Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie 2025 Movie Review
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie brings the hit preschooler cartoon to the big screen in an even bigger way, with higher quality animation, new characters, an expanded world, a deeply heartfelt message addressing the fears of becoming an adult, and surprising character depth to Gabby herself. The movie is elevated far beyond just a longer episode of the series, expanding to fun new locations, showcasing the origin of the dollhouse, and adding higher stakes that could lead to the dollhouse losing its magic forever.
Yes, it is a movie for preschoolers, but it is an excellent one with nearly non-stop comedy and adventure. There is a wide variety of jokes so there’s something for everyone, but there are also slower moments to highlight Gabby’s inner conflict and her fear that she will leave the GabbyCats behind as part of her childhood when she grows up. The overall message highlights that you don’t have to let go of fun, wonder, and other “child-like” things when you become an adult, making the movie’s theme relevant to anyone of any age.
Gabby and her friends traverse to a variety of locations and meet a load of new characters (mostly animated but a few human), and the movie never feels dull or repetitive. Vera played by Kristen Wiig is a highlight, playing a highly comedic role throughout while also being a piece in the film’s emotional anchor.
The film’s main issue is that not all of the characters and events seem to serve a purpose, particularly Cookie Bobby, who appears towards the film’s ending and hardly gets any screentime. It’s difficult to figure out why he was included for anything other than an extra character for merchandise.
Regardless, this is a heartfelt, laugh-out-loud, and engaging movie for the whole family that brings the Gabby’s Dollhouse franchise to a whole new level, while retaining the excellent music identity, valuable lessons, and lovable characters from the Netflix show.
