| Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Genre | |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | Bernard Deyriès |
| Starring | Sharon Lewis |
| Music by | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 30 minutes[1] |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 27, 1987 (1987-09-27)[2] |
Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World is a 1987 American animatedtelevision special created byDIC Animation City withSaban Productions featuring popularMattel characterBarbie. The story was based on theBarbie and the Rockers line of dolls, which featured Barbie as the leader of arock band. The special originally aired insyndication.[3] It was later released as a single tape (on VHS, or an exceedingly rare Betamax tape) byHi-Tops Video.[4][5] Foreign rights were assumed byChannel 5 Video, a joint-venture ofHeron Communications (owners of Hi-Tops) andPolyGram.[6]
Mattel had largely avoided media centered around the Barbie character prior to this special's release, in large part because of their reluctance to provide personality to a doll long seen as a "blank slate" for girls to use their imaginations with. However, competition fromHasbro'sJem line—which had a daily cartoon in syndication at the time—prompted Mattel to begin multimedia expansion.[7]
The miniseries was allegedly supposed to have been the pilot for a daily Barbie cartoon series. However, negotiations between DIC and Mattel fell through, and the project eventually emerged with a whole new set of characters—and the sponsorship of Mattel rivalHasbro—asMaxie's World in 1988.[8] (These plans, if they existed, were likely unrelated to a planned live-action/animated hybrid newsmagazine under the Barbie name that Mattel had planned for 1987; this show never made it to air.)[9][10]
Barbie's rock band completes a successful world tour and decides to perform one last concert in space to promoteworld peace.
This is a list of the songs featured inBarbie & Rockers: Out of This World, in order of appearance:
