“Gabby’s Dollhouse” movie brings kid content frenzy to the big screen

A young girl named Gabby, alongside her menagerie of animated cat friends, is making the leap from streaming to the big screen.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is the latest kid’s TV show to head to the box office, following in the footsteps of Paramount’s Paw Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants franchises.

“We felt like the franchise had gotten to the point where there was enough fandom to justify a theatrical event, and we wanted to expand the world,” Margie Cohn, president of DreamWorks Animation, told CNBC.

Children’s programming has become an increasingly important piece of the media landscape in recent years. As linear TV has given way to streaming, studios are looking for ways to drive and sustain subscriber growth. For “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” establishing a theatrical presence increases awareness of the brand, stirs up fresh excitement from existing fans and spurs new opportunities for products in the retail market.

“Gabby’s Dollhouse,” created by “Blue’s Clues” veterans Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, launched on Netflix in 2021. It’s already run for 11 seasons, and a 12th is on due out in November. Each season has six to 10 episodes, about 25 minutes each.

It’s been the most-viewed streaming original series for kids this year, according to Nielsen.

Each episode begins with a live-action Gabby, played by Laila Lockhart Kraner, as she unboxes a miniature package that sparks an adventure in her magical dollhouse. She dons her cat-ear headband, shrinks down to become an animated character and joins her cat friends, called Gabby’s cats. Like a lot of preschool shows, Gabby pauses to ask the audience questions and invite them to play along.

Those elements all appear in the full-length feature film, which arrived in theaters Friday. It melds animation and live-action, but at a bigger scale.

Cohn said the goal was to create a theatrical experience, akin to a “‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ for little kids.’ Invite them to sing, dance, clap.”

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” debuts at a time when the movie calendar has limited family-friendly options. The most recent major releases in this genre were Disney’s “Freakier Friday” and Universal’s “The Bad Guys 2,” both of which were released in early August.

While there has been a steady stream of family-friendly fare in recent years, it comes after a considerable dry spell caused by the pandemic and dual Hollywood labor strikes shutting down production. At the same time, consumers’ habits shifted as streaming services grew in popularity and studios shortened the time it took for movies released in cinemas to reach the home market.

But younger viewers are some of the most engaged, and a primary driver to get families out to the theater.

Kids are some of the most fervent streaming users, too, as they tend to watch the same content over and over again, leading to high engagement. That’s why kid-friendly shows have offer a unique value proposition for studios even as traditional linear television and the theatrical landscape has become less reliable.

Presenting their favorite characters in more places can mean spreading the wealth and ultimately fueling their appetites for more.

“One need only look at the big screen-small screen synergies that were created by ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ to see how ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie’ could similarly make the leap from a small screen 2021 series into a big screen cinematic event in 2025,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.