When Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie was filming in Vancouver, the crew wasn’t prepared for the reaction. “We had to start blocking off the set and pushing Laila to get in cars and go down alleys — it was crazy,” says director Ryan Crego of the Gabby’s Dollhouse fandom buzzing around their star, Laila Lockhart Kraner, and the filming of DreamWorks Animation‘s big-screen adaptation of the hit Netflix preschool series. “One afternoon it was two little kids; then it was all of theese kids with ears and the parents and everyone standing across the street and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’”
Flash-forward to this weekend and the 98-minute cat-adventure with Gabby (Kraner), her grandma Gigi (Gloria Estefan) and her cat lady nemesis-turned-friend Vera (Kristen Wiig) is out in theaters, with Gabby fans showing up in their “pinch me” cat ears across the country.
The Hollywood Reporter chatted with Kraner, Crego and producer Steven Schweickart in two separate conversations about the Gabby’s Dollhouse movie and how that surprising end-of-movie reveal — Gabby has a little sister! — opens up the franchise for more Gabby and friends (and family) to come.
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How did the idea to turn Gabby’s Dollhouse into a movie come about; when did talks first spawn from the success of the show?
RYAN CREGO This was my daughter’s favorite show. My son, who has grown up during the course of making this movie, has also fallen into Gabby fandom. Steven [Schweickart] and I are both seasoned DreamWorkers. They came to me and asked, “You wouldn’t be interested in meeting on this Gabby’s Dollhouse thing, would you?” I was like, “Are you kidding? That’d be the coolest thing ever to make my daughter’s favorite show into a movie.”
LAILA LOCKHART KRANER Two or three years ago, I was on set. We were taping the show. Jen [Twomey] and Traci [Paige Johnson], the producers and creators, brought up, “What do you think about Gabby’s Dollhouse, the movie?” I was like, “What do you mean what do I think? Of course, that’s amazing!” They only had a couple of concepts. They had a picture of what “Cat Francisco” might look like. It was really exciting. But even then I wasn’t sure how big it was going to be, and if it was going to go into theaters or not.
CREGO So I met with the creators and then the rest is history. Elevating the story from a series was about my relationship with my daughter. She was so actively playing and watching and inspired by all of the creativity in the show. I was inspired by her play patterns and the idea that a kid can be thisclose to their dollhouse, putting in all those dolls, talking to them and making up stories. It clicked: She’s pinching into this playful world, and then her toys are coming into life. Then as a parent, you go, “My kids can turn that on in a second, but I can’t.” Even as a creative person, it takes me a while to dust off the cobwebs and get on the floor and pretend. So in the movie, Vera is all the adults in the room. She’s the parents who think, “I brought my kid to this movie because they like Gabby’s Dollhouse.” My hope is as that as she turns [playful], the adults in the audience turn with her. They’re picking up the messaging and suddenly they go, “This movie is for me!”
You Barbie-ed us! A little Toy Story with a Barbie twist.
CREGO Barbie actually came out while I was writing the treatment for this, and I was like, “Well, that’s good!”
KRANER I’ve been growing with Gabby for so long, so to have her in this movie also grow up a little bit felt really good. I’ve always felt really connected to her, having played her for so long. Expanding her horizons in this big way of exploring what the world is like outside of her bedroom and what happens when some conflict arrives was really special. I think everybody needs that reminder. I need that reminder sometimes: to not have to fear growing up. Growing up doesn’t mean you have to lose magic. I think it’s a good message for everybody.
Laila, how old were you when you were first cast as Gabby?
KRANER I actually found out that I got the role on my 11th birthday. [Note: Kraner is now 17.] The whole casting process took a couple months; to get a call back, go in for testing and then finally hear that I got it. The first time I saw ads for the show and I had family members texting me, I was like, “Whoah, that’s crazy.” But my biggest pinch-me moment is when I talk to parents and meet kids and hear so many stories about the impact Gabby has made on their lives; it’s a really cool feeling. I could have never imagined it getting to the point it’s at today.
Kristen Wiig was a treat for the adults in the movie. What was her casting process like, did she come in as a Gabby fan?
STEVEN SCHWEICKART She was aware of it. Her kids were just getting into it. She’s has two young ones [twins, 6]. I was on the call with Ryan where we met with her with the task of talking her into doing the movie. I was just a fly on the wall, and it was pretty amazing to watch Ryan convince her. He charmed her. You could see in in her eyes. I was like, “I think we got her. I think she’s into this.”
