Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) has spent her entire doll life in Uglyville, which is the town that holds all of the dolls who were considered a defect. Her dream of escaping from Uglyville and pursuing her purpose of being the best doll companion to a human leads her and her UglyDolls friends to Perfection. Perfection is a town that holds the “perfect” dolls who will one day go off to be with a child. The town of Perfection strikes a chord with the UglyDolls and they begin to question if their dreams will come true.
In today’s age, we are constantly bombarded with the image of perfection that doesn’t exist. UglyDolls takes this idea of perfection and uses dolls to get the message across to children. Director Kelly Asbury and Screenwriter Alison Peck make this Film an entertaining ride filled with positive morals for children and adults alike. One of the highlights of UglyDolls is its phenomenal Soundtrack with offerings from its Cast, loaded with the themes and values of the story. Blake Shelton, Janelle Monáe, Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas and more lend their beautiful voices to these “ugly” characters.
Each character from Uglyville and Perfection are brought to the screen in an enigmatic way due to those voices behind the adorable dolls. Most notably is the forever cute Moxy whose constantly dreaming big and doesn’t ever give up. It’s a powerful character for children to see because she is a beacon of self-love and self-acceptance and Clarkson brings so much to her. Nick Jonas is hilarious as the “perfect” doll, Lou, who is also a layered character. And the wonderful Janelle Monáe is great as the perfect doll with a hidden flaw.
UglyDolls has an uplifting and important message people of all ages could learn from.
VVS Films release UGLYDOLLS Friday, May 3, 2019.
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