Welcome to Dolly’s House (FANTASTIC): Make Yourself at Home and Find More Than Just Yourself
Title: Welcome to Dolly’s House
First Non-Festival Release: October 30, 2026 (Theatrical Release)
Director: Rady Fu, Tree Muta, Seven Ych
Writer: Rady Fu, Seven Ych
Runtime: 85 Minutes
Starring: Yao Ai-ning Teresa Daley, Hannah Quinlivan, Bruce Chiu, Tai Ping-ya
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2026. Please note that information on which actor plays which character was not released nor was publicly available prior to publishing this review.
Two disgraced influencers desperately try to curry public favor following an ill-advised proposal in a sacred shrine. Princess Maria, the bubblier of the two, seems to be on to something that will rebound public opinion on their channel while A-Yue sulks and focuses on his botany work and secretly cheating on her. After coming across a video of a girl seemingly disappearing into a city street, Princess Maria goes down a rabbit hole that connects the apparent supernatural phenomenon to Madame Dolly, a successful and reclusive doll maker who can sense energy in inanimate objects and communicate directly with dolls. When Princess Maria is invited to do an exclusive interview with Madame Dolly at her mansion, she jumps at the chance, unaware of the dangers lurking there and in her own life.
Welcome to Dolly’s House is a perfectly watchable yet generic Taiwanese ghost story.
Taiwan’s first major 2-D rotoscope film is a marvel in some ways and a chore in others. The animation is dazzling at times, tapping into the horrors and wonder of the world shaped by directors Rady Fu, Tree Muta, and Seven Ych. The design elements are top notch: the dolls, the mansion, etc. Everything looks beautiful and offers little insights into the characters with well-placed background details. Clearly, plenty of time went into making Welcome to Dolly’s House appear as visually appealing as possible to shore up its more whimsical and fantastical elements. It’s a stylish film with lovely messaging on autonomy and codependency that gets ravished by the unfocused story.
Unfortunately, this is where most of the positives end for Welcome to Dolly’s House. The mystery behind Princess Maria’s life is interesting but feels disjointed, especially the more the film unravels. Pondering her identity and doubting herself every step of the way, Princess Maria is treated poorly by her boyfriend but made to feel like she is the problem. Throughout the narrative, her desire to please others places other people’s needs above her own. It’s a great thought but doesn’t feel consequential in the end, especially when paired with A-Yue’s arc. The cracks of their relationship should create a more intense and compelling drama, but mostly comes off forced and silly, especially near the end once both transform into something entirely true to their characters.
The hold that Madame Dolly has over her colors her in a new way but doesn’t change her lack of agency. In fact, it solidifies it further, especially with the truth behind her past and her final acts of love. Madame Dolly’s initially opaque introduction leads to Princess Maria to both fascination and fear. This doesn’t stop her from trying to convince the Madame to give A-Yue a chance to impress her with his botanical creations for her upcoming party. The arc feels forced, especially with the hidden motivations of all the characters. In the end, the strings of these relationships and the complications that arise from them don’t amount to much of anything.
Smaller issues pile up that become harder to ignore. Strange, incomplete dialogue (likely a result of poor caption creation) add more confusion to the narrative. The voice acting varies from flat to over-indulgent making some of the tenser or more dramatic moments fall flat. Subplots are brought up and quickly abandoned without much thought. It sounds like nit-picking, but it really does contribute to the overall clunkiness of the story.
Welcome to Dolly’s House may not be the best of its kind but there’s enough heart to make it an easy, cozy watch. Beautiful animation and good intentions may not be enough to save a struggling story, but it does demonstrate that the foundational talent is there. For fans of animated horror and fantasy, Welcome to Dolly’s House is an entirely watchable, if flawed, ghost mystery.
Overall Score? 6/10
