Franco Kids Bedding Super Soft Comforter and Sheet Set, 5 Piece Full Size, Gabby's Dollhouse

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The Music Room: Always dreamt to be a cool kid and play with a band? Time to get loud and try all kinds of instruments: piano, xylophone and mixing board await! Join DJ Catnip and make all your musical dreams come true!

Layered on top of the show’s old-school inspirations are references to internet phenomena, such as cute cat videos. (At one point Johnson and Twomey decided to “catify everything”, says Twomey. Almost everything on set has little ears – “the toaster’s catified, the refrigerator’s catified” – which has proved useful for merchandising). Another inspiration was something many parents dislike: YouTube unboxing videos. Yes, says Twomey, the endless clips of children opening toys can feel “a little creepy” – but the videos resonate with kids. “Then it was like, well, who doesn’t love to open presents? What’s better than that? So how do we make this … not creepy?” The idea was to “make that more story based, more narrative”. The show has generated a toy industry to make Barney weep. Photograph: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for DreamWorks Animation

Open the box to find a Pillow Cat collectible figure, three furniture pieces, a stuffed kitty accessory, plus two Dollhouse Delivery boxes with two more surprise accessories. Just like Gabby does at the beginning of each episode, unbox your special Dollhouse Deliveries and discover the set’s mystery accessories: a book that opens and a sleep mask that Pillow Cat can really wear. Slide the mask onto his head, pretend to turn off the kitty lamp on the bedside table and place Pillow Cat and his stuffed kitty on the bed for a cat nap. The reassuring-ness of Gabby’s Dollhouse, for preschoolers themselves, is particularly clear in the moments when Gabby breaks the fourth wall to ask viewers for help on her quest (“tell me when you see the pink mermaid’s tail!”) and thanks her tiny disciples afterwards. What preschoolers want emotionally from a show, says Johnson, “is to be heard. That’s what we’ve learned on Blue’s Clues – if you look at the camera, and you wait for a pause, it’s like, ‘Ah, I’m here. I’m invited. They’re being seen and they’re being played with.’” There is always one seat left free at the table, where the camera is positioned. The idea, says Johnson, is that viewers “automatically feel like you belong. And you’re welcome here. And we want to play with you.” Meet the cutest kitties ever: Pandy, Cakey, MerCat, DJ Catnip, Baby Box, Carlita, Kitty Fairy and Pillow Cat. Try, test and learn: Make as many fun experiments as you like - nothing can go wrong in Gabby’s Dollhouse! The Playroom: Let’s go for a ride with Carlita and her outgoing personality. Race around the playroom, build castles, play basketball or even tennis! Games galore in the playroom!

Use it with the Bakey with Cakey Kitchen and MerCat’s Primp and Pamper Bathroom (each sold separately) to build up your own Gabby’s Dollhouse world. Plus, you can even slide the room right into Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse (sold separately) for more ways to play out your dollhouse adventures.

For all of its wholesomeness, Gabby’s Dollhouse is also a brand targeted towards an era in which only the strongest IP will survive – from DreamWorks Animation’s earliest involvement, says the company’s head of TV development, Teri Weiss, who commissioned the show, it was “a franchise, not just a TV show – a capital-F franchise” with toys and other brand extensions marketed hard. A giant mascot version of Gabby already appears as an attraction at Universal Studios in Florida, with more Gabby planned for the forthcoming DreamWorks Land, which will open there next year. Gabby wears cat ears, sings cheerful songs about science and says things like ‘miaow-mazing’. Photograph: DreamWorks

Dr Maya Lennon, a children’s media and Stem researcher, believes that the quality of the shows kids watch is paramount. She is pro-Gabby’s in part because it encourages co-viewing and parental involvement, and in part for its representation. A lot of preschool TV characters tend to be male, plus, “I love the fact that she’s a brown girl,” says Lennon of Kraner, who has a Dominican father and Russian Jewish mother. “There isn’t a lot of representation of children of color in preschool shows and representation is just so important,” she says. The Bedroom: Cuddle up with Pillow Cat, hear your favorite bedtime story, play dress up with your cat friends! You hope that the idiosyncrasy – and the sense, among parents, that this is a show first and not a vehicle for the sales of toys – will survive the turbo Franchise treatment long term. The kids are 100% with her. She’s that aspirational, cool role model, the ultimate babysitter.’ Photograph: DreamWorksThe Fairy garden: Follow Kitty Fairy to her garden of wonders with the most enchanting activities from star drawing to singing with flowers! Still, Johnson says she and Twomey aren’t too involved in the toys. They do have “world Gabbification” in mind, but they are not talking about the bottom line. “It’s very powerful, our position of creating children’s media – we take it seriously,” says Johnson, pointing out that as adults, we tend to remember the shows we loved as kids. One day Gabby’s fans will grow up, she says, and when they err they may find themselves saying “whoopsie, I made a mistake”, she says, slipping into song. “OK. Like: that’s cool. Our plan is working!” Play through 7 colorful cat-themed rooms: the dreamy bedroom, the bubbly bathroom, the cozy craft room, the sweet kitchen, the colorful playroom, the funky music room and the magic “fairy tail” garden. Get ready for a cosy night in with Pillow Cat in the Gabby’s Dollhouse Sweet Dreams Bedroom. This deluxe Gabby’s Dollhouse playset is filled with fun details and surprises to explore, bringing the magical room from the show to life. Guests attend a Gabby’s Dollhouse event on 12 November in Los Angeles. Photograph: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for DreamWorks Animation