Barbie of Swan Lake

Barbie of Swan Lake
DVD cover
Directed by	Owen Hurley
Written by	Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby
Based on	Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Produced by	Kim Dent Wilder Rob Hudnut
Starring	Kelly Sheridan Mark Hildreth Kelsey Grammer Kathleen Barr Nicole Oliver
Edited by	Greg Richardson
Music by	Arnie Roth
Production companies	Mainframe Entertainment Mattel Entertainment
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment
Release date	September 30, 2003 (2003-09-30)
Running time	83 minutes
Countries	Canada United States
Language	English

Barbie of Swan Lake is a 2003 American - Canadian direct-to-DVD computer-animated feature film directed by Owen Hurley. It is the 3rd CGI entry in the Barbie film series, and the second film based on a Tchaikovsky ballet (the first was Barbie in the Nutcracker). Barbie and Odette are voiced by Kelly Sheridan. The story is an adaptation of Swan Lake.

Plot

The story is told by Barbie to her little sister, Kelly, who is feeling uneasy about being at overnight camp for the first time.

Odette is a young woman who lives in a small village with her father and sister, and works in the family bakery. Odette is a talented dancer but is shy and timid about it. Meanwhile, Prince Daniel is informed by his mother that it is time for him to marry and that she is hosting a ball for him to choose a wife. The men of the village go after a unicorn named Lila. With the help of Odette, Lila escapes and is followed by a curious Odette into an Enchanted Forest. Lila becomes caught in a bush, so Odette looks for something to free her. She spots a crystal lodged in a rock which she easily removes as the other denizens of the forest watch in astonishment.

Odette is approached by the Fairy Queen who tells her that by freeing the magic crystal, she is destined to defeat the sorcerer Rothbart. The Fairy Queen explains that Rothbart, her cousin, was angered when she was chosen to become the next ruler of the enchanted forest. Rothbart left and returned years later, wielding powerful dark magic, with his daughter Odile, and has since taken over most of the forest, even turning its denizens into animals. Odette, afraid to get involved, declines to help. While Lila escorts her out of the forest, Odette is confronted by Rothbart, who gives her the same curse as the others, turning her into a swan. The Queen arrives too late and gifts Odette with a tiara embedded with the crystal that protects her from Rothbart's magic. As her powers are too weak, the Queen only partially reverses the spell on Odette, allowing her to regain human form by night but turn back into a swan by day.

Odette and Lila meet up with Erasmus, a troll who takes care of a massive library, in order to find the Book of Forest Lore, which can tell them how to break the spell; however, they are unsuccessful. Daniel, who is out hunting, is lured into the forest by Rothbart, determined to get him to hunt and kill Odette. However, just as he's about to shoot her down, Daniel is captivated by the swan's beauty and decides to let her live. Odette then transforms in front of him and protects him from Rothbart. The two of them spend the night together and fall in love. Daniel invites Odette to the ball the next night, to which she agrees.

Erasmus eventually finds the book and reveals that the key to defeating Rothbart is true love. However, if Daniel falls for another girl, the magic crystal will lose its power and Odette will die. As the others help Odette prepare for the ball, Rothbart abducts Erasmus and the book. While Odette rescues Erasmus, Rothbart attends the ball with Odile, magically disguised as Odette. Odette flies to the castle in her swan form to warn Daniel, but is too late; Daniel pledges his love to Odile, causing Odette to collapse.

With the crystal's power gone, Rothbart takes it from Odette. The Fairy Queen arrives, takes the unconscious Odette into her carriage, and flees with Rothbart in pursuit. The carriage crashes back in the Enchanted Forest. The Fairy Queen challenges Rothbart to a duel, but is overpowered and turned into a mouse. Odette wakes up in time as Daniel arrives to confront Rothbart. The two reunite but Rothbart's spell hits them both, leaving them unconscious, their hands intertwined. Rothbart believes he has won, but at that moment, he is consumed by the crystal's magic, as Daniel and Odette tried to protect each other out of true love. The two awaken as all of Rothbart's evil is undone. Everyone from the village and the Enchanted Forest celebrate as Odette and Daniel are to be married. Rothbart becomes a cuckoo clock, while Odile ends up as a maid in Erasmus's library.

The story of courage gives Kelly new resolve and she promises she will participate in a race the following day, with Barbie smiling in approval.

Cast

• Kelly Sheridan as Barbie / Odette - A shy, helpful country girl who loves to dance. She is turned into a swan by Rothbart because she is thought to be the one who can defeat him. Then, she falls in love with Prince Daniel and later learns to be a brave girl by saving the Enchanted Forest. Barbie is the storyteller of Swan Lake and Kelly’s older sister.
• Mark Hildreth as Prince Daniel - A prince who loves adventures. He is an expert at archery. He loves Odette from the first time he meets her, however he is fooled by Rothbart who uses magic to help Odile impersonate Odette, with whom Daniel dances with at the ball. He is based on Siegfried from the ballet.
• Kelsey Grammer as Rothbart - The wicked sorcerer and the villainous cousin of the Fairy Queen who wants to rule the Enchanted Forest. He can turn into a bird, and he also turns Odette into a swan. He has a spoiled daughter named Odile. In the end, Rothbart becomes a cuckoo clock as punishment for his wickedness.
• Venus Terzo as Lila - A friendly purple unicorn who is also Odette's friend. She likes to go to people's town and is almost captured by town people. She tells Odette that she (Odette) is braver than she thinks.
• Kathleen Barr as The Fairy Queen / Marie - The ruler of the Enchanted Forest. Marie is Odette's elder sister who likes to ride horses.
• Nicole Oliver as Carlita - An elf who is turned into a skunk by Rothbart. She is Ivan's best friend.
• Ian James Corlett as Ivan - An elf who is turned into a porcupine. He is Carlita's best friend.
• Maggie Wheeler as Odile - A witch and Rothbart's spoiled daughter who fools Prince Daniel at the ball by using magic to take on the form of Odette. In the end, she becomes a maid in Erasmus' library.
• Michael Dobson as Erasmus - A troll who has a library. The Book of Forest Lore which tells how to break Rothbart's spell is in his library.
• Chantal Strand as Kelly - Barbie's sister who is afraid of tomorrow's race at her camp as well as Kelly the elf who was turned into a cygnet.
• Gina Stockdale as Queen Mother - Daniel's mother who wants to see Daniel married and wants to have grandchildren.
• Brian Drummond as Reggie - Daniel's servant.
• Garry Chalk as the Baker - Odette's father.

Music

The majority of the music used in the film is taken from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake. In addition, the film has a theme song that plays over the end credits, "Wings", written by Jason Blume and performed by Leslie Mills.

Release

The film was released on DVD on September 30, 2003.

External links

• Barbie of Swan Lake Cast and Details
• Barbie of Swan Lake
• Barbie of Swan Lake (Video 2003) - IMDb
• Barbie of Swan Lake AllRovi