Ugly Dolls Movie Review

Ugly Dolls (2019)

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Written by: Alison Peck (screenplay by),  Robert Rodriguez (story by),  David Horvath & Sun-min Kim (based on the Uglydoll characters by),  Guoqing Liu & Vivian Wang (additional writing by) 
Directed by: Kelly Asbury
Starring: Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monáe, Pitbull, Ice-T, Blake Shelton, Leehom Wang, Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias, Emma Roberts, Jane Lynch, Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, Lizzo
Rated: PG
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Plot
An animated adventure where the free-spirited Ugly Dolls confront what it means to be different, struggle with a desire to be loved, and ultimately discover who you truly are is what matters most.

Verdict
This has a nice message about how it's not how you look but the person you are that counts. It's a bland and obvious message, and the movie has no ambitions past that. Many animated movies find a creative way to fit this smaller toy world into the world at large. This movie bails on that idea completely. The lack of creativity is surprising. There is no effort to design and craft this world. Bland is the word that describes all aspects of this movie.
Skip it.

Review
There is a lot of singing in this movie. I didn't expect it, and it's mostly exposition. This has a nice if completely bland message. If there was more creativity in the characters, environment, or animation that wouldn't be as noticeable, but there's nothing else. The characters and villain have derivative arcs.

Rejected toys that aren't manufactured to specifications are dumped... somewhere. They've banded together to create Uglyville. There's one toy that really wants to find a kid. I thought the movie would play more into actually finding that kid and the bond these reject toys can create, but that is only a small part of the movie. The main plot wraps up with defeating the villain. 

 

I had lots of questions with the logic. Where are the toys in this movie? It doesn't seem to fit within a toy factory. No attention is paid to how this toy world. works with the real world  Many animated movies find a way to fit into the real world while still having a fantastic environment, but there is very little design work that went into the environments. This is neat fantasy with an uplifting message with no thoughts past that.It's not very creative or engaging.

Kids will probably enjoy this well enough, but it doesn't have any staying power. It will be forgotten once the next animated movie releases.