Barbie (film series)

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Barbie
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The Barbie film series is a franchise of animated films featuring Barbie, a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel.[1] From 2002 to 2017, the films were aired regularly on the Nickelodeon cable channel.[2] Since 2017, they have instead been available on streaming services.

The series began in 2001 with the direct-to-video release of Barbie in the Nutcracker. The next year, the franchise made its television debut on Nickelodeon with the second movie, Barbie as Rapunzel. For the following 15 years, the films were released both on DVD and as TV specials on Nickelodeon. The 35th film, Barbie: Video Game Hero from 2017, marked the last time that the series aired on television.[3]

The films feature Barbie as a virtual actress playing the main character, and often frame Barbie as a modern girl telling the story to one of her sisters or a younger friend, often as a parable to present affairs. The films were created in an attempt to revive sales and love for the brand since the 1990s due to the rise of online and digital media. Scholars examining how the Barbie films differ from other princess narratives have concluded that Mattel intentionally attempted to remediate its brand based on feminist criticisms through storytelling in the films.[4][5]

Origins[edit]

Barbie's net popularity on the toy market began to decline in the 1990s,[4] and struggled further when MGA Entertainment introduced a line of Bratz dolls, whose sexualized characters contrasted with Barbie's older, chaste image.[6][7] Mattel therefore attempted to overhaul the Barbie brand to keep the toy relevant to consumers in the modern age by bringing in consultants and conducting research on key market groups. Mattel consultants initially considered reducing the Barbie's breast size, but later claimed that the doll's figure could not be changed because "being consistent is one of her biggest strengths".[8] This move might also have been rejected because of the success of the sexualized Bratz dolls of Mattel's competitors. Mattel's team also considered targeting market audiences of career women and their daughters by introducing lines of Doctor or Lawyer Barbies.[9] However, Mattel's research showed that girls were spending more time online than playing with physical dolls.[6][9][10] Therefore, targeted career Barbies were discarded in favor of looking for more interactive platforms through online or digital media.

This resulted in the creation of the Barbie film series, which initially revolved around Barbie being re-imagined as a princess and eventually expanded into various worlds of fashion and fantasy. A primary benefit of this strategy revolved around marketing, as Mattel could sell dolls specific to each film separately from the DVDs and merchandise related to props, costumes, and sets from the films.[7] Tim Kilpin, the senior vice-president for girls marketing at Mattel, stated that "What you see now are several different Barbie worlds anchored by content and storytelling. A girl can understand what role Barbie is playing, what the other characters are doing, and how they interrelate. That's a much richer level of story that leads to a richer level of play."[11] The strategy worked as U.S. Barbie sales, led by the princess line, "increased by two percent in 2006, saving Mattel's bottom line at a time when its worldwide share of the toy market was declining."[9][12] Within the films, Mattel includes performances by well-known companies and orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet.[6][7] These associations could have been included as an enrichment strategy on behalf of Mattel's marketing team, to help the films be seen as educational.

Films[edit]

Mattel partnered with Canadian company Mainframe Studios (then known as Mainframe Entertainment) to produce its first feature-length film, Barbie in the Nutcracker, based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's classic tale and Tchaikovsky's accompanying ballet music, which was released in 2001. Mainframe continued to produce the future films in the series, except for The Barbie Diaries in 2006.[a] The first decade was dominated by films based on preexisting stories, including Brothers Grimm's fairy tales: Rapunzel and The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina, and Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers.[13] Due to the popularity of the 2004 film Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper (based on Mark Twain's famous novel), a remake was released in 2012 entitled Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar,[14] which itself inspired two films with a more modern look: Barbie in Rock 'N Royals in 2015 and Barbie: Princess Adventure in 2020.

The first original film in the franchise, Barbie: Fairytopia, was released in 2005, which in turn spawned the first in-series franchise made up of two sequels; Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia in 2006 and Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow in 2007, and two spin-offs; Barbie: Mariposa in 2008 and its sequel, Barbie: Mariposa & the Fairy Princess, in 2013.[15] The success of the first three films had led to the princess-themed lineup in the series; releasing its second original film Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus in 2005.

