DreamWorks Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse Review

Reviewed by Kat Harrison For quite some time Gabby’s Dollhouse was a permanent fixture on our TV; our Netflix subscription almost paying for this animated adventure mixed with real life action to be on constant repeat! My girls really warmed to Gabby, a positive, determined kid who’s not afraid to be herself and who loves cats, cooking, pretending and being with all of her friends. And now, my girls are playing out their own adventures with their very own DreamWorks Gabby's Purrfect Dollhouse.Standing at over 61cm tall, this fantastical kids' dollhouse is packed full of exciting features, including a Dollhouse Delivery Tower, working Cat-A-Vator and sounds and phrases from the show (including the catchy theme tune which you may well end up having on repeat in your head!) The girls have been busy re-enacting Gabby’s on screen adventures in our living room, role-playing the silly situations Gabby often finds herself in. With a 8.9cm Gabby Girl collectible figure, the set wouldn’t be complete without Gabby’s best animal pal, Pandy Paws, not to mention furniture for each room including a colourful sofa, a kitchen table that flips to swap between breakfast and tea, a slide for the playroom and a toilet with an added surprise (not as unpleasant as you may imagine!) There’s also added accessories and two Dollhouse Deliveries. Just like in the show, you can drop a delivery in the tower and then press a button to retrieve it. Needless to say, the girls have had great fun sending their own unexpected, surprise deliveries down the tower! The doll house is perfect for imaginative play and my six-year old daughter in particular has had hours of fun creating her own mini-dramas! My eldest at 8 is perhaps now a little too old for this set-up (I’m crying) but she has played along with her sister and it‘s lovely to see them laughing together at the antics they have Gabby and friends getting up to. I’d say the dollhouse is probably best suited to 5-7 year olds. The house wasn’t too difficult to put together with decent instructions. The room backgrounds are pieces of printed cardboard that you slot in - unfortunately, they don’t always stay in place and I have had to be on hand for quick repairs. Overall though, it is pretty sturdy and folds up neatly to be tidied away in a corner of the room. Definitely the kind of toy that stays out, not one that easily fits in a cupboard. The dollhouse does require batteries to hear the sounds. We initially thought that they would also power the lift but operating the cat-a-vator (the lift to transport Gabby and her pals from room to room) is something you have to do by hand. Understandable to me but perhaps not so much to smaller folk. At £69.99, Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse isn’t cheap but I’d say if you’ve got a fan of the show, it’s an investment. There’s lots of fun to be had and it would make for a cracking main birthday or Christmas present. The smiles and giggles that it could bring to your house would justify every penny. RRP £69.99Available from Smyths, Very and Amazon Rating: 4/5