“Gabby’s Dollhouse” Designed to Bring Parents, Kids Together

In the big screen release of “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,” Laila Lockhart Kraner returns as the title character who interacts with cat characters in her playhouse. For the movie, GRAMMY Award-winning music icon Gloria Estefan joins the fun as Gigi, Gabby’s grandmother, who accompanies her on a quest to rescue her dollhouse from a stingy collector, Vera (Kristin Wiig).

As the generations unite on screen, the G-rated story, which also stars Thomas Lennon, Jason Mantzoukas, Ego Nwodim, Kyle Mooney, Melissa Villaseñor and Fortune Feimster, is also primed to bring girls, moms, aunts, and grandmas together as they watch the events unfold.

“I think the message and the positivity that Gabby has brought and the connection that viewers feel with it,” Kraner told Family Christian. “When Gabby looks directly into the camera and speaks to the kid, I think it’s a really special thing, and we get to see that in the movie as well, which is so important, but it’s like we get to see that on an even bigger scale than we’ve seen before.”

Estefan agreed, citing her own close family relationships that the film celebrates. When her son, Nayib, who’s an actor, heard that she had been sent the script for review, he urged her to sign on, specifically because “there hasn’t been a G-rated movie in a long time.” She soon fell in love with the part for herself.

“What I loved and what really drew me was the grandma-granddaughter relationship,” she added. “My grandma was my hero, and I have a super close relationship with my grandson, so I think that needs to be celebrated more in movies, and the fact that we could do it in such a fun way.”

The singer, who is celebrating 50 years in the music industry this year, explained that her busy schedule forces her to be selective in projects she signs on to, but the prospect of uniting families under the fun banner of “Gabby’s Dollhouse” sealed the deal for her.

“I thought that this was something absolutely worth celebrating,” she said. “I love what she’s created with the show. And I thought, ‘Wow, to take it to the big screen is going to be a blast.’ Because, you know, theaters, for a while, we’ve had a tough time through after Covid, and to be able to be in a theater and the kids to be able to jump up and down and sing and dance and just let their energy fly.”

As a series, “Gabby’s Dollhouse” has been in the Top 10 in TV in 63 countries around the world. It has grown into a top preschool brand around the world, inspiring an award-winning toy line, publishing, home, apparel, and more, as well as original music, a top-rated app and a growing YouTube channel visited by millions of fans weekly. The new film will continue to broaden its reach. For that, Kraner, who’s been on a six-year journey as Gabby, is grateful.

“I’m so lucky to have such a adorable fan base,” she said. “I think kids have such a wonder, and sense of happiness and joy they see the world through and getting to see that look of wonder when they see me on their faces, it’s an unbeatable feeling. It’s really cool to see the impact that I have. It’s hard to wrap my brain around sometimes, but I just feel really lucky that I could be a part of these kids’ childhood and teach them lessons that I think are so important.”

Estefan also expressed gratitude for the impact and reception her music career has had, since jumpstarting it with the Miami Latin Boys (later Miami Sound Machine) back in 1975.

“Since other people’s music, was my catharsis and got me through some of the toughest times in my life, to be a part of people’s lives, like the great Dick Clark says, to be a part of the soundtrack of their lives, to know I’ve been in their special moments and weddings and bar mitzvahs and their celebratory moments . . . it’s beautiful to know that even people that I might never meet, somehow I am in their lives, and that’s a blessing and a privilege that I don’t take lightly.”

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is directed by Ryan Crego (“Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh,” “I Heart Arlo”), who earned a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for his television feature “Arlo the Alligator Boy.” The film is produced by Steven Schweickart (“How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Croods” “Kung Fu Panda 4”) and executive produced by Jennifer Twomey and Traci Paige Johnson, based on the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” series created by them. It releases this weekend in theaters from DreamWorks Animation.