Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses

Infobox Film
name = Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses


image_size =
caption = DVD cover.
director = Greg Richardson
producer = Shea Wageman
writer = Elana Lesser
Cliff Ruby
narrator =
starring = Kelly Sheridan
Catherine O'Hara
music = Arnie Roth
cinematography =
editing = Colin Adams
James Boshier
distributor = Universal Studios
released = September 19, 2006
runtime = 81 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by = ""
followed_by = ""
website = http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/activities/fantasy/princess/12dp/
amg_id = 1:353833
imdb_id = 0859594

"Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses" is a 2006 direct-to-video computer animated Barbie film directed by Greg Richardson and loosely based on the fairytale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." It is part of the Barbie film series and features the voice of Kelly Sheridan as the Barbie protagonist. This film was released on September 19, 2006.

Music for the film was composed by Arnie Roth. "Shine", the end title song written by Arnie Roth, Amy Powers and Rob Hudnut, was nominated for a 2007 Emmy Award.

Plot

Barbie stars as Genevieve, a princess with eleven sisters: Ashlyn, Blair, Courtney, Delia, Edeline, Fallon, Hadley, Isla, Janessa, Kathleen and Lacey. Each princess is beautiful and different, but the twelve sisters have one thing in common: they all love to dance. They live in a castle with their widowed father, King Randolph. Randolph loves his daughters deeply, but at times can't understand them and feels that they should act more like “proper” princesses. The girls' adventurous and free-spirited natures are viewed as "unladylike" and "unproper" by other members of the royal society and often leads them to make rude comments about the princesses. This both disheartens and hurts Randolph. Believing his daughters need a woman's touch, the king summons his cousin, Duchess Rowena, to the castle to help raise them. But, Rowena has her own plans, which includes getting rid of Randolph and his daughters so she can take over the kingdom.

Sensing trouble, Genevieve and her sisters try to reason with Randolph, but due to Rowena’s interference, the king doesn’t believe them and says they must listen to his cousin. Attempting to break the girls' spirits, Rowena makes the princesses’ lives miserable by stripping the castle of everything they love and having them practice "proper" behavior, like fanning. She even banishes dancing from the castle.

Sad with the changes, the princesses find comfort in their mother's favorite story, which tells of a magical kingdom where gold flowers grant wishes and a princess could dance at an enchanted pavilion for three nights. They later discover that the story is true. The gateway to this magic realm is a mosaic on their bedroom floor. The mosaic has twelve circular tiles, which have each princesses’ favorite flower on one and Genevieve opens it by dancing in order from oldest to youngest. They enter the magical kingdom and end up dancing the night away. Lacey, the youngest, falls and scrapes her knee. Genevieve dabs water from a nearby fountain on the cut and it instantly heals.

The next day, the girls are tired and the duchess finds their new dancing shoes worn through. Suspicious, Rowena believes that they were out dancing with princes. Meanwhile, the royal cobbler and Genevieve's love interest, Derek, comes to fix their shoes and sees that they are covered in gold dust. While together, Genevieve asks Derek to find out what Rowena's true intentions are. The duchess continues to deprive them of any enjoyment and prevents them from visiting or singing to their father, who has suddenly fallen ill. The doctor gives Rowena a tonic for Randolph, which she quickly disposes of, revealing that she is poisoning him. That night, Rowena has her footman, Desmond, stand guard outside the princesses’ room to find out where they go. The sisters sneak back to the magic realm and dance well into the night again. Meanwhile, Derek discovers that Rowena is stealing heirlooms from the castle and dealing with an apothecary (presumably for the poison). He hurries back to warn Genevieve and her sisters.

The next morning, the sisters are still exhausted and Rowena demands to know why. When she gangs up on Lacey, the girls tell her the truth, but she doesn’t believe them and forces them into servitude. That night, she demands the truth again, but they tell her the same story. This makes Rowena even angrier and she locks them in their room, blaming them for Randolph's failing health. Hurt by her cruel words and due to a misinterperted conversation between the king and Rowena, the girls can't help but feel that she's right and that their father would be better off without them. Heartbroken and not knowing what to do, the princesses return to the magical kingdom. A furious Rowena finds the sisters gone the next morning.

That evening, Derek finally makes it back to the castle, but discovers that the princesses are missing. Determined to find Genevieve, he sneaks into their bedroom. Remembering Genevieve's dance pattern, Derek enters the magic realm and reports his findings to the girls. Unfortunately, Rowena learns how to enter the magic realm, due to her monkey, Brutus. Stealing some flowers, she quickly returns to the castle and has Desmond destroy the mosaic that forms the gateway, trapping the sisters and Derek in the magical kingdom. Thinking she has disposed of the princesses, Rowena then tricks the weak Randolph into making her acting queen until he recovers.

Trapped in the magic realm, the girls and Derek try to find a way out. Genevieve eventually learns that it is only by dancing with Derek that she can open another entrance back to their world. As they dance, the couple and the rest of the princesses float up into the sky and return home. However, this new gateway leads to their mother's dance pavilion (which is identical to the pavilion in the magic realm), instead of their bedroom.

