Line #2 WesternAnimation/Barbie


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barbie_logo.png]]
6	Franchise/{{Barbie}} has starred as a virtual actress in a long-running series of CGI-animated films. At first, they were released through [[DirectToVideo home video]] and the movies aired on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}, but since mid-2017, they've been released through Creator/{{Netflix}} instead. These films generally share a FrameStory of Barbie telling the story to a friend or younger sibling, while also starring in the story itself, although some of them have Barbie starring as herself rather than another character.
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8	The film series was conceived as a way to reach young girls with stories of Barbie in various careers, while compensating for the fact that its target audience were spending more time online than playing with physical dolls. In this way, Mattel could market new lines of dolls based on these films.
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10	More recently, Mattel has attempted to create a somewhat-cohesive continuity across ''Barbie'' media projects, with ''WesternAnimation/BarbieDreamhouseAdventures'', Barbie's first-ever regular TV series, being set in the same continuity as ''WesternAnimation/BarbieDolphinMagic'', ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessAdventure'', and ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndChelseaTheLostBirthday'', as well as at least the last three years of ''WebAnimation/BarbieVlog''. ''WesternAnimation/BarbieBigCityBigDreams'' and its' spinoff series, ''Barbie: It Takes Two'', and the interactive film ''WesternAnimation/BarbieEpicRoadTrip'' are also a part of this unified continuity.
11	----
12	[[AC:Films:]]
13	[[index]]
14	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheRockersOutOfThisWorld'' (1987)
15	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheSensationsRockinBackToEarth'' (1987)
16	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'' (2001)
17	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'' (2002)
18	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'' (2003)
19	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper'' (2004)
20	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia'' (2005)
21	** ''Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia'' (2006)
22	** ''Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow'' (2007)
23	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieMariposa'' (2008)
24	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieMariposaAndTheFairyPrincess'' (2013)
25	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheMagicOfPegasus'' (2005)
26	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBarbieDiaries'' (2006)
27	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheTwelveDancingPrincesses'' (2006)
28	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsTheIslandPrincess'' (2007)
29	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'' (2008)
30	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInAChristmasCarol'' (2008)
31	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePresentsThumbelina'' (2009)
32	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheThreeMusketeers'' (2009)
33	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInAMermaidTale'' (2010)
34	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInAMermaidTale2'' (2012)
35	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAFashionFairytale'' (2010)
36	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAFairySecret'' (2011)
37	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool'' (2011)
38	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAPerfectChristmas'' (2011)
39	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePopstar'' (2012)
40	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePinkShoes'' (2013)
41	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndHerSistersInAPonyTale'' (2013)
42	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieThePearlPrincess'' (2014)
43	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheSecretDoor'' (2014)
44	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInPrincessPower'' (2015)
45	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInRocknRoyals'' (2015)
46	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndHerSistersInTheGreatPuppyAdventure'' (2015)
47	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieSpySquad'' (2016)
48	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieStarLightAdventure'' (2016)
49	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndHerSistersInAPuppyChase'' (2016)
50	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieVideoGameHero'' (2017)
51	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieDolphinMagic'' (2017)
52	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessAdventure'' (2020)
53	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndChelseaTheLostBirthday'' (2021)
54	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieBigCityBigDreams'' (2021)
55	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieMermaidPower'' (2022)
56	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieEpicRoadTrip'' (2022)
57	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieSkipperAndTheBigBabysittingAdventure'' (2023)
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59	[[AC:Series:]]
60	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'' (2012-2015)
61	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieDreamhouseAdventures'' (2018-2020)
62	* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieItTakesTwo'' (2022-present)
63	[[/index]]
64	----
65	!!Tropes shared across the films include:
66	* ArtEvolution:
67	** Besides the animation improving over the years as CGI technology becomes more advanced and easier to use, from around ''Barbie as the Island Princess'' onwards, the facial features of Barbie and the characters she portrays have shifted, making her face more heart-shaped and her eyes larger; her face has only changed more over the years. The earlier films tended to give Barbie and many of the side characters more realistic features (as much as the technology would allow), while the later films have increasingly opted for more exaggerated, stylized features.
68	** Most of the earlier movies tend to favor softer, pastel color palettes, while later movies gradually shifted towards bolder, brighter color palettes.
69	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Often played straight in the earlier films, but also played with.
70	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'': Clara is a pretty teenage girl and the Nutcracker is clearly designed to be cute (even though Clara's brother calls him ugly), while the Mouse King and his bat minion Pimm are respectively ugly and goofy-looking.
