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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20210106_152706.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Take us to the dollhouse! [[note]]'''Back row left to right:''' DJ Catnip, [=MerCat=], Gabby, Pandy Paws, Kitty Fairy, Carlita. '''Front row left to right:''' [=CatRat=], Pillow Cat, Baby Box, Cakey Cat, Mama Box[[/note]]]]
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4''Gabby's Dollhouse'' is a Creator/DreamWorksAnimation live action/animated preschool show that came out on January 5, 2021 on Creator/{{Netflix}}. It's created by Traci Paige Johnson (''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'') and Jennifer Twomey (''WesternAnimation/TeamUmizoomi'').
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6Gabby is an 11-year-old lover of anything related to cats. From her pet cat Floyd, to her fully-cat decked out room, almost everything she owns is related to cats, including an important toy: her dollhouse. Filled with various rooms, along with miniature toys of various cats, not only is it her favorite toy, she has a special connection to it.
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8Using her magical cat-ears headband, she's able to shrink herself, and her cat doll Pandy Paws, down to the size of the dollhouse. There, with an item she received earlier from the "Meow Meow Mailbox", she's able to interact with her now-living cat friends, with each episode focusing on the various citizens of the dollhouse.
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10A second season premiered on August 10, 2021, with the third season premiering October 19, 2021, the fourth season on February 1, 2022, the fifth season on July 25, 2022, the sixth season on November 1, 2022 and the eighth season on March 20, 2023. The seventh season premiered on August 7th of that year.
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12----
13!! Tropes associated with Gabby's Dollhouse:
14* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: While filming an adaptation of ''Literature/{{Goldilocks}}'', Baby Box, acting as the group's prop designer, misheard [=CatRat=]'s request for three beds as "three breads" and brings them three loaves of bread. When the group decide to use the bread as beds anyway, Pandy immediately latches onto "bread bed" as a fun thing to say and cannot simply say it once whenever it comes up.
15* AgelessBirthdayEpisode: One for Pandy.
16* AmateurFilmMakingPlot: Two in the same episode.
17** The episode begins with Gabby playing with Floyd and Pandy while she films it against a homemade background. The finished version is shown at the end of the episode.
18** The bulk of the episode is about the residents of the dollhouse making an adaptation of ''Literature/{{Goldilocks}}''. The movie gets derailed quickly due to Cakey not having any porridge, instead providing the cast with pancakes. Then, for the bedroom scene, Baby Box mishears [=CatRat=]'s request for beds as "bread". Lastly, they had changed the ending as Goldilocks bringing syrup for the bears' pancakes rather than just her stumbling onto their cottage.
19* AnimalEaredHeadband: Gabby wears a magical one that lets her shrink down into the dollhouse. It somewhat resembles Pandy Paws's ears in design.
20* AnimatedMusicVideo: "Dance Like a Gabby Cat" has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMeb5FxMECA music video]] that is fully animated in the web shorts' 2D animation style, with no live action like the show has.
21* ArtEvolution: in Season 1, DJ Catnip's eye shape stayed "cat-like", in season 2 onwards however, his eyes became more rounded in a few scenes
22* ArtShift: The [[https://youtu.be/np26DwQrPEI exclusive]] [[https://youtu.be/IMeb5FxMECA shorts]] are done in 2D animation.
23* BabySeeBabyDo: After getting his diaper changed, Benny Box does Baby Box's popping trick and says "Peekaboo", after so much time of seeing her using said trick to make Benny laugh.
24* BambooTechnology: Baby Box's shtick is arts and crafts, so her more complex builds tend to be little more than cardboard and paper covered in marker and blinking lights. However, these same builds achieve their purpose without proper structure or a power source, such as a burping machine for Itty Bitty Blossom or a hiccup machine for Gabby (which, when it fails, is revealed to simply be a decorated cardboard box with precisely ''one'' internal item which looks like a bar of metal; how the whole thing was vibrating is not apparent).