CREGO We were pretty lucky. She was the top choice by far; hands down the one person to play Vera. It’s not often you pick someone who’s an A-list celebrity for a preschool series. But you take a shot. I wrote her a letter and sent her the treatment. We didn’t have a script at that time. But we bonded over being parents and her understanding this is something that her kids are going to love as well. The messaging of the film was so strong. I understood where I sat in the story and how my daughter played a role, and what I wanted to convey, and Kristen understood that too. As a parent, she was like, “This is the kind of thing I want to do.” Then the three of us found ourselves in Vancouver with cat fingernails and wigs, dressing up like cats, and the the rest is history.
Kristen Wiig with Gabby star Laila Lockhart Kraner in Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie.
DreamWorks Animation
I read that she tried 80 poses for Vera’s cat yoga scene. Was there an improv moment that blew you away with Kristen Wiig?
SCHWEICKART The cat poses were something else. She and Ryan started with a list of names, and then everyone came with more.
CREGO I was talking to her a week before the final script had finally gone out — I was feverishly writing up until the day before we shot. She was like, “Are you married to the yoga poses?” I was like, “No, no, we could do better for sure.” She was like, “Okay, cool. I’m going to think about it.” Then the day before, I sent her 20 different names. She sent me another 20. Then we got to firing and it was nonstop. We had like 80 different names. It was so hard to pick the final take.
KRANER Kristen is so hilarious. I love her movies. I love Bridesmaids. I remember when I was taking acting classes at age 10 or 11 and when we would do Comedy Week, we would always do Kristen Wiig scenes. I did Bridesmaids lines without even having even watched Bridesmaids yet, because I was still too young. Then I watched the movie and I love all her stuff on SNL, so getting to actually work with her and see her be that funny in real life blew my mind. She was amazing. So hilarious. It was really cool to watch her work.
SCHWEICKART What had the entire crew in stitches was her singing, and what she came up with. She came in with a melody and had some ideas. But a lot of what she’s singing about — like all of her dreams falling into the toilet — was spur of the moment. Literally, we got yelled at because we were laughing so hard in Video Village. She comes prepared. But she leaves room for those magic moments, and for the improv of it all.
KRANER Getting to act with her in person was a little nerve-racking, but it was a blast. You don’t see this in the final cut, but from where I was standing, I had to watch everybody behind her covering their faces and turning around trying not to laugh. It was like the hardest try-not-to-laugh challenge. But I held it together. She was very reassuring. I was just happy to be there, honestly.
CREGO Thematically, the whole movie is about playing. But how we approached the set and live-action of it all with Kristen and Gloria and Laila was really playful: Let’s go out here and have fun and just screw around. We worked our butts off, but we really wanted to keep it loose and leave room for silly ideas.
Then you have Gloria Estefan as Grandma Gigi. Tell me about casting her and wanting to expand Gabby’s world?
CREGO My mom is from Cuba, and so I’ve grown up with Gloria Estefan in my life. She’s an icon and a role model. She’s affected and impacted so many people. As a kid, you’re always looking for those people. Being proud of my Cuban heritage — there’s Andy Garcia, Desi Arnez and there’s Gloria. They have shown how you can conquer the world and still keep a major piece of your identity. When I met with Laila and her mom early on, we were talking about family and her speaking a little bit of Spanish and we had a lot in common. We were looking at who could play this abuela character, and it was a lightning bolt. She’s creative, she’s so warm, artistic and funny. And she kind of looked like Laila’s real mom. We were really lucky that she jumped on board, because it’s hard to imagine anyone else in that role.
KRANER I was really excited to expand Gabby’s world and see that she doesn’t just talk to herself in her room all day! She has family and other people outside she can talk to, and that was pretty cool to see for the first time. In the Gabby world, seeing other live-action people is a really fun thing because we haven’t seen that ever before. It was amazing to act with these iconic and amazing actors like Kristen Wiig and Gloria Estefan.
Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner) with Gigi (Gloria Estefan).
DreamWorks Animation
There is the big reveal at the very end of the movie that Gabby has a little sister, so you expand her family even more. When will we find out more about Gabby’s sister?
CREGO Yes, we reveal that she has a sister, and that’s a really exciting development to look forward to and figure out what that all means. I loved the idea that Gabby was kind of absorbing the [magic] mantle from Gigi in the end. She’s grown in this film. It was a tricky thing to do, because everyone wants to protect the franchise. It’s so well-loved. It’s hard to make change with something like that, is it risky?
We start off the movie seeing Gigi building the dollhouse and giving it to young Gabby. By the end of the film, we get to see Gabby owning this power. She sees Gigi still has this play and imagination and power, and she’s afraid she’s going to lose all that by growing up. It’s clear that it still can exist, but how do you get there? In figuring out how that intertwines with Vera’s character, for Laila to then have that superpower at the end is really cool. And then what better way to seed the idea than to share that there’s a young sister who gets to play in the world?
