Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale

Barbie:  A Fashion Fairy Tale

"Join Barbie™ in a colorful, modern-day fairytale filled with fashion, friends and fun! Barbie™ and her dog, Sequin™, jet off to visit her aunt’s amazing fashion house in Paris, and much to her surprise it’s about to be shut down forever. After she discovers three enchanting Flairies™ with sparkle-magic powers, Barbie™ comes up with a brilliant idea to save the business. She even inspires Alice, a shy fashion designer, and together they create a dazzling runway fashion show. Barbie™ shows that magic happens when you believe in yourself."

Feature the voice talents of:  Kelly Sheridan and.... to be added later.

Rated:  G

Yes, what can I tell you but it's another Barbie movie set to be released on DVD September 14, 2010.  This could be the reason for the surprising lack of information online I can discover about the details of this film. Sure Barbie.com has a great site informing me of the story line and characters etc... but nowhere can I discover who actually stars in this movie behind the characters.  I can only assume that Kelly Sheridan continues to be the speaking voice for Barbie as she has filled that role since 2001.

My kids loved this movie.  It could only be due to the fabulous colours, adorable Flairies and animals, upbeat music and of course, an over abundance of sparkle.  The storyline was well done, simple and easy to follow, a tad bit predictable but still a good watch.  The fact that the kids asked to watch this movie 3 times over the weekend, including my son I might add, is enough to prove to me that this was a good story.

I loved that the so called bad people in this film weren't really that bad after all, they actually had the graciousness to recognize the error of their ways and apologize for their behaviour at the end.  Off the top of my head, I can't recall a single Barbie movie where the villain of the piece apologize and reconciled with the main character.  I think that's a great message being delivered right there!

Along with the apology comes the standard message of believing in oneself and trying your best and just being you no matter what people think. Let's face it we can tell them this ourselves but really it helps having a cool icon reaffirming it.  I was able to remind her of this message when she told me someone made fun of her hairstyle at school.  Did she like?  Yes.  Then that's all that matters. 

Of course, if you're a cynical kid (or a cynical mom)that message might only seem to ring true if you were wealthy and lived the Hollywood lifestyle that Barbie does.  Fortunately, it goes right over my oldest daughter's head that it requires a lot of money to jet set off to Paris, France at the drop of a hat. 

This movie is rated G and I think that's an apt rating.  I will mention two things that might concern very careful parents.  One is that in the opening scene Barbie plays herself starring in a play when these peas come into the scene dressed like zombies singing a song.  It's pretty mild graphically but if you're opposed to Halloween or Zombies whatsoever then I'd skip the first five minutes. 

The second scene is near the end where Barbie and Ken kiss.  That doesn't bother me because we have stressed to our children that they won't be dating until they are much older etc. but again some parents might have an issue with this. 

Alice in Wonderland

19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

Starring:  Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, etc.

Rating:  PG

This was a difficult movie to review.  While I enjoyed the film, my husband did not.  But then I have rather bizarre tastes and the quirky nature and fantasized nature of the film rather suit those. 

Not having read any further Alice stories other than the original Alice in Wonderland, I did find myself rather lost at first and had to try and stop trying to figure it all out and just enjoy the film.  I did not overly care for the Alice character.  While I like women to be strong, I found her just to be a tad too odd.  For instance, she attended a garden party without proper undergarments and was extremely socially naive despite the fact that this had been her home all her life. 

I didn't expect to like the Mad Hatter character as it seemed quite scary and odd in the previews but as usual Johnny Depp did an excellent job. Not only was it well done but he made it fit the storyline.  It doesn't take a genius to see that there was more to his nonsensical sayings than mere silliness. 

Helena Bonham Carter, an actress whom I admire quite a bit for her range in talent, did a great job playing the queen.  Kind of made me think of Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth. 

Like I said I enjoyed the fantastical part of the movie.  My only real criticism of the film is the rating.  The film is rated pg for "fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations and for a caterpillar smoking". 

I really have to argue with their terminology.  If this had been an animated film like Ice Age, then okay... it fits.  But this is NOT an animated film.  Yes, much of it is filmed in front of the so called blue screen (it's green, why do they call it blue?) but still, everything is depicted as realistic as possible.

The violence starts with a very scary beast chasing Alice and the animals.  Alice gets attacked and wounded, a mouse actually stabs the beast and removes one of it's eyes.  The Queen of Hearts has a moat around her castle filled with the heads of her decapitated victims.  They look pale and stone like without blood but it is still a grizzly scene especially as Alice using them as a stepping stone to get to the castle and her foot even slips and falls into the mouth of one of the heads.  Do you not think that is a trifle grizzly for an 8 year old?  The White Queen practices witch craft using stumps of fingers and horse urine to make a potion.  In the end, Alice has to fight a large dragon like creature, she cuts off it's tongue and then beheads it in a grizzly move that mimics a scene from LOTR where the Nazgul's beast gets it's head sliced off. 

I realize that children are watching more and more violent shows these days. For example, a customer told me the other day that her 5 year old had watched Avatar and that it's his favourite film. ?!?! Alrighty then. 

Still, my recommendation for this film is PG 13 - Minimum. 

Santa Buddies - The Legend of Santa Paws

Join The Buddies (Budderball, B-Dawg, Rosebud, Buddha and Mudbud) in a wonderfully wacky twist on a classic Christmas favorite. When Puppy Paws, the fun-loving son of Santa Paws, gets tired of the North Pole, he finds Budderball on Santa's naughty list and figures he's just the dog to show him how to be an ordinary pup. But when the magical Christmas Icicle starts to melt and the world begins to forget the true meaning of the season, it's up to Puppy Paws and his new found Buddies to save Christmas.

Starring: Christopher Lloyd, Craig Anton, Andrew Astor, Tom Bosley, George Wendt, Field Cate, Tim Conway, Chris Coppola, Josh Flitter, Ben Giroux, Skyler Gisondo, Zachary Gordon and many more.

Rated: G

Just when you thought you had enough, they bring out another Buddies movie. I have to admit though that this film does have it's charms. My children loved this film very much and watched it beginning to end several times over the weekend. It's not often a movie captures their interest that long.

For the grownups, it is definitely watchable at least one time. The story is pretty good. Talks a lot about the spirit of Christmas and what it means. That Christmas is more about giving than receiving and the buddies have to work together as a team in order to save Christmas. In doing so they help transform some of the lives of the people around them, one grumpy dog catcher played in particular.

There is a part or two where the flow doesn't really jive. You see Eli (a real elf) giving a kind lecture to a fake elf about the spirit of Christmas etc and yet you don't see how that ties into the movie. The fake elf wasn't a grump, there were no scenes (unless they were cut) where that Elf lacked Christmas spirit.

I can't really think of any potential warnings for parents. There is some mild action as the puppies are being chased by the dog catcher. In one scene the puppies try to escape and the dogcatcher gets knocked over and falls on his back. That's about all I can think of.

I should add that if you are a Christian you will find the message in the movie falls sadly short on the true meaning of Christmas. However, as always, there are many teachable moments that you can share with your children if you are sitting along with them watching this film.

Movie Mamma