Great little movie for any Barbie Lover!!! My four and two year old absolutely adore this movie! It has songs and dances that they love to copy. As a parent, i think this movie is quite cool because she seems like a smart character, who reads a lot of books and doesn't need a guy to save her. The little bratty princess character does my head in and is VERY annoying. Luckily my kids haven't imitated her! We went from this to Barbie and the rock star and then the mermaid tale's. All very cool in my opinion. I like that they haven't made Barbie a tragic mess, ha ha. Would Definitely recommend this movie. I'm very surprised they have such low rating on here!
12 Reviews
A secret door that one doesn't properly care as to whether it's open or not
TheLittleSongbird6 August 2017
It is very easy to meet the 'Barbie' films with a lot of dislike and scorn and they are all very lowly rated here (despite some favourable reviews). It is understandable to take issue with the dialogue (a fair few are ropy in this regard), the predictability of the stories, the odd annoying character, the animation in a few (not all are well animated) and whether there is enough for adults to keep interest.
Despite not being the main target audience, to me they are mostly better than given credit for, easy to take them for what they are and don't deserve to be dismissed as baby-ish and for little girls only (a very narrow minded generalisation). Are they animation masterpieces? No. Are they among the best films ever made? Again no. Are they worth watching if taken for what they are? Absolutely for most of them. Most of them look good if not having the polish of studios specialising in computer animation (Pixar for one), often great music, good lessons and messages, a good deal of charm, have their heart in the right place and have entertaining characters well voiced (some had actors of considerable calibre like Tim Curry, Anjelica Huston, Martin Short and Kelsey Grammar, all of them terrific in their respective outings Curry especially) and a likable title character that particularly young girls can relate to.
'Barbie and the Secret Door' regrettably didn't much for me. Certainly it is much better than 'A Fairy Secret', 'A Fashion Fairytale' and 'The Princess and the Popstar', it would take a lot for a 'Barbie' film to be worse than those three. However, it is no 'Nutcracker', 'Diamond Castle', 'Island Princess', 'Pink Shoes', 'Prince and the Pauper' and '12 Dancing Princesses'. Despite leaving me indifferent, 'Barbie and the Secret Door' doesn't offend anybody really and passes the time if you have little better to do.
Starting with the faults, the story is too much of a Hodge podge of ideas tried, tested and already worn to the ground, giving a real sense that the 'Barbie' franchise has run out of ideas. It means that the story-telling lacks any kind of surprises, which does take away from properly enjoying it, and that some of it is dull too makes it less forgivable. Also don't think the mix of traditional and modern works, the traditional aspects have moments of colourful magic and a nostalgic quality but the modern aspects are clumsy and juxtaposes far too much with the traditional, can understand what they were trying to do but it was a case of trying too hard to do too much and benefiting more from either or and less is more.
The dialogue has rarely been a strong suit in a 'Barbie' film, even in the films in the better half of the series but not quite among the very best of it. That's an understatement in the case of the dialogue here, which really doesn't flow and the worst of it makes the toes curl. Although the characters are nice enough, the lack of character development makes them bland and archetypal too. The only character that has hints of it and where something relatively different is tried is with the villain.
Was underwhelmed mostly by the soundtrack. There has always been a preference for the more classical music-oriented soundtracks (which is a large part of why the first three 'Barbie' films are in the better half of the series) but having a more modern approach has rarely bothered me. The first couple of songs were upbeat and the villain's song was quite good and the only one to drive the story forward or do anything to the character, the rest despite some surprisingly good visual choreography are ear-bleeding terrible. Again, most of the animation is a long way from bad, but there were a few instances where the bright colours got a little excessive.
Despite how negative this all sounds, 'Barbie and the Secret Door' does have enough to make it watchable. The animation mostly really isn't bad, trust me anything from Video Brinquedo and Spark Plug Entertainment and all the (computer-animated) 'Swan Princess' sequels and those for 'Alpha and Omega' are far worse looking than any 'Barbie' film put together, have never felt physically ill watching a 'Barbie' film, even the ones that are not good. There are bright colours, handsome and imaginative backgrounds and the character designs and movements have natural freedom rather than being stiff. Oh and those dresses are gorgeous and any pre-schooler girl who loves princesses will want to wear them.
Although the story is less than perfect, it does have cute and charming moments and has its heart in the right place. Appreciated the positive messaging, hardly new the messages taught but done in a way that's heartfelt and not like the film is talking at you. The character interactions have their appealing charm and make up for the lack of depth. The villain is a lot of fun, though her trivial punishment was indeed a slap in the face. Along with likable and resourceful Alexa, the grandmother's role was very enjoyable.
