UglyDolls: A kids’ movie too comfortable with its own mediocrity

UglyDolls is a 2019 American computer-animated musical comedy film directed by Kelly Asbury and written by Alison Peck, from a story by Robert Rodriguez, who also produced. It is based on the plush toys of the same name, and follows a group of them as they try to find embracement from the real world despite their flaws. The film stars the voices of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monáe, Pitbull, Blake Shelton, Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias, Wang Leehom, Emma Roberts, Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, and Lizzo.

UglyDolls was theatrically released in the United States on May 3, 2019, by STX Entertainment, the first computer-animated feature to be produced by the company. The film received generally negative reviews, with critics calling it “well-meaning but derivative”. The film holds an approval rating of 29% based on 62 reviews, and an average rating of 4.3/10 on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

The website’s critical consensus reads, “Very young viewers may be entertained by UglyDolls, if only because they’re less likely to recognise the many familiar elements in its affirmative yet formulaic story.” Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating “generally unfavourable reviews”.

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and a 51% “definite recommend”. Owen Gleiberman of Variety magazine said that “the sincerity with which UglyDolls pits unblemished conformity against ungainly soul is touching — and, yes, instructive — in all the right ways.”

Conversely, Jesse Hassenger of The AV Club gave a grade C- and writes: “Like their Troll ancestors, the UglyDolls combine an evergreen cuteness with a why-now lack of currency.”