconic Gloria Estefan, and the voices of Jason Mantzoukas and many other talented comedic performers. Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds excellent, and the disc contains a nice assortment of bonus material.