Laila Lockhart Kraner, star of the upcoming Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, has nothing but praise for her adult co-stars Kristen Wiig and Gloria Estefan, with the young actress saying both stars will be part of how the live-action adaptation will expand beyond the franchise’s pre-school roots.
The road trip musical fantasy, based on the streaming DreamWorks Animation TV series, follows Gabby (Lockhart Kraner) — known for her cat ears and her magical cat-filled dollhouse — as she travels with her grandmother GiGi (Estefan) to Cat Francisco. But when the cathouse ends up in the hands of the colorful cat lady Vera (Wiig), she and the very animated Gabby cats must navigate the real world to reunite and save the dollhouse.
The film’s trailer, which was released earlier this month and soundtracked to Chappell Roan’s “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” promises a comedy-filled adventure also featuring Ego Nwodim, Kyle Mooney, Melissa Villaseñor, Thomas Lennon, Jason Mantzoukas and Fortune Feimster among the cast.
“In the show, it’s just me there and then the [cat] characters, but here we have Kristen Wiig and Gloria Estefan, and they bring a whole new level to it. Kristen’s comedy is hilarious. Kids are going to laugh, but parents are also going to be laughing, too. They’re going to get a little bit more,” Lockhart Kraner told The Hollywood Reporter on the blue carpet of Universal Epic Universe’s grand opening. “To see [Wiig], even though I have been doing the show, has been so amazing to watch. And Gloria’s this huge icon, but she was so down-to-earth and so real. I feel like I got to learn so much from each of them in different ways.”
Beyond the film’s leading ladies, Lockhart Kraner teases that fans should “imagine the show but 20-times bigger,” including the call-and-response interaction the TV show is known for. Those fourth-wall breaks for younger audiences will not only continue as part of the theatrical run, but they will now also extend to adults. The move follows in the footsteps of another interactive pre-school series, Dora the Explorer — which saw its 2019 live action adaptation Dora and the Lost City of Gold released to general acclaim among older audiences — and leaves the door open for the kind of excitable audience energy of another kids-oriented release this year, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Minecraft.
“The biggest theme of the movie is about the power of play and the importance of keeping that play alive, and I think that just transcends age. So a big part of of this is getting everybody involved and making it interactive. That’s not just the kids playing; it’s the parents also playing,” says Lockhart Kraner. “That relationship that Gabby has with the viewer in the show, looking directly into the camera, doesn’t go away. The viewer is going to be a part of the story, too. That call-and-response, you should expect that, and bringing people into the world and having them help.”
While the call-and-response aspect of Gabby’s will remain the same for her big movie outing, Lockhart Kraner teases one of the biggest changes from small to big screen. “Gabby has never gone outside of her bedroom this whole time that we’ve had 11 seasons,” the actress told THR. “So, getting to see the outside world for the first time in the Gabby universe, I got to see a sneak peek and it was just so incredible to see her and the Gabby cats outside in the world. And the animation is so amazing. The realness of the fur on Pandy [cat] is just so incredible.”
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, which is slated to release in theaters on Sept. 26, is the second live-action take on a popular animated DreamWorks property coming to the big screen this year. How to Train Your Dragon, which is directed by Dean DeBlois and stars Mason Thames, Nico Parker, and Gerard Butler, will be released in theaters on June 13. Among one of TV’s most popular kids shows, Gabby’s Dollhouse already has a presence in DreamWorks Land. It will help anchor Universal Destinations & Experiences Texas-based kids park, alongside fellow DreamWorks properties Shrek, Puss in Boots and Trolls.