I think the big question is: Is this Gabby passing the show torch? I think you just answered that there is no end to the imagination of Gabby’s world. So she’s sticking with it?
CREGO Yeah, I hope so. I’ve only been able to affect this one movie, but what I do know is that Laila, even since I’ve been working with her the last couple years, is incredible. She’s maturing. She’s so intelligent and magnetic and vibrant. People just love her. You can point to a few reasons why the series is so successful, but it never would happen without her inviting us into her world and her personality. Kids adore her. She fell into this role in a perfect way, and she’s grown through the role.
KRANER I think there’s still a lot more of Gabby to come, so I don’t think this is the last we’re going to be seeing of her. Who knows what’ll come next, and what next surprise will be opening in the Dollhouse world? I think there’s a lot of fun stuff to come. This is the first time anyone’s hearing she has a sister, and it looks like they built a new dog dollhouse. Beyond that, everyone’s going to have to stay tuned.
CREGO If you go back and watch, her costume is very different at the end of the film. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen her wear in the series. It is more her age; more mature and her hair is a style she wears at home. We had her send us a bunch of photos of how she likes to dress. I really wanted her to feel like she’s owning this. She is the character of Gabby. I wanted her to have her power in that character and who she’s becoming. That’s my dream for her. I was only able to do that for the one scene. We’ll see what happens. She absolutely has the power, though. She has the imagination. She won’t lose that.
There’s interactivity in the movie, similar to the series, and it’s the first live-action hybrid film for DreamWorks Animation. Ryan, I’ve seen you mention Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Honey I Shrunk the Kids as some of your ‘90s movie inspirations. What do you all hope both adults and kids get out of this movie, and what will be your measurement of success?
SCHWEICKART I got a a brief glimpse into the measurement of that success at the premiere, because everyone was up and dancing and singing along and pinching in and responding how we wanted them to. I got to talk to a father after the movie who was emotionally affected by it. Because the message for parents is you’re never too old to play. And for kids, it’s that you don’t have to be scared about growing up. I could just tell this dad was going to go home and get on the floor with his little girls and play in the dollhouse. That’s the reaction we want from the parents and the kids, we want them to have fun and to see that growing up isn’t bad and that you can continue to have this type of fun as you get older.
CREGO There were a few reference points from my childhood that I wanted to tap into; movies that were memorable to me in that period, also like Back to the Future. A lot of kids are going to make it to the theater for Gabby the first time. We’re in a younger bracket. We understand that. I wanted to create something they would be excited about after. We lost the experience of going to the movies for a few years, so as a parent and someone whose kids don’t drive themselves yet, it was about making an experience that the whole family is going to be excited about. Where they will all play along and feel that energy. There’s that moment in the finale where, if we’ve done it right, our families are holding hands and they’re looking at each other like, “This is a special moment for us.” I want that to carry on outside the theater. Those iconic movies, the best ones, are the ones you think about afterwards.
KRANER It’s about embracing that power of play and imagination, and making sure that you keep that alive. Be creative every day. Work that muscle and don’t let it go away just because you’re getting older. I think it’s important to have fun every day because everybody needs a little light in their life sometimes. I think the magic and power of play can be that.
Would you hope to do a movie sequel?
SCHWEICKART That is the hope. We want this movie to do well, and if it does, I think there would be no end to Gabby and the magic she creates. There will be movies, series — the sky’s the limit. We’re feeling really good about this film and with the impact it’s had on the audiences we’ve seen this far; we’re feeling really hopeful we’ll be able to continue this journey for Gabby.
CREGO We’ve done everything we can to put out something we love and believe in and care about, with characters who are so loved around the world. As much as I talk about how the parents are going to love it and adults are going to sit there and get something out of it, before anything, it was about the fans of Gabby and finding all the things that make the series so successful, and then bringing more to the screen in a bigger adventure. I’d love to see Gabby’s world continue to expand. It’s a really positive, series, and now movie, for kids to be entertained by, because it brings in crafting and baking and music and playing and storytelling. My hope is that it just keeps going.
KRANER A sequel would be a lot of fun! I think there are a lot more stories and places for Gabby to go. She’s always open to new adventures. With the new edition of Grandma Gigi and the hint of Gabby’s little sister, the endless possibilities of Gabby’s Dollhouse world are there. I’m just really excited to see where DreamWorks and also where Jen and Tracy take us, I think it’s going to be really fun.
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Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie is now playing in theaters; Gabby’s Dollhouse the series streams on Netflix, with season 12 arriving in November. Read THR’s kid critics reviewing the movie.
