A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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Educational Value
none
Occasionally the content includes simple preschool skills like shapes, colors, and patterns in the story.
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Positive Messages
some
Gabby’s adventures are driven by imagination and curiosity. Creative problem-solving and friendship are common themes. Rarely body noises like burping are heard.
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Positive Role Models
a lot
Gabby is inquisitive, self-assured, and kind. She enjoys spending time with her friends, and they learn by working together and sharing ideas freely. Most other characters are similarly joyful and optimistic, but Catrat can be crotchety and mischievous at times.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Gabby's Dollhouse is a preschool series in which an imaginative girl transforms into an animated version of herself and hangs out with her kitty friends in her dollhouse. The stories are mildly educational, as the characters dabble in the cooking arts, gardening, science, and crafting in very simplistic ways, but they're always a lot of fun. One dollhouse friend has a sour personality, so his friends spend time doing what they can to counter it rather than letting it negatively affect them. Cute music and appealing mix of live action and animation combine to make this a very watchable show.
What's the Story?
In GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE, a young girl named Gabby (voiced by Laila Lockhart Kraner) uses a pair of magical cat ears to shrink in size and transport herself into her cat-themed dollhouse for all kinds of wonderful adventures inspired by a surprise gift she receives at the start of the story. Joined by her best kitty pal, Pandy Paws (Tucker Chandler), who's a stuffie in the real world, Gabby encounters other friends -- Cakey Cat (Juliet Donenfeld), Baby Box Cat (Maggie Lowe), Kitty Fairy (Tara Strong), Mercat (Secunda Wood), and even cranky Catrat (Donovan Patton) -- who help her find creative solutions to the problems that she faces each time. When the adventure comes to an end, she heads back to the real world where her pet cat, Floyd, is waiting for her.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Gabby's imagination inspires her adventures. Kids: What are some of your favorite toys for playtime? What kinds of stories and characters do you most enjoy in your imaginative play?
Where do you see the theme of cats carried through Gabby's surroundings? Does it make you like the show more? If your life had an animal theme, what animal would it be?
How do the characters show that they're friends, even when Catrat is being difficult? Why is it important to show kindness to others, especially when they don't do the same? How does compassion feel when it's shown to you?