25* BathtubMermaid: [=MerCat=], having the bathroom as her domain in the dollhouse, often is in the bathtub as her main source of water. She's able to survive without water, but this is normally her introduction spot whenever she is needed.
26* BeachEpisode: One episode takes place on [=MerCat=]'s beach, where the cats introduce a [[ItMakesSenseInContext polar bear]] to beach fun.
27* BigEater: Pandy, with a sprinkle of ObsessedWithFood and TheSnackIsMoreInteresting depending on the availability of food. He occasionally gets caught snacking, although the others never really chide him for it. It should be noted that, despite his preoccupation, he does not normally let it get in his way.
28* TheBusCameBack: DJ Comet, who debutted on Season 5, comes back on season 6, and Lulli-loo, who debutted on Season 4, returns on Season 7. It was hinted that Fluffy Flufferton, who debutted in Season 4 too, was gonna return in Season 7, but it didn't happen. Pete the Polar Bear, who debuted in Season 2, also returns in Season 8.
29* ByThePowerOfGreyskull: Gabby uses a special incantation when using her cat ears to shrink:
30-->''A pinch on my left, pinch-pinch on my right, grab Pandy's hand and hold on tight!''
31* CallingYourBathroomBreaks: DJ Catnip excuses himself by saying he “needs a quick potty break” in “DJ’s Glow Ride”.
32* CastingGag:
33** Creator/TaraStrong as Kitty Fairy marks her second time as a [[WesternAnimation/{{Unikitty}} pink cat that is a hybrid with a mythical creature that has the ability of flight]].
34** Creator/JulietDonenfeld, Cakey's voice actress, was previously a [=DreamWorks=]-released cat character as the voice of [[WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower young Catra]].
35** Donovan Patton, [=CatRat=] voice actor, has previous experience as a theater kid who enjoys acting as a villain and playing [[WesternAnimation/BluesClues scavenger hunt games involving clues]].
36* CatsAreMagic: Kitty Fairy is a half-fairy kitty with nature magic that allows her to help the garden grow.
37* CatsAreSnarkers: [=CatRat=] is dry and snide towards the others, and is a bit of a know-it-all, [[JerkwithaHeartofGold but he has a nice heart deep down]].
38* CatsHateWater: Getting wet is one of the biggest things that [=CatRat=] detests.
39* ChekhovsGun: Happens in most of the episodes, but most prominently in the episode "DJ Catnip Gets His Groove Back" when the microphone that appears in that episode proves to be the key to restore DJ Catnip's groove.
40* ContinuityCavalcade: The season 6 episode "Dollhouse Dress-Up Chest" are basically sequels to "Mission to [=CATurn=]" and "[=CatRat=] the Bandit", with minor references to "Spaceship" and "Let's Make a Movie". This is, however, averted in one scene where Pandy doesn't seem familiar with a hand-cart (introduced in season 3), despite knowing about the events of later episodes.
41* CrazyPrepared: [=MerCat=]'s spa science and Kitty Fairy's garden magic tend to cover any number of needs which people would not foresee or have a practical solution for. Since the latter is magic-based and the former behaves like alchemy, it makes sense, although they've also been seen to fail on occasion.
42* {{Determinator}}: Gabby likes to see things through and often tells her cats that they aren't done yet when they start to get discouraged.
43* FakeInteractivity: Gabby is always talking to the audience in the live-action scenes. While in the dollhouse, the characters regularly ask the audience to help them choose the correct option or spot something in the room for them.
44* FlintstoneTheming: Most of the setting is covered in items which use a cat head or cat paw motif. In addition, the characters often substitute words with "cat" or "kitten" in common phrases, such as Pandy's CharacterCatchphrase "You've gotta be ''kitten'' me!".
