Monday, December 29, 2008

Barbie and the Diamond Castle (2008)

Having a preteen daughter in our house, we’ve seen all of the Barbie movies. While “Barbie and the Diamond Castle” may be my least favorite of the series, it was still enjoyable, in a hyper-girly sort of way.

Barbie plays Liana and Teresa is Alexa in this story of two girls, best friends, who live together in a cottage in the woods. They raise and sell flowers for their living, but when a huge storm comes up and destroys their garden, they worry that they won’t have enough to live on. With only bread and jam left in their cupboard, Liana determines to be grateful for what they have, while Alexa wishes for more—more food, more clothes, and more house than they’ll ever need.

While walking down the path, they encounter an elderly beggar woman. Liana feels urged to give the woman her lunch, and in return, the woman gives Liana a gift from her scrap metal bag—a mirror that is tarnished with age. When the girls return home, Liana cleans the mirror to discover it’s made from solid gold, with jewels encrusting the edges. What’s more, someone lives inside it.

Her name is Melody, and she is an apprentice to the muses of music who live in the Diamond Castle. When Lydia, the most selfish of the three muses, decides to take over control of the Castle, the other two muses hide the castle and give the key to Melody, who then has to run and hide. She uses her magic to hide in the mirror, and now Alexa and Liana vow to help her defeat Lydia.

Alexa and Liana are both singers, and with their talents, they help Melody restore the Diamond Castle to its rightful place.

All I can say is, Mattel is brilliant. Not only do these movies hit the little girl demographic through storyline and adventure, but the stores are flooded with Barbie movie merchandise. You can buy the Barbie (this doll sells for $37.00), the hero, the carriage, whatever silly animal Barbie has adopted this time, and changes of clothing for all of them. They must be raking in the bucks.

If you have a young daughter, this film will be a must for your list. I do suggest you keep a book nearby for your own entertainment—I doubt you’ll be as enraptured as your daughter.

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5 comments:

Julie Wright said...

May I just say that I am sooooooo happy to have a teenage girl so that I no longer have to buy from the Barbie franchise?

Shauna said...

I am new here! What a great blog :)

Anna said...

We had a family party once at a relative's house. Their daughter had on "Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses". The daughter left, and guess who was sitting on the couches watching the Barbie movie? About 4-5 grown adult men. It was quite the sight to see.

Tristi Pinkston said...

I think the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" is my favorite of the Barbie movies. I also enjoyed "Rapunzel" and "The Princess and the Pauper." The Fairytopia and Mermaidia ones -- I would rather gouge out my own eyeballs with a fork.

Danyelle Ferguson said...

My favorite Barbie movies were Barbie and The Nutcracker and Barbie in Swan Lake. I love the ballet dancing! :)

I do have to agree that Diamond Castle didn't get the highest of ratings from me. But my daughter really liked it.

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