Barbie in a Mermaid Tale
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2010) |
| Barbie in A Mermaid Tale | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Adam L. Wood |
| Written by | Elise Allen |
| Starring | Kelly Sheridan Tabitha St. Germain Nicole Oliver |
| Music by | BC Smith |
| Distributed by | Universal Studios Home Entertainment (DVD) |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | Template:FilmUS |
| Language | English |
Barbie in A Mermaid Tale is a computer animated direct-to-video movie and part of the Barbie film series. It was released on March 9, 2010.
Plot
Barbie in A Mermaid Tale is about a sixteen-year-old girl called Merliah Summers (Liah for short). She is a top surfer at Malibu and is nicknamed, "Queen of the waves". On the day of a surfing competition, Merliah is surfing mavericks when one part of her hair suddenly turns pink on contact with seawater. Nervous of showing everyone her hair, she dives underwater and meets a dolphin named Zuma. Merliah finds out that she can breathe underwater. Zuma takes Merliah to her friends then disappears. Merliah tells her friends Fallon and Hadley what happened, then she goes home. After telling what happened to her grandfather, Brake, Merliah finds out that she is half-mermaid. Thinking that her parents kinda [cough] died when she was a small baby, Merliah's grandfather tells her the truth. Brake tells her that Merliah's father was a human named Rip and that her mother was a mermaid named Calissa(who in fact, is the Queen of Oceana).Brake tells her that when Merliah's father died, Calissa was worried about the fact that Calissa's evil mermaid sister Eris would try to rule over. At the same time, Calissa gave birth to Merliah. Merliah had no mermaid fins which made it dangerous for her in Oceana. Calissa didn't want Merliah to get hurt, so she took Merliah to her husband's father, Brake (Merliah's grandfather). Calissa asked if Brake could raise Merliah so that she would be safer on land from Eris's rule. It worked. Then Eris took over and Brake told her that Calissa had died or was in Eris's rule. At first, Merliah didn't believe Brake and left to tell her friends the news.
After telling her friends the news, Hadley was excited and believed that Merliah is of mermaid royalty. Just then, Zuma appears and says that it is true about what Brake said, at the same time Merliah hurled her necklace she'd been wearing ever since she was an infant, it reveals Calissa still alive, spinning Merillia, the life force of the sea. She also tells Merliah that the reason her hair is pink, that she can breathe underwater, is because she is part mermaid.
Merliah decides to try to rescue her mother and save the kingdom.
With Zuma as her guide, Merliah arrives in Oceana just when the "Eris Festival" starts. Zuma explains that ever since Eris ruled Oceana, her Merillia was not as strong as Caliisa's making the ocean weak. Most of the coral has turned brown, much like our autumn leaves. During the Eris Festival*, Merliah and Zuma hide in a nearby shop. Merliah sees how Eris controls Ocean, by spinning whirlpools that are impossible to get out of, and they take merpeople straight to her dungeon. Merliah is terrified and doubts she can save Oceana. After the festival ends, Zuma takes Merliah to a boutique whose owners are Kayla and Xylie. After a mermaid makeover, the team seeks out the Destinies, three small stylish mermaids who have prophetic powers. They reveal in order for the team to succeed in overthrowing Eris, they need "three tools that are spread far and wide": The Celestial Comb, a Dreamfish and Eris' protective necklace.
They set out to look for the items. First, with Fallon and Hadley's help, they find the Celestial Comb in a cave guarded by three giant jellyfish. Kayla, Xylie and Zuma lure the jellyfish away while Merliah and Snouts look for the comb. Merliah managed to get it and escape from the cave just before a cave-in. Next, they find the Dreamfish, yet again with Fallon's and Hadley's internet help, in the Adenato currents. Lastly, they get Eris' protective necklace by distracting her with some music and a song. Furious, Eris spins a whirlpool in order to get rid of Merliah. Merliah gets sucked into the whirlpool. Desperate, Merliah calls on the Dreamfish which offers to send her back to Malibu, her mermaid half to go away and it as if none of this has ever happened. Merliah hestitates, but rejects the wish. She is given a real strong mermaid tail, and successfully comes out the whirlpool. Merliah throws Eris' necklace to the ground, revealing Calissa spinning Merillia. Merliah finds out that though Eris is from a royal family, she can't spin Merillia, which is why Eris did not destroy Calissa. Eris is defeated and locked up in the bottom of deepest trench in Ocean. Merliah sets Calissa free and Calissa makes Oceana healthy once more. Calissa gives Merliah a necklace that will let her wish to be human or mermaid at anytime. Merliah then goes back to the human world and wins the surfing trophy.
Characters
- Merliah Summers - A 16-year-old girl from Malibu, nicknamed "Queen of the Waves", whose father was a human but her mother a mermaid. Her father passed away when she was a baby so her mother Queen Calissa gave baby Merliah to her grandfather to raise thinking that she will be safer on the land than in the ocean. She is the main protagonist.
- Zuma - A sparkly pink dolphin who shows Merliah around the ocean kingdom and helps her save Calissa.
- Fallon - One of Merliah's best friends. She's sassy, outspoken and a little bit sarcastic, but she's a super loyal, helpful and great friend. She has black skin, black hair, and brown eyes.
- Hadley - Merliah's other best friend. She's a dreamer, imaginative who is also funny and silly. Her personality makes her the first one to believe that Merliah is half-mermaid. Hadley has reddish-brown hair, green eyes, and tan skin.
- Kayla and Xylie - Best friends and super-stylish mermaids. They own a fab boutique under the sea where Merliah gets a mermaid makeover. They own Snouts, a sea lion pup. They help Merliah fight the evil Eris. Kayla has blonde hair with blue streaks, while Xylie has brown hair with purple streaks.
- Calissa - Merliah's mother. She was the Queen of Oceana, until her sister Eris stole the throne from her.
- Eris - Sister of Calissa and aunt of Merliah. She overthrows Calissa and becomes their new evil queen. Everyone in the kingdom is afraid of her. The main antagonist of the film.
- Brake Summers - Grandfather of Merliah and father-in-law of Calissa. He is the one who raised Merliah and told her about her past.
Cast
- Kelly Sheridan as Merliah Summers (Barbie)
- Kathleen Barr as Eris/Snouts
- Tabitha St. Germain as Zuma/Deanne
- Nakia Burrise as Fallon
- Maryke Hendrikse as Hadley
- Emma Pierson as Kayla
- Ciara Janson as Xylie
- Gary Chalk as Brake
- Nicole Oliver as Calissa
- Alistair Abell as Remo/Pufferazzi
- Andrea Libman as Dee
- Shannon Chan-Kent as Deandra
- Alex Ferris as Dreamfish
- Ellen Kennedy as Lipstick Fish/Syrenka
- Peter Mel as Surf Announcer