Voice acting is pretty good and done with a lot of spirit. Cannot imagine Barbie without Kelly Sheridan (the 'Barbie' films without her did suffer from her absence on top of even bigger problems) and she continues to grow. Ashleigh Ball is another standout.
In summation, not bad but not particularly good. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Despite not being the main target audience, to me they are mostly better than given credit for, easy to take them for what they are and don't deserve to be dismissed as baby-ish and for little girls only (a very narrow minded generalisation). Are they animation masterpieces? No. Are they among the best films ever made? Again no. Are they worth watching if taken for what they are? Absolutely for most of them. Most of them look good if not having the polish of studios specialising in computer animation (Pixar for one), often great music, good lessons and messages, a good deal of charm, have their heart in the right place and have entertaining characters well voiced (some had actors of considerable calibre like Tim Curry, Anjelica Huston, Martin Short and Kelsey Grammar, all of them terrific in their respective outings Curry especially) and a likable title character that particularly young girls can relate to.
'Barbie and the Secret Door' regrettably didn't much for me. Certainly it is much better than 'A Fairy Secret', 'A Fashion Fairytale' and 'The Princess and the Popstar', it would take a lot for a 'Barbie' film to be worse than those three. However, it is no 'Nutcracker', 'Diamond Castle', 'Island Princess', 'Pink Shoes', 'Prince and the Pauper' and '12 Dancing Princesses'. Despite leaving me indifferent, 'Barbie and the Secret Door' doesn't offend anybody really and passes the time if you have little better to do.
Starting with the faults, the story is too much of a Hodge podge of ideas tried, tested and already worn to the ground, giving a real sense that the 'Barbie' franchise has run out of ideas. It means that the story-telling lacks any kind of surprises, which does take away from properly enjoying it, and that some of it is dull too makes it less forgivable. Also don't think the mix of traditional and modern works, the traditional aspects have moments of colourful magic and a nostalgic quality but the modern aspects are clumsy and juxtaposes far too much with the traditional, can understand what they were trying to do but it was a case of trying too hard to do too much and benefiting more from either or and less is more.
The dialogue has rarely been a strong suit in a 'Barbie' film, even in the films in the better half of the series but not quite among the very best of it. That's an understatement in the case of the dialogue here, which really doesn't flow and the worst of it makes the toes curl. Although the characters are nice enough, the lack of character development makes them bland and archetypal too. The only character that has hints of it and where something relatively different is tried is with the villain.
Was underwhelmed mostly by the soundtrack. There has always been a preference for the more classical music-oriented soundtracks (which is a large part of why the first three 'Barbie' films are in the better half of the series) but having a more modern approach has rarely bothered me. The first couple of songs were upbeat and the villain's song was quite good and the only one to drive the story forward or do anything to the character, the rest despite some surprisingly good visual choreography are ear-bleeding terrible. Again, most of the animation is a long way from bad, but there were a few instances where the bright colours got a little excessive.
Despite how negative this all sounds, 'Barbie and the Secret Door' does have enough to make it watchable. The animation mostly really isn't bad, trust me anything from Video Brinquedo and Spark Plug Entertainment and all the (computer-animated) 'Swan Princess' sequels and those for 'Alpha and Omega' are far worse looking than any 'Barbie' film put together, have never felt physically ill watching a 'Barbie' film, even the ones that are not good. There are bright colours, handsome and imaginative backgrounds and the character designs and movements have natural freedom rather than being stiff. Oh and those dresses are gorgeous and any pre-schooler girl who loves princesses will want to wear them.
Although the story is less than perfect, it does have cute and charming moments and has its heart in the right place. Appreciated the positive messaging, hardly new the messages taught but done in a way that's heartfelt and not like the film is talking at you. The character interactions have their appealing charm and make up for the lack of depth. The villain is a lot of fun, though her trivial punishment was indeed a slap in the face. Along with likable and resourceful Alexa, the grandmother's role was very enjoyable.
Voice acting is pretty good and done with a lot of spirit. Cannot imagine Barbie without Kelly Sheridan (the 'Barbie' films without her did suffer from her absence on top of even bigger problems) and she continues to grow. Ashleigh Ball is another standout.
In summation, not bad but not particularly good. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Better than the last few
isabella-vozar28 September 2014
To begin, I am a Barbie lover, I collect barbies, I have all the movies and am just a huge fan. However, since Barbie in Thumbelina, the films have lacked their original element of magic. The characters are no longer dynamic, and every film with the exception of the Three Muskateers has been set in the present with no real magical otherworldly elements except for going under the sea for tacky underwater cities or into fairy lands that lack any kind of creativity in landscape and visual design. The exceptions since Thumbelina have been Muskateers, Princess Charm School and a Fashion Fairytale.
