Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

UglyDolls Blu-ray Movie Review

Common Core.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 20, 2019

Does “well meaning” lose its luster when audiences are beaten over the head with it? Is there an inverse relationship to positivity and negativity? Themes of “be yourself," "be comfortable in yourself," and "accept others as they are” seem to shape the plot of about 85% of animated movies these days. The genre seems to be transitioning its messaging from positive reinforcement to a crutch that filmmakers can lean on to get a vision of some cuddly character sure to sell countless toys up on the screen to the delight of young fans more concerned with color and sound rather than content and soul. UglyDolls is just about the worst offender of this kind of movie, a heartless film that means well but chooses to hammer its point home so hard and so frequently -- making it the movie’s plot rather than an organic byproduct thereof -- that it loses its meaning under the deluge of ceaseless messaging.

In a doll-making factory, the imperfects are discarded and dropped in Uglyville, left to languish with other flawed and failed creations and never experience the joys of being paired with a special child and find the love that was at one point their destiny. Most live in a state of hopelessness, but Moxy (voiced by Kelly Clarkson) chooses to spend her days singing about being happy and being optimistic about her future, believing that every day will be the day when she finally goes home to her child. When her friend Lucky (voiced by Wang Leehom) “inspires” her to leave Uglyville and seek out her kid on her own rather than wait for her kid to find her, she rises to the challenge of escaping, even as some of the other residents believe nothing else exists beyond their borders. But escape she does along with friends like Wage (voiced by Wanda Sykes), Ugly Dog (voiced by Pitbull), and Babo (voiced by Gabriel Iglesias). But rather than instantly find a new home, they come upon the Institute of Perfection, a place run by the outwardly perfect Lou (voiced by Nick Jonas) who disparages the dolls and shoots down their dreams, challenging them to prove their worth to him in ways they can never achieve if they ever want to leave and make their dreams come true.

UglyDolls is, thematically, a very black and white movie. There’s the positive, encouraging Moxy and the negative, discouraging Lou. They are of course at odds, the former championing individuality and dismissing flaws and the other holding conformity to his standards in high regard and disparaging others for their shortcomings. Their clash, and the way they go about it, is painfully predictable. The movie’s laser-like focus on the battle between perceived perfection and perfect imperfection quickly takes a toll on the movie’s soul, wiping it of any sense of individuality. A film that champions uniqueness becomes horribly rote, a single note and spiritless journey through unimaginative plotting that turns out to be far more superficial because of its one-note structure. Where Pixar expertly weaves the message into the larger story and makes it an organic byproduct thereof, UglyDolls sets out to whack the audience over the head with it, crafting the movie around the plot rather than vice-versa, and making matters worse never giving the movie an opportunity for any distinction away from its center.

Cosmetically, the movie is terrific, which is sort of against the grain of its messaging. Characters are smartly designed and unique, very colorful, and expressively and enthusiastically voiced. The worlds are nicely distinctive, with the contrasts between UglyVille and the Institute of Perfection finding little quirks and details that bring them to life. The material generates a few genuine laughs and most of the songs are appropriately catchy but none of it really matters in the end. The movie winds up almost being a parody of its own messaging, working so hard to get everything outward in order that it fails to distinguish itself on the inside.

UglyDolls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

UglyDolls is very pretty on Blu-ray, but it is unfortunately a superficial experience. It feels almost ironic to champion its external qualities considering the film's focus on the beauty within, but since there isn't much of that, on to its looks. The Blu-ray appears in nearly perfect working order. It's colorful, very finely textured, and there is no evidence of source or encode infractions. Colors leap off the screens and there are plenty, whether basic and bold character colors or explosions of color during a montage in chapter 11 during the song "All Dolled Up." The movie is texturally alive, too, with incredible, tactile definition on various character traits, including soft, furry bodies and the human dolls' yarn-like hair. Every texture is tight, revealing, never lacking in tangible, tactile detail. It's sharp and clear corner to corner, beginning to end. Slight banding is visible in a couple of spots, including in the 50-minute mark, but such is not enough to warrant. downgrade in score. The film has not currently earned a UHD release and while one can envision tighter, bolder colors (even surpassing the extremely colorful Blu-ray) it's difficult to see room for improvement considering definition and overall clarity. Certainly the film's poor box office performance is almost solely to blame for landing on Blu-ray only but 1080p and SDR are more than enough for delivering this movie in tip-top condition.

UglyDolls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

UglyDolls features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. For the most part it is big and bold, impressing from the start with perfectly balanced score, offering terrific clarity throughout the range and a seamless sense of space around the stage. Music and lyrics are fine, with the sugary Pop beats flowing with expert definition, width, surround usage, and bass, while lyrics are nicely detailed with front-center location and some spacing away as necessary. However, lyrics in particular do sound just a little low at reference levels. It's not Disney level by any means but it does sound better with a minor upward volume adjustment. A few voices emanate from several different places during the Uglyville intro shot and various atmospherics generously populate every speaker in the configuration. Dialogue is perfect in placement, prioritization, and clarity of presentation.

UglyDolls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

UglyDolls contains several micro featurettes and a singalong version. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Sing-Along Edition: Lyrics to the movie's songs appear on-screen, karaoke style.
• Making UglyDolls (1080p): A five-part feature.
  
  
  • BTS Countdown (0:48): Introducing the film and the voice cast.
  • Couldn't Be Better (0:59): Another piece that briefly looks at the characters and the voice actors who portray them.
  • Broken and Beautiful (1:01): Kelly Clarkson discusses singing the song "Broken and Beautiful" for the film.
  • The Ugly Truth (1:04): Nick Jonas discusses the film's message and portraying the character "Lou." He also discusses performing his character's theme song.
  • Pitbull (0:58): Pitbull discusses the film's themes and the character he voices.
• Fun with the Cast of UglyDolls (1080p): A five-part feature.
  
  
  • Would You Rather (1:03): The cast answers a few either/or questions.
  • Cast Talents (0:49): The cast shares its own secret talents.
  • Kelly's Gifts (0:48): Kelly receives a box and basket full of toys from the movie, including the one she voices.
  • Kelly's Reaction (0:54): Kelly watches the movie for the first time on a laptop.
  • Ready, Set, Draw (1:01): The cast draws the characters they voice.
• Sing-Along Tease (1080p, 1:30): A preview for the karaoke-style version of the movie.
• Trailers (1080p): Three trailers for UglyDolls. Included are Trailer 1 (1:59), Trailer 2 (2:47), and Trailer 3 (1:48).

UglyDolls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Perhaps audiences -- even the little ones to whom movies like this are marketed -- are indeed growing a bit tired of the same old, same old. UglyDolls was a box office bomb, generating a fraction of the revenue a movie like this usually earns and failing to even recoup its budget. It's really no surprise. The movie, which champions individuality and dismisses appearance, rings hollow and trite on the inside and focuses its attention on dazzling visuals on the outside. It's a 90-minute oxymoron that offers fleeting entertainment that can't even keep up with its stale message. Univerlsal's Blu-ray is technically fine, offering dazzling video and generally solid audio. Supplements are numerous but amount to almost nothing either individually or in the aggregate. Skip it.