STX Entertainment, Alibaba Pictures Team for Even More UglyDolls

Get ready for more UglyDolls. The feature film based on David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim’s plush dolls opens on May 3, and STX Entertainment entered into an agreement with Alibaba Pictures to co-finance and co-produce even more UglyDolls content. In addition to the feature film, an animated series is already on deck for Hulu, and Hasbro has taken the reigns as master toy partner. The partnership envisions UglyDolls as a full-fledged global IP with franchise content spread across multiple licensees and formats.

The road to the big screen has been a long one for the brand, which launched in 2001 and was named as Specialty Toy of the Year in the Toy Association’s Toy of the Year Awards in 2006. A feature film was initially set up at Universal/Illumination in 2011 before ultimately landing with STX.

Alibaba Pictures is considered a gateway to the growing Chinese entertainment market, a division of its namesake e-commerce giant.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.