71	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'': Rapunzel is lovely; Gothel isn't ''ugly'', but she's an ObviouslyEvil-looking older woman with VillainousCheekbones and has an unpleasant-looking WickedWeasel for a pet.
72	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'': The beautiful Odette and handsome Prince Daniel are the heroes; the wizened Rothbart (who has a ridiculously big SinisterSchnoz) and sallow EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette Odile are the villains. The forest troll Erasmus is firmly a good guy on Odette's side, though.
73	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper'': Anneliese and Erika are the conventionally attractive heroines, while Preminger and his minions Nick and Nack are goofy-looking at best.
74	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheMagicOfPegasus'': Annika's foe is the nasty DastardlyWhiplash-esque sorcerer Wenlock who turned his past wives into trolls after he tired of them. [[spoiler:His true form is a weak old man, while his wives' restored selves are beautiful women.]]
75	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia'': Played with. The BigBad Laverna has ugly goblin henchmen, but Laverna herself is the twin sister of the graceful [[BigGood Enchantress]] and looks identical to her (at least when she hasn't been turned into a toad).
76	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheTwelveDancingPrincesses'': Mostly avoided; Duchess Rowena is elegant, and her manservant Desmond is more ape-like than outright ugly.
77	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsTheIslandPrincess'': Queen Ariana is a FatBitch, while her kind-hearted daughter Luciana is a beautiful princess.
78	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'': Played almost absurdly straight with the Muses of Music, who are all elegant women in brightly colored dresses save for the BigBad Lydia, who was an ObviouslyEvil-looking type with [[ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow too much eye makeup]] even while she was one of them.
79	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool'': Averted. Dame Devin is the villain, as well as a conventionally attractive RichBitch with a StrongFamilyResemblance to her daughter Delancy.
80	* TheChosenOne: A recurring theme in the earlier movies.
81	** Clara is revealed to be the mythical Sugar Plum Princess in ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker''.
82	** Odette from ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'' has a magical destiny to save the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest from Rothbart's reign of terror.
83	** Elina from ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia'' has "the rainbow in her eye", which marks her for a great destiny.
84	** Initially averted in ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'': Alexa and Liana are two regular women who just happen to stumble across Melody's mirror and help her because it's the right thing to do. Later, however, they find a BigFancyHouse and the inhabitants claim a prophecy foretold their coming and that the manor is meant to belong to them. [[spoiler:This is subverted when the "prophecy" turns out to be a trap set up by [[BigBad Lydia]], who ensorcelled the house's true owners into helping her.]]
85	* ContinuityCreep: Aside from sequels (and the ''Fashion Fairytale''/''Fairy Secret'' duology, which instead expanded on the idea of Barbie being an [[AnimatedActors in-universe actress]]), little to no continuity was shared between the films or other media projects. Perhaps as a reaction to both the advent of shared film universes and serialized storytelling in other forms of media, Mattel began to craft a shared continuity for ''Barbie'', using at least the last three years of the ''WebAnimation/BarbieVlog'' as a launchpad. The ''Dreamhouse Adventures'' series followed, as have the Netflix-exclusive films starting with ''Princess Adventure'' and the new series ''It Takes Two''.
86	* FairyTale: A few of the movies are based on or inspired by fairytales, or share a lot of fairytale conventions. This includes ''Rapunzel'', ''Swan Lake'', ''The 12 Dancing Princesses'' and ''Thumbelina''. {{Disneyfication}} is often in effect seeing as they're aimed at young children and are intended to have uplifting messages (some of the original fairytales have {{Downer Ending}}s and/or pretty messed up content that wouldn't be appropriate for kids).
87	* FramingDevice: Several of the earlier films and a few of the later ones had Barbie telling a story to her younger sister (usually Kelly/Chelsea) which segued into the main plot, often to relay some kind of message or moral to both her sister and the audience.
88	* GenreRoulette: Following ''A Fashion Fairytale'', the films began to move beyond fantasy stories and experiment with different genres, resulting in the "Barbie" take on superheroes (''Princess Power'') spy fiction (''Spy Squad'') and sci-fi (''Starlight Adventure''), among others.
89	* GenreShift: The early Barbie movies were overwhelmingly HeroicFantasy or HighFantasy stories with vaguely historical settings, many of which were loose adaptations of existing stories or fairy tales. The release of ''A Fashion Fairytale'' marked a shift to original stories with modern settings, often featuring UrbanFantasy elements. The later movies also began to branch out and [[GenreRoulette incorporate elements from different genres]].
