| Barbie as the Island Princess | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Greg Richardson |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Edited by | Colin Adams |
| Music by | Arnie Roth Megan Cavallari |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Universal Studios Home Entertainment[a] |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
Barbie as the Island Princess is a 2007 animatedmusical film[1] and the eleventh installment in thefilm series based onMattel'sBarbie toyline. The only entry animated by Mainframe Studios asRainmaker Animation, the film stars the voice ofKelly Sheridan.[2]
The score was composed byArnie Roth, with songs written by Megan Cavallari,Amy Powers and executive producer Rob Hudnut. It was releaseddirect-to-DVD on September 18, 2007, with a television premiere five days later onNickelodeon.[3]
Sagi thered panda and Azul theIndian peacock live on a tropical island in theSouth Seas. One day, they discover a little girl washed up on shore after a storm, and decide to take her in. Achest washed up with her has the letters "R-O" on its broken nameplate; the animals name the girl Ro, and she grows up playing with them and anAsian elephant named Tika, but having lost her memory of her past aside from alullaby from her birth.
Ten years later, Prince Antonio of Apollonia is out exploring the South Seas, and finds himself on Ro's Island. Ro, now a young woman able to communicate with animals, saves him from a float ofcrocodiles. Antonio invites her to come to Apollonia so she can research her past. Ro agrees, bringing her three friends with her. During the journey, Ro and Antonio begin to fall in love.
In Apollonia, Antonio's parents, King Peter and Queen Danielle, are shocked by Ro's arrival. While Antonio had been away, Peter hadarranged a marriage for him to force him to settle down and stop adventuring. Peter immediately dislikes Ro for disrupting his plans; however, Antonio's little sisters Rita, Sofia, and Gina, and Danielle's petrhesus monkey Tallulah, all immediately befriend Ro and her animals. When Ro is homesick and misses the island, she and the animals take up residence in the royal greenhouse where they feel more at home.
Antonio'sbetrothed, Princess Luciana, arrives in Apollonia with her mother Ariana so that Antonio can meet them. Unbeknownst to everyone present, even Luciana, Ariana is secretly the daughter of a couple of nobles whom Peter demoted to beswineherds after they committedtreason. Ariana had moved abroad, married an elderly king to becomequeen, and has now returned to enact her revenge. Sensing that Ro may be a threat, she sabotages all Ro's attempts to fit in; however, Antonio only falls deeper in love with Ro, and Luciana comes to feel sorry for her.
Ro, demoralized by her "failures," thinks about returning to her island. The animals cheer her up and help her get dressed for the royal engagementball. At the ball, everyone is impressed by Ro's beauty and grace, and Antonio privately proposes to her. Ro declines, unwilling to defy Peter. While outside, Sagi spots a carriage with the same flag washed ashore with Ro, and she talks with the horse, who reveals it belongs to another kingdom called Paladia, but the people he carries only have three sons and no daughters.
Antonio argues with Peter andabdicates the throne to Rita. He leaves a note for Ro, saying he will run away with her. Tika overhears and hides the note, fearing she may lose Ro. Meanwhile, Ariana sends her petrats to spread "sunsetherb" through the kingdom. Thepoison causes all animals who ingest it to fall into acoma, including Tallulah and Azul. Peter imprisons Ro and her animals, believing they brought the "disease" to Apollonia.
Peter strikes a bargain with Antonio – Ro and the animals will be freed if Antonio marries Luciana. Antonio reluctantly agrees. Shortly after, Ro and her animals are sent away on a ship. Tika realizes her mistake and apologizes for hiding the note, and Ro forgives her. Asailor in Ariana's pay knocks them all overboard; shortly before being rescued bydolphins, Ro has a flashback to the shipwreck in her childhood, and remembers her name is Rosella.
Returning to Apollonia, Ro learns from a little bird that Ariana had put sunset herb in the wedding cake to kill Peter and Antonio. Ro makes an antidote to wake Azul and the other animals, but is stopped by guards. Tika disrupts the wedding and gets Antonio to come to Ro's rescue, while Sagi takes the antidote to Tallulah, waking her. When Ro accuses Ariana, no one believes her; until Luciana reveals her mother had forbidden her to eat the wedding cake, claiming it was bad luck. Ariana attempts to flee in acarriage, but is wrecked and flung into apigsty.
Antonio proposes to Ro, who is at last welcomed into the family. When Ro reveals her full name, one of the wedding guests, Queen Marissa of Paladia, comes forward and says that her daughter, Princess Rosella, had gone overboard in a shipwreck while they were at sea many years ago. Ro's memory returns, realizing she is the long lost princess of Paladia, and she and Marissa sing the lullaby from her childhood together, proving they are related. Ro and Antonio are married, and Luciana meets a handsomeprince at their wedding. Ro and Antonio then sail off to go on new adventures, with Tika, Sagi, Azul, and Tallulah in tow.
Cast as per the closing credits:[4]
As a gag credit, Matt, the mime rat, is credited to be voiced by himself.
The songs are written by Megan Cavallari andAmy Powers, with executive producer Rob Hudnut.
Paul Mavis ofDVD Talk wrote, "Barbie as The Island Princess is a well-executed CGI animated fantasy with a sweet, tender, believable approach to its love story that will no doubt make little girls sigh with delight."[5] Catherine Dawson March ofThe Globe and Mail called the film "enchanting" and considered its songs to be "on par withBarbie as the Princess and the Pauper".[6]
Common Sense Media's Nancy Davis Kho wrote of the film, "parents can rest assured that the subject matter is entertaining and kid-appropriate, and put their energies toward worrying about all the commercialism surrounding it." Kho praised the animation and "lush original score", and wrote that Ro and Luciana are positiverole models.[7]
| Barbie as the Island Princess | |
|---|---|
 Barbie as the Island Princess cover art(North American Wii version) | |
| Developer | Ivolgamus |
| Publisher | Activision |
| Director |
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| Platforms | PlayStation 2,Microsoft Windows,Wii,Nintendo DS,Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre | Platform |
| Modes | Single-player Multiplayer |
Barbie as the Island Princess is a 2007platformvideo game based on the movie forPlayStation 2,Microsoft Windows,Wii,Nintendo DS, andGame Boy Advance. Developed by Lithuanian video game companyIvolgamus and published byActivision, it is a collection of 28 different mini-games.[9][10][11]
