Barbie - The Princess And The Pauper (DVD)

...believe the origin of the Barbie version of "The Princess and the Pauper" is the famous Mark Twain Novel "The Prince and the Pauper". The American writer, humorist, novelist and lecturer Mark Twain (1832-1910) published his historical fiction "The Prince and the Pauper" in 1882. He narrates the story of two identical in appearance young boys, the pauper Tom Canty and the Prince Edward son of Henry the VIII of England. ...
...First Look and the Next Barbie Movie!: I have seen this a lot with Disney DVD's and quite liked it for the Barbie series as well.
Sing-Along Feature: It lets you sing along those songs you liked most. It is also excellent for the children who can start by singing along the songs before the could memorize them and recite them on their own.
7 song CD featuring songs from the film: In case the kids fall in love with the movie, it is ... more

The Story
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The "Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper" suggests and addresses a universal question: Who is happier, the "rich or the poor?". This suggestion is displayed at the beginning of the story as you see two beautiful and identical baby girls being born on the same date but one is to a Royal couple and the other one is to a common family. This is followed by a comparison between where the princess Anneliese grew up and the common daughter Erika the pauper lives. The two dwellings are a contradiction between a big huge castle with a very girl-attractive rose pink and baby pink furnished bedroom for the young Anneliese and a small room in a penitentiary where Erica works as an indentured servant for a madam Carps.
Naturally, one would mistakenly think that the princess is enjoying a more affluent and comfortable life while Erica is suffering the humiliation of dept service.
However, as the story goes on, one finds out that this is not true. Anneliese is also confined by a series of royal duties and obligations that she has no time to enjoy her life as who she is. Adding to this the fact that she ought to marry a prince she never met instead of the tutor and teacher she secretly loves. In conclusion, both Anneliese and Erica live very similar psychological conflict despite the socio-economical gap between them.
When Anneliese is preparing to marry out of duty a prince she never met, there was another plot going on by the evil Preminger. Getting rid of Anneliese and forcing the Queen mother of marrying him to save her kingdom was a part of his evil conspiracy.
During one night he succeeds in kidnapping the princess and taking her as a prisoner into the woods to finish her off. Her witty teacher brings in Erika to take her place in the castle and follows Anneliese's trail only to be himself captured by the evil Preminger.
The groom to be Prince Dominic sees Erika and her canine-like feline and falls in love with her. She too feels the same way. Yet, Preminger, who discovers her identity reveals her to the Queen, and calls for her doom.
In a series of fortunate events, Princess Anneliese and her tutor Julian with the help of a horse and her cat find a way out and discover a diamond mine at the same time. They run back to the castle to save the Queen and the kingdom from the malevolence and wickedness of Preminger.
As a fairy tale, the heroes should get married according to classical traditions but not this one. Princess Anneliese fulfils her dream by marrying her beloved tutor while the prince proposes to Erika and gets refused once before she finally accepts. The Marriage ceremony for both couples however is classical royalty.

The Origin of the Story
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I believe the origin of the Barbie version of "The Princess and the Pauper" is the famous Mark Twain Novel "The Prince and the Pauper". The American writer, humorist, novelist and lecturer Mark Twain (1832-1910) published his historical fiction "The Prince and the Pauper" in 1882. He narrates the story of two identical in appearance young boys, the pauper Tom Canty and the Prince Edward son of Henry the VIII of England.

To be honest I haven't read the novel, but have watched a cartoon series of it when I was a child. Therefore, I won't be able to write a résumé about it but if any one likes any further information, you may visit the one of many websites that talks about it. The previous information about the origin of the story and the writer is taken from Wikipedia free online dictionary [accessed on 29/07/2006 at 12:19 pm.].

The Songs and Themes
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The songs represent many variants across the theme spectrum. The first theme emphasizes the importance of hope in achieving one's dream. The second one stresses that bounding obligations and the importance of the duty a girl has towards her family and society whatever her position and despite her yearning for freedom. Another theme pin points the resemblance of many of the people's emotional dilemmas across different social classes. Another theme presented is that of friendship as you may clearly notice how the characters are continuously supporting each other, understanding and accepting one another no matter what any body else says or thinks. One more important theme which I have noticed from my own subjective point of view is the conflict between the emotion (heart) and the reason (mind) of people in general and women in particular especially young women in the age of puberty when sometimes they are in a position when they have to choose between either fulfilling their parents expectations or following their hearts desires.

