Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia (2006)

The Worst Film Ever

Pretty Good

Don't listen to the negative reviews

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This was my first Barbie video. Going in I had very low expectations, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by what I saw as a pretty feminist plot. Barbie is the hero and rescues the prince. She is not the helpless woman of most stories. She makes a sacrifice for a friend. It also encourages girls not to be jealous of each other and that boys and girls can be just friends. Further more, the girls are rewarded for their bravery. The Barbie fairy also uses her intelligence to trick the bad woman. Perhaps this is silly, but I also appreciated that the bad character was a woman wanting power. So often the stereo type of a "bad" character is a power hungery man. The characters did look and sound super girly, but over all I think it had good a good message...then again I expected very little. I think Disney should be taking notes.

This movie had lots of great adventures and Barbie remains a positive attitude through the tough times. A continuation from Fairytopia, it adds to the story in a fun and magical way. My daughter really enjoyed this film. It has a lot of comical and funny moments for everyone who has a sense of humor to enjoy. Everyone could relate to Barbie's longing to be something that she is not and through this adventure, she realizes who she truly is. This movie is also about girls needing to stick together and not let boys come between their friendship. I would recommend watching this movie because it takes you to another world and makes you think about what is important in life.

First off, my daughter really enjoyed the Fairytopia movie and I have found that the other Barbie films to have some redeeming value for a young lady. However, I could tell what kind of movie this was going to be when the first thing to fall out of the DVD case was the catalog with toys from the film listed. The animation is at par with the other Barbie films (another Mainframe production). The script was clearly written during a meeting of executives at Mattel to maximize product revenue generated from the film. As overly cute as Fairytopia was, it at least had some though put into it to make it mildly entertaining. Mermaidia just goes through the paces. That all being said my daughter really likes the mermaids and Barbie. And at the end of the day it's all about her entertainment, not mine. But it doesn't stop me from grumbling when I have to sit through it with her.

This follow up to Barbie Fairytopia was another attempt of Mattel to recapture the magic of the original Barbie movies. I found this movie to actually be superior to Fairytopia. The plot and character developpment were terrible, but the story is very magical, which made it great for little kids, and the kid in all of us. Lately the Barbie movies have been taking a step away from sexism by showing young girls that they don't have to depend on a man, because Elina, the main character does not, and she saves her home and friendsfrom danger. The whole story is very cheesy, but that is exactly what makes these movies so great. They aren't aiming for an Oscar, but just to entertain the viewers, which I thought this movie definitely did.