UglyDolls

Somebody once opined: "Beauty is only skin deep. Ugly goes right to the bone." Well, make no bones about it: The allegedly imperfect, rejected "ugly" dolls banished to Uglyville in the animated film "UglyDolls" have inner beauty radiating from kindness. And, gosh darn it, these plucky creatures are more goofy/cute than disconcertingly ugly. Whether with one, two, or three bugged-out eyes, these charmers see truth and hope. They're endlessly endearing.

Choose HD, Blu-Ray or regular DVD (these two formats packaged together). Bonus features are brief, but sweet, allowing us to see and hear comments from a few humans voicing dialogue and song. For starters, there's precious pink, positive-thinking heroine Moxy: in the flesh: Kelly Clarkson gushes about how her kids will adore the flick, and how much she loved being part of it. (To use her word, it was so "rad.") She and pop star Nick Jonas (cast as the strutting, perhaps dangerously charismatic model leader of the perfect-looking look-alike race) talk about the movie's moving message about diversity, inclusion, acceptance by self and others, and confidence. (The importance of disseminating this moral, which the film does successfully, albeit with overstatement, makes one want to forgive some of its less engaging or heavy-handed patches.)

There are glances at the movie's background (I wanted more), three of its trailers, bios, a teaspoonful of a sing-along track, scene selection, and subtitles option.

Directed by Kelly Asbury, written by Alison Peck, from producer Robert Rodriguez's story, "UglyDolls" was inspired by the pre-existing plush toys. The plot involves Moxy and fellow brightly-hued "rejects," mostly resembling animals, like Ox (Blake Shelton), venturing to where dolls, modeled on humans, await their opportunity to enter The Big World. In this, "UglyDolls" suffers in comparison to the superiorly inventive "Toy Story" series, sharing the premise of merrily motley crews of playthings having lives and feelings, but feeling unfulfilled - longing to belong/be beloved by kids. But the animation and visual detail are nifty, sprinkled with humor and peppy pop songs, mostly by score composer Christopher Lennertz and Glenn Slater (Alan Menken's frequent lyricist partner), that reinforce the themes of confidence and stick-to-it-iveness, or enhance character and storyline. Danger, determination, and daredevilry ensue. Viewers marginalized, bullied, and called inferior could relate and, finally, celebrate.

"UglyDolls"
Blu-ray
$34.98
https://www.uphe.com/