The Film
If you have a Barbie girl, get ready to rock her Barbie world. The iconic toy has a new movie. Unfortunately, it's not by the Pixar people, who so perfectly captured Barbie and Ken in the last two Toy Story films (and the "Hawaiian Vacation" short). Instead, it's a direct-to-video release titled, Barbie in The Pink Shoes.
It's sort of confusing, because Barbie isn't really Barbie here; she's Kristyn. Barbie either has incredible range or a split personality. It doesn't really matter though, because she also has a talent. She's a ballerina here, which should really appeal to Barbie's target audience.
After being scorned by the mean girl Tara and the head of the ballet school, Kristyn is gifted a pair of magical ballet slippers. Is there any other kind in Barbie's dream world? Once she puts them on, Kristyn and her less sparkly friend Hailey are transported to a fantastic world where dancing is everything. However, this magical place isn't all that magical. Kristyn finds herself in the middle of a love triangle and the target of the evil Snow Queen.
Barbie in The Pink Shoes has a lot of issues. For instance, Barbie has way too much drama in her life. Does she ever laugh? No. For someone with so many outfits and accessories, it seems like she could lighten up a bit. Also, some of the material may go over the audience's heads -- unless you have a kid that's just wild about foie gras.
That said, most of the kids that watch Barbie and The Pink Shoes aren't going to notice the problems. In fact, they will barely notice that she changes hair color three times. It has Barbie, pretty outfits, and provides a nice little intro to classic ballet. What more do you need?
The Picture
Well, you may be able to answer the above question 10 different ways. For me, the animation leaves something to be desired. In a world where plenty of Pixar movies are readily available on Blu-ray, Universal's direct-to-video release can be a little hard to watch at times. That's because the characters look more like something out of I, Robot than Barbie's dreamhouse. That said, the 1.78:1 image is decent enough, with plenty of saturated, sparkly colors.
The Sound
Barbie and The Pink Shoes is a pretty front-heavy affair. It shouldn't be much of a surprise, given that the film is a direct-to-video release. However, it does use the surrounds to fill out some of the music. That's also its problem, though. With the importance that music plays on this film, it's just unfortunate that those surrounds don't pack a slightly bigger punch.
The Extras
Barbie fans should be extremely pleased with the extras that are included in this set. There are outtakes, a pair of music videos and even a peek at a show called, "Life in the Dreamhouse." Parents probably won't care about anything in this section, as it's strictly for the same audience that would watch this movie.
Final Thoughts
Barbie in The Pink Shoes definitely has a target audience. If you have a Barbie fan or budding ballerina in the house, it's going to be a no-brainer. The computer animation could be a little less creepy, but it has a nice selection of extras and colors that are as perky as the subject matter. I could probably think of 30 other movies that I'd rather watch with kids, but little girls (and even a few boys) are going to love this stuff.
Product Details
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