Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar

This one is interesting to say the least as it's kind of a spin-off to one of the second generation Barbie movies, The Princess and the Pauper, which is obviously based on the Mark Twain novel The Prince and the Pauper about an upper class prince & lower class pauper switching places due to their very similar physical appearances & both realizing each other's lives aren't all they crack up to be. Like the previous Barbie movie mentioned, this is obviously a musical & thankfully in this one, Kelly Sheridan doesn't voice both Barbie characters (what was the point in the Princess and the Pauper? They sounded exactly the same despite having completely different singing voices!) in this one. So can this film show that princesses and popstars can respect the original Mark Twain novel, or is this just another cashgrabber like the Princess & the Pauper? Let's find out!

Story: This one is kind of like the source material & the Princess & the Pauper & honestly, they don't do much to make it feel refreshing, except having the main characters be a princess and a popstar & the conflict involving the popstar's evil manager trying to steal some diamond plant which keeps the kingdom alive or something. Yeah, it's not explained very well. However, I will say the romance subplot isn't the main focus at all compared to The Princess and the Pauper where the romance was essentially the main theme of the film & it is nice to see Tori & Keira's friendship, despite their different backgrounds. It is also nice to see Tori realize how much of her kingdom really is in danger due to financial troubles & actually shows that being a princess means more than the pretty dresses or upper class lifestyle. But other than that though, the story does absolutely nothing to make it feel new or fresh, and does nothing to respect the original book. Overall, it's just OK. Not good, not bad, just meh.

 

 

Animation: I'll give it this. The animation is actually improving, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's good. The character designs, again, are more polished & this time round, they've greatly improved the designs of the men. The texturing has been greatly improved on the environments and the backgrounds, which by the way also look creative around the kingdom of Maribella & surprisingly look quite vast & the place where the diamond plant is hidden looks pretty good with all the leaves and trees. Also, the costumes look very creative despite all the pink and purple colour schemes and to their credit, the texturing and movement of the cloth is also creative. I will also give them credit the rendering of the special effects is better than other attempts. Overall, the animation is a big improvement over the past Barbie movies, even if it's a bit sub par for direct to DVD standards.

 

Characters: Tori & Keira are essentially the same character, in that they're tired of the responsibilities of their respective jobs & want to do their own thing, which leads to them switching places & realizing the former's life isn't all that it's cracked up to be. They're not really the best Barbie characters I've seen, but their friendship is kind of nice to watch. Seymour, Keira's manager is just the cliched over the top villain that just wants money from the secret plant in Tori's castle & had a successful career as a child singer until puberty started to kick in. Probably one of the weakest Barbie villains ever thanks to his goofy & surprisingly camp deameanour. Aunt Amelia is the other antagonist that is just over the top & snobby telling Tori that she should act more mature for her age & be a proper princess. As for the side characters, they're pretty much cliched like Tori's sisters are big Keira fangirls who are aware of the switch which was pretty obvious in their eyes and Prince Liam is entirely useless besides being the love interest for the very underdeveloped romance between him & Keira as Tori which ends unresolved. Oh yeah, and Vanessa and Riff are the cliched talking animal sidekicks, but at least Riff accurately acts like a puppy & they're not as annoying as Wolfie & Serafina from The Princess & the Pauper.

 

Songs: The songs are mostly pop versions of other songs or original ones, & to their credit, they're pretty good! The first song Here I Am is surprisingly pretty catchy & eventually becomes a mash-up with a version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun called Princesses Just Wanna Have Fun, which is also pretty catchy. I Wish I Had Her Life if OK, if not generic with the lyrics & pop motif. Oddly enough, the third song is a version of To Be A Princess from The Princess & the Pauper but sung by Tori & Keira about being each other & is modernized & it made me remember the original song from the movie mentioned. Then there's a version of Perfect Day from Legally Blonde, but to their credit they do respect the original & I admit, I was singing along to it as it brought back nostalgia of the former movie! Look How High We Can Fly is pretty generic with the lyrics as well, but the melody is pretty good in itself. The rest of the songs are either other versions of the other songs like Tori singing Here I Am & Perfect Day or a medley at the end of the movie with most of the songs & is also pretty catchy.

 

Overall, this is just OK with a generic story, improving animation, some good & bad characters & pretty catchy songs. If I had to recommend this to anyone, it would probably be those that like either the other Barbie films (obviously), in particular The Princess & the Pauper from the second generation, or those that like Hannah Montana for the girly pop star motif in the movie.
Story: 4/10
Animation: 5/10
Characters: 5/10
Songs: 7/10
Overall: 5/10