Okay, real talk: The Barbie franchise has had a lot of backlash because of the stereotypical Barbie doll model; and while that is an important discussion to have, no light has been shed on the Barbie movies. The movies are incredible, action-packed, pieces of pure EXCELLENCE. These coming of age movies show Barbie (different name in each film) in strong leads; and, as a bonus, some Barbie movies don’t even include a romantic interest, which means that most Barbie movies would pass the Bechdel test #check! They are all about girl power and c’mon, who doesn’t love that.
Collectively, there are 36 Barbie films, but here are my top three favorites:
* Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper
* This masterpiece is, in fact, also a musical! Two girls, Erika and Anneliese, are born into two different families, one a servant and one a princess, respectively. But when Princess Anneliese goes missing, Erika is recruited by Julian (Anneliese’s tutor and love interest;)) to disguise as Anneliese until they can find where she went. Along the way, these two girls discover what it means to live in the someone else’s shoes.
* Barbie and the Diamond Castle
* This one is also a musical! Whoot whoot! Two girls, Liana and Alexa, find two heart-shaped lockets in the river, not knowing that they are trinkets from the mythical Diamond Castle. On a quest to discover the castle, free Melody (an apprentice trapped in a mirror), and stop Lydia from finding the castle, Liana and Alexa discover how the power of friendship is enough to defeat evil.
* Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses
* Not a musical (Alexa, play Despacito), but this story is all about sisterhood. When Kind Randolph–father of 12 girls–summons his cousin Duchess Rowena to teach the girls how to be “proper” and “lady-like”, the princesses are on a mission to find ways to dance and just have fun!
These are half-assed descriptions for absolutely astonishing films, but I guess you’ll just have to watch the movies to find out what really goes down! And if you liked these movies, I recommend checking out Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse (on Netflix), which is sure to make you laugh:)