Starting with Barbie in A Mermaid Tale, the film series moved away from the classic princess stories to focus on more modern themes like fashion, music, and on stories revolving around Barbie's family and careers.[16] In 2017, the franchise was put on hiatus after Barbie: Dolphin Magic to focus on the streaming television series, Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures, but returned in 2020 as "specials", beginning with the musical Barbie: Princess Adventure.[17]

The following is an official list of the animated films in the series:

# Film U.S. original release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s)
1 Barbie in the Nutcracker October 23, 2001 Owen Hurley Rob Hudnut, Linda Engelsiepen & Hilary Hinkle
2 Barbie as Rapunzel October 1, 2002 Elana Lesser & Cliff Ruby
3 Barbie of Swan Lake September 30, 2003
4 Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper September 28, 2004 William Lau
5 Barbie: Fairytopia March 8, 2005 Walter P. Martishius Elise Allen & Diane Duane
6 Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus September 20, 2005 Greg Richardson Elana Lesser & Cliff Ruby
7 Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia March 14, 2006 William Lau & Walter P. Martishius Elise Allen & Diane Duane
8 The Barbie Diaries May 9, 2006 Eric Fogel Elise Allen & Laura McCreary
9 Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses September 19, 2006 Greg Richardson Elana Lesser & Cliff Ruby
10 Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow March 13, 2007 William Lau Elise Allen
11 Barbie as the Island Princess September 18, 2007 Greg Richardson Elana Lesser & Cliff Ruby
12 Barbie: Mariposa[b] February 26, 2008 Conrad Helten Elise Allen
13 Barbie & the Diamond Castle September 9, 2008 Gino Nichelle Elana Lesser & Cliff Ruby
14 Barbie in A Christmas Carol November 4, 2008 William Lau Elise Allen
15 Barbie Presents: Thumbelina March 17, 2009 Conrad Helten
16 Barbie and the Three Musketeers September 15, 2009 William Lau Amy Wolfram
17 Barbie in A Mermaid Tale March 2, 2010 Adam L. Wood Elise Allen
18 Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale September 14, 2010 William Lau
19 Barbie: A Fairy Secret March 15, 2011
20 Barbie: Princess Charm School September 13, 2011 Ezekiel Norton
21 Barbie: A Perfect Christmas November 8, 2011 Mark Baldo
22 Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2 February 27, 2012 William Lau
23 Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar September 11, 2012 Ezekiel Norton Steve Granat & Cydne Clark
24 Barbie in the Pink Shoes February 26, 2013 Owen Hurley Alison Taylor
25 Barbie: Mariposa & the Fairy Princess August 27, 2013 William Lau Elise Allen
26 Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale October 22, 2013 Kyran Kelly Cydne Clark & Steve Granat
27 Barbie: The Pearl Princess February 15, 2014 Ezekiel Norton
28 Barbie and the Secret Door August 7, 2014 Karen J. Lloyd Brian Hohlfeld
29 Barbie in Princess Power February 26, 2015 Ezekiel Norton Marsha Griffin
30 Barbie in Rock 'N Royals August 13, 2015 Karen J. Lloyd
31 Barbie & Her Sisters in The Great Puppy Adventure October 8, 2015 Andrew Tan Amy Wolfram
32 Barbie: Spy Squad January 15, 2016 Conrad Helten Marsha Griffin & Kacey Arnold
33 Barbie: Star Light Adventure August 29, 2016 Andrew Tan Kacey Arnold
34 Barbie & Her Sisters in A Puppy Chase October 18, 2016 Conrad Helten Amy Wolfram & Kacey Arnold
35 Barbie: Video Game Hero January 31, 2017 Conrad Helten & Ezekiel Norton Nina Bargiel
36 Barbie: Dolphin Magic September 17, 2017 Conrad Helten Jennifer Skelly
37 Barbie: Princess Adventure September 1, 2020 Ann Austen
38 Barbie & Chelsea: The Lost Birthday April 16, 2021 Cassandra Mackay Ann Austen & Nate Federman
39 Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams August 20, 2021 Scott Pleydell-Pearce Kate Splaine & Christopher Keenan
40 Barbie: Mermaid Power[18] TBA 2022 TBA TBA
41 Barbie: Epic Road Trip[18] TBA 2022 TBA TBA
Key to the colors used above
Indicates Barbie: Fairytopia in-series
Indicates Barbie in A Mermaid Tale in-series
Indicates Barbie & Her Sisters in-series
Indicates Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures in-series
Indicates upcoming films

