So I'm writing my thesis paper on the downfall of Barbie films, and it's really killing me that none of these IMDb reviews are showing ages. I have to know if these recent films are hitting their target audience (kids 3-6, probably girls) or not. (I'm 21, BTW, and an animation student/writer.)
I believe they are because all the critical reviews sound like they're from older people, and I'm pretty sure kids 3-6 think this is a cool movie and don't care about the narrative deficiencies and lack of emotional storytelling techniques in Barbie Princess Adventure.
Let's be real, people who aren't 3-6, this movie is not for us. Mattel does not care about making their movies palatable for people outside their target demographic. Assuming skilled writers cost more, they're totally cutting costs where it doesn't matter.
But that's not stopping me from watching it, so let's roast the crap out of Barbie Princess Adventure.
This is yet another movie trying to chase after the glory of Princess and the Pauper, but I don't think the writers understand that the popularity of Princess and the Pauper is NOT due to the switching places trope, but because of the masterful storytelling (and Preminger, of course). This movie does NOT have those things.
It preaches the theme of "being yourself" but offers no concrete evidence of the characters experiencing that. Barbie is perfect. She literally performed a complex horse show involving acrobatics with no prior preparation. Amelia is boring. She keeps saying that she needs to "be herself" and that she has opinions and dreams, but NEVER in the entire 1 hour and 12 minute films does she EVER tell us what they are. Ever. All she does is walk around in a park, and she's on screen for maybe 10 minutes in total.
At the end she says she's ready to be queen, but sis--all you did is walk around in a park!!!
The only concrete thing we know about Amelia is that she likes all the ice cream flavors, and that's only because she TOLD us, like she TELLS literally everything else about herself!!! (Okay but I have to give credit where it's due, the beginning where she chooses the plain necklace over the fancy one is decent, but that's the only instance of showing instead of telling that I can think of.)
The message of this film is admirable, but it feels vague and preachy because neither of the main characters actually experience anything concrete relating to the theme. That is why it feels meh, despite it trying so hard to be inspiring. Because there's no heart to this and no emotion. The characters don't struggle, and there is no reason to empathize with them.
And the environments are ugly. What the heck were the concept artists thinking when they designed that castle???? And the outfits are also garbage. Early 2000s Barbie movies had wack animation but at least they made an effort to make their designs appealing.
Ugh, anyway. Sadly the two films after this aren't any better. I don't think Barbie is gonna have any good films for a while.
