Favourite modern Barbie movies
She's a super modern ultra graphic Barbie girl
Welcome back to the Fort! My friends and I have been having weekly Barbie movie watch parties recently. It's allowed me to see the modern Barbie movies which I haven't seen before. Even though fans of the original Barbie movies like to say that the modern ones lack in quality, I found myself enjoying quite a few of them. Grab some hair chalk and let's put chunky pink highlights into our hair as we talk about them!
Sidenote: the Barbie movies which I consider modern are the ones made from 2010 onwards, with the exception of Barbie In A Mermaid Tale because it is the last one to have been dubbed in Croatian, so I have seen it as a kid. And yes, I love it.
Barbie In A Mermaid Tale 2
I said the first one was a classic for me, though I haven't seen the sequel before. It took me by surprise how much I've enjoyed it! It expands Oceania, establishing it as a matriarchy, presenting its history, and a bit of its political structure with all the ambassadors.
The events of Mermaid Tale 2 are set a year after the first movie. Merliah is now famous internationally as a surfer in the human world, as well as the beloved princess in Oceania. The great level of fame in both her worlds comes with responsibilities towards her career and royal status. This movie shows us the first time when those responsibilities start yanking her to opposite sides. I liked seeing how she acts in this situation.
The bond between Merliah and her surfing rival Kylie is the best part of the movie. At first, Merliah is playfully butting heads with Kylie, while Kylie is more hostile towards her. Throughout the movie, they are forced to exist in an environment far from the world of competitive sports and develop a beautiful bond as a result. I was really hoping for a rivals-to-lovers arc here, but Mattel would have not given us that in 2012. Still, the vibes are there and nothing can change my head-canon.
Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale
The vibes of this movie are peak! I truly don't give a shit what anyone else says. We are in the Swiss Alps with horses and goats. The environments are gorgeous and the writing is actually funny!
Honestly, the plot of Pony Tale is nothing spectacular. Barbie and her sisters come to their aunt's riding school for a month. Once there, they each face their own issues, which result in the movie feeling a bit disjointed. Each of the sisters' subplots eventually connects to one end-goal, but it does so at a weird pace.
The main plot is not why I enjoy this movie. Rather, I love the tender, emotional moments between each of the characters and the horses. I adore the school's teacher, Etienne. His French rage gets me every time, but so does his connection to horses. Some of that connection has an influence on Barbie's own relationship with horses As a result, we get to see so many touching moments between her and her majestic horse. The little lullaby in French makes me tear up!
The comedy in this movie is gold. Barnaby the goat is wonderful. Also, Barbie is very much Barbie with her connection to the most special horse and her hot pink van, but there's a dash of reality to her. Also I am fully convinced that one of Barbie's little cousins is a trans boy. It may be yet another head-canon but it's one that I firmly believe in!
Barbie: The Pearl Princess
I guess I just like it when Barbie does mermaids. Somehow, the underwater environments in Barbie movies have always been stunning to me. From Mermaidia, to The Mermaid Tale, to The Pearl Princess. They make me want to jump into the water and play pretend.
Throughout The Pearl Princess we follow Lumina, a young mermaid who dreams of seeing the royal palace some day. She lives a secluded life with her aunt Scylla and best friend Coda. Unbeknownst to her, Scylla has a past as a sea-witch. (or a hag in this case). That past is now knocking on her door and she is blackmailed into attempting to poison the king at a royal ball in the palace. Lumina seizes the opportunity when Scylla loses her invitation to the ball, and follows her.
Barbie: The Pearl Princess gets dark! There's talk of killing, blackmail, kidnapping. Nothing is sugar-coated. That's why I like it. Its story leans more towards one of a classic Barbie movie, like The Island Princess or The 12 Dancing Princesses, than towards the newer movies where the stakes are not as high. The main villains were also reminiscent of the older movies. All in all, this movie feels like coming home. Additionally, it was such a pleasant surprise to see an elderly mermaid at all, never mind being such a huge character!
One of the very few thing which I dislike is the straight romance that was tacked on almost at the end. Lumina and her prince have no chemistry at all. I would have loved it if she got more screentime with her co-workers from the salon instead. Fergus's can be the main romance! He's a much better male character than the prince anyway.
Wrapping it up
These movies are in no particular order. They are just the first favourites that I rewatched since the watch parties. There are a few more modern Barbie movies which I love and could make a post about. Also I have yet to see Charm School so don't come for me XD
Thank you for hanging out in the Fort and yapping about Barbie! I really loved giving these movies their flowers. It's way overdue. I hope you enjoyed it too! Let me know your thoughts about the modern era of the Barbie Cinematic Universe in the comments and we'll continue yapping. See you next time!
Dorian
The blog’s header and the drawing featured atop this post were made by @ambybun on Instagram
The DVD cover featured on the drawing was made by me