Gabby's Dollhouse


Gabby's Dollhouse is an American interactive television series created by Blue's Clues veterans Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey for Netflix and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. The series first premiered on Netflix on January 5, 2021. Combining live-action and animation, Gabby and her cat friends go on adventures inside the dollhouse.
A film based on the series, titled Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, was announced in March 2024 by DreamWorks Animation, and was released on September 26, 2025, by Universal Pictures. Most of the cast from the show reprised their roles for the film.

Premise

Each episode begins with the live-action Gabby playing in her bedroom. She then unboxes a miniature package received in the Dollhouse Delivery brought to her Meow-Meow Mailbox that is the catalyst for an adventure inside the animated world of her dollhouse. Gabby puts on her cat ears headband and shrinks down with her stuffed toy Pandy Paws who comes alive to surprise Gabby with a "hug attack". Common rituals may involve an encounter with CatRat, who often randomly appears in one of the rooms in the dollhouse.
At the end of each episode is a "Gabby Cat of the Day" segment where one of the Gabby Cats is selected to guide the viewer one-on-one in crafting, cooking, singing, or other activities with a few episodes having Gabby in the selection. Then it goes back to live-action Gabby who closes out the episode.

Characters

Main

  • Gabby is the show's host. She is a cat enthusiast and has a magical cat headband which is able to shrink her down to animated toy-size. Gabby's cat headband can also do other tricks like change the color of her wavy hair and activating the "Gabby Cat of the Day" segment.
  • Pandy Paws is a kitty/panda Gabby Cat who is Gabby's sidekick and best friend. He starts off as a stuffed toy that Gabby would throw her voice off of during interactions, but comes to life when he and Gabby shrink into the dollhouse as he explains in the first episode. Pandy Paws likes ambushing Gabby with "hug attacks" upon them entering the dollhouse and carries a magenta-colored Pandy Pack that he uses to hold different items.

    Gabby Cats

  • Carlita is a purple and teal kitty/car Gabby Cat. She drives around the dollhouse and likes playing games in the playroom while serving as a mode of transportation for the other characters. In episodes where the Dollhouse is in its Dollhouse Hotel form, Carlita operates as a bellhop.
  • Cakey is a small white kitty/cupcake Gabby Cat and makes sweet treats and snacks in the kitchen. He is able to create sprinkles.
  • Daniel James "DJ" Catnip is a lavender kitty/disc jockey Gabby Cat who wears a reddish-pink glittery hoodie which is able to stretch his tail and legs in addition to mainly using them to play instruments. He operates in the music room and sometimes wears a visor over his eyes. In episodes where the Dollhouse is in its Dollhouse Hotel form, DJ Catnip operates as the hotel manager.
  • CatRat is a blue sneaky kitty/rat Gabby Cat with dark blue and light blue markings who pops up in every room. He likes everything shiny and sometimes plays the role of a villain in certain episodes.
  • Pillow Cat is a multicolored kitty/pillow Gabby Cat. She likes making stories, and she's usually seen sleeping in the bedroom. Her catchphrases are "That's how I roll!" and "Let's roll with it."
  • Kitty Fairy is a pink kitty/fairy Gabby Cat with clear, pink and green wings, a pair of wishberry blossom-like antennae, a green flower-like dress and a flower crown. She makes garden magic with her tail or her watering can as she manages the Fairytail Garden.
  • MerCat is a turquoise kitty/mermaid Gabby Cat. She makes science "spa-themed" in the bathroom and can also swim in the air to get around. In episodes where the Dollhouse is in its Dollhouse Hotel form, MerCat runs the bathroom as a hotel spa.
  • The Box Cat Family is a family of Gabby Cats who are made of cardboard that reside in the craft room.
  • * Baby Box is a young pink/peach Gabby Cat. She likes making crafts and is the daughter of Mama Box Cat. She does sometimes say "Whoopsies!".
  • * Mama Box is a fuchsia/peach Gabby Cat who is the mother of Baby Box.
  • * The Box Brothers are the brothers of Baby Box and sons of Mama Box.
  • ** Benny Box is Baby Box's baby brother who first appeared in season 8. He made a return in season 9. Benny Box's voice actor/actress was not listed in the end credits.
  • Marty the Party Cat is an orange and pink Gabby Cat who resides in the Party Room somewhere in the attic. He debuted in season ten where he describes himself as being "part-cat and all-party".

