Dreamworks Announces Big-Screen Version Of ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse’ As Third Feature Of 2025
Universal Pictures will release Dreamworks Animation’s Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie on September 26, 2025, the studio announced this week.
This is the third feature film that Dreamworks will release in 2025, joining the previously-announced Dog Man (slated for January 31, 2025) and The Bad Guys 2 (August 1, 2025).
Dreamworks is also releasing three films this year – Orion and the Dark, Kung Fu Panda 4, and the forthcoming The Wild Robot.
It marks the first time in the company’s 30-year history that it has released three films in back-to-back years. Paradoxically, Dreamworks Animation’s increased output is happening against a backdrop of significant staff reductions.
The new film is an adaptation of the hybrid preschool franchise that debuted in 2021 on Netflix. If it seems like an odd choice for feature film material, consider the show’s popularity.
Per Nielsen, Gabby’s Dollhouse was the sixth-most-viewed original streaming series in 2023. Netflix, which has consistently released new batches of episodes since its debut, recently upped its order to 100 total episodes. Universal proclaims it as a top three preschool brand in the U.S. and has a robust merchandising and licensing program built around the franchise. Universal also continues to expand the brand through its theme park and live events division.
The feature expands the universe of Gabby and her cat-themed dollhouse by sending her on a roadtrip. Here is the official synopsis from Dreamworks:
In the new film, Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner, reprising her role from the series) heads out on a road trip with her Grandma Gigi 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, Gabby sets off on an adventure through the real world to get the Gabby Cats back together and save the dollhouse before it’s too late.
The theatrical version of Gabby’s Dollhouse is directed by Ryan Crego (director/creator, Arlo the Alligator Boy; executive producer of Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh).
The film is produced by Steven Schweickart (co-producer, Kung Fu Panda 4; line producer, The Sea Beast), and executive produced by series creators Jennifer Twomey and Traci Paige Johnson.
