Barbie
in
The 12 Dancing Princesses
Since Barbie
in the 12 Dancing Princesses is definitely not a title
aimed at this Fanboy, it seemed appropriate to take this
down a generation. After viewing the DVD and consulting
her copy of Aristotle's Poetics For Children, my
daughter Adaline happily stood by me and told me what to
type.
This was really
cool, really funny and also really wicked. Wicked because
the King's cousin Rowena is trying to poison him. She's
very mean to the girls, smashing all their stones in their
room and taking all the pretty stuff.
Then they find
a magical land their mom left for them. The King's cousin
finds it after the Prince - wait, maybe he's not a prince,
but his name is Derek - discovers it. Rowena's evil monkey
sees him dancing the magical moves that opens the gateway
to the land. The bad monkey shows Rowena what to do on purpose.
Rowena looked
like someone from one of the other Barbie movies. Little
Lucy has healing water, and the daughters do come back to
save their father.
It was really
good and so funny, but the monkey was mean. It also had
a very wise tiger that looked like a kitten. And twelve
beautiful dancing daughters.
It also has
a Merry Memory Ballet Game. You have to remember the dance
moves and repeat them. Lucy wanted to know the moves so
that when she grows up she can be like her sister Genevieve.
The Ballerinas all have different colors and different moves.
This was really fun.
Back to me.
Right now, this is Allie's favorite Barbie movie, even more
than Fairytopia, which had ruled our house for several months.
Her mother chimed in that it's still not as good as The Princess
and the Pauper, but that one had really good songs (and singing
Barbies in the stores). This despite having music adapted
from Felix Mendelssohn and choreography by the New York City
Ballet.
Let's face it
- they put a lot more effort into these movies than they
have to, and that should make parents grateful. Girls get
exposed to a little more culture, and the movies provide
clean-cut moral lessons without being too treacly.
It's not just
for girls, though. Two-year-old Luke loved it, too, and
tried to duplicate the dance moves. However, the monkey
bothered him by being so mean.
All
in all, today on the playground, Allie will be recommending
this movie to everyone in her class - mostly princesses,
but a few princes, too.
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
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