Customer Reviews

Barbie as The Island Princess

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I once heard a definition of integrity as something you are when nobody's watching. I also once heard someone comment that there must be no honor among filmmakers because apparently nobody in a high-budget production cared that the movie made was terrible. Well, I have to say, this movie is yet another shining example of the Barbie movies' integrity.

They could get away with SO much--they don't NEED to put a plot or characters or even any kind of acting into this, honestly. BUT THEY DO. The reason I pick this movie out of the crop is that (a) it was just released, and (b) it's a great example of the integrity that is so lost among high-end studio productions these days. Why? Think--what movie is similar to this? Can you think of any parallels? Especially in the Disney array? It's a movie with striking similarities to the Little Mermaid.

BUT, instead of making the heroine a selfish brat and saving it with appealing sidekicks and great music, the characters themselves are likable (or hate-able) and they DON'T have to make the person trying to marry the prince a creepy person either. It's so great! The music, as in the Princess and the Pauper, is shockingly good; the animation and visuals just keep getting better and better; and the storytelling and character development are far above the par of the so-called "best" of Hollywood today.

If you have already started collecting the Barbie movies, get this one too. If not, start right now! Little girls and you(!) will ACTUALLY enjoy them together. This is a worthwhile movie to see, as are the other Barbie movies. Even the weakest of them (story-wise) is morally strong and is better quality than most Hollywood fare these days.

Enjoy this film integrity!

I told people that if I ever had a daughter, I would NEVER buy her anything Barbie. But here I am, with 3 girls later, and I have bought them almost every Barbie movie on the market! This is by far the best Barbie movie, IMHO. My girls (ages 2 & 4) love the songs and the animals. The movie is also very brightly colored. Ever since I bought the movie for them, they've been watching it constantly. I try not to analyze the Barbie movies too much though. Otherwise I would be focusing in on Azul, the "happy" peacock, if you know what I mean... Barbie movie-makers always seem to throw in some unique characters. Embarrasingly enough, I cried at the end of the movie! I'm looking forward to the Mariposa movie next!

I love all the Barbie movies, but this has to be my favorite! It has a lot of similar aspects to some of my favorite Disney (and non-Disney) animated movies, which I loved. The story flows well and the characters are endearing. The animation is, in my opinion, the best in the series; the colors are more vibrant, which makes it less jarringly CG, and I love the character designs (such as Ro's braid and Prince Antonio's face, which was different than all the other "Kens").

What really makes this movie a winner, though, is the soundtrack. Just TRY and tell me that those songs don't get stuck in your head. I've been listening to them OVER and OVER. The best song in the movie by far is "I Need to Know." The duet between Alessandro Juliani (Antonio) and Melissa Lyons (Ro) is absolutely GORGEOUS. Their harmony is amazing, I got goosebumps! The other songs are good too, I can't get "The Rat Song" out of my head.

These movies are good for people who like visually pleasing stories that don't make you think too hard. Call it predictable, but it's nice when you can count on everyone living happily ever after. While deep, dark, thought-provoking movies serve their purpose, when you're stressed out or just want to relax, sometimes you just need a good cartoon. That's what Disney movies USED to be about, and the Barbie movies have taken over in their stead. This movie has excellent values in it, such as respect for animals, the value of caring for others, and the importance of sharing (the lyrics to the song "Always More" are really good for this), and following your heart. I would definitely show this movie to little girls, as it's movies like this that provide wholesome entertainment with good values to children, while being entertaining to adults as well.

I encourage you to try this movie out before you make up your mind that it's "silly" or "kids stuff."

Okay, I will admit up front that my five-year-old daughter and I have only watched this DVD once, and sometimes movies grow on you the more you watch them. But our initial reaction is one of disappointment. I thought the songs were very forgettable and the main characters weren't very interesting (Prince Antonio, in particular, is pretty bland and the villaness is not as colorful as in past Barbie movies.) My daughter had been so excited about finally getting to see Island Princess, especially since it is a musical, but she wandered away several times while it was on (something she doesn't do while watching Princess and the Pauper or Swan Lake, her two favorite Barbie movies.) I have a feeling Island Princess is not going to join the list of her most-requested DVDs.

We bought Barbie Island Princess this afternoon. My daughter is watching it now for the 2nd time. The music is very good - lovely melodies and great harmonies. I agree with the other reviewer saying that it is a breath of fresh air to have morally good characters, no bad language and great lessons learned. We love the Barbie movies and I was pleased with this one as well. I disagree with the reviewer that said it was not one of the best Barbie movies - my daughter is saying it is the best so far. Lovely story - I recommend to your daughters who love their Barbies and those older and younger as well. I enjoyed it as well and I love the music.

Okay, this is not going to win any awards by any means, but really what barbie movie is? I really enjoyed Princess and the Pauper and the Dancing Princesses was pretty good, but the rest were hard to sit through. I'm giving it 4 stars because my kids did seem to enjoy it. As an adult, the plot was very bland and predictable, but it had a few fun songs I enjoyed. Although it wasn't wonderful, it wasn't terrible either. If you have a barbie fan, it's worth a look.

WHY do children's movies have to have adult themes? Why do a boy and a girl always have to fall in love?! I don't want my 5 year old thinking about this crap yet!! SHE"S FIVE!!! Not fifteen!!!

And what are the artists thinking of when they give "Ken" such an obvious "package" with a bulge and shading and everything!!!! Seriously it's just not necessary!!!

And the mother of the princess is just a disgrace to humanity and sings about marrying an old guy so he'll die quick and she will inherit his wealth. I just don't understand why they need to put this stuff in a kids movie. Don't they know that 4 and 5 year olds are watching this? It's barely appropriate for a 8 or 9 year old!

Can't anyone come up with a good, child-appropriate story line for kids movies?!!!

This is one of the best Barbie moveies made. I am a mom of a 3 year old and in the last year, we have purchased every Barbie movie made. My daughter loves it, especially the singing and the animal characters...Azul is her favorite! At first, the songs were very annoying to me, especially the opening track "Here on my island". However, they soon grow on you and now I find that they get stuck in my head! As an adult, I think that the movie is actually pretty good. It rivals some of the classic Disney movies, which had a higher production budget than Barbie. Of all of the Barbie movies, the new Diamond Castle is our favorite, followed by The Princess and the Pauper. This would probably be third.

My family and I loved this movie and we have seen every Barbie movie. I find they really make an effort to create a nice story, with a real plot, lovely songs, and a nice message. I find them very well done, they could easily make them cheap and boring with unimaginative CGI (as someone else mentioned)but, I think they put a lot of heart into these movies. I thought this story had a unique twist to it(in terms of Ro's struggle to be accepted) and visually all the Barbie movies are very beautiful, escpecially this one. My only complaint is that the main character is always blond, blue eyed, caucasian Barbie and I think children deserve more reality, they've done the blond thing over and over (and there's nothing wrong with it) BUT it's time to move on and give a more realistic view of women. Maybe in the next movie Barbie could take a sidekick role so we could have a little healthy cultural variety, they do it with their dolls why not with their movies? Other than that I recommend this adorable touching movie and I quite enjoyed the songs.

A fabulous story. Female hero, female villan and girl drives the wedding carriage. Adventure/romance/animals and never had to cringe or hear the term "shut-up" spoken. Wide range of male characters as well. Great for children 3-8. Barbie gets better and better.