The following are captions of some of the many songs and musicals from the animation. They are sung with pretty attractive tunes that are easy to memorize by both adults and children.

Princess Anneliese:
All my life I've always wanted
To have one day just for me
Nothing to do and for once nowhere I need to be
With no lessons, lords, or lunches
Or to-do list in the was
No one to say when to eat or read or leave or stay
That would be the day

Erika:
All my life I've always wanted
To have one day for myself
Not waking up with a pile of work on every shelf
With no hems in need of pressing
And no sleeves in disarray
No wedding gown with a thousand stitches to crochet
And no debt to pay

Notice how despite the different circumstances between the 2 girls, what they both yearn for is the same, freedom.

Both
I close my eyes and feel myself fly a thousand miles away
I could take flight but would it be right
My conscience tells me stay

PRINCESS ANNELIESE:
I wear the gown, without my crown
And dance around my room

BOTH:
And imagine life without the strife of an unfamiliar groom

Anneliese (This is said spoken but during the course of the song):
But I'd never let my Mother know.
I wouldn't want to disappoint her.

Anneliese:
I'll remain forever royal

Erika:
I'll repay my parent's debt

BOTH:
Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret

Anneliese:
But I'll never stop believing

Erika:
She can never stop my schemes

BOTH:
There's more to living than gloves and gowns and threads and seams
In my dreams
I'll be free

Notice how despite their desire for freedom they both decide not to obey their desire and remain faithful to their status expectations. However, they won't give up their dream of freedom no matter what.

BOTH:
I'm just like you (I'm just like you)
You're just like me (You're just like me)

BOTH:
It's something anyone can see

BOTH:
A heart that beats (A heart that beats)

BOTH:
A voice that speaks the truth
Yes, I am a girl like you!

Notice the conclusion they both reached which is the similarity of their physical being and their character traits. "A heart that beats"…."and "A voice that speaks the truth"….

The Cast:
---------------

Written by:
Elana Lesser and Cliff Ruby.

Produced by:
Jesyca C. Durchin
Jennifer Twiner McCarron
William Lau.

Characters:
Princess Anneliese and Erika (Speaking) : Kelly Sheridan
Princess Anneliese (Singing) : Melissa Lyons
Erika (Singing) : Julie Stevens
Prince Dominic : Mark Hildreth
Julian (the Tutor) : Alessandro Juliani
Queen Genevieve : Ellen Kennedy
Preminger : Martin Short
Serafina (Princess Anneliese's cat) : Katheleen Barr
Wolfie (Erika's Cat) : Ian James Corlett
Madam Carps : Pam Hyatt
Other Voices include: Jan Rabson, Colic Murdock, Brian Drummond and Janyse Jaud.

DVD Features:
----------------------
Some of the features include:
First Look and the Next Barbie Movie!: I have seen this a lot with Disney DVD's and quite liked it for the Barbie series as well.
Sing-Along Feature: It lets you sing along those songs you liked most. It is also excellent for the children who can start by singing along the songs before the could memorize them and recite them on their own.
7 song CD featuring songs from the film: In case the kids fall in love with the movie, it is a good way to keep them quiet in the car.
and much more!

I would like to add that at the end of the animated movie, you see a make believe of the characters being shot in funny situations such as Erika bursting into laughter while reciting her script or Julian break dancing as he performs a scene. It is not only funny and takes the audience's mind off the fairy tale, but also reminds them of the human cast who have spent tedious hours in the studio in order to bring this piece of art into being in the best form.

Other Information:
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It was produced in 2004 as the first Barbie musical and was released on the 28th of September 2004. The running time is 85 minutes and features 7 original songs.
It has been nominated in 2005 for the Best Animated Character Performance (Voice and Animation in a DVD Premiere Movie) and won the DVDX award for the voice and design of the character Preminger.
Of all the Barbie movies I have watched, which include "The Swan Princess", "Fairytopia" and "The Magic of Pegasus", the "Princess and the Pauper" is by far my most favourite of them all.

 

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