90	* GorgeousGarmentGeneration: This happens in a fair number of films:
91	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'': Clara's nightgown turns into a pink and white tutu (complete with RegalRinglets and a tiara) [[spoiler:when she is revealed to be the Sugarplum Princess.]]
92	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'': Rapunzel uses her magic paintbrush to turn her dress into several different gowns, eventually settling on a glittery pink and purple number.
93	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'': Odette's dress is transformed twice, once into a pink gown for her evening with Daniel and again into a sparkly swan feathered gown.
94	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'': Four times over (six if you count the dogs getting all sparkly).
95	* GratuitousPrincess: Many of Barbie's characters are princesses (usually by birth), especially in the earlier films, and it would probably be easier to name the ones where she ''isn't'' one at all (Elina from ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia'', Eden Starling from ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInAChristmasCarol'', and Barbie from ''WesternAnimation/TheBarbieDiaries'', to name a few). This goes all the way back to the first film, ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'', which not only made Clara a CompositeCharacter with the Sugarplum Fairy but also changed her title to that of the Sugarplum Princess.
96	* HeroicFantasy: While many of the 2000s films have high fantasy-type settings and the protagonists are always heroic, sometimes the focus of the story is much smaller and more personal. The protagonists may obtain magical items to aid them, but often lack inherent powers of their own, while the villains may be capable of wielding magic.
97	* HighFantasy: A few of the stories, especially the ones from the 2000s, feature the protagonist going on an epic quest to save their world/kingdom, with magic being an everyday or at least not unusual occurence. ''Barbie in the Nutcracker'', ''Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus'', and the ''Fairytopia'' films fit this most closely.
98	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A common punishment for the villains, especially in the earlier films:
99	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'': The Mouse King tries to cast a spell on Clara to shrink her down even smaller than he did at the beginning, but Eric uses his sword to reflect the spell back at him, shrinking ''him'' down to a much more size-accurate mouse too small to do anything but run away.
100	** In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'', Gothel casts a spell to try and trap Rapunzel permanently within the tower, but the wording of the spell meant it was ''Gothel'' who ended up sealed inside, while Rapunzel was able to just stroll right out.[[note]]The spell stated "Never release your prisoner with a lying heart", as Gothel thought Rapunzel was lying to her - Rapunzel wasn't lying, so the spell didn't affect her, but it ''did'' affect Gothel, who was a compulsive liar.[[/note]]
101	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'': Rothbart is defeated when the magic crystal that he obsessed over stealing from Odette is powered up by [[ThePowerOfLove Odette and Daniel's love]] when he wears it, exploding and practically killing him.
102	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheTwelveDancingPrincesses'': When Duchess Rowena obtains a wish-granting flower, she tries to use it to inflict an IronicHell on Genevieve by wishing that Genevieve would "dance forever and ever". Genevieve uses a fan to wave away the flower's magic pollen back at her, inflicting it on Rowena instead. What doubles the irony is that Rowena earlier gave Genevieve and her sisters a lesson on how to use said fan, sealing her fate.
103	** Towards the end of ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'', [[BigBad Lydia]] is turned to stone by the very spell she was casting on Liana and Alexa.
104	* InNameOnly: The movies that adapt fairy tales tend to be incredibly liberal with the source material. ''Nutcracker'' and ''Swan Lake'' retain elements like ballet and some character names, ''Rapunzel'' only features the original story as a DreamSequence, ''Princess and the Pauper'' has an entirely original {{Gender Flip}}ped plot with only the basic PrinceAndPauper premise, and ''Twelve Dancing Princesses'' has just the basic idea of twelve princesses who sneak out to dance. TropesAreTools, though; this doesn't make them bad, just different.
105	* LessonOfTheDaySpeech: Most of the movies include some kind of central message or theme, often including a quote spelling out the message plainly before or after the end credits. Common themes and aesops include ThePowerOfFriendship, ThePowerOfLove, HopeSpringsEternal, YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre etc.
106	* NoHuggingNoKissing: Although the heroine gets a love interest in some of the movies, even if they get a RelationshipUpgrade it's rare for them to do anything more than hug, if that; besides that they'll probably just hold hands, dance together and give each other long looks. ''Rapunzel'' is one of the few movies to feature the OfficialCouple kissing onscreen at their wedding, and it's an extremely brief and chaste-looking kiss.
107	* OddballInTheSeries: ''The Barbie Diaries'' wasn't produced at Mainframe/Rainmaker as the other films are/were; instead production was handled by Curious Pictures, resulting in some ''seriously'' [[UnintentionalUncannyValley odd-looking]] CGI (even in comparison to the other films at the time). It was also set in the modern day, as opposed to the various historical/semi-historical or outright fantasy settings.
