DVD Review: Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses

The movie has been hyped for months, the cartoon channel commercials had countdowns to when it would be released, and now it's finally here- Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses.

This straight to DVD movie is good for both younger, preschool girls, as well as older girls who will understand the plot better. The basic plot is that the widowed king's 12 daughters love to laugh and dance all day, and are beginning to be shunned by people who do not thing they have the proper behavior for princesses.

The king calls in his cousin, Duchess Rowena, to teach the girls etiquette and behavior that will be more suitable. The duchess starts off very strict, taking away all of the fun activities that their father had, until they are finally left to moon around in gray rags with their possessions gone and nothing to do.

The duchess then begins poisoning the king so that he will die and she can become the queen. The princesses discover that inside their room is a secret portal that they can step through by dancing across magic stones. The portal leads to a magic land where all of their wishes come true.

After going to the magic land a few times, the duchess discovers it and destroys the portal, locking them in the magic land. The princesses dance their way back and storm the castle, vanquishing Rowena and her henchmen through clever tricks and brave deeds.

There is very little violence in the movie, and what violence there is, at the end, is cartoonish and not frightening. The concept of the dead queen can be sad for sensitive youngsters, but she does not die on film, and is only referred to a couple of times. The plot point about the poisoning is probably the most concerning, but very young kids will probably not figure out what is happening that is making the king sick, and will instead focus on the many dancing scenes. Older kids will like the poisoning and other more complex plot points (finding the apothecary who sold the poison, discovering Rowena, etc.) that will interest them more than the dancing.

The overall theme of the movie seems to be bravery and standing your ground- the princesses got everything they did through being brave and active. They sought out the magical land, found a way back, took back the castle, etc. And when no one believed them that Rowena was evil, they did not waver in their beliefs.

There is also a small subplot about the sisters helping each other when they needed it - as evidenced by Barbie, as Princess Genevieve, taking responsibility for one of the youngest sisters, who appears to be disabled. The animation of the movie is not great- it looks like fairly cheap computer generation, but the positive themes, coupled with small children's fascination with the colorful dancing scenes, definitely make buying this movie worth it.