Barbie as the Island Princess is a 2007 computer-animated musical film.[1] It was released to DVD on September 18, 2007, and made its television premiere on Nickelodeon on September 23, 2007.[2]
Barbie as the Island Princess | |
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![]() DVD cover | |
Directed by | Greg Richardson |
Written by | Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby |
Starring | Kelly Sheridan Christopher Gaze Susan Roman Brian Drummond Steve Marvel Alessandro Juliani Andrea Martin Russell Roberts Patricia Drake Bets Malone Candice Nicole |
Narrated by | Kelly Sheridan |
Edited by | Colin Adams |
Music by | Arnie Roth Megan Cavallari |
Production companies | Mattel Entertainment Rainmaker Animation |
Distributed by | Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
Release date | September 18, 2007 |
Running time | 85 min |
Countries | United States Canada |
Language | English |
The film is part of the Barbie film series and the second to be a musical. The film features the voice of Kelly Sheridan as Ro and is the only Barbie film to be animated by Mainframe Studios as Rainmaker Animation.[3]
The score for this film was composed by Arnie Roth. Songs for the film were written by Megan Cavallari, Amy Powers and executive producer Rob Hudnut.
Sagi the Red Panda and Azul the Indian Peacock live on a tropical island in the South Seas. They discover a little girl and a chest of belongings washed up after a storm, and take her in and name her "Ro", the only two letters left on her chests' broken nameplate. Ten years later, Ro has learned to speak to animals and grows up to be a beautiful young woman, spending her days playing on the island with Azul, Sagi, and an Asian elephant named Tika.
Prince Antonio is out exploring the South Seas, and finds himself on Ro's Island. She saves him from a float of crocodiles, and Antonio invites her to return with him to his Kingdom of Apollonia, so she can search for clues as to her forgotten past. Ro agrees, bringing her three friends with her. On the journey, Ro and Antonio begin to fall in love.
In Apollonia, King Peter and Queen Danielle are shocked when they meet Ro. Peter had arranged a marriage for Antonio while he was away to force his son to settle down and stop adventuring. He takes an immediate dislike to the "Wild Island Girl" for disrupting his plans. However, Antonio's three little sisters, and Danielle's pet rhesus monkey Tallulah, immediately befriend Ro and her animals.
Antonio's betrothed, Princess Luciana, and her mother Queen Ariana arrive, so Antonio can meet them. Unbeknownst to everyone, even Luciana, Ariana's parents committed treason and were demoted to swineherds by Peter, long ago. Ariana married an elderly king to become queen and now is seeking a way to enact revenge on Peter; seeing Ro as a threat, she works to sabotage all Ro's attempts to fit in. However, Antonio falls more and more in love with Ro, and Luciana herself, being kindhearted, feels sorry for her.
Ro, demoralized by her 'failures', thinks about returning to the island. Tallulah, Sagi, Azul and Tika cheer her up and help her get dressed up for a royal ball. At the ball, everyone is impressed by Ro's beauty and grace, and Antonio privately proposes to her. However, Ro refuses, reminding Antonio his duty is to obey his father.
Antonio argues with Peter and eventually abdicates the crown to one of his younger sisters. He leaves a note for Ro to say he will run away with her. Tika, afraid to lose Ro, overhears and hides the note. Meanwhile, Ariana sends her pet rats to spread "sunset herb" through the kingdom. The poison causes all animals who ingest it to fall into a coma, including Tallulah and Azul. King Peter, concluding Ro and her animals brought the "disease", imprisons them.
Peter strikes a bargain with Antonio - he will free Ro if Antonio marries Luciana. Ro and her animals are sent off on a ship, and Tika, realizing her mistake, confesses to Ro about the note and is forgiven. A sailor, bribed by Ariana, knocks them all overboard. In the water, Ro remembers the shipwreck of her childhood, and that her real name is Rosella.
Returning to the Kingdom with the help of some dolphins, Ro learns from a little bird that Ariana put sunset herb in the wedding cake to kill Peter and Antonio. Ro makes an antidote to wake Azul and the other animals, but is stopped by guards. Tika disrupts the wedding and gets Antonio to come to Ro's rescue, while Sagi takes the antidote to Tallulah, waking her. When Ro accuses Ariana, no one believes her, until Luciana, remembering her mother forbade her to eat anything after the wedding, defends Ro. Ariana flees in a carriage, but is wrecked and flung into a pigsty.
When Ro reveals to Antonio she has remembered her full name, a wedding guest, Queen Marissa of Paladia, comes forward, saying she lost her daughter Rosella at sea many years ago. Ro and Marissa sing a lullaby from Ro's childhood together, confirming the truth of the story. Peter begs Ro's forgiveness and thanks her for saving their lives, and she and Antonio are married, while Luciana meets a handsome prince at the wedding. Ro and Antonio then sail off to find new adventures, with Tika, Sagi, Azul, and Tallulah in tow.
Cast as per the closing credits:[4]
As a gag credit, Matt, the mime rat, is credited to be voiced by himself.
The songs in the film are written by Megan Cavallari and Amy Powers with executive producer Rob Hudnut. In chronological order, they are:
Paul Mavis of DVD Talk wrote, Barbie as The Island Princess is a well-executed CGI animated fantasy with a sweet, tender, believable approach to its love story that will no doubt make little girls sigh with delight."[5] Catherine Dawson March of The Globe and Mail called the film "enchanting" and considered its songs to be "on par with Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper".[6]
Common Sense Media's Nancy Davis Kho wrote of the film, "parents can rest assured that the subject matter is entertaining and kid-appropriate, and put their energies toward worrying about all the commercialism surrounding it." Kho praised the animation and "lush original score", and wrote that Ro and Luciana are positive role models.[7]
Barbie as the Island Princess | |
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![]() Barbie as the Island Princess cover art (North American Wii version) | |
Developer(s) | Human Soft[8] |
Publisher(s) | Activision |
Director(s) | |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance |
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Genre(s) | Platform |
Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer |
Barbie as the Island Princess is a 2007 platform video game based on the movie for PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. Developed by Human Soft and published by Activision, it is a collection of 28 different mini-games.[9][10]
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