♫Hey, Gabby! Take us to the dollhouse!♫
Dreamworks’ animated preschool series Gabby’s Dollhouse follows kitty enthusiast Gabby and her best fur-end Pandy Paws — along with her other feline friends — as they shrink down into a spectacular dollhouse and team up for some magical, tiny adventures. There’s always time for a song in Gabby’s dollhouse, and eKids is encouraging fans ages 3 and up to join in with the Gabby’s Dollhouse Sing-Along Boombox.
This battery-powered boombox is a miniature version of the dollhouse from the series, displaying the same pink-and-green color scheme and facade in a portable format. It also has cat-themed features, including the roof, windows, door, and buttons. Kids can see a sticker of Gabby and Pandy Paws in the doorway, with Gabby wearing her magical cat ears.
The boombox has four windows that slide up, each one displaying the room of one of Gabby’s cat companions. There’s Mercat’s Primp and Pamper Bathroom, Baby Box’s Craft Room, Cakey’s Kitchen, and Pillow Cat’s Sweet Dreams Bedroom. While kids can’t open the dollhouse and visit the rooms, sliding the windows open triggers voice effects of Gabby talking to the characters.
Kids can press the music button on the front of the dollhouse to play “Hey Gabby” (the Gabby’s Dollhouse theme song). Then, it’s time for a sing-along! To turn on the microphone, kids will have to make sure the boombox is on before they press the microphone button on the front. It will make a squeaking sound to let them know that it is turned on. Once the microphone is on, kids can press the music button and sing along.
There is a slider underneath the handle that changes the volume of the microphone and the speaker across three levels: low, medium, and high. While kids can turn the volume way up high for an afternoon of singing and dancing, they can also switch it back to low for quieter playtime. The volume slider affects the microphone, too. Turning it to the high option makes the microphone more sensitive and raises the volume of kids’ voices. Alternatively, the microphone does have some trouble picking up voices on the low setting. I recommend the medium setting, which really is the best of both worlds.
Parents will appreciate that kids can take this boombox on the go. It features an integrated carry handle in the back, making it easy for kids to move it wherever they want to have their next sing-along. The microphone also attaches to the boombox for storage via a hook on the side. It is also connected to the boombox by a wire, so parents won’t have to worry about kids losing it.
With the Gabby’s Dollhouse Sing-Along Boombox, kids are sure to have some paws-itively musical meow-ments!
