Barbie As The Princess and the Pauper
Barbie's excellent musical debut features first-rate voices and songs, and a captivating story about love, responsibility, and freedom. Based on Mark Twain'sThe Prince and the Pauper, the 85-minute computer-animated adventure is about two almost identical girls who, though born into very different circumstances, are amazingly alike. A chance meeting between the young women becomes significant when Princess Annaliese is later kidnapped and (pauper) Erika suddenly becomes a crucial component in the search for the princess and her captor. The princess's confinement and Erika's glimpse into the life of a princess leads both girls toward a new compassion for the other and a serious contemplation of the conflict between one's sense of duty and the desire to be free. Adding to the general confusion is the princess's intended, the handsome King Dominick; her devoted tutor, Julian; and the Queen's evil advisor, Preminger. backpacking gear list The problem with the so-called "pauper" is that her dress is NOT at all like a pauper dress. If she was a real pauper she would be wearing a dirty brown rag. She wouldn't have shoes, and she wouldn't be a seamstress, because a pauper is usually homeless and jobless. If this movie was re-named "The Princess and the Seamstress" it would be way more appropriate. I don't know why Erika's costume bothers me so much, but it's one of the things that caused me to rate it only 4 stars.There is another thing that bothers me. The dungeon that Erika was thrown in was perhaps the most comfortable dungeon I have ever seen. A nice bed with soft straw, a big cell all to yourself, a window?? Real dungeons in the middle ages were in the castle basements, and the prisoners were chained up by the ankles and hands. The dungeons were also crawling with rats. I hate it when kids movies are sweetened like that.Oh yeah, and one other thing. Anneliese just stood there while Julian hammered away at the rocks. She didn't help him one bit. We saw this same problem in "Magic of Pegasus" when Brietta just stood there while Aiden dug Annika out. What is up with these princesses who let the guys do all the work??Ok, this is the last bad thing, I promise. Erika went away to live her dream and only managed to stay away for a few months without her king. What kind of message does that send to young girls?? That you have to get married to be happy? Also, back then, kings would NOT marry a pauper. And if they did, they would lose the thrown. Mattel messed something up with thier new mini kingdom Erika doll: They called her "princess Erika" Well, even if she did marry the king, she would be a QUEEN, not a princess!Ok, with that out of the way, the movie had wonderful animation and an okay story. As for the music... BRILLIANT! It's been months since I've seen this movie, but I still know all the words to most of the songs by heart. I just love the music! "I Am a Girl Like You" gives me this wonderful feeling when I listen to it.Overall, this movie is pretty good. Bravo, Mattel! Just remember, next time, make it more historically accurate and true to the novel it is based on! (I have read "The Prince and the Pauper", and it was very historically accurate, with the pauper being treated like trash and all. That's how it was back then.