10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great movie from Barbie, October 5, 2002
I love watching this movie with my 5 and 3-year-old kids. This is truely a fun and enjoyable movie for kids of all ages and even adults. Also this movie is very child-friendly with very little frightening scenes compared to Barbie's first movie "Barbie in the Nutcracker". Even the evil Gothel wasn't that scary compared to the evil Mouse King. The picture quaility is very good, and the music is delightful. I'll recommend this movie to everyone.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My kids love this movie - I think it is really for under 6 year olds, October 4, 2005
My under 5 year olds LOVE this movie. They find it spell binding and on rainy days they like this or just about any of the Barbie movies to go on. As an adult I find it one of the less entertaining Barbie movies, but it has some really good points to it.
It is one of the first of the Barbie movies and is set in the 'fantasy' world of the sevententh century, a time of magic and dragons. It is very very loosely based around the story of Rapunzel although the only real reference to Rapunzel is that she lives in a tower, has long hair and has a Rapunzel style dream sequence.
It is very fairy tale beginning - beautiful girl forced to do chores for a step-mother character - (who is ably voiced by Angelica Houston). I really like the animal sidekicks here - Penelope the dragon and Hobie the Hare who are her friends and allies in all things.
Rapunzel lives in isolation, working for Gottel, her stepmother, until one day by accident she discovers that not only are her parents not dead, but she can escape from the castle - which she does - ending up in a nearby village. There she meets a Prince and finds out that the prince and his father the king have been in constant battle with the neighbouring kingdom. She asks the simple question why - but it is answerable. Gottel finds out where she has been and imprisons her in a tower - but through goodness and friendship Rapunzel prevails.
What I really liked about this movie is the importance of friendship and love - which wins through in the end. This values honesty and good values in all things, including believing in yourself and your children, and being able to admit when you are wrong.
What I really like best is that Rapunzel wins through in the end - she saves herself, with some help from her friends, but she is the prime mover in her own fate and I think that is so nice.
There are some genuinely funny moments and I love some of the animation - the bit where Rapnuzel's dress is changed by Magic is brilliant, and then watching it from outside the tower is a really stunning scene.
Overall I would have rated this movie as a 3- 3.5 simply because I find it repetitive and boring - the dancing barbie movies I enjoy much more like swan lake and Princess and the Pauper (which I love). However my Children adore this, and this movie is written for them - so 5 stars it is - we have had it about a year and the novelty hasn't worn off yet.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Inspires Children's Imaginations!, September 1, 2004
I was so surprised to see the lukewarm reviews about this video. My 4 1/2 yr. old son and 2 1/2 yr. old daughter watched it repeatedly when we rented it from the video store, so now we are buying it.
I watched it with them several times and was completely enchanted with the original twist on the familiar Rapunzel tale. This version is full of interesting characters, including dragons, dueling kings, and even children. I loved the entire concept of the magic paintbrush as a portal into the village. How unique!
Sure, the animation wasn't exactly as well-done as, say, "Finding Nemo," and the story line was less than perfect, but it was certainly exciting and interesting, even to an adult who was watching it repeatedly with her preschoolers.
I was hesitant to introduce my daughter to the world of Barbie, so to speak, but now that there are such fun new fairy tale characters and ideas to explore, I am much more of a fan.
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