Cast (voices): Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monáe, Pitbull
Director: Kelly Asbury
Rating: * * *
An unexpected treat after viewing this animated musical adventure about toy travails was coming home and watching its lead character Kelly Clarkson, sing a song from the film’s soundtrack at the Billboard Music Awards.The song has meaningful lyrics and the audience at Billboards 2019 was singing along. It’s one of many songs in a film chockablock with young music, that is, new genres of music which cater to the new gen. Musically, your reviewer is Oldsville which doesn’t mean one can’t appreciate contemporary music. Like, for example, Drake’s. Or the upbeat numbers sung by the inhabitants of Uglyville, where everyone is flawed or “ugly” aka “unique”.
Clarkson voices magenta pink Ugly Doll Moxy whose longing to be the much loved toy of a child is matched by an eagerness to find out what’s on the Other Side of Uglyville. She’s got a nice set of buddies: Ugly Dog (Pitbull), Wedgehead (Emma Roberts), Wage (Wanda Sykes), and Babo (Gabriel Iglesias) who don’t share her curiosity, but join her nevertheless in the scary commute down a tunnel only to wind up at the Institute of Perfection headed by a seemingly perfect doll, Lou (Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra’s hubby for those who don’t know).
Now, Lou has a devious agenda. Expectedly, the result is conflict and dangerous situations in which the good guys vanquish the bad. Hurrah! Three cheers too for the film’s spring/summer colour palette; some of the sequences are lovely indeed. What makes it stand out though are its themes of friendship, acceptance and individuality and the message that what really matters is love and compassion. Verily, beauty lies on the eyes of the beholder.
