Barbie: Princess Charm School (2011)
Synopsis: Blair Willows, a teenager working as a waitress to support her family, is surprised to find out that she's won a lottery to attend Princess Charm School in the kingdom of Gardania. At this school, girls learn how to become princesses or royal ladies. Blair struggles to find her place at first but slowly finds her footing with the help of her new friends and fairies. While exploring the castle, Blair and her friends find a painting of young Queen Isabella who died in a car crash. They notice how Blair resembles the late queen and try to find out more about the mysterious missing heiress to the throne.
Review: This is my absolute favorite Barbie movie! It's one of few movies that I've also rewatched. It's one of my favorites because it has the common girl to royalty trope and also just because it was my dream to be a princess when I was younger. The movie focuses on Blair's struggle to fit in but also the great friends she makes along the way. There's also a redemption arc for one of the "villains" which I also loved.
Barbie and the Three Musketeers (2009)
Synopsis: Corinne d'Artagnan (played by Barbie) dreams of being a musketeer just like her father once was. Her journey to the castle to become a musketeer doesn't play out as expected, but she is instead given an opening when she's hired as a palace maid. After a scary incident involving a falling chandelier and Prince Louis (the future King), Corinne and the other maids find out that they all have the same lifelong dream to become musketeers. They are taken in by Helen, an old maid, who begins to train the four girls to become musketeers. Corinne, Viveca, Aramina, and Renee uncover Philippe's evil plan to kill his cousin Prince Louis in order to become king. They are all kicked out of the castle when they try to tell someone about Philippe's plan. Corinne and the three musketeers are determined and create disguises to sneak into the ball. Corinne and the girls are able to save the day as well as Louis's life.
Review: This movie is another one of my favorites. I love the power and determination that these girls had. I was also in love with their outfits and weapons when I was younger. Also "all for one, and one for all!" is just kind of iconic. I also loved the feature of Miette, the brave kitten who aspires to be a mus-cat-eer.
Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale (2010
Synopsis: After being fired from her film and being dumped by her boyfriend Ken, Barbie escapes to Paris to visit her aunt Millicent who runs a fashion house. Barbie learns that her aunt's fashion house is going out of business and the building is being turned into a "Hotdogeteria." Millicent's assistant, Alice, tells Barbie about the magical creatures who apparently live in the attic. They summon the magical creatures, known as the "Flairies" (Shine, Shimmer, and Glimmer), who can enhance fashion designs. Barbie and Alice decide to put one a fashion show to try to save Millicent's fashion business. Jacqueline, a rival designer, finds out about the Flairies and kidnaps them to enhance her designs. Barbie and company are able to save the flairies and they jazz up the outfits that Millicent was inspired to create. Jacqueline's fashion show is a disaster as the flairies' magic backfires and rots the clothing. The audience moves over to Millicent's fashion show and are amazed by the collection. Barbie is able to model an outfit and the flairies help her to have a magical transformation. The audience is wowed and their support is able to finance Millicent's fashion house.
Review: As a hopeful fashion designer when I was younger, I absolutely loved the idea of designing clothing and having helpful magical fairies. I also still get a kick out of the Ken storyline which feels very modern when I look back on the movie. The flairies are a huge part of the movie and I still love the transformations that they were able to create. For Paris is a total. Paris is the ceiling of the human race. The whole of this prodigious city is a foreshortening of dead manners and living manners. He who sees Paris thins the pègre, its cockney is the native of Ghent. Everything that exists elsewhere exists at Paris.
