Movie review: Even Kelly Clarkson can't save uninspired 'Ugly Dolls'

"UGLYDOLLS" — 2 stars — Voices of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monae, Blake Shelton, Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias; PG (thematic elements and brief action); in general release; running time: 87 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — It only takes about 60 seconds for Kelly Asbury's "Ugly Dolls" to make its message obvious, and unfortunately the next 86 minutes don't add too much more to the experience.

Based on the popular plush toy line and set in an imaginary post-factory purgatory where finished toys await the loving arms of children, "Ugly Dolls" is the musical story of a rejected doll who dreams of finding an owner.

The action mostly takes place in two places. The Institute of Perfection is a symmetrical, sanitized realm where a blond-haired, blue-eyed doll named Lou (voiced by Nick Jonas) trains finished toys for ownership. Uglyville is where the defective toys go, a zany, colorful village on a seashore that actually seems like a pretty happy place, aside from the suspicion that there's a big world full of children out there waiting to take them in.

Courtesy of STXfilms, STXfilms

Tuesday (voice of Bebe Rexha), Kitty (voice of Charli XCX) and Lydia (voice of Lizzo) in "UglyDolls."

Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) is a fuzzy pink plush toy that still has high hopes a child will deliver her from Uglyville, though the rumors of the "Big World" and waiting children are tempered by the village's eldest resident and de facto leader Ox (Blake Shelton).

Undeterred, she recruits a team of like-minded dolls, like Ugly Dog (Pitbull) and Wage (Wanda Sykes), to set off on an expedition to find the Big World. Eventually they stumble on the Institute of Perfection, meet Lou and all his beautiful peers, and after a musical number or two, manage to join the other trainees as they prepare for a child owner up in the Big World.

Naturally, Lou is secretly plotting against the outsiders, and he sends a few of his minions — no, not those minions — to kidnap Ox. In the meantime, Moxy has to fight off discouragement and setbacks as she works to keep up with the perfect toys around her. Luckily, she does get a little help from a sympathetic "perfect" doll with glasses named Mandy (Janelle Monae).

"Ugly Dolls'" thin plot is built around Moxy's journey, but Asbury's film feels more like a series of musical vignettes designed to promote positive image lessons. The main idea is that our flaws make us who we are and that we should avoid being judgmental or adhering to blind conformity.

Courtesy of STXfilms, STXfilms

Lucky Bat (voice of Wang Leehom), Moxy (voice of Kelly Clarkson) and Ox (voice of Blake Shelton) in "UglyDolls."

The messages are nice enough, but their uninspired delivery and the bland plot makes "Ugly Dolls" feel more like an after-school special than worthy of full-price tickets for a family outing. The film's moral is obvious right away, and the audience just has to sit back for an hour and a half and wait for all of the characters to figure things out.

It doesn't help that, presumably to enhance the myriad musical numbers, "Ugly Dolls" relies on stilted character performances from top-40 pop stars instead of seasoned actors. It also seems odd that, while all the dolls in Perfection are humanoid, the Ugly Dolls look more like cartoonish space aliens, which kind of confuses the messaging.

At best, "Ugly Dolls" is a poor man's "Toy Story," lacking the Pixar franchise's signature wit and style, as well as the charismatic enthusiasm of Tom Hanks and the subtlety of a clever story. Frugal parents would be better advised to save the family outing money for "Toy Story 4" (due in theaters this June), and leave "Ugly Dolls" in the bargain bin.

Rating explained: "Ugly Dolls" is rated PG for some mild crude humor and frightening imagery.

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