Spring Animation Awakening🎬🌸🌼 Ray J's Review - "UglyDolls"

Spring is officially here, and so is my newest movie review series😄🎬 Kicking things off is my movie review of the 2019 STX animated film "UglyDolls", based off the popular plush toys from the early 2000's!!

A new day has risen in the town of Uglyville, and Moxie (voiced by Kelly Clarkson), a plucky-pinkish red, overly optimistic UglyDoll is hopeful that today is finally the day she will meet her destiny chosen child. Life just 🎶Couldn't Be Better🎶. Alas, another has passed and Moxie is still waiting for her child. The next day, Moxie takes it upon herself to find out what's beyond the pipe looking thingy that new residents of UglyVille fall out of when they suddenly arrive. Along, with her pals Lucky Bat (voiced by Wang LeeHom), Wage (voiced by Wanda Sykes), UglyDog (voiced by Pitbull), and Babo (voiced by Gabriel Iglesias), Moxie adventures into the pipe looking thingy where the dolls find themselves face to face with "perfection", or so they think! Arriving in a strange new land called "The Institute Of Perfection", where certain doll types learns the right's and wrong's of surviving a household, and must complete a competition called "The Gauntlet" in order to move on to child ownership. Moxie will soon learn 🎶The Ugly Truth🎶 when introduced to perfection itself, a doll named Lou (voiced by Nick Jonas), who is just an outright jerk! Taken under the wing of a doll named Mandy (voiced by Janelle Monae), who aims for perfection, but struggles with insecurities, Moxie soon begins to learn that appearances do not represent the person who you are on the inside. Imperfection for the win!

While "UglyDolls" definitely isn't one of the greatest animated films out there, it's also not that bad either! I will agree that there are moments where originality is lacking, giving hints of Toy Story, and Trolls here and there, but in all seriousness are kids really gonna care about that😂 When a story in film is familiar to younger minds, that might even make them enjoy it even more...just saying🤷‍♂️

One of "UglyDolls" strongest aspects is the soundtrack! There are five original songs in the film, with two reprises, and a big finale that mashes up three of the most important tunes. I would consider pretty much all of the songs to be quite the earworms, with my personal favorites being the opening song, "Couldn't Be Better", sung by Moxie and the citizens of Uglyville (the catchiest song and will really put some pep in your step), "The Ugly Truth", a funky Bruno Mars type song, sung by Nick Jonas' character Lou, and incorporates a familiar classic taunt....U-G-L-Y" , and "Unbreakable", sung with soaring vocals by Kelly Clarkson, and Janelle Monae's character's, Moxie and Mandy. There are also quite a few awesome tracks on the soundtrack album that aren't featured in the film, including "Broken and Beautiful" by Kelly Clarkson (which is actually in the end credits), and was written by P!nk! As well as a super fun cover of Hall & Oates "You Make My Dreams Come True'" by A cappella sensations Pentatonix.

The voice acting performances are pretty hit and miss, but if I had to pick highlights, Nick Jonas as Lou is by far the standout! Also, their characters are terribly underused, and underrated, but I also enjoyed Charli XCX, Bebe Rexha, and Lizzo as Lou's minion's "The Pretties"! Loved them😂

Consensus: Far from perfection, yet not as ugly as you may have heard, "UglyDolls" familiar messages and colorful animation should make for an easy breezy time passer for kiddos🙂 Plus, the catchy, original soundtrack is so much fun!

(Me As An UglyDoll)

The Ray J's Reviews Rating is

3.5 out of 5 Bouquet's of Spring Animation Flowers

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