It’s the most wonderful place on earth – the bobblehead museum, where millions of goofy little pop culture icons live together on shelves, flooded with sunlight. It’s a world that, in the words of director Kirk Wise and co-writer Lawrence Kasanoff, is “the land of opportunity.” And it’s also where fans vote on their favorite bobbleheads — the ones they can’t live without, from hometown heroes like LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes to their beloved athletes like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Aaron Rodgers (they have more than one of the latter).
This family-friendly comedy follows a group of misfit bobblehead toys who must defend their home from two trashy human intruders who want to swap their most valuable baseball player bobblehead for something a little less pricey. Starring Jennifer Coolidge, Luke Wilson, Karen Fukuhara, Brenda Song, Khary Peyton, Julian Sands and Academy Award-winner Cher, Bobbleheads is a heart-warming adventure about fulfilling a toy’s simple purpose: to bring joy.
As is often the case with movies based on popular toys, this one tries to replicate some of the magic found in The Lego Movie and Toy Story. But it fails to capitalize on the key aspect of both films — that their characters are not only endearing and funny, but they also speak to something larger than themselves. That’s missing here, and even the appearance of Cher isn’t enough to save this one.