If you were to ask me what some of my favorite childhood movies were, Barbie would make several appearances. Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper? Iconic. The Barbie Diaries? Hilarious. Barbie Fairytopia and Mermaidia made me want my own Bibble. But Barbie of Swan Lake? Well, that one was forgotten. I had a VHS of Barbie of Swan Lake way back in the day, but when the VHS player broke, I stopped watching it. It’s been many, many years since I’ve watched Barbie of Swan Lake, but for some reason, I felt the urge to watch it. As a 19 year old, I’m definitely not the target demographic for Barbie movies, and my watching experience was…peculiar.
When I was cueing up Barbie of Swan Lake on Youtube, I thought I knew what to expect. Not only were Barbie movies a staple in my childhood, but every summer, I watch some classic Barbie movies with my oldest friend, Caitlin. Barbie of Swan Lake was never one we watched together, but I am pretty used to watching Barbie movies with some mid-2000s animation and stilted script. Watching Barbie of Swan Lake was a completley different experience. First, I didn’t have the emotional connection to Swan Lake like I do with Princess and the Pauper, Fairytopia, and others. I also didn’t have another person with whom to watch. I was just in my college dorm, on my lofted bed, watching a Barbie movie while wearing head phones. It was a solitary experience, making it different from my past viewings. Maybe it’s because I don’t have that nostalgia factor with Swan Lake or because I was, you know, watching this right after classes, but I just ended up not liking Barbie of Swan Lake.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I totally see why there are so many people who love Barbie of Swan Lake. If my family had a DVD version or if our VHS player hadn’t broken, I would probably be one of them. We’ve got all the bells and whistles of an early to mid-2000s Barbie movie. Dance sequences? You know it! This is based on a ballet, of course. Love story? I mean, is it a Barbie movie if we don’t have Barbie fall in love with a dull male character for seemingly no reason? And of course, there’s always friendship. Barbie’s character, Odette, is tasked with saving all these fantastical creatures that live in a fairy world that is hidden from normal society. On her journey, she befriends a fairy queen, a unicorn and all these fairy creatures that look like children (below).
Yes, I did watch Barbie of Swan Lake in 360p resolution. It was a trying time.
But what makes Barbie of Swan Lake stand out? Well, its focus on courage. Odette is the “chosen one,” meant to save all of fairy land from a big bad, who of course, has a huge nose. I mean…look at this! Does anything scream “bad guy” to children like this profile and the dim lighting?
Then again, most Barbie movies are about finding courage within, so Barbie of Swan Lake doesn’t stand out much from the Barbie filmography. The only thing that makes this really stand out is the fact that our main character is a talking swan half the time and her best friend is a unicorn. Doesn’t sound too bad to me, to be honest.
Odette has to outsmart this man, whose name I promptly forgot, and his spoiled daughter who cares solely about having the best jewelry. She squeals and screams a lot in this movie in an annoyingly high pitched voice, and I swear I almost turned off the video the first time I heard her cackle. I am much more grateful to my mom, who probably watched these movies and similar ones for hours on end. Patience is a virtue, and my mom had loads. Odette has to face her fears and realize that she is strong and courageous enough. Essentially, this movie is all about finding courage in yourself and being sure of yourself. It’s a great message, but the execution was lacking. I don’t remember any of the characters names, and the happy ending didn’t make too much sense to me.
The only thing I got from this movie was a conspiracy theory. Look at this gif from the movie:
Is it just me, or did Marvel steal the idea of disintegrating their characters from this clip, in which the bad guy (whose name I still don’t remember, y’all) disentigrates an arrow with an accessory with a stone? Sounds familiar, no? Barbie of Swan Lake is a cinematic masterpiece, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Avengers: Infinity War producers watched this film in preparation.
Jokes aside, Barbie of Swan Lake is not good from an objective point of view. Like, at all. However, if you have major nostalgia, you’ll probably have a great time watching this with some of your friends. Me? I’ll go back to watching Princess and the Pauper this summer and singing along with my best friend.