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Gabby and her cats are coming to the big screen next year.

DreamWorks Animation and Universal revealed Thursday that Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will open nationwide on Sept. 26, 2025.

The live-action/CGI series has been a smash hit for Netflix since its debut in 2021. Created by Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, Gabby’s Dollhouse is a mixed-media preschool adventure that centers on a 12-year-old who, after unboxing an item, uses the power of her magical cat ears to shrink down to dollhouse size and go on adventures with the help of her animated cat friends. The show operates with a narrative ethos of flexible thinking and learning from your mistakes, and does so through a mix of things like music, dance, cooking and crafting.

Laila Lockhart Kraner will reprise her role from the series in the feature film, which follows Gabby as she goes on a road trip with her...

One of the biggest kids series on the planet is coming to the big screen. DreamWorks Animation is in the works on “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” and has set it for release on September 26, 2025 from Universal Pictures.

“Gabby’s Dollhouse” is the DreamWorks mixed media series for preschoolers that airs on Netflix and, according to Nielsen, was the most-streamed series that’s original to streaming in 2023. Each episode follows a girl named Gabby unboxing a surprise before jumping into a fantastical animated world of adorable cats living inside Gabby’s dollhouse.

Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, who created the series, are executive producing the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” movie. Ryan Crego, who earned a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for his TV feature “Arlo the Alligator Boy,” is directing the film.

In the new film, Gabby heads out on a road trip with her Grandma Gigi to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco.

Critical Role, a media company behind the acclaimed animated series “The Legend of Vox Machina,” has scored a multiyear exclusive overall television and first-look film deal with Amazon Studios.

Under the agreement, Critical Role will produce an animated television series based on its highly successful livestream campaign “Mighty Nein,” which follows a group of criminals and misfits who are the only ones who can prevent the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands. Watch a teaser trailer for the show above.

“Mighty Nein” will be executive produced by Tasha Huo, Sam Riegel and Travis Willingham alongside Metapigeon and Amazon Studios. Chris Prynoski (“The Legend of Vox Machina”), Shannon Prynoski (“Fairfax”), Antonio Canobbio (“Arlo the Alligator Boy”), and Ben Kalina (“Big Mouth”) at Titmouse will also executive produce.

The series, which will soon begin production, is slated to premiere on...

Amazon has made a mighty embrace of the Critical Role cinematic universe.

Amazon Studios announced a multiyear exclusive overall TV and first-look film deal with Critical Role, the media company and D&d role-playing group behind Prime Video’s popular adult animation series “The Legend of Vox Machina.”

The first new series to be produced under the agreement is “Mighty Nein,” based on Critical Role’s second campaign, which ran from January 2018 to mid-2021. The Mighty Nein adventuring party — a band of criminals and misfits — are the only ones who can prevent the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands. “Mighty Nein” is set to begin production shortly in partnership with animation studio Titmouse, which has teamed with Critical Role and Amazon Studios for “Vox Machina.” The series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video, but there’s no release date as yet.

Chicago – Are we there yet? Another pandemic year, 2021, somewhat affected the cinema world, but many films that had been delayed finally saw the light of screen, and one true blockbuster was had for the industry (kudos to Spidey). Around mid-year, the critics and public went back to the theaters, and this 10 Best list is a hybrid of in-person and online viewings.

So begins my* list of the 10 Best Films Of 2021, on a hopeful note. Hoping that this current viral surge will be our last, and we will come back fully and in person moving forward, as a wish for the world. *The Über Critic, Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Wbgr-FM & Wssr-fm

I’m formatting this 10 Best differently this year, to reflect the on-air reviews I do weekly on Wbgr-fm and Wssr-fm. Each of the 10 Best will be in the on-air or audio format for your listening pleasure.

I begin...

Best original song Oscar contenders Beyoncé and Van Morrison are among those who received nominations in the visual media categories at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (Hmma). Composers Hans Zimmer and Nicholas Britell were included among the familiar names picking up nods in the score categories.

The awards will be presented Nov. 17. The HMMAs honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors for their work in music for film, television, and videogames.

Nominations here have historically been a harbinger or guide for what nominees and winners will pop up in the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys and Emmys that occur later in awards season, although there is a much wider field in the HMMAs, since there are separate divisions for sci-fi, animation, documentary and independent films in the score categories. The Hollywood Music in Media Awards will feature music performances, celebrity presenters, tributes to music industry icons, awards for composers, songwriters and...

Exclusive: Constance Marie (George Lopez), Benito Martinez (The Shield) and Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) are set as series regulars opposite Emeraude Tobia and Mark Indelicato in With Love, Amazon’s one-hour romantic comedy series from Gloria Calderón Kellett and her GloNation Studios and Amazon Studios.