45** Those items which are ''not'' cat-themed tend to be based on whichever cat owns it. This can be seen in the individual cats' paw prints. [=MerCat=] has seashell/star prints, DJ Catnip's looks like a CD player's controls, Baby Box's family all have distinctly rectangular prints, and so on.
46* FurryReminder: Of the "toy reminder" type. Pandy often says things which comment more on his status as a stuffed animal rather than a cat.
47* TheGlomp: Pandy Paws, when revealing himself from his hiding spot in the doll house, always reveals himself with a "hug attack" that he leaps at towards Gabby with. Gabby reverses this on his birthday, ambushing ''him'' instead.
48* HappyBirthdayToYou: It's sung in the birthday shorts on social media and in the episode "Pandy Paws' Birthday" however didn't get copyrighted.
49* HiccupHijinks: Episode 2 is appropriately [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Gabby Gets The Hiccups"]], where she ends up getting the hiccups. She's cured when being surprised by [=CatRat=], but then he gets hiccups.
50* HiddenDepths: Episode "[=CatRat=]'s Puzzle Hunt" reveals that DJ Catnip enjoys puzzles.
51* InstantFlightJustAddSpinning: DJ Catnip is seen being able to fly in "Kitty Fairy Gets Sick" via rotating his legs like helicopter rotors, his cousin, DJ Comet is seen doing this in "Mission to Caturn" in the Cat of the Day segment. (Thus, is safe to say only elastic kitties know and master this technique).
52* InSeriesNickname: DJ Catnip's full name is "Daniel James Catnip" (this is first mentioned in Gabby Cat Cam), but he almost always goes by DJ Catnip.
53* InTheHood: DJ Catnip is always seen with the hood of his hoodie up, so up to date, what he looks like with his hood down remains unknown
54* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [=CatRat=] is snarky and kind of lazy, but he also looks out for his friends.
55* KindheartedCatLover: Gabby fits the bill because of how much she cares for her cat friends. Her entire room is also filled with cat decor.
56* LimitedWardrobe: DJ Catnip wears his signature hoodie in pretty much every single episode (with an occassional accessory depending on the episode). But [[spoiler:in the season 5 halloween episode, he has a different colored hoodie]], and in the animation shorts, he wears different outfit, albeit hooded outfit (thus, we might never know how DJ Catnip looks like with his hood down)
57* LivingToys: All of the cats that reside in the dollhouse, along with Pandy Paws, are inanimate toys when Gabby is at her regular size. Whenever she shrinks down to go to the dollhouse, they come to life.
58* LogoJoke:
59** The Creator/{{Netflix}} logo is formed by Cakey leaping up in the air and letting sprinkles fall onto a cake, while an instrumental snippet of "Sprinkle Party" plays.
60** The Creator/DreamWorksAnimation logo has Gabby, in live action, pull out a cardboard cutout on a string of Pandy Paws sitting on the moon with the fishing pole. It fades into an animated version of him doing the same, as he pulls his line out of the water, now holding a starfish, as [=MerCat=] leaps out of the water.
61*** The model for the [=DreamWorks=] logo also makes a cameo in the episode where Gabby, dressed as one of the three little pigs, uses it to source her moon rocks.
62* LovesOnlyGold: "Shiny is mine-y." [=CatRat=] is almost immediately attracted to anything that shines and can cause or aggravate an episode's conflict by stealing something he isn't supposed to be messing with. Doesn't have to strictly be gold; he once grabbed a glitter globe of the dollhouse and was constantly shaking it in attempt to correct the figure inside, not realizing that he was mixing up pieces of the ''actual'' dollhouse every time he did so.
63* MacGyvering: Baby Box's builds which are not blatant BambooTechnology tend to be this. For instance, in rescuing [=CatRat=] from a spaceship floating out of reach, she makes a chain using pipe cleaners and wads of foil.
64** Gabby and Pandy also tend to improvise with whatever happens to be on-hand or in Pandy's bag. The above chain had no means of attaching to the spaceship, so Pandy stuck one of Cakey's sticky paw snacks to the end so that the frosting would adhere to the ship.
