“A pinch on the left and a pinch on the right, grab Pandy’s hand” and head to the theatres with your friends for a cat-tastic adventure with Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie!
Since the debut of the Gabby’s Dollhouse series in 2021, kids around the world have been having one big sprinkle party with Gabby and her friends unboxing surprises before jumping into a fantastical animated world full of adorable cat characters that live inside her dollhouse. Taking the story to the next level, in the new film, Laila Lockhart Kraner reprises her role from the series as Gabby and heads out on a road trip with her Grandma Gigi — four-time Grammy Award winner Gloria Estefan — to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco. But when Gabby’s dollhouse, her most prized possession, ends up in the hands of an eccentric cat lady named Vera, played by Oscar® nominee Kristen Wiig, Gabby sets off on an adventure through the real world to get the GabbyCats back together and save the dollhouse before it’s too late.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie is whimsical, fun, and really captures the essence of the series while elevating the storyline and visuals. Families will enjoy when Gabby keeps with the same structure of speaking directly to the audience, and even asking for audience participation at times to help her along! The relationship between Gabby and her Grandma is so sweet and special on-screen and Wiig is flawlessly funny in her a-meow-zing outfits all in burgundy hues.
Diving deeper into the relationships, settings and sparkle, we sat down with Gloria Estefan & Laila Lockhart Kraner ahead of the anticipated release.
Interviewed for Family Entourage
Family Entourage: As you can see, we’re huge Gabby’s dog. My daughter is seven and we love everything Gabby, so we cannot wait to have this movie come out where we can see you on the big screen. So thank you guys so much for taking the time, first of all today.
My kids are blessed to have very special relationships with both of their Grandmas. So for me to kind of get to see generational gifts, and legacy, and some of these things curated on screen, it was just so special. Gloria, it is no wonder to me that they would have you step into this role because it just seems like you have such a natural, great relationship with your grandson and family is always first. So maybe talk to me about the importance and why you stepped into taking on this role.
Gloria Estefan: Well, you hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly why I was drawn to this role. I’m really picky about what I choose to do because I am doing so many things that you have to devote a lot of time. And when I read this script and I saw the relationship with the grandmother and Gabby. My grandma was my hero, my grandson is the joy of my life. So it was just a natural for me. And I think we just need ways to be able to express… I love that the kids can jump up and down and sing and dance in the theater, which is something we usually are not allowed to do. You always have to be so quiet. So for the kids to just be able to explode with excitement, I love that idea. And it’s got a beautiful message, which is you got to keep alive. That inner child that sees all possibilities, that sees magic as commonplace and that doesn’t, you never get too old to play and I was thrilled to be a part of that.
FE: Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree with you and Laila. I loved getting to see you in this capacity. We’re so used to being in your room, I mean maybe even your character stepping out into locations and interacting with others. That curiosity and wonder, what was that like for you?
Laila Lockhart Kraner: It was really exciting, to be honest. I’ve always kind of wondered, I was like, man, are we ever going to see Gabby outside of her bedroom? And we did and we also got to see her grandma. We saw family. I think it was so exciting for me to act with other real life people. I think I got kind of used to just looking directly at the camera. The camera was my co-star and my friend that I would imagine I was talking to someone, but being able to play off real people was really fun. And it was getting to explore Gabby as a character and see a wider range of emotions as well, which we haven’t really seen in the show. She’s always very positive and the one that the Gabby Cats look up to for advice, for leadership and seeing her in this way where she has moments of uncertainty where she gets to look up to someone else and she gets to see, or Grandma Gigi bring her comfort and advice. It was really special and I was just excited to explore her world even more. I was really happy. And to do it with icons such as Gloria Estefan and Kristen Wiig was also a really big plus. It was something I was so excited to do.
GE: Kristen brought so much to this movie, not just for the kids, which are going to adore her, but for the adults really enjoyable moments, like her sense of humor, just watching her play. Ryan Crego, our director, gave us that freedom and we were cracking up watching her do that. Oh my gosh, the commercial, the kitty litter. We were dying.
FE: It did have something for everybody and I love that it stayed kind of in the same vein as the show. You broke that fourth wall and you’re still talking to the kids.
LLK: There’s no such thing as a fourth wall and Gabby’s doll really. That’s what I always say.
FE: And that you need their help and that at any age they’re dependable and important. Maybe talk a little bit of how this creativity of all the different mediums that are used from crafting to color to music are so important in delivering a fun message.
LLK: Each room in the dollhouse is another way to create and have fun. And I think that’s one of the great messages in Gabby’s Dollhouse is finding new ways to look at problems and finding new solutions. That creativity is essential in that. And it’s something that I think as kids, we have a lot of, it’s a endless flow of imagination, creativity, and I think fostering that and keeping that going as you grow up as well is so important because the benefits that you get from that creativity, imagination, they don’t go away. It’s still so important as you grow older and that power of play and the magic of thinking outside the box, it’s such a wonderful thing and it’s so helpful in so many ways and it just brings joy, I think, to the world and it makes the world a better place. So I’m really glad that the show and the movie can keep that message going, keep it really strong for kids and their parents and the adults in the crowd.
FE: I think everyone’s going to be pinching on their left and pinching on their right, grabbing Pandy’s hand and getting into the theatre!
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie hits theatres on September 26, but as you count down the days until you can see it on the big screen, bring home some of our paw-tastic Gabby’s Dollhouse toys:
