Animation Celebration Extra - Uglydolls

STX Entertainment, 2019
Voices of Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Nick Jonas, and Janelle Monae
Directed by Kelly Asbury
Music and Lyrics by Clarkson, Shelton, and others

I had no idea this was even a thing until I saw it mentioned on an animation show on YouTube last December. Universal was originally going to do this one in 2011, but I suspect the success of another movie about ugly-cute dolls, Trolls, as well as the release of Toy Story 4 this year, encouraged STX to give the strangely adorable "ugly" monster stuffed animals a shot. How does their colorful world come off onscreen? Let's head to Uglyville and find out...

The Story: Moxy (Clarkson) is an Uglydoll with only one desire - to be loved by a child in the Big World. Despite Ox (Shelton), the mayor of Uglyville, telling her they can't be loved, she and several friends go through the portal between worlds to find someone to love them. The portal takes them to Perfection, a world of perfect dolls ruled by obnoxious Lou (Jonas). Lou insists that only dolls who meet his unreachable standards of beauty can be allowed to cross to the Big World and find the child for them. The Uglydolls, no matter how hard they attempt to shove themselves into a mold, do not fit those standards. Lou finally sends Moxy packing, until glasses-wearing doll Mandy reminds her that we're all different inside and out...and no matter what we look like, we all deserve a chance to be loved.

The Animation: Colorful and cute, much like the real Uglydolls. I love the details, especially on the stitched world of Uglyville and in the house where "the Gauntlet," the test that dolls go through to enter the Big World, is run. Maybe not quite as flowing and tactile as some higher-budget films, but not bad for what they had to work with.

The Song and Dance: This is the kind of movie that just puts a smile on your face. Moxy's utter determination to prove that she is as worthy of being chosen by a child as anyone else will leave you cheering at least a little bit in the end. It's cute and fun, with decent performances by Clarkson and especially by Jonas as the self-centered "prototype" Lou who thinks that just because he set the mold, the rest of the line has to follow him.

Favorite Number: Clarkson gets to show her stuff right away in two spirited opening numbers. "Today's the Day" shows how desperately Moxy wishes for a child to love her; "Couldn't Be Better" introduces the other Uglydolls and their wacky universe. Mandy tries to dress the Uglydolls as something like "perfect" in "All Dolled Up"...and then admits that she wishes she didn't have to adhere to such stringent standards of beauty. She cheers Moxy up with "Unbreakable," as they dance through mirrors to combine their worlds and come to realize that it doesn't matter what you look like, as long as you have a good heart.

What I Don't Like: Like ZOMBIES, this movie's heart is in the right place, but it kicks you in the head with the "everyone is different, and that's ok" moral. It's frantic, sugary, and way too preachy. This is an imitation Trolls, with some of the Toy Story and Monsters Inc films thrown in for good measure, and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. There's also the whole "based after a toy line and made to sell toys" thing to consider.

The Big Finale: Too sweet and cliched for older kids, but if you have younger guys who loved Trolls or musical stories, or you're a fan of any of the singers here, you'll want to take a trip to Uglyville and give this one a shot.

Home Media: Just released in July and pretty easily found everywhere and on every format.

DVD
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime (Buy Only)