Imaginative kids show has positive messages and role models.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
very little
Occasionally, characters in the dollhouse need to be saved from situations like speeding on a runaway cart without breaks, a spaceship flying out of the dollhouse and being watched by a real-life cat, and being stuck to a wall. But they're never seriously in peril, and are usually reassured by others in the meantime.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
A wide selection of Gabby's Dollhouse merchandise is available to tie in to the show, such as the dollhouse itself, clothing, plush toys, and activities.
Positive Messages
a lot
It's OK not to know how to do something—making mistakes is part of trying something new. There's always a solution, so don't give up. Friendship can get you through difficult days, and it's important to be a good friend to others. Compassion, curiosity, and teamwork are great character strengths. It's kind to share, listen, and make sure everyone is included. Sometimes when someone adds their idea to yours, it can make it better, even though it's different. Everyone has different talents and interests.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Gabby is curious, self-assured, and compassionate. She enjoys spending time with her friends, and they learn through teamwork and sharing ideas freely—developing great problem-solving skills. Gabby reassures others and helps build their self-esteem by being encouraging. She's always careful to thank people for their help. Other characters are similarly joyful and optimistic, though CatRat can be crotchety and mischievous at times. Still, he ultimately joins in and helps when needed.
Diverse Representations
some
The series centers Gabby in the lead role, a Black girl who's portrayed as smart and kind. Creators Jennifer Twomey and Traci Paige Johnson are both White women, and though the voice cast is mostly White, Gabby is played by multiracial (Dominican and Russian Jewish) actor Laila Lockhart Kraner. Recurring characters MerCat and DJ Catnip are played by Black actor Secunda Wood and Mexican American actor Eduardo Franco, respectively. While there's plenty of pink and purple in Gabby's room, the show also challenges gender stereotypes, such as making Cakey Cat (who's sensitive and loves to bake) a boy, and Gabby choosing a fire chief costume when she plays dress-up.
Episodes include simple preschool skills like shapes, colors, and patterns in the story. The show also teaches creativity and problem-solving. It introduces subjects such as planets, baking, modes of transport, science experiments, and gardening. It often stops to give viewers a puzzle—like spotting the sour food on a menu, an unhappy mouth shape, or a matching clothing item—and involves characters doing crafts that can be copied at home.
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 show centers a Black girl as the lead character, and Gabby (played by Laila Lockhart Kraner) is portrayed as a great role model, showing curiosity, compassion, and teamwork. There are also lots of positive messages to take away about friendship and learning from mistakes. The stories sometimes have additional educational value, 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. There's no toilet humor, bar a baby plant needing to be burped and letting out a loud noise. Cute music and an appealing mix of live action and animation combine to make this a very watchable show.
My 2.5 year old son loves this show and my 9 and 11 year old daughters will sit and watch it with him as well. It has very positive language especially concerning things that might make young kids upset. For example “we haven’t found it, YET!” One of my personal favorites was talking about how she loves when she makes a mistake because she learns from it and can try again.
Encourages kids to keep trying.
My daughter really enjoys this show. It has catchy songs and fun colors but also teaches basic items such as colors. It keeps her engaged without me worrying about inappropriate content. I love that there are activities to help her be creative and use her imagination too. Lots of fun and definitely a show I feel safe with her watching.
What's the Story?
In GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE, a young girl named Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner) uses a pair of magical cat ears to shrink herself into her cat-themed dollhouse. There, she has 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), DJ Catnip (Eduardo Franco), 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 real-life pet cat, Floyd, is waiting for her.
Gabby's joyous escapades inside the playhouse in her bedroom are so much fun, and kids with a soft spot for felines will love the cat-themed adventures even more. Each day in Gabby's Dollhouse a different problem presents itself, and Gabby turns to her miniature kitty friends to help her fix it. Visiting them takes her through the house's many rooms and gives her opportunities to craft, bake, sing, garden, experiment, and play with them.
The dollhouse is also a place where Gabby and her friends learn about working together, learning from mistakes, solving problems, and being reliable for each other. Each room in the house is a magical world in and of itself, and as Gabby visits them, she and her friends cooperate in creative ways that will no doubt inspire the kids watching. Though not every attempt is successful, each one teaches them something important, and they're better for the experience. Original music and an engaging animation style round out this appealing series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how imagination inspires the adventures in Gabby's Dollhouse. Kids: What are some of your favorite toys for playtime? What kinds of stories and characters do you most enjoy in your imaginative play? Did any episodes inspire you to try the games and crafts from the show?
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 friendship important? What do you think makes a good friend?
Characters show compassion,curiosity, and teamwork. Can you think of times when these were important in the stories? Why are they great character strengths? When have you used them in your life?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Emily Ashby
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