Created and written by Calderón Kellett, With Love follows the Diaz siblings, Lily (Toubia) and Jorge (Indelicato), who are on a mission to find love and purpose. The Diaz siblings cross paths with seemingly unrelated residents during some of the most heightened days of the year — the holidays.

Marie plays Beatriz Diaz, Jorge and Lily’s mother. She is going through a midlife/identity crisis with her kids getting older and her marriage being on auto-pilot.

Martinez is Jorge Diaz Sr. He’s a hug in human form, a loving and caring father and husband, even if he has gotten a bit too comfortable in his relationship.

"Arlo the Alligator Boy" is the 2D animated musical feature, and subsequent animated episodic TV series, directed by Ryan Crego, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Bret Gelman and Flea, produced by Titmouse ("Big Mouth") now streaming on Netflix:

"...after learning he is from New York City, 'Arlo' (Michael J. Woodard), a wide-eyed half human, half alligator, leaves his sheltered life in the swamp to search for his long lost estranged father, meeting a colorful cast of characters along the way..." 

Click the images to enlarge...

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"Arlo the Alligator Boy" is the upcoming 2D animated musical feature, and subsequent animated episodic TV series, directed by Ryan Crego, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Bret Gelman and Flea, produced by Titmouse ("Big Mouth") streaming on Netflix, April 2021:

"...after learning he is from New York City, 'Arlo' (Michael J. Woodard), a wide-eyed half human, half alligator, leaves...

Chicago – A couple weeks ago, Netflix released for streaming the new animated film “Arlo the Alligator Boy” and immediately it went to 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (including a 4.5/5 on this forum). This fresh, delightful and full-of heart “2D” cartoon musical is the product of creator and director Ryan Crego.

Although this is Ryan Crego’s debut animated film, he is a veteran in the industry. He tells the story of his origins in the business on the interview, but his first big break came with Dreamwork’s “Shrek Forever After.” From there he worked on notable film and TV projects such as “Puss in Boots,” “Kung Fu Panther 2.” “Peabody & Sherman,” “Sanjay and Craig,” in addition to voice work on “Rise of the Guardians” and “Turbo.” The characters of Arlo and his friends will break out into their own Netflix series, with a release date yet to come.

‘Arlo the Alligator Boy,...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on April 15th, 2021, reviewing the new film “Arlo the Alligator Boy,” streaming on Netflix beginning April 16th.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Arlo (voice of Michael J. Woodard), is an alligator boy who drifts from the New York City sewers to the near New Orleans, and grows up in the swamp with his adopted Mom Edmee (Annie Potts). When he discovers his true origins when he’s a teen, he sets out for NYC to find his father. Along the way he gathers an odd group of fellow travelers, and a couple enemies who want to exploit him. The journey is the thing, as Arlo is encamped with other oddballs, including a tiny Tony (Tony Hale), a Tiger Girl, a gay fur ball, a fish with legs and Big Bertie (Mary Lambert).

“Arlo the Alligator Boy” is streaming on Netflix beginning April 16th,...

Since Disney transitioned almost exclusively to 3D animated films, we’re sorely lacking in old-fashioned 2D animated musicals. And Netflix is going to fill that gap with its newest animated musical feature film, Arlo the Alligator Boy. Following the adventures of a half-human, half-alligator boy (duh) in New York City, the film aims to be the next […]

The post Exclusive ‘Arlo the Alligator Boy’ Clip: The Half-Human, Half-Alligator Boy is Stuck in a Ruff Situation appeared first on /Film.

The headline news for fantasy fans on Netflix UK this month is the arrival of eight-part adaptation Shadow and Bone, based on Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy. It’s the story of Alina, a girl who discovers she wields a mighty power that sees her targeted by a covetous foe. You can read more about the cast here. For families, at the end of the month there’s Sony’s latest animated feature The Mitchells Vs the Machines, which is made by the creators of excellent animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Comedy-wise, Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer co-star in regular-Joan-gets-superpowers movie Thunder Force. And for anybody looking to brush up their Spanish for a summer holiday, Netflix has the latest Harlan Coben mystery thriller, The Innocent.

On top of that, there’s a clutch of older films, from John Carpenter’s They Live to the Coen Bros.’ The Big Lebowski...

Netflix is the king of the streaming world until proven otherwise. But in recent months the streamer’s lists of new releases have looked relatively sparse as competing media conglomerates remove their titles from Netflix’s library. With its list of new releases for April 2021, however, Netflix appears to have its original production machine operating at high capacity once again.

