One of the biggest kids series on the planet is coming to the big screen. DreamWorks Animation is in the works on “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” and has set it for release on September 26, 2025 by Universal Pictures.
“Gabby’s Dollhouse” is the DreamWorks mixed media series for preschoolers that airs on Netflix and according to Nielsen was the most-streamed series that’s original to streaming in 2023. Each episode follows a girl named Gabby unboxing a surprise before jumping into a fantastical animated world of adorable cats living inside Gabby’s dollhouse.
Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, who created the series, are executive producing the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” movie. The film is being directed by Ryan Crego, who earned a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for his TV feature “Arlo the Alligator Boy.”
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.
Steven Schweickart, who has been a production supervisor or co-producer on DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Croods,” and “Kung Fu Panda 4,” is a producer on the film.
If you want to know just how massive “Gabby’s Dollhouse” has been on Netflix, Nielsen says it tied with “Jack Ryan” as the sixth-most-streamed original — in any genre — for 2023. It beat out “The Mandalorian” and fellow Netflix series in the Nielsen Top 10 like “Outer Banks” and “The Lincoln Lawyer” last year. Netflix recently upped its order for “Gabby’s Dollhouse” to 100 total episodes and will debut its 10th season later this year.
But it’s also the most-streamed series of the year in terms of being an original kids series. “Bluey” is far and away the leader, but it’s an Australian series and merely streams in the U.S. “Cocomelon” is bigger too but is aimed at nursery schoolers younger than the crowd for “Gabby’s” and is a collection of animated short nursery rhymes rather than episodic series. The next two most-streamed kids shows — SpongeBob Squarepants” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” — are not considered streaming originals because those two originate on cable TV.
Regardless of the semantics, your niece is going to be very excited. The brand has spun off toys, publishing, clothes, original music, and a growing YouTube channel. Universal also hopes to expand its “Gabby’s Dollhouse” presence with other experiences and events at its theme parks.
Additional reporting by Tony Maglio