    Supporting

  • Floyd is Gabby's live-action tabby cat who makes his only appearance in the live-action sequences and rarely interacts with the Gabby Cats. In the show, Floyd is always referred to as a male.
  • The Cat-A-Vator is a sentient and silent cat-themed elevator in the dollhouse that takes Gabby and the Gabby Cats to any of the floors in the dollhouse. By season 10, it starts making audible sounds.
  • Cupcake Cousins are Cakey's four younger cousins who appeared in the episode "Cakey's Cupcake Cousins". Their names are Bakey, Flakey, Marshapan, and Paddycake. As such, the colors are by the following order: Bakey is pink, Flakey is blue, Marshapan is green, and Paddycake is yellow. Flakey and Marshapan are male, and Bakey and Paddycake are female. The Cupcake Cousins return to appear starting with "Baby Box's Meow-Seum Day."
  • Pete is a polar bear who appears in the episode of the same name where he came to Gabby in the Dollhouse Delivery encased in a block of ice until MerCat used spa salts to free him. He is a friend of Gabby and the Gabby Cats, where they gave him his first beach experience. In the episode "Snow Cruise," Gabby and Pandy visit him in the Arctic. He returns occasionally, starting with the episode "Carlita's Ameowzing Race."
  • Fluffy Flufferton is a feline pop music star who appears in the episode of the same name in season 4. She returns in "CatRat's Birthday Surprise" for season 10.
  • Luli-Loo is a young blue fairy Gabby Cat who appears in the episode "The Fairy Festival." She returns, starting with "True Fairy Friends."
  • Bitty Fairy is a small male black Fairy Fly with multicolored spots, who first appeared in "True Fairy Friends."
  • DJ Comet is a light green Gabby Cat who is DJ Catnip's alien cousin who appeared in "Mission to CATurn". He, like DJ Catnip, is able to stretch his tail and legs but also spin them around like a helicopter. He returns in the episode "Dollhouse Dress-Up Chest" and "Baby Box's Crafty-riffic Adventure."
  • Figgy is a pink Christmas elf like Gabby Cat, who appears in the episode "A CAT-Tabulous Christmas. She looks a lot like what Fluffy Flufferton used to, but pink.
  • Kico is a young female kitty/unicorn hybrid who appears in the episode of the same name.
  • Santa Kitty is an orange Gabby Cat who is the cat version of Santa Claus.
  • Candy Cane is a red reindeer/kitty who leads Santa Kitty's sleigh.
  • The Hamster Kitties are tiny cat/hamster hybrids who occasionally appear in the series.
  • The Dust Bunnies are cute small bunnies made of dust.
  • The Doodads are three Gabby Cats made of cardboard and other crafty things who are the rivals of Gabby, Pandy, and Carlita during the Meow-Mazing Games.
  • Spongey-Saurus is a green dinosaur who appears in the episode of the same name.
  • Sunny Cat is MerCat's sister who first appeared in season 8.
  • Kitty Narwhal is a minor character who is one of MerCat's sea creature friends. She appears in the episode "The Mermaid Cruise Ship".
  • Kitty Squiddy is a blue and purple cat/squid hybrid who appears in the episode "The Magical Mermaid-Lantis" as the main antagonist. He stole the three gems that activate the rainbow, and he believed that he didn't have a sparkle like anyone else, but he eventually found his special sparkle by dancing.
  • Kittyfish - The half-kitty/half-fish creature who are pets of CatRat. They have meaningful names.
  • * Zeke is one of CatRat's Kittyfish who is a fan of hide-and-seek.
  • * Munchy is one of CatRat's Kittyfish who eats crunchy foods.
  • * Dot is one of CatRat's Kittyfish who likes putting dots all over paintings. She is the only Kittyfish who is a female.
  • * Disco is one of CatRat's Kittyfish who is a fan of dance moves.
  • Hsiu Hsiu is MerCat and Sunny Cat's younger sister, who first appeared in the Gabby's Dollhouse Holiday Special of 2023. She returns starting with season 10.
  • The Silly Bad Guys are the bad guys that CatRat invented in the episode "Baby Box's Crafty-riffic Adventure". They even had their own musical number called "Silly Bad Guys" in the series. Each of the bad guys has specialties:
  • * Sneaky Spoon is one of the Silly Bad Guys who likes being sneaky and making messes.
  • * Horrible Hose is one of the Silly Bad Guys who likes flooding areas. Horrible Hose flooded Kitty Fairy's Fairy Tail Garden in "Baby Box's Crafty-riffic Adventure."
  • * Tricky Trumpet is one of the Silly Bad Guys who blows DJ Catnip's banjo all the way to space.
  • * Hungry Dragon is one of the Silly Bad Guys made out of paper cups as seen in Paper Cup Poppers.
  • * Dizzy the Doughnut is one of the Silly Bad Guys who is mentioned in the song, "Silly Bad Guys."
  • Grandma CatRat is CatRat's grandmother who appeared in the episode of the same name. She loves playing games, eating ice cream, and taking spa baths. She had known her grandson since he was a baby kitten. Grandma used to be orange in color until CatRat put polka dot potion in her spa bath, making her all polka-dotted.