108	** The ''Fashion Fairytale''/''Fairy Secret'' duology suddenly decided to focus on the idea that [[AnimatedActors Barbie is an actress who's been playing the roles in all these films]], which hadn't really been focused on outside the [[FramingDevice story she was telling]] and/or the HilariousOuttakes. This idea didn't carry on afterwards.
109	** Also, the two 1980s ''Barbie and the Rockers''/''Barbie and the Sensations'' specials, which were little more than [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot potential pilots]] for a regular ''Barbie'' animated series (when negotiations with Mattel apparently fell apart, Creator/DiCEntertainment repurposed much of their production materials into the Hasbro-backed ''WesternAnimation/MaxiesWorld'').
110	* ParentalAbandonment: The earlier films, which were mostly based on fairy tales, had this trope a fair few times.
111	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'': Clara and Tommy's parents are specified to have died when they were younger, and they live with their grandfather.
112	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel'': Rapunzel is told by Gothel that her parents abandoned her when she was a baby before Gothel adopted her. [[spoiler:In reality, Gothel kidnapped her from her parents to get back at Rapunzel's father for rejecting her affections, and in the end Rapunzel reunites with them.]]
113	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake'': Odette lives with her father and older sister, but her mother is never mentioned or seen and is presumably dead.
114	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper'': Anneliese's father is briefly seen in the prologue but disappears after that, and is all but outright stated to have died. Erika's parents are deceased, and their debts from taking loans from Madame Carp are why she's forced to work for her.
115	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheTwelveDancingPrincesses'': Queen Isabella, the mother of Genevieve and her sisters, is long deceased (and unlike the above examples, is at least named).
116	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsTheIslandPrincess'': Ro was found and raised by animals on a tropical island as a child when she washed up on the shore, and has no memory of her past. [[spoiler:In the end, she reunites with her mother and finds out her true identity is Princess Rosella.]]
117	** ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool'': Blair has an adoptive mother and little sister, having been a DoorstopBaby. [[spoiler:She later discovers she is actually Sophia, princess of Gardenia, and her family was killed in an accident engineered by Dame Devin.]]
118	* PeriodPiece: Up to ''Barbie and the Three Musketeers'', the majority of the movies were set either in the past or in fantasy realms that resembled long-ago time periods; medieval and Renaissance Europe are the most common settings for the movies of this era, with ''The Barbie Diaries'' and ''Thumbelina'' standing out for being set in the modern day. Following ''Barbie and the Three Musketeers'', the majority of the movies shifted to contemporary settings.
119	* PlentyOfBlondes: Seeing as all the movies star Barbie as the main protagonist or Barbie herself, and one of Barbie's distinctive physical traits is her blonde hair, the main protagonists are always blonde. Some of the side characters may be blondes as well, though it's also common for Barbie/the character Barbie plays to have a close companion with differently-colored hair (especially brunette).
120	* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: The FramingDevice of several films involves Barbie telling her younger sister Kelly a story; Barbie appears to be in her twenties, while Kelly looks no older than ten, giving them a gap of around a decade. Barbie is depicted as a CoolBigSis imparting comfort and wisdom to her little sister.
121	* PrincessesPreferPink: In the films where Barbie's character is a princess (especially the earlier ones), her main outfit will always incorporate some shade of pink.
122	* PrincessProtagonist: Earlier films frequently had Barbie's character be a princess, usually (but not always) by birth. Later movies mostly dropped this after moving away from fairy tales, but it still pops up occasionally.
123	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: All of the movies lean far onto the Idealism side. The heroes always overcome the obstacles in their path and save the day, true love and friendship triumph, the villain is either defeated or takes a level in kindness, and so on.
124	* ToylessToylineCharacter: The villains of the movies rarely get toys made of them. Two exceptions are Raquelle (the AlphaBitch bully) in ''WesternAnimation/TheBarbieDiaries'' and Malucia (the BigBad) in ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheSecretDoor'', both of whom got dolls in their toylines.
125	* TransformationSequence: [[https://youtu.be/5qcevIORSHM A staple of the films]], especially in films involving magic.
126	* UrbanFantasy: Some of the movies, especially the ones released in the 2010s, take place in the modern day with fantasy elements (e.g. ''Thumbelina'' has fairies trying to save their park from industrial development, ''Princess Charm School'' has a modern-day setting but one with fairies and a magic crown being important to the plot). Some movies like ''The Pearl Princess'' have more fantastical settings but with strong modern influences (especially compared to the older films, which tend to have medieval or Renaissance-inspired settings).

Context WesternAnimation / Barbie