Now that I'm done with the second generation Barbie movies, let's get into the third generation, which hasn't finished yet, so I'll be reviewing all of them up to The Pearl Princess, the most recent one that has been released! This generation is significantly different as these movies are all in modern settings and are more fashion orientated, rather than being based on fairy tale fantasies with princesses and being set in olden times, as well as the animation style being considerably different. And just so you know, this is actually the second time a Barbie character has been a mermaid after that awful Fairytopia sequel! Anyway, will this movie be able to show that Barbie can be as good as ripping some waves, or is as bad & sickly as accidentally drinking too much sea water? Let's find out!
Story: The main story overall, is a bit generic. It's about Merliah, a teenage surfer queen who is also half mermaid and has to save her mother from her evil aunt in her underwater kingdom despite wanting a normal life. Yeah, pretty obvious what's gonna happen even if it has something called character development (albeit, poorly done)!The rest is just a typical quest plot as she has to find the objects to save her mother, even if we get to see more of Oceana and the pacing is really off! As for the humour...it's filled with agonising fish and ocean puns like 'Bloomingtails', 'Fred Seagull', 'Deep Sea 3 Player' and I'm not joking, 'pufferazzi!' None of the them work, none of them are funny, this is as bad as Shark Tale, if not worse! This is even in the soundtrack, including Swimming on Sunshine! However, at times like the beginning it can be self aware about how crazy the premise is and Merliah being revealed to be half mermaid, but it's not. And I will say this time round it does do better in explaining the world of Oceana compared to something like Barbie Presents Thumbelina, but it's mostly told through Zuma. Other than that, the plot is still a bit messy & generic.
Animation: I'll give it this, the animation is slightly better than the second generation. The character designs are still the same in that they have the same model but with different hair colours/styles & eyes & clothes etc, but they're given a bit more variety this time round. As for the fish....eww! They just look creepy like in Shark Tale, as well as the fact that it looks like the characters are floating on air rather than swimming underwater! The backgrounds, specifically the kingdom of Oceana (yeah, great name! Just removing the I out of Oceania!) while still poorly rendered as well as the effects & textures in general (especially with water, which is very inconsistent throughout), do look a bit more creative despite the advertising everywhere. I will say the character animation is better and it's clear they've improved a bit of textures like the hair and skin (in particular with bone structure despite the unrealistically skinny bodies) The animation is a bit better, but it's still bad even by direct to video standards!
Characters: Merliah is pretty much an average teen who loves to surf, but is also revealed to be half mermaid princess and has to save her long lost mother and the people of Oceana from her evil aunt Eris, despite the fact she wants a normal life. Yeah, you can obviously predict she changes her mind, but at least it's a form of character development, even though she personally got on my nerves a bit with believing everything to be crazy despite the fact she, oh I don't know, TALKED TO A FREAKING TALKING DOLPHIN BEFOREHAND AND WAS BREATHING UNDERWATER! Eris is just a pathetic and non intimidating villain who somehow has power over everyone in Oceana despite being like a bratty egotistical child the whole time! Zuma is a pink dolphin who is nothing more than a comedy relief/animal sidekick character and just gives annoying exposition! Fallon, Hadley, Kayla & Xylie are all just there to be Merliah's friends & all have no personality whatsover besides being valley girls/surfer 'dudettes'! Callissa, Merliah's mother, would be an interesting character if it weren't for the fact that she barely appears and is nothing more than your nice queen/loving mother archetype. The same can apply for Break (probably the weirdest names I've ever heard for a guy!) Merliah's grandfather, as he's the one who raised Merliah & knew everything about her true heritage! The characters are still the same one dimensional selves only being classified by one personality trait, but they're not hateable & at least the protagonist is given some sort of development even if it's poorly done!
Overall, this is a bit better as a first attempt of the third generation formula, with a pretty bad story with better explanation, improved animation while still being pretty bad & underwritten & one dimensional characters! I'm not really sure who I can recommend this to, and if you want a good animated movie involving mermaids, then go & watch Disney's The Little Mermaid! It's better written, has likeable characters & gorgeous animation, even if it was released 25 years ago!
Story: 3/10
Animation: 4/10
Characters: 3/10
Overall: 3/10
Now that I'm done with the second generation Barbie movies, let's get into the third generation, which hasn't finished yet, so I'll be reviewing all of them up to The Pearl Princess, the most recent one that has been released! This generation is significantly different as these movies are all in modern settings and are more fashion orientated, rather than being based on fairy tale fantasies with princesses and being set in olden times, as well as the animation style being considerably different. And just so you know, this is actually the second time a Barbie character has been a mermaid after that awful Fairytopia sequel! Anyway, will this movie be able to show that Barbie can be as good as ripping some waves, or is as bad & sickly as accidentally drinking too much sea water? Let's find out!
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