65* MeaningfulName: [=CatRat=]'s design features a scrawny body and long, skinny tail. He appears to live within the dollhouse's walls, getting around through various hidden holes in each room. He also has stereotypical features such as his JerkAss personality, greed, and cowardice, although these are largely downplayed in that he can also be quite decent and even nice in certain situations.
66** The other cats have similar names, being MixAndMatchCritters as listed below. The only regular who doesn't go by this principle, DJ Catnip, is instead named for his preoccupation with music.
67** The Doodads, cats composed of paper and pipe cleaners.
68* MediumBlending: Each episode starts and ends with a live-action scene in Gabby's room. When she goes into the dollhouse, the show switches to CGI.
69* MixAndMatchCritters: A lot of the cats are a blend of cats and an inanimate object:
70** Pandy Paws is a mix of a cat plushie and a panda plushie.
71** Cakey Cat is half cat, half cupcake.
72** [=MerCat=] is half cat, half mermaid.
73** Kitty Fairy is half cat, half fairy.
74** Pillow Cat is half cat, half pillow.
75** Carlita is half cat, half racecar.
76** Baby Box and her family are half cardboard creation, half cat.
77** The Hamster Kitties, as their name suggests, are half kitty, half hamster.
78* MultipleReferencePun: DJ Catnip invokes this trope in "DJ's Glow Ride"
79-->'''DJ Catnip''': Hey, Gabby, do you wanna play us some...''Tracks'' [[note]]the pun refer to both ''music'' tracks (because DJ is asking Gabby to play the trumpet) and ''train'' tracks (because upon playing music, the train track grow)[[/note]]
80* NiceGirl: Gabby is very selfless and always there for others.
81* NoAntagonist: Quite a few episodes rely on the characters just playing around or otherwise have something happen to the dollhouse that they have to correct. When there ''is'' personal conflict, it's because [=CatRat=] is letting some of his [[JerkAss personality]] get the better of him.
82** However, The Magical Mermaidlantis is the first episode where there's an antagonist that is not [=CatRat=]. Instead, the antagonist being Kitty Squiddy.
83* NobodyPoops:
84** You would expect this from a show in which one character points out that he's a stuffed animal and not a real cat, naturally concluding that most of the other characters, being plastic toys and homemade crafts, would not need one, Gabby being the sole exception. However, “DJ’s Glow Ride” features DJ Catnip suddenly needing to use the toilet. (alternatively, he could've wanted to pee) Also subverted by the regular use of the bathroom as a backdrop, which includes a visible toilet right next to the tub.
85** Averted in Benny Box’s debut episode, which features him pooping in his diaper and getting changed by [=MerCat=].
86* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Most of the characters are animated with very smooth movement. However, at some point in the show, Baby Box and her family have been altered so that their animation occurs in jumps or at a slower frame rate. Given that Baby Box is an incarnation of homemade arts and crafts, this may be to imitate StopMotion animation to fit her role.
87* ObstructiveBureaucrat: [=CatRat=] behaves as one during the BeachEpisode, halting the group's fun by shouting "beach situation" just so he can enforce a list of rules. It mostly comes across as nit-picky (must wear a bathing suit and apply sunscreen), but he shows he's also trying to help the group have fun by enforcing a "rule" about being required to take a picture as a keepsake.
88* TheOlympics: The Meow-Mazing Games, in which Gabby, Pandy, Carlita, and [[FakeInteractivity you]] go against the Doodads for a three-game competition, the hosts/announcers are [=CatRat=] and DJ Catnip.
