Barbie Mariposa and Her Butterfly Friends
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Movie Reviews of Barbie Mariposa and Her Butterfly Friends
Movie Review: Already a favorite
Summary: 4 Stars
My six-year-old daughter loves all the Barbie movies and this one is no exception. We've already watched it twice and I'm sure she'll want to see it again tonight after school.
There were some intense scenes, but they didn't seem to bother her - but again, she's six, not a toddler. And I did like the message of the film. Although I am not really enthralled with the Barbie movies like my daughter, I do have to say that, visually, this is the most spectacular of them so far. They really have improved the computer animation for these films tremendously.
Movie Review: Follows the fairytopia formula... in an uninspired way
Summary: 3 Stars
We pre-ordered the Mariposa DVD because we like the Fairytopia series so much.
First off, its a story-within-a-story. The first ~10 minutes and last ~5 minutes are Elina telling the story to bibble. My girls love Elina and Bibble so they are of course happy to see them again.
The movie itself follows the Fairytopia formula very closely. Instead of Laverna, you have Henna. Instead of bibble, the bunny. Instead of fungi, you have Skeezites. Its a race against time. Its a formula that worked very well before, and could work again.
But whats missing? Gone are the bright uplifting moments, like the appearance of the crest of courage, the changing from fairy to mermaid and back, Bibble talking funny after eating magic berries, and other things that made the other movies more fun. My kids react nicely to the best movies, but not this one. There is a lot of drama, but not very much happiness to balance it out.
A bit more about the drama: Most of the Fairytopia movies are driven forward by mock drama and very plain and pale threats (a weed grabbed me, yikes! A firebird is chasing me! I have to hide from some bumbling Fungi, who might do very little to me!). This works well for 3 to 5 year olds, who don't need a serious reason for the drama that older children do. Mariposa is dramatically different: most of the action and drama in this movie is the constant fear of death. I wish they could have been a bit more inventive.
The plot follows a similar vein: in other Fairytopia movies, the driver of the plot was that everyone was getting sick because of laverna, that Elina then had to save mermaidia from getting sick, that if they didn't stop laverna there would be 10 years of winter. Death was in those movies, but it wasn't laid out as the absolute reason for everything. In Mariposa, the deal is that if the queen dies the light goes out and then everyone is in fear of death because the skeezites EAT EVERYONE. So the fairies have to put themselves in fear of their own life, and have concerns they will die.
There is nothing wrong with death in children's films. Its a part of life. What I am saying is it the main concept of this film to the point that I felt that it was used as a crutch. They could have devoted more time to something more entertaining for children, like when the fairies try to make the first blush of spring bloom in the third Fairytopia. Something more enjoyable for them to watch.
Oh, and my 4 year old daughter said it was Nori talking, not Mariposa. Guess they used the same voice actress but its disappointing that it was so obvious. But, she had watched mermaidia a few days before.
Should you let your child see this movie? Sure. Its not awful. They put some effort into the production and the values are admirable. There is nothing bad in it.
But, unlike previous fairytopia movies, this one falls a bit flat. Keep your expectations low. My children didnt finish the movie saying 'oh wow!', and 2 days later they are moving on to other things. Its clear they like the other fairytopia movies better.
Movie Review: Worth a rental
Summary: 3 Stars
I've admired the "you go girl" message that Mattel has tried to instill in the Barbie movies and it's still there. As usual, the Barbie character uses her inner strength to overcome great obstacles and prevail. My almost 5 year old daughter has really enjoyed most of the other Barbie movies and she liked this one -- but has told me that she doesn't intend to watch it again. As the other reviews said, we had to fast forward through the skeezites and the Henna (the villain) scenes. I found a couple of movies ago that getting the junior novelization (a chapter book which is always released before the DVD comes out) and spending a few days reading it out loud to my daughter allowed us to talk about the scary things that Barbie is getting into and how her courage and intelligence and creativity help her through them. I think the writers for Barbie movies must not know how young their target audience is these days. The older girls (even 6 and 7 year olds) don't want anything to do with Barbie stuff. So the scary Barbie movies are getting to be a tough sell, I would think. A simple "fill out this survey and we'll send you something free that isn't available elsewhere" and I think the marketing group for Mattel would discover they're dealing with 3 - 5 year olds and their parents.
We both enjoyed the way that the story was told -- with Elina telling Bibble a story (the story of Mariposa). Bibble is as big a scene stealer as ever. With her story, Elina helps him overcome his anxiety about not fitting in with Dizzle's friends.
Another annoyance is that the voice of Barbie (Elina, Mariposa) is played by the woman who voiced the sassy Nori from Mermaidia. It hits you as soon as the main menu comes on and you hear the greeting. The other butterfly fairies are also sassy and I suspect someone in Mattel marketing wants this brand to resemble the new Disney Tinker Bell look and feel.
I miss the bonus movie shorts that were included on the Nutcracker and Swan Lake movies about real girls who were studying music and ballet and such. This disk has a couple of tiresome games that work with the remote and the main movie and that's it.
When all is said and done, I wish that I had simply rented this movie.
Movie Review: As Good As Expected
Summary: 4 Stars
We own nearly every Barbie movie and enjoy them all. I did like this one also. The vivid colors are beautiful. It was the typical storyline- betrayal and then a 5 minute "moral of the story." In this movie it was about how everyone matters. The voices were odd and didn't match the characters well. My daughter only wanted to skip the sea beast part. She didn't mention the other bugs. She still loved it though.Movie Review: Only worked once
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree with other reviews. The skeezites are a bit scary for children and my 5yr. old and 3yr. old did talk about it, but did not ask me to fast forward through those parts. We did however, have problems with it after purchasing yesterday. It does not work in our machine. My husband was able to get it to work one time yesterday and today, I can't get it to work. It is going back to the store today.