Barbie's roles[edit]

Barbie was voiced by Kelly Sheridan in 27 films altogether in the series.[19] Sheridan was initially succeeded by Diana Kaarina as the voice of Barbie, beginning with Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale, in 2010, but later returned to the role in 2012 with Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2. She continued to voice Barbie through 2015, when it was announced that Erica Lindbeck would be taking over in 2016.[20] Lindbeck continued to voice the character through 2017 when the film series was put on hiatus. Upon resuming in 2020, Lindbeck returned to voice Princess Amelia (Barbie's lookalike) in Barbie: Princess Adventure, while the role of Barbie would be taken over by America Young who previously voiced the character in the TV series Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures.

Barbie's roles Voice actors
#[c] Characters
1 Clara / Sugar Plum Princess Kelly Sheridan
2 Rapunzel
3 Odette
4 Princess Anneliese / Erika
  • Melissa Lyons (singing voice for Anneliese)
  • Julie Stevens (singing voice for Erika)
5 Elina
6 Princess Annika
7 Elina
8 Barbie Skye Sweetnam (singing voice for Barbie)
9 Princess Genevieve Melissa Lyons (singing voice for Genevieve)
10 Elina
11 Ro / Princess Rosella Melissa Lyons (singing voice for Rosella)
12 Elina / Mariposa Chiara Zanni (as Mariposa)
13 Liana Melissa Lyons (singing voice for Liana)
14 Barbie / Eden Starling
  • Morwenna Banks (as Eden Starling)
  • Melissa Lyons (singing voice for Eden)
15 Barbie
16 Corinne
17 Merliah Summers Melissa Lyons (singing voice for Merliah)
18 Barbie Diana Kaarina
19 Barbie
20 Blair Willows / Princess Sophia
21 Barbie Jennifer Waris (singing voice for Barbie)
22 Merliah Summers Kelly Sheridan
23 Princess Tori / Keira
24 Kristyn Farraday
25 Mariposa
26 Barbie
27 Princess Lumina
28 Princess Alexa Brittany McDonald (singing voice for Alexa)
29 Princess Kara / Super Sparkle
30 Princess Courtney Jordyn Kane (singing voice for Courtney)
31 Barbie
32 Barbie Erica Lindbeck
33 Barbie / Princess Starlight
34 Barbie
35 Barbie
36 Barbie
37 Barbie / Princess Amelia America Young
  • Elli Moore (Barbie, singing)
  • Erica Lindbeck (Princess Amelia, speaking)
  • Jordyn Kane (Princess Amelia, singing)
38 Barbie
39 Barbie (Malibu)

Reception[edit]

The first ten films in the series sold 40 million DVD and VHS units worldwide by 2007, grossing over $700 million in sales.[21] As of 2013, the film franchise has sold over 110 million DVD units worldwide.[22]

