Are you ready for an animated musical about inclusion and acceptance? That’s what the UglyDolls toyline is all about and so is their first movie, which comes with a pretty impressive array of musical talent. Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, Pitbull, Nick Jonas, and Blake Shelton lend their voices to the plush doll flick, joined by voice actors Wanda Sykes, Emma Roberts, Gabriel Iglesias, and Wang Leehom.
Promisingly, the film is directed by Kelly Asbury, best known for his work on Shrek 2, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Gnomeo & Juliet. Here’s the synopsis:
The film is inspired by the unique and beloved global plush toy phenomenon launched in 2001. In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weird is celebrated, strange is special and beauty is embraced as more than simply meets the eye. Here, the free-spirited Moxy and her UglyDolls friends live every day in a whirlwind of bliss, letting their freak flags fly in a celebration of life and its endless possibilities, occasionally looking to the sky, where a new UglyDoll will appear and be embraced by the community. Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) loves her square-peg life in this round-hole town, but her curiosity about all things leads her to wonder if there’s something – anything – on the other side of the mountain which nestles Uglyville. Moxy gathers a group of her closest friends and sets off to find what’s on the other side. They discover another world – Perfection – a town where more conventional dolls are trained in protocols before they graduate and are sent to the “real” world to find the love of a child. In Perfection, Moxy and her crew are subject to the manipulations of Lou (Nick Jonas), the perfect doll in charge of training recruits. Here, the UglyDolls will confront what it means to be different, struggle with their desire to be loved, and ultimately discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing because who you truly are is what matters most.
We’re seeing a surge of movies based on toys lately. It’s like the ’80s have returned and nobody told us. UglyDolls opens on May 3rd.
