Doll film an Ugly letdown
Ugly Dolls (G, 87 mins) Directed by Kelly Asbury Reviewed by James Croot ★★
Having cameoed in everything from Zathura to Enchanted, Mr Magorium’s Wonder
Emporium and The Smurfs, 2006’s Specialty Toy of the Year finally get their own movie.
Sadly, the Ugly Dolls animated feature is anything but plush. It’s a combination of dog-eared, deja-vu moments and care-worn plotting that will leave even the most upbeat young moviegoer a little disappointed.
The story, crafted by a quartet of writers, including Spy Kids’ creator Robert Rodriguez, focuses on Moxy (Kelly Clarkson, one of a raft of singers chosen for vocal duties), a ‘‘square peg locked in a round-hole town’’. While the rest of the citizens of Uglyville embrace their differences, Moxy waits for the day when a child will choose her.
When told that may not happen, she decides to search for her own kid. With the aid of a loyal collection of friends, she enters the pipeline where new arrivals come from and eventually winds up at the Institute of Perfection.
Apparently a training ground for dolls to ready themselves for ‘‘the big world’’, the institute is run by the charismatically cruel Lou (Nick Jonas). Known for his ability to ‘‘entertain and emotionally devastate like no-one else’’, he offers the Uglies a chance to prepare themselves for the fatedeciding ‘‘gauntlet’’ and undermines them at every turn. Right from the Beauty and the
Beast-esque opening number – Life Just Couldn’t Be Better Than This – Kelly Asbury’s (Gnomeo and Juliet, The Smurfs: The Lost Village)
brightly coloured animated adventure is dulled by a lack of originality.
Storywise it’s a kind of
Pixar’n’mix of Toy Story 3 and Monsters University, as a rag-tag group of dolls face a series of assorted perils and challenges to prove their worthiness.
Yes, there are some nice messages about being yourself and ‘‘letting your freak flag fly’’, but they’re muddied by a competing idea that ‘‘ugly things belong in recycling’’ and predictable motivational training and makeover montages.
It’s not all bad. Choosing from the world of music at least offers a new, eclectic range of voice-over artists, including Blake Shelton, Ice-T, Lizzo and Charli XCX, and the animation is impressive.
But for a movie that proudly states ‘‘it’s the flaws that make us who we are’’, Ugly Dolls’ shortcomings mean it doesn’t quite measure up to some of the other school holiday cinematic options.