There have been seven movies since Charm School, and they have finally made another decent one. It still doesn't come close to Swan Lake/Rapunzel/Fairytopia/Pegasus etc, but it is on an equal level with Charm School. The colours are bright and the land beyond the door has more detail than the ones in Fairy Secret, which I really appreciate, because whoever designed the fairy world in that was absolutely useless.
The first two songs sung by Barbie 'Alexa' (I swear they're running out of names, haven't they used Alexa before?) are very catchy, despite they lyrics being lazy. However, the songs sung by her mermaid and fairy friends are really boring and the dancing is so awkward you want to block your eyes.
The villain is awesome though! I found her really funny, she's a little brat who is totally spoilt and her song gives us a good look at her character and develops our love/hate relationship with her. I was really happy with her, considering the last few villains which have been really boring and haven't had any musical numbers in a while.
Another plus is that Barbie doesn't look like such an alien in this one! I remember seeing her in 'A Mermaid Tale' and almost died from how giant her eyes were and how rounded and large her head was. Well it's still huge and her eyes are still giant, but she looks less crazy. She's definitely a bit more human looking than she was. Hopefully returning to her original movie looks.
My niece who is 9 really loved this film and she agrees with me about the last few being disappointments. She found this one really entertaining and funny, and loved the colours in the film! I personally felt the extreme lolly colouring to be a bit much, and almost got a headache from the overkill, but she loved it so I guess that's something the kids must like.
It has good messages in it as well, about being who you are and learning that you can shine even if you are shy and that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. It has all the typical barbie movie motivational messages in it, so that's always good.
Definitely worth watching, it gives hope that Barbie movies might be getting better again.
There have been seven movies since Charm School, and they have finally made another decent one. It still doesn't come close to Swan Lake/Rapunzel/Fairytopia/Pegasus etc, but it is on an equal level with Charm School. The colours are bright and the land beyond the door has more detail than the ones in Fairy Secret, which I really appreciate, because whoever designed the fairy world in that was absolutely useless.
The first two songs sung by Barbie 'Alexa' (I swear they're running out of names, haven't they used Alexa before?) are very catchy, despite they lyrics being lazy. However, the songs sung by her mermaid and fairy friends are really boring and the dancing is so awkward you want to block your eyes.
The villain is awesome though! I found her really funny, she's a little brat who is totally spoilt and her song gives us a good look at her character and develops our love/hate relationship with her. I was really happy with her, considering the last few villains which have been really boring and haven't had any musical numbers in a while.
Another plus is that Barbie doesn't look like such an alien in this one! I remember seeing her in 'A Mermaid Tale' and almost died from how giant her eyes were and how rounded and large her head was. Well it's still huge and her eyes are still giant, but she looks less crazy. She's definitely a bit more human looking than she was. Hopefully returning to her original movie looks.
My niece who is 9 really loved this film and she agrees with me about the last few being disappointments. She found this one really entertaining and funny, and loved the colours in the film! I personally felt the extreme lolly colouring to be a bit much, and almost got a headache from the overkill, but she loved it so I guess that's something the kids must like.
It has good messages in it as well, about being who you are and learning that you can shine even if you are shy and that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. It has all the typical barbie movie motivational messages in it, so that's always good.
Definitely worth watching, it gives hope that Barbie movies might be getting better again.
Out of ideas?
darren77343 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Just finished watching this movie with my 11 year old daughter. She commented that this is the worst Barbie movie she has ever watched and we have watched them all. This movie seems to cater to 5 year old's with it's excessive color schemes and tired plot formula. How many times can Barbie movies center around fairies, mermaids and princesses? How many times do we have to watch Barbie (or her character) have a problem, visit a magic world and then have everything turn out fine in the end? How about dealing with some reality? There are so many real life scenarios that kids could learn from, instead of always relying on make believe, magic and fantasy lands. But then again what do I know? Maybe my daughter is just growing up. After all, she loved the 'Book Thief' movie.
It could have been great...
saraheknuckles7 October 2014
I personally love Barbie movies; I grew up with them and still like to watch my favorites today as well as see the newer ones. So many modern Barbie movies have been so disappointing, but the concept of this movie seemed really interesting. Within the first 3 minutes (at the start of the first song) I knew it would be off-putting. The concept and idea was there, the characters were good and I loved the twist with the villain being a spoiled little girl. What truly destroyed it though was the modernization. Maybe it's just because I'm used to the older movies having song lyrics containing "LOL," but if they could have stuck to the original style of Barbie fantasy movies, it could have been great! The songs were too "pop-y" which completely distracted from the fantasy atmosphere. I adore the concept, the characters are good, and the animation looks beautiful... but as they tried to cater too much to the typical modern stereotype, they took away from the overall enjoyment of the movie.