Once back, the sisters and Derek discover that Rowena is now queen, new guards (hired by Rowena) have been ordered to capture any stray princesses, and their father is dying. Using their diverse talents, the princesses disable the guards and enter the castle to confront Rowena. Ignoring Genevieve's orders, Lacey enters the castle to help, but is seized by Desmond. Derek and Genevieve defeat the enchanted suits of armor that defend Rowena, but the duchess has the upper hand when Desmond drags in Lacey.

Noting that Genevieve is the source of her sisters' resistance against her, Rowena uses the flowers she stole to wish for Genevieve to dance forever. But as the flower dust comes towards her, Genevieve produces her fan and blows it back at Rowena, who starts dancing instead. Desmond soon joins her while trying to help and the two villains dance their way out of the castle and the film.

It is revealed that Lacey saved some water from the magical kingdom and using it, she heals the dying king. Randolph explains that Rowena was poisoning him and apologizes to his daughters for not believing them. He now truly understands them and realizes they will do great things and be wonderful princesses by just being themselves. The film ends with everything going back to normal as Genevieve and Derek celebrate their wedding.

Cast and characters

Princesses

The names of the twelve princesses start with the first twelve letters of the alphabet. Each princess has an associated flower that appears on their dresses, book covers and on the mosaic stones that lead to the magical kingdom. The flowers are located in the middle of the bodice from Ashlyn to Genevieve (like a brooch), off to side of the dress sash on the twins and the center of the sash on the triplets (like a belt buckle). Each princess also has an associated gemstone.
* Ashlyn, voiced by Nicole Oliver, is the oldest sister. She is practical, calm and knowledgeable. She loves music, especially playing the flute and oboe. She is straightforward and cares for her sisters, for whom she tries to act as a role model. She is especially close to Blair and Courtney. Her flower is the geranium and her gemstone is a garnet. Ashlyn has dark brown hair, tan skin, light teal eyes and wears a purple gown. She also bears the most resemblance to her late mother, Queen Isabella.
* Blair, voiced by Jennifer Copping, is the second sister. She loves horses and riding. Blair's a dreamer and is close to Ashlyn and Courtney. Fiesty and outspoken, Blair is always the first to voice her opinion, especially her complaints about Rowena's presence in their lives. Her flower is larkspur and her gem is a ruby. Blair has black hair, dark blue eyes and wears a dark red gown.
* Courtney, voiced by Lalainia Lindbjerg, is the third sister and is close to Ashlyn and Blair. She seems to be the shyest of the twelve sisters. Her favorite hobby is reading, which makes her totally oblivious to her surroundings because she always has her nose in a book. However, her constant reading makes her intelligent and open minded. Her flower is the forget-me-not and her gemstone is a sapphire. Courtney has brown hair, brown eyes and wears a dark blue gown.
* Delia, voiced by Kathleen Barr, is the adventrous fourth sister. She loves sports, especially croquet and horseback riding. She is close to Edeline, mostly because they share the same interests. Her flower is the sunflower and her gemstone is a peridot. Delia has white blonde hair, light green eyes and wears a green gown.
* Edeline, voiced by Chiara Zanni, is the fifth sister. Like her older sister, Delia, whom she is close to, she loves to play sports, but her favorites are badminton and croquet. She also tends to be messy and disorganized. She also is the practical joker of the twelve princesses. Her flower is honeysuckle and her gemstone is citrine. Edeline has light brown hair, light brown eyes and wears an orange gown.
* Fallon, voiced by Adrienne Carter, is the sixth and middle sister. She loves animals, plays the harp and is a total romantic who hopes everyone can find their happily ever after. Her flower is the camellia blossom and her gemstone is a pearl. Fallon has strawberry blonde hair, dark brown eyes and wears a pink gown.
* Barbie as Genevieve, voiced by Kelly Sheridan, is the graceful and good natured heroine of the film, who tends to be unintentionally late for all sorts of occasions. Genevieve is the seventh of the twelve sisters and next to her family, Genevieve loves dancing more than anything. The other love in her life is Derek, the royal cobbler. Her flower is the pink rose and her gemstone is a pink opal. Genevieve has platinum blonde hair, dark blue eyes and wears a dark pink and white gown.
* Hadley, voiced by Ashleigh Ball, is the eighth sister and Isla's fraternal twin. She loves to dance on stilts, something she shares with Isla. The two are so close that they seem to read each other's minds and are always finishing each other's sentances. Her flower is narcissus and her gemstone is a blue topaz. Hadley has blonde hair, light teal eyes and wears a turquoise dress.
* Isla, also voiced by Ashleigh Ball, is the ninth sister and Hadley's fraternal twin. Isla is a skilled acrobatic and enjoys dancing on stilts with her twin. Her flower is the lily of the valley and her gemstone is an emerald. Isla has dark brown hair, dark blue eyes and wears a light violet dress.
* Janessa, voiced by Britt McKillip, is the tenth sister and leader of the young triplets. She is interested in bugs and loves collecting them. She is close to Kathleen and protective of Lacey. While she may be bossy at times, her intentions are always good. Her flower is the jonquil and her gemstone is aquamarine. She has dark brown hair, dark blue eyes and wears an aquamarine dress. During the movie she celebrates her 5th birthday.
* Kathleen, voiced by Maddy Capozzi, is the eleventh sister, the middle triplet and is close with Janessa. She loves art and enjoys painting, but tends to get a bit messy like her big sister, Edeline. Kathleen is down-to-earth and helps keep balance among the triplets. Her flower is the daisy and her gemstone is a pink diamond. Kathleen has red hair, dark blue eyes and wears a light pink and yellow dress. During the movie she celebrates her 5th birthday.
* Lacey, voiced by Chantal Strand, is the youngest sister and is very close to her big sister, Genevieve. She loves to collect teddy bears. Being the youngest, she is timid, somewhat clumsy and frequently needs help for the simplest things. Even though she loves her sisters and her father, Lacey often wonders about where she belongs in her large family. Her flower is the white lily and her gemstone is an amethyst. Lacey has blonde hair, light teal eyes and wears a lilac purple dress. During the movie she celebrates her 5th birthday. Like Ashlyn, Lacey resembles her father, King Randolph, the most.

