UglyDolls – Thrilling Animated Musical Adventure With Great Message
Sunday, May 5th, 2019
In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weirdness is celebrated, strangeness is special and beauty is embraced as more than meets the eye. After traveling to the other side of a mountain, Moxy and her UglyDoll friends discover Perfection — a town where more conventional dolls receive training before entering the real world to find the love of a child. Soon, the UglyDolls learn what it means to be different — ultimately realizing that they don’t have to be perfect to be amazing. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Nathalia J. comments, “Three words I can say about this film – animated musical adventure. This thrilling, exciting, intriguing and stimulating film had my hooked to the screen.” Lexi G. adds, “UglyDolls is such a cute and feel-good animated movie! It made me feel happy inside, even as I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next! UglyDolls is an entirely kid-friendly musical and comedic throughout — all while tackling tough topics. Throughout the story, there are recurring themes of body positivity, trusting in your friends, and believing in yourself.” Katherine S. wraps it up with, “The message of this movieis that no one is perfect and you should follow your dreams. This movie has no bad language, but it does have a scary robot dog and a dark tunnel. And of course, there is some negative behavior such as calling things ugly.” See their full reviews below.
UglyDolls
By Nathalia J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 10
Three words I can say about this film – animated musical adventure. This thrilling, exciting, intriguing and stimulating film had my hooked to the screen. This film, directed by Kelly Asbury, shares many indispensable and major lessons.
The story follows Moxy who is a brave, independent, free-spirited and inspiring UglyDoll. For her entire life, Moxy has eagerly viewed the real world, hoping she would be good enough to join and find the love of a child. This film is an animated adventure where the free-spirited UglyDolls confront what it means to be different and struggle with their desire to be perfect. As the film develops, you get to see how Moxy and her back-up crew inspire the people of manufacturing and Perfectville to realize what makes them different through multiple catchy, up-beat and thrilling songs.
The lead characters in this film are Moxy (Kelly Clarkson), Ugly Dog (Pitbull), Lou (Nick Jonas), Mandy (Janelle Monae), Ox (Blake Shelton) and complimented by many more. My favorite scene, without giving anything away, is when Moxy proves to everyone that being different Is not something to fear. She proves to everybody that standing out is not harmful and does not make you ugly in any way. In this scene, Moxy is being punished for being who she is. She gets yelled at for trying to make a divergence in Perfectville. Watching this scene shows how some of her peers were “fake friends” to Moxy.
My favorite character is definitely Moxy (Kelly Clarkson), the main protagonist. When she makes a change, she bounces a cause and effect on others which makes them realize that being unique and being yourself are important ways to carry yourself and show who and what you are. She is the glue that sticks for her team and holds hope tighter than any of her team members.
The animation is groundbreaking, amusing and bright. I was amused by all the colors and little details which make it so believable. For example, in one scene there is a dark tunnel and, as you get a clear shot of the tunnel, you see scratches and mold which help identify it as an old tunnel.
There are many important messages here such as: be true to yourself, be proud of who you are, don’t be afraid to be yourself. You should be aware that this film has some rude humor which makes in inappropriate for younger viewers. Beyond that there are no other bad actions that kids might imitate.
I give this film a 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 7 to 16, as well as adults. This film opens in theaters May 3, 2019. Make sure to check it out!
UglyDolls
By Lexi G., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 13
UglyDolls is such a cute and feel-good animated movie! It made me feel happy inside, even as I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next! UglyDolls is an entirely kid-friendly musical and comedic throughout — all while tackling tough topics. Throughout the story, there are recurring themes of body positivity, trusting in your friends, and believing in yourself.
In this heartwarming story, the main character Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) has the dream of becoming a loving doll to a special little girl. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to Moxy, because of the way the doll-making factory works, all of the ugly dolls (or rejects) are thrown into the recycling chute. These dolls end up in a different made-up world called, Uglyville. If you go to Uglyville, you don’t get to go to the real world and become someone’s special doll. But Moxy doesn’t know this is how it works. Moxy and her friends in Uglyville have a pretty special and fun life there together. Every day, Moxy wakes up and dreams that this is the day she will meet her new friend, a little girl. When that day fails to arrive, Moxy decides, with the help of her friend Lucy Bat (Wang Leehom), that she is going to go on her own to look for a little girl to comfort . So, off she goes, with a group of her ugly doll friends, on a journey to make her own destiny. Along the way, she runs into many obstacles, such as mean people who send her back to the beginning, and happy occurrences, such as people who encourage her to stay strong and fight for what she wants! Does she end up back in Uglyville? Is she a little girl’s doll? Sorry! No spoilers here!! You’ll have to watch the movie to find out!
In UglyDolls, there are so many cool sound effects, pretty backgrounds, and smirky/funny comments that make it extra fun to watch! I especially loved the backgrounds and settings, which are colorful, bold and just right for whatever is happening in the story. Additionally, the songs (and soundtrack) in this movie are amazing! The songwriters, Christopher Lennertz and Kelly Clarkson, created some very inspiring and catchy tunes.
There are multiple deeper messages in UglyDolls. One of them is to never give up. Another important theme is to love and accept yourself no matter who you are, because Moxy, the whole way through her challenges, never loses confidence in herself and keeps fighting to be accepted.
UglyDolls is an inspiring movie for so many people but especially for kids. I got the chills watching it because it was so good and I really love the messages! I give it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 4 to12. If you are into musicals, animation, and loving, heartwarming movies, definitely check it out!. This film opens May 3, 2019.
UglyDolls
By Katherine S., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic
This animated musical is adorable! The music is outstanding, which is no surprise because it has so many amazing singers. The colorful and lively animation makes you feel as if you are in a wonderful world of dolls.
In the film, we first see how happy everyone is in Uglyville, where the ugly dolls live and actually embrace all of their different appearances. Even though the protagonist Moxy (voiced by Kelly Clarkson) is happy in Uglyville, she wants to be with a real kid. So Moxy sets out with some friends to find a way to get to the real world. After going through a spooky tunnel, they find themselves in Perfection where dolls try to get a home in the real world. They soon realize that living in “Perfection” is not that easy.
In addition to Kelly Clarkson, there are so many other incredible voice actors including Nick Jonas, Janelle Monae, Blake Shelton and Pitbull. My favorite characters are Ox (voiced by Blake Shelton) and Moxy, because Ox is the absolute nicest mayor of any town and Moxy is always happy and believes in herself.
The message of this movie is that no one is perfect and you should follow your dreams. This movie has no bad language, but it does have a scary robot dog and a dark tunnel. And of course, there is some negative behavior such as calling things ugly.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 6 to 10. This movie opens in theaters May 3, 2019. Look for it.