# Film U.S. original release date Video sales Sales revenue
1 Barbie in the Nutcracker October 23, 2001 110,000,000[23] $700,000,000[24]
2 Barbie as Rapunzel October 1, 2002
3 Barbie of Swan Lake September 30, 2003
4 Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper September 28, 2004
5 Barbie: Fairytopia March 8, 2005
6 Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus September 20, 2005
7 Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia March 14, 2006
8 The Barbie Diaries May 9, 2006
9 Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses September 19, 2006
10 Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow March 13, 2007
11 Barbie as the Island Princess September 18, 2007 $28,205,093[25]
12 Barbie: Mariposa February 26, 2008 $14,082,768[25]
13 Barbie & the Diamond Castle September 9, 2008 $11,643,793[25]
14 Barbie in A Christmas Carol November 4, 2008 $6,626,008[25]
15 Barbie Presents: Thumbelina March 17, 2009 $11,088,380[25]
16 Barbie and the Three Musketeers September 15, 2009 $19,813,585[25]
17 Barbie in A Mermaid Tale March 2, 2010 $18,295,349[25]
18 Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale September 14, 2010 $19,473,444[25]
19 Barbie: A Fairy Secret March 15, 2011 $14,483,518[25]
20 Barbie: Princess Charm School September 13, 2011 $10,254,239[25]
21 Barbie: A Perfect Christmas November 8, 2011 $13,019,893[25]
22 Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2 February 27, 2012 $14,840,303[25]
23 Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar September 11, 2012 $18,959,311[25]
24 Barbie in the Pink Shoes February 26, 2013 581,187[26] $10,843,872[25]
25 Barbie: Mariposa & the Fairy Princess August 27, 2013 271,194[27] $5,878,488[25]
26 Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale October 22, 2013 458,026[28] $9,454,173[25]
27 Barbie: The Pearl Princess February 15, 2014 368,500[29] $7,580,205[25]
28 Barbie and the Secret Door August 7, 2014 329,836[30] $8,488,067[30]
29 Barbie in Princess Power February 26, 2015 212,385[31] $4,655,070[25]
30 Barbie in Rock 'N Royals August 13, 2015 131,836[32] $5,006,613[25]
31 Barbie & Her Sisters in The Great Puppy Adventure October 8, 2015 69,950[33] $4,171,779[25]
32 Barbie: Spy Squad January 15, 2016 190,146[34] $2,961,549[34]
33 Barbie: Star Light Adventure August 29, 2016 21,154[35] $2,088,235[25]
34 Barbie & Her Sisters in A Puppy Chase October 18, 2016 22,492[36] $2,095,317[25]
35 Barbie: Video Game Hero January 31, 2017 TBA TBA
36 Barbie: Dolphin Magic September 17, 2017 TBA TBA
37 Barbie: Princess Adventure September 1, 2020 TBA TBA
38 Barbie & Chelsea: The Lost Birthday April 16, 2021 TBA TBA
39 Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams August 20, 2021 TBA TBA
Total 112,656,706 $964,009,052

Related media[edit]

TV specials[edit]

TV series[edit]

Other media appearances[edit]

Live-action film[edit]

In popular media[edit]