89* PaletteSwap: So far, this trope applies to 5 Gabby Cats: Kitty Fairy, Cakey, DJ Catnip, Fluffy Flufferton and [=MerCat=]. For example
90** The fairies in The Fairy Festival all are just palette swaps of Kitty Fairy
91** In "Cakey's Cupcake Cousins" Cakey's cousins are just smaller palette swaps of Cakey
92** In "Mission to Caturn", we meet DJ Catnip's cousin DJ Comet. DJ Comet is just a version of DJ Catnip with a white hoodie with a purple pocket and pale green skin (and a transparent visor).
93** In "A CAT-abulous Christmas" Figgy and the kitty elves are palette swaps of both of Fluffy's designs, with Figgy being a palette swap of Fluffy's initial "pefectionist" look, and the other kitty elves being palette swaps of Fluffy's fluffier, new "Mistake-embracing" look.
94** And in Season 8 (Specifically episodes "The Magical Mermaidlantis" and "The Mermaid Cruise) Sunny Cat and all the other mermaids are palette swaps of MerCat. Except that Sunny Cat wears a sun in her head instead of a sea star, while the other mermaids don't wear any head accessory.
95* PerfectlyCromulentWord: Pillow Cat's use of the word "coodle" in place of "cuddle", which the other characters occasionally use.
96* PottyDance: DJ Catnip is shown with his paws grabbing the front of his hoodie and hopping up and down with his legs together while declaring he needs a bathroom break in “DJ’s Glow Ride”.
97* PottyEmergency: DJ Catnip has a brief one in “DJ’s Glow Ride”. Thankfully, Gabby, Pandy and him are already ''in'' the bathroom when he announces this, so he just darts offscreen to do his business.
98* ProneToTears: Cakey tends to start crying whenever something happens to him or the kitchen.
99* RiddleForTheAges: In "DJ Catnip Gets His Groove Back" is never revealed how exactly did DJ Catnip lose his groove to begin with.
100** We also might never know how DJ Catnip looks like with his hood down.
101* RogerRabbitEffect: A few episodes have scenes taking place outside the dollhouse while characters are still active, meaning they're animated in a live action setting, often with real-life cat Floyd around.
102* RubberMan: The Dollhouse's resident music expert, Daniel James 'DJ' Catnip, has elastic legs and tail that can stretch to grab instruments or to activate his DJ console from outside his DJ booth.
103* RuleOfThree: Or rather, Rule of ''Four''. Unlike most children's cartoons, some episodes have a four-part structure (for example, four ingredients for a potion).
104** Played straight in Season 7 episode "Carlita the Ice Cream Truck" as a running gag when Pandy makes use of his ice-cream scooper and get called a "Super-Duper Scooper".
105* RunningGag: Cakey's above-mentioned ProneToTears personality + TastyTears = Pandy snitching sprinkles before helping to solve Cakey's problem.
106* {{Sleepyhead}}: Pillow Cat, fitting her nature as part pillow and having the bedroom as her living area, is often seen asleep.
107* ShortScreentimeForReality: While the series is set in the animated world of Gabby's titular dollhouse, Gabby's bedroom is all we'll ever see of the real world.
108* {{Squee}}: Gabby does this in several episodes of Season 8. (and in the Season 4 episode "Fluffy Flufferton")
109* TastyTears: Cakey's tears are made up of sprinkles, something Pandy enjoys eating. He admits though that Cakey's "sprinkle party" sprinkles, the ones he releases when he's happy, are tastier, however.
110* TokenHuman: Gabby is the only human character in the show.
111* TriumphantReprise: The season 3 episode "DJ Catnip Gets His Groove Back" ends with DJ Catnip singing a victory reprise of his song "The Music In You" upon getting his groove back, thanking his friends for helping him getting it back.
112* UnintentionalBackupPlan: Pillow Cat's CatchPhrase is "Let's roll with it". Gabby and Pandy are also just as inclined to stick with an improvised item or situation rather than force one of their friends to redo their craft, often simply because the results are much more fun.
113-->'''Pandy Paws:''' Bread bed, bread bed, bread bed, bread bed...

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