Good fun!
ninjathesecond14 September 2014
A good movie. I purchased this from Amazon.com and was first in the e-queue but also was a little puzzled, as when I showed the movie off most people had already seen it. Apparently there are a whole load of websites where you can watch this movie for free on-line.
However the kids really did enjoy it and as soon as the movie finished they pressed play and watched it again, which they have not done since Tinkerbell a good sign of money well spent. The scenes were bright and colourful, the story engaging, a little more thrills and fun. The dopey mermaid was funny and the grandmother was kinda cool as well.
For a movie advertised as a musical, regretfully, the songs were weak. The kids hummed away on the old Barbie tunes, but not so here.
Although she does play the part of the reluctant hero, which is good, no explanation is given why she is so reluctant. What happened to the brave and inspiring Barbie of old who fought against all kinds of monsters, wizards, witches etc. "Fighting an evil princess, I don't think I can do that." She plays a cowardly role and wanders around far too much. Barbie was uninspiring.
There was such little characterisation built up, the entire cast seemed one dimensional and we could not make ourselves care about any of them. No matter how much trouble they got into we were so distant from the movie we could not have cared less. This was the movies biggest flaw zero empathy.
When the characters had their magic drained they should have fallen deathly ill, grey skin, feverish, then there could have been a sense of urgency to the plot, that these friends had to push their fears aside, band together and rescue their fellows, quickly, but there was no clock ticking away in the background to add anything so was the usual slow paced offering.
We watched Malucia steal powers, attack people, and we were all very disappointed when she was given such a trivial punishment at the end, there was a real sense of injustice.
Would be keen to see a love story next, something like beauty and the beast(-ish) maybe.
All in all a good movie, well worth a watch or rent.
However the kids really did enjoy it and as soon as the movie finished they pressed play and watched it again, which they have not done since Tinkerbell a good sign of money well spent. The scenes were bright and colourful, the story engaging, a little more thrills and fun. The dopey mermaid was funny and the grandmother was kinda cool as well.
For a movie advertised as a musical, regretfully, the songs were weak. The kids hummed away on the old Barbie tunes, but not so here.
Although she does play the part of the reluctant hero, which is good, no explanation is given why she is so reluctant. What happened to the brave and inspiring Barbie of old who fought against all kinds of monsters, wizards, witches etc. "Fighting an evil princess, I don't think I can do that." She plays a cowardly role and wanders around far too much. Barbie was uninspiring.
There was such little characterisation built up, the entire cast seemed one dimensional and we could not make ourselves care about any of them. No matter how much trouble they got into we were so distant from the movie we could not have cared less. This was the movies biggest flaw zero empathy.
When the characters had their magic drained they should have fallen deathly ill, grey skin, feverish, then there could have been a sense of urgency to the plot, that these friends had to push their fears aside, band together and rescue their fellows, quickly, but there was no clock ticking away in the background to add anything so was the usual slow paced offering.
We watched Malucia steal powers, attack people, and we were all very disappointed when she was given such a trivial punishment at the end, there was a real sense of injustice.
Would be keen to see a love story next, something like beauty and the beast(-ish) maybe.
All in all a good movie, well worth a watch or rent.
A Second Draft Was Needed To Avoid Unfortunate Implications
blytheandferb-109676 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
There's quite a few things wrong with this movie, boiling down to story (things that are either unexplained, go on for too long, or are resolved too quickly), characters, music, entertainment, and animation. If it was just that, I'd give this a 5/10 since there would be nothing technically wrong. It would just be unengaging. However, there's a big red flag when it comes to unfortunate implications, and it all comes down to the antagonist. She's a disabled child trying to commit an equivalent of genocide. Let me explain that a little better. Princess Malucia (the "antagonist") Is a child in a fantasy world. According to other characters in the movie, Malucia is the only princess to ever be born without magic in this world; everyone else, including the civilians, has magic. Therefore, by the logic of the movie, she is a disabled child. This doesn't make her taking everyone's magic away to keep for herself okay in any way, but we have to remember that she's like 8 and spoiled so badly that she doesn't understand why her actions are wrong. During her song, Malucia spouts some lyrics that I find very disturbing for a child to say such as "But you'll still get around 'cause you can crawl" and "It might just leave you curled up in a ball". One can only conclude this is the influence of her awful parents who, in my opinion, are the real villains in this story. However none of this compares to the awful conclusion our protagonist comes to when trying to give everyone their magic back. Instead of handling things like an adult (well, she's 17, but you get the idea) Princess Alexa decides to deceive Malucia by giving her all of her magic as well, shattering the wand containing all of the magic and sending the child flying backwards where she hits her head on a chair and is hit in the face by a very large cake. When this is over, Alexa shows no concern for the literal disabled child she just injured and even remarks much later "I wonder what happened to Malucia." Because she cared so little about the consequences of her actions, she didn't even check to see if Malucia was okay. It is later implied that Malucia has done this multiple times. I don't have anything else to say. This is just bad.