    Episodes

The first episode was released as a sneak peek on YouTube on August 22, 2020, while the series itself was released on January 5, 2021. The second season premiered on August 10, 2021, while the third season premiered on October 19, 2021. The fourth season premiered on February 1, 2022, the fifth season premiered on July 25, 2022, the sixth season premiered on November 1, 2022, the seventh season premiered on March 20, 2023, and the eighth season premiered on August 7, 2023. "The Mermaid Christmas Cruise" aired on November 6, 2023, as part of Season 8. The ninth season premiered on March 25, 2024. The tenth season premiered on August 5, 2024. The eleventh season premiered on February 17, 2025. The twelfth season premiered on November 17, 2025.

Production and development

The show was announced in 2019, and released early in the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first DreamWorks property where the creators were based in New York City instead of Los Angeles, and the whole production team, including the creators, were connected via videoconferencing, also a first for a DreamWorks production.
The basic themes of the show — dollhouses, miniatures, and cats — were creators Johnson and Twomey's favorites, while the concept of the "dollhouse deliveries" was inspired by unboxing videos, although tweaked so that instead of "unboxing a product", they "unbox a story". Initially, cats were not the main theme of the show — for example, the character of DJ Catnip was originally supposed to be a clock — but this was changed based on the trend of cat videos.
Early in the show's production, the creators came across Carol Dweck's book The Growth Mindset, which led to the production team adopting the idea of celebrating mistakes and "failing fantastically", which is promoted on the show.
The soundtrack of the show includes genres not often found in children's shows, such as disco/pop, which is due to the creators not liking "saccharine-y sweet music".
Animation production for the show was provided by Technicolor Animation Productions , Dave Enterprises, CGCG, Doberman Pictures, Saffronic, Inc. and Gabby Gabby Hey Productions, Ltd. with live action provided by One-Take Floyd.

Broadcast

The show made its linear debut on Cartoonito in Latin America on April 18, 2022, on Treehouse TV in Canada on October 15, 2022, and on Tiny Pop in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2022. The show made its American linear premiere on the Nick Jr. Channel on May 1, 2023, and Nickelodeon on June 5, 2023. Gabby's Dollhouse was removed from Nickelodeon on June 8, 2023. The show airs in the Philippines on TV5, where it is dubbed in Tagalog. The Japanese-dubbed Gabby's Dollhouse airs on TV Tokyo in Japan.
In Poland the series made its debut on linear TV on MiniMini+ on December 20, 2021.
Gabby's Dollhouse also aired on Pop Max in the UK in 2024.
Gabby's Dollhouse also aired on Nick Jr. in the UK on July 22, 2024.

Reception

The show was nominated for a Kidscreen award in 2021 and released a series of show-themed toys for the 2021 holiday season. The episode "Cakey's Cupcake Cousins" was nominated for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children at the 50th Annie Awards.

Other media

Film


On April 25, 2024, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced a feature-length film based on Gabby's Dollhouse, titled Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, released on September 26, 2025, with Ryan Crego attached to direct and Steven Schweickart producing, while Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey would serve as executive producers. The film is the studio's first live action hybrid. In the film, Gabby goes on a road trip to Cat Francisco with her grandmother GiGi, but when the dollhouse ends up in the possession of a cat lady named Vera, Gabby must set off on an adventure through the real world to save the dollhouse and the Gabby Cats.

Miscellaneous

In 2024, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade revealed a parade balloon of Gabby's animated form with Pandy Paws.
A video game titled DreamWorks Gabby's Dollhouse: Ready to Party was released on September 18, 2025.

Theme park attraction

will include a themed land based on the Gabby's Dollhouse franchise.