Product Description

Singing In Her First Musical Movie!This adventure tells the story of a Princess and a pauper who were worlds apart in lifestyles yet identical in looks! When chance brings them together it becomes the beginning of a great adventure and a friendship that will last a lifetime. When Anneliese is captured Erika must pretend to be the Princess to help find out what has happened and to save her. In the end the magic of love and friendship triumphs and the kingdom is saved!Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 012236161516 Manufacturer No: A017367

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2872 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 2004-09-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com
Barbie's excellent musical debut features first-rate voices and songs, and a captivating story about love, responsibility, and freedom. Based on Mark Twain's The 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. (Ages 3 to 9) --Tami Horiuchi

DVD features
DVD extras include a sing-along option, 10 favorite song tracks from the movie, and a preview of the next Barbie movie, Fairytopia. A bonus audio CD is also included. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Great, even if you are a manly man.
When my wife called me to ask if I minded her getting this video for my three-year-old daughter, I of course told her that it was fine. I knew I would be stuck watching it over and over because my little girl loves to watch things with her daddy. We sat down before bedtime and popped it in the VCR, and I committed myself to being a good daddy and to spending some quality time with my little one. The movie opened with a rip-roaring musical number, and the quality of the computer animation was very impressive. Being a Mark Twain scholar (I did my thesis on Twain), I was expecting a goofy, silly movie adaptation of the story. After all, Barbie is about as interesting to me as fly vomit. However, what I found was a wonder. The story was excellent, but the songs were the best part of the film. The quality of the musical numbers rivals that of any Disney production. The VHS tape came with a CD with all of the major songs on it. My little girl sits and sings them to me and even asks her dad to join in on the "boy parts" of the song. What struck me about the movie most was the excellent character development in this short film. It was, I have to reluctantly admit, wonderful. Princess Annaliese, Erika, King Dominick, Julian, and the two cats are wonderfully portrayed. However, the stand out character is most definitely Preminger. This is a top-notch villain because he dosen't fit the established mold. He is prissy, vain, and feminine. However, he is also sly, conniving, and cruel hearted. His musical number "How can I refuse?" is among the best "villain songs," I have ever heard...bar none. There is also a great subplot involving the cats. Even the minor characters stand out. I've watched the film over and over with my little girl, and I have to admit that I enjoyed it every time. And I don't feel a bit unmanly at all.

Nicely Done
I just saw this one and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I knew my daughter would love it, but I didn't expect to like it as well. The story was sweet and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My daughter was particularly delighted with the singing. She loves to sing, and musicals lend themselves for repeated encores by my daughter who learns songs faster than I ever could. If you have never watched a Barbie movie, I would recommend you give them a try, especially if you have a little girl in your home. They are much better than what most people who have not watched them think they are. The messages in the movies are positive, and the movies themselves are captivating and well made. As a parent I can say that I do not get as tired of the Barbie movies as I do of most other cartoon movies when forced to watch them repeatedly by my child. That is a big plus in my book. Barbie Princess and the Pauper is a nice follow up film to the other Barbie movies. We look forward to the next installment in the series.

Also recommended: Barbie and the Nutcracker, Barbie as Rapunzel, and Barbie in Swan Lake

I love watching it!
It is simply fabulous! I like the cool graphics and animations! Barbie is in a dual role as Princess and a pauper. I have brown hair and brown eyes like Erika the pauper but I think that Annelise is prettiest! I think King Dominick is the most handsome and romantic, though. Annelise wants to be free and she doesn't like doing her daily lessons but she gets BREAKFAST IN BED!!! Erika wants to be like Annalise and be a princess. Barbie is very pretty in both roles. Here is some more helpful information:
Special features:
You can choose a chapter that you were up to last time and you can 'sing with barbie'. You can have a preview look at the songs, too! The special features were better with 'Barbie in the Nutcracker', but this is still COOL!!!
Clothes:
Mainly pretty dresses. Erika is poor but I adore her aqua blue dress, but not as much as Annelise's sparkly baby pink dress! (I ADORE pink!) They are covered with frilly bits and roses and all kinds of pretty stuff!
Make-up:
Hardly any! Just a dab of blusher and a sprinkle of eye-shadow here and there! But Barbie is spotless! (she must use moisterising cream!)
Time:
Over an hour, and thats an hour of watching a VERY enjoyable and relaxing film, with songs that simply stick into your mind!
The time it is SET IN is not too modern, because you don't get too much princesses nowadays and not a huge palace. They speak modern, though! But the houses aren't too modern either, and the dress shop that Erika works in doesn't have any modern machines in.
Brightness:
Nice and colourful, as with all Barbie films, but not too dark so you stare, or too bright so you squint!
Compactness:
Well, the DVD is small, so it is easier to carry around than a video, but it is still rather large.
Goodies:
You get a little magazine tucked inside the case! It is small but it tells you good Princess & the pauper toys and magical pink blurbs about the toys and BEAUTIFUL animated pictures on CGI! I like that little mag!
Durability:
So far, my disk hasn't a single scratch! It can't be handled by toddlers, though, because they would smudge it with greasy small fingers or snap it!
So, I say, GET THIS!