Ugly Dolls – UglyDolls (2019)

Directed by: Kelly Asbury | 87 minutes | animation, adventure | Dutch voice cast: Jamai Loman, Vajèn van den Bosch, Défano Holwijn | Original voice cast: Pitbull, Ice-T, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Leehom Wang, Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias, Emma Roberts, Kelly Asbury, Jane Lynch, Natalie Martinez

Moxy, Wage, Wedgehead, Babo and Uglydog. Chances are these names mean nothing to you. Many children, however, will immediately become very enthusiastic, because they know right away that we are talking about the Uglydolls here. Uglydolls are toy figures that look slightly different from the average stuffed animal because they are not quite perfect. Some have an extra eye – or just one eye – others have very short arms or a flat head. The Uglydolls were created by designers David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim. When Sun-Min had to return to her native South Korea due to visa conflicts, her beloved David regularly sent her letters (it should be clear that the dolls are almost twenty years old and originated at a time when letter post was not yet surpassed by a -mail and social media), which he signed with an ugly orange doll. Sun-Min liked the doll so much that she decided to make a plush doll out of it as a Christmas present for David. He in turn showed the doll to a friend of a toy store owner and the rest, as they say, is history.

In the meantime, about twenty different Uglydolls have appeared, each of which has been assigned its own character traits, and more and more are being added. In the world of the Uglydolls – ‘Uglyverse’ – ‘ugly’ means unique, special and something to be celebrated. They also find a message that small children can learn from in Hollywood. As early as 2011, there was talk of a film about the Uglydolls, initially involving Illumination (‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Minions’) and Chris Meledandri (known from the ‘Ice Age’ series, among others). The next big name to be associated with the project was Robert Rodriguez (‘Sin City’, 2005), who would write, direct and produce the film. Kelly Asbury would ultimately direct, as Rodriguez’s other projects (including the cyberpunk film ‘Alita: Battle Angel’. 2019) took longer than he had planned. His name is still on the role as producer and (co-) creator of the story. Asbury has made his mark in the animation business at Disney and DreamWorks. His directing films include ‘Shrek 2’ (2004), ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ (2011) and ‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’ (2017).

All that talent and that experience is not really reflected in the end result, because ‘Ugly Dolls’ is a fairly average movie. Perfect dolls are created in a toy factory, which are ultimately destined to end up with ‘their’ child and be cuddled. But there are also production errors; the dolls that have something wrong. They are transported via a separate conveyor belt to a dump behind the factory, which they have renamed Uglyville and where they can live their unsuspecting lives. Moxy (voiced by Kelly Clarkson in the original version and Vajèn van den Bosch in the Dutch translation) is a pink Ugly Doll who still dreams of the big world, where she will be embraced by a baby, even though Ox says , the mayor of Uglyville (Blake Shelton) that it’s a myth she believes in, Until one day she climbs up the drain with her friends and discovers that there is also an ‘Institute of Perfection’ where the well-done dolls are primed for their adventure in the real world, where they get to make a child happy. But only dolls who pass the infamous Baptism of Fire are allowed to enter the human world. The institute’s leader is the insufferable Lou (Nick Jonas/ Jamai Loman), who does everything he can to make it impossible for the ‘Uglies’ to realize their dream.

‘There is a doll for every child and for every child there is a doll’, sings Moxy. Because ‘Ugly Dolls’ is a colorful musical in the tradition of ‘Trolls’ (2016), with many singers in the voice cast and many jumpy songs that make the enamel jump off your teeth. Incidentally, the figures are well voiced by Van den Bosch, Loman and rapper Défano Holwijn (in the role of comic sidekick Ugly Dog). The abundance of colors and sweetness will especially appeal to the little ones; adult viewers and viewers will undoubtedly stumble mainly over the sometimes very silly jokes, the lack of imagination of the makers and the basically fine message – embrace your imperfections, because they make you unique! – which loses in strength because it is pushed very hard down the throat.