A trip
jennifernicolehughes29 March 2021
I have to admit off the bat that the songs seem to come out of nowhere. However, the whimsy, colors, voice acting, and timing are perfect for young children or someone like me (an adult) who are looking for something colorful and mundane to have on in the background of a trip. It's reminiscent of Barbie Fairytopia (which I grew up on) with its color schemes and patterns. It's a good movie in general, especially if you're a 6 year old. Some of the voice actors seem to really enjoy their roles, and that is evident through their singing and line delivery. The whole plot is whimsical and positive. A mood lifting movie.
Don't pay money for this... Really
medusapain6910 October 2014
I have watched all the Barbie movies with my girls, and i love how un-Disney they all are! No Prince to save the day, just Barbie! (though they do have great humour, one liners and music!)
Unfortunately, not so in this film. The main character is weak and quite pathetic. The secondary characters are very one dimensional, her friends and family (except for her grandmother), don't seem to know, or understand her very well... The antagonist is extremely irritating! The colour was just too much, i found myself longing for something white! Waiting for a bit of tension or for one of the characters to do something clever. The plot so thin, i wouldn't walk on it if it were ice. The music was terrible, and the CG seems to have taken a step back... Checking the credits, i notice the main writer is someone who usually writes for Winnie the Pooh, and has never done a Barbie movie before... and i do hope he doesn't do one again. Because if this is the new direction they are going, i wont be introducing my girls to any more Barbie films.
Unlike some, i love the newer Barbie Films, Charm school, Princess andthe Pop star, Pony tale, fabulous! This one... not so much, most definitely the worst Barbie film ever made...
Unfortunately, not so in this film. The main character is weak and quite pathetic. The secondary characters are very one dimensional, her friends and family (except for her grandmother), don't seem to know, or understand her very well... The antagonist is extremely irritating! The colour was just too much, i found myself longing for something white! Waiting for a bit of tension or for one of the characters to do something clever. The plot so thin, i wouldn't walk on it if it were ice. The music was terrible, and the CG seems to have taken a step back... Checking the credits, i notice the main writer is someone who usually writes for Winnie the Pooh, and has never done a Barbie movie before... and i do hope he doesn't do one again. Because if this is the new direction they are going, i wont be introducing my girls to any more Barbie films.
Unlike some, i love the newer Barbie Films, Charm school, Princess andthe Pop star, Pony tale, fabulous! This one... not so much, most definitely the worst Barbie film ever made...
Lazy
verrucktcarlos8 April 2020
I wanted to see one of the new barbie movies because I grew up watching the old ones, and I loved them.
Barbie and the secret door was terrible. Extremely formulaic and annoying. The music was horrible, less than 20 minutes into the film there were already 3 songs, and all are very bad pop songs, the classical music they used in the old ones fits a lot better for this.
The story telling was super lazy. They don't try even in the slightest to explain anything. The secret door magically appears, it doesn't have a spell or something that makes it appear. She is just carrying a fairytale book and that somehow makes the door appear.
Then, as she enters the magical land her dress changes and she magically has a tiara and a magic wand on her head... ok.
The villain was pathetic, Barbie villains don't tend to be very bad or anything, but they always look a bit menacing at least. This is just an annoying brat.
The plot overall is just lazy, we've seen it thousands of times before.
The colors were also extremely overwhelming, and it looked like it was a rip off version of a Dr. Seuss Land. I was very dissapointed with this movie, as the old ones were actually quite good and could be compared to a dreamworks production or something. This is at the same level of films like Pinocchio 3000.
The colors were also extremely overwhelming, and it looked like it was a rip off version of a Dr. Seuss Land. I was very dissapointed with this movie, as the old ones were actually quite good and could be compared to a dreamworks production or something. This is at the same level of films like Pinocchio 3000.
Not bad
dianamarinelli19 January 2021
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