There are plenty of intriguing Netflix original series and films this month. The one that appears to have the highest blockbuster potential though is the series Shadow and Bone on April 23. Shadow and Bone is adapted from Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha-verse trilogy and should bring another compelling sci-fi/fantasy universe to the streaming world.

Read more TV How Will Shadow and Bone Incorporate Six of Crows? By Kayti Burt TV Shadow and Bone: Why Netflix Cast Its Fantasy Adaptation With Relative Unknowns By Kayti Burt

Other worthwhile original series...

"Little gator, looks like you got outta the swamp." Netflix has debuted a trailer for the animated adventure called Arlo the Alligator Boy, a musical from filmmaker Ryan Crego. A young humanoid alligator travels to the big city in hopes of reuniting with his estranged father, meeting a colorful cast of characters along the way. The plot is a bit typical, but the characters are not - not only is "Arlo the Alligator Boy" a fun one, but there's tons of wacky people he meets on his journey and befriends. After arriving in NYC, Arlo sets up shop in an abandoned seaside neighborhood and tries to bring it back to life. Featuring the voices of Michael J. Woodard as Arlo, with Mary Lambert, Michael "Flea" Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Brett Gelman, Jonathan Van Ness, Haley Tju, Jennifer Coolidge, and Vincent Rodriguez III. Even...

"Arlo the Alligator Boy" is the upcoming 2D animated musical feature, and subsequent animated episodic TV series, directed by Ryan Crego, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Bret Gelman and Flea, produced by Titmouse ("Big Mouth") streaming on Netflix, April 16, 2021:

"...after learning he is from New York City, 'Arlo' (Michael J. Woodard), a wide-eyed half human, half alligator, leaves his sheltered life in the swamp...

"...to search for his long lost estranged father, meeting a colorful cast of characters along the way..." 

Click the images to enlarge...

Are you ready for the unspeakable horrors of Arlo the Alligator Boy?! Run for your lives! This hideous humanoid creature will devour us all! *checks notes* My mistake, Arlo the Alligator Boy is in fact a family-friendly animated musical. Featuring the voices of Michael J. Woodard, Mary Lambert, Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame), Annie Potts, […]

The post ‘Arlo the Alligator Boy’ Trailer: A Half-Human, Half-Alligator Heads to New York City appeared first on /Film.

Uncharted Territory and Rise Pictures have joined forces to produce “Igraine the Brave,” a 3D-animated fantasy adventure based on the novel by bestselling author Cornelia Funke.

The story follows 12-year-old Igraine, the only one in her family who is not interested in magic, but is instead pursuing a headstrong plan to become a knight. Just when her brother accidentally turns their parents into pigs, their beloved home, Pimpernel Castle, is besieged by the knight Rowan Heartless and his master, Osmond the Greedy. They plan to steal her family’s singing books of magic to become all-powerful. It’s up to Igraine to save her family — even if it means facing giants and three-headed dragons.

“Igraine the Brave” will be produced by Uncharted Territory’s Volker Engel, Gesa Engel and Lucia Scharbatke, who are partnering with Rise Pictures’ Ulrich Schwarz and Sven Pannicke executive producing, with L.A.-based Robyn Klein and Jeremy Ross co-producing.

Netflix will expand its animated series slate with two series reimagining the Transformers and My Little Pony toy franchises. This is the second new Transformers animated series announced this morning; Nickelodeon unveiled a new animated show based on the Hasbro toys.

The streamer will roll out Transformers: BotBots, a 20-episode animated comedy from executive producers and showrunners Kevin Burke and Chris “Doc” Wyatt. Transformers: BotBots follows the mischievous little robots, otherwise known as BotBots based on Hasbro’s popular toy line of the same name.

BotBots disguise themselves as everyday mall objects. By day, these BotBots hide quietly on store shelves but at night, they jump into adventure until a group of BotBots called ‘The Lost Bots’ run into the mall security guard and put all the bots in danger.

“We are delighted to partner with Netflix to bring an all-new Transformers story to life and explore a whole new universe with BotBots,...

"Arlo the Alligator Boy" is the upcoming 2D animated musical feature, and subsequent animated episodic TV series, directed by Ryan Crego, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Bret Gelman and Flea, produced by Titmouse ("Big Mouth") streaming on Netflix, April 2021:

"...after learning he is from New York City, 'Arlo' (Michael J. Woodard), a wide-eyed half human, half alligator, leaves his sheltered life in the swamp to search for his long lost estranged father, meeting a colorful cast of characters along the way..." 

Click the images to enlarge...