In February 2021, film & media podcast Cult Popture released an 18-hour episode of Film Franchise Fortnights covering all of the 37 Barbie films that had been released at the time. During the production of the episode, a 38th film was announced.[41]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The Barbie Diaries was produced by Curious Pictures who also produced the three My Scene films in 2004 and 2005.
  2. ^ Also known as Barbie Fairytopia: Mariposa (doll line) and Barbie: Mariposa and Her Butterfly Fairy Friends (DVD cover art).
  3. ^ The numbers designated the order of the films as listed on the previous table.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Barbie". www.barbiemedia.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  2. ^ "Barbie shows signs of life as Mattel plots comeback". Detroit Free Press. April 18, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "List of movies and specials aired on Nickelodeon – Nickandmore!". Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  4. ^ a b Vered, Karen Orrl & Maizonniaux, Christèlel, "Barbie and the straight-to-DVD movie: pink post-feminist pedagogy", Feminist Media Studies. Apr2017, Vol. 17 Issue 2, p198-214. 17p.
  5. ^ Still, Julie, "Feminist Barbie: Mattel's Remakes of Classic Tales", MP: A Feminist Journal Online. Oct2010, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p148-164. 17p.
  6. ^ a b c Ault, Susanne, "Girl Power Builds Barbie muscle: Mattel Takes Kids' Fave Forward with U Pact," Daily Variety (February 12, 2007). A11-A13.
  7. ^ a b c Orr, Lisa, "'Difference That is Actually Sameness Mass-Reproduced,: Barbie Joins the Princess Convergence," Jeunesse: Young People, Texts Cultures 1.1 (2009): 9-30.
  8. ^ "Holding Back the Years." Marketing Week. Marketing Week, 14 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Apr. 2009.
  9. ^ a b c Gogoi, Pallavi. "Mattel's Barbie Trouble." Business Week Online 18 July 2006: 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2009.
  10. ^ Netherby, Jennifer. "Doll Shape Shifts with Times." Daily Variety 9 Feb. 2007. LexisNexis. Web. 25 Oct. 2008.
  11. ^ "Barbie's Midlife Crisis." Brand Strategy 14 May 2004: 20+. LexisNexis. Web. 25 Oct. 2008.
  12. ^ Mattel. "Mattel Incorporated Fourth Quarter 2008 Earnings Conference Call." Mattel. Mattel, 2 Feb. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2009.
  13. ^ Vered, Karen Orr; Maizonniaux, Christèle (2020-03-14). "Barbie and the straight-to-DVD movie: pink post-feminist pedagogy". Feminist Media Studies. 17 (2): 198–214. doi:10.1080/14680777.2016.1178158. S2CID 147748759.
  14. ^ Orr, Lisa (2020-03-15). ""Difference That Is Actually Sameness Mass-Reproduced": Barbie Joins the Princess Convergence". Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures. 1 (1): 9–30. Archived from the original on 2018-06-02. Retrieved 2020-03-15 – via Project MUSE.
  15. ^ "All 37 Best Barbie Movies List In Order with Infographic (2020)". Featured Animation. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  16. ^ ""No bos olib" – On the gynocentrism and sparkly separatism of the Barbie movies @ Fusion Journal". fusion-journal.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  17. ^ "Barbie: Princess Adventures brings movie series back – ToonBarn". Archived from the original on 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  18. ^ a b Dickson, Richard (2022-02-18). "Mattel 2022 Analyst Presentation". Mattel, Inc. p. 32. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  19. ^ "Kelly Sheridan". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  20. ^ Darla Murray (November 25, 2015). "Hello Barbie Voiceover Actress Erica Lindbeck Interview – Meet the Voice of the New Hello Barbie". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  21. ^ Schiller, Gail (August 2, 2007). "Barbie, Hot Wheels, G.I. Joe toying with Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  22. ^ Strecker, Erin (February 26, 2013). "Barbie celebrates 25th DVD release today". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  23. ^ "Barbie celebrates 25th DVD release today". Entertainment Weekly. February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  24. ^ "Barbie, Hot Wheels, G.I. Joe toying with Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter. August 2, 2007. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Barbie Franchise Box Office History – Video". The Numbers. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  26. ^ "Barbie in the Pink Shoes (2013) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  27. ^ "Barbie Mariposa and the Fairy Princess (2013) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  28. ^ "Barbie & Her Sisters in a Pony Tale (2013) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  29. ^ "Barbie: The Pearl Princess (2014) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  30. ^ a b "Barbie and the Secret Door (2014) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  31. ^ "Barbie in Princess Power (2015) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  32. ^ "Barbie in Rock'n Royals (2015) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  33. ^ "Barbie & Her Sisters in The Great Puppy Adventure (2015) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  34. ^ a b "Barbie: Spy Squad (2016) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  35. ^ "Barbie: Star Light Adventure (2016) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  36. ^ "Barbie & Her Sisters in a Puppy Chase (2016) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  37. ^ "Barbie: It Takes Two to premiere on Pop in April". Toy World Magazine | The business magazine with a passion for toys. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  38. ^ Roman, Phil, Kelly Dream Club (Animation, Short, Adventure), Creative Capers Entertainment, Mattel, Phil Roman Entertainment, retrieved 2022-03-27
  39. ^ Barbie Vlogger (Animation), Mattel Creations, 2015-06-19, retrieved 2022-03-27
  40. ^ "Everything to Know About Margot Robbie's Live-Action 'Barbie' Movie". Us Weekly. 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  41. ^ "Cult Popture: [1/3] The "Barbie" Movies (ft. Lauren Bonner, Rhiannon Shaw, Audrey Porne, Tim Batt & Guy Montgomery) | Film Franchise Fortnights on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.

External links[edit]