Others

* Derek, voiced by Shawn MacDonald, is the handsome royal cobbler. He is friends with Genevieve and her sisters, but he is secretly in love with Genevieve and he becomes the princesses' main ally in stopping Rowena. At the end of the film, he and Genevieve are happily married among their family and friends.
* Felix, voiced by Gabe Khouth, is Derek's talking parrot. He wants Derek and Genevieve to be together, so he often blabs hints about how Derek feels to Genevieve, which causes great embarrassment for his master. He also speaks with an Indian accent.
* Duchess Rowena, voiced by Catherine O'Hara, is King Randolph's cousin and the villain of the film. She is brought to the castle to help the king raise his twelve daughters. She seeks to steal the throne by poisoning Randolph and getting rid of the twelve princesses. She is doomed to dance forever when the wish she tried to use on Genevieve backfires.
* King Randolph, voiced by Christopher Gaze, is the father of the twelve dancing princesses. He loves his daughters more than anything, but is determined to let Rowena turn them into "proper princesses". Little does he know, that Rowena is slowly poisoning him in an attempt to steal his throne and that it is up to his "unruly" daughters to save him.
* Desmond, voiced by Gary Chalk, is Rowena's large and ruthless footman. He seems to have a crush on Rowena and will do anything she says to please her. He is doomed to dance with her forever when he tries to free the cursed duchess.
* Twyla, also voiced by Nicole Oliver, is Genevieve’s pet kitten. She tries to act tough in front of her enemies and is constantly fighting with Rowena's monkey, Brutus. She is friends with Felix and believes that she is related to the tigers of India.
* Brutus, voiced by Peter Kelamis, is Rowena's pet monkey, who is just as cruel and arrogant as his mistress. He loves making Twyla angry and often spies on the princesses to find ways to get them in trouble with Rowena.
* Queen Isabella is the late mother of the twelve dancing princesses. She is seen in the movie through a portrait that hangs near the entrance of the castle. Even in death, she helps her daughters discover the magical kingdom and the importance of family.

Franchise

Various related items were released at the same time as the film as part of the Barbie franchise, some of which are mentioned here.

Dolls were released for each of the twelve princesses, with a special two-pack for the twins Hadley and Isla, and a three-pack for the sisters Delia, Edeline, and Fallon. Additionally, Genevieve had a special separate doll with a light-up spinning skirt, and a doll for Derek was also included.

Playsets released with the dolls included a castle, a styling head, a "Let's Dance Doll!", a horse & carriage, a vanity playset, a 3-feet tall My Size Barbie (Genevieve) and a Twyla kitten.

Books released include a Goldenbook storybook, a CD storybook a Panorama Sticker storybook, a "Make Your Own Little Golden Book with Sticker and Crayons and Pens/Pencils and Stencils", a Jewelry Board Book and a "Sisters Forever" storybook.

Games released include a Game Boy Advance, a PC game, a Nintendo DS game, a Sony PlayStation 2 game and Dance Mat (DVD included) game.

Dress-up items include Dress Up Slippers, a TuTu (pink, orange and purple varieties), a Princess Genevieve Dress-up Dress and a Dress Up Trunk with Accessories.

Other related items that were released include a 16-inch bike, a 12-inch bike, a 3-wheeled scooter, a bed set, a moon chair, a table & chair set, and a decorative pillow.

Response

In the October 14, 2006 issue of Billboard magazine, "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" debuted at Number One on the Top DVD Sales chart.

ee also

*List of children's films
*List of computer-animated films
*List of animated feature films

External links

*imdb title|id=0859594|title=Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
* [http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/activities/fantasy/princess/12dp/ Official Website (United States)]
* [http://uk.barbie.com/promotions/promotion6.asp Official Website (United Kingdom)]