Barbie and the Three Musketeers

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Barbie gets the swashbuckler treatment; some violence.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Barbie is supposed to be a French "countryside girl" whose dream is to be a Musketeer like her father once was. Some parents might question "girl power" being defined by using weapons. Barbie and her friends fight and go after bad guys with their self-made weapons.

  • Barbie goes to battle? Maybe not as egregious as this, but Barbie and her friends train to fight and do indeed drop a host of bad guys with their self-made weapons. The idea that girls can't be Musketeers motivates Barbie and her friends to try their hardest to fulfill their dreams to be swashbucklers with swords. Eh...
  • Brandishing a weapon does not make Barbie a strong, empowered role model. And Musketeers do not necessarily screech, "Musketeers rock!" with a cheerleader bounce.
  • Considering that it's Barbie, there's a lot of sword play and macho language from the girls. "Let's do this!" Barbie shouts as they take on a group of ne'er-do-wells. As they prepare for a costume ball where there's danger, Barbie and her friends decide to make "weapons that blend in with our costumes." Barbie runs with a sword to best the bad guy atop a Parisian church.
  • A good deal of accidental touching and special moments with the Prince, as Barbie attempts to save his life. Swoony, dreamy sighs as the Prince walks by.
  • Obviously the Barbie tie-ins with the movie are must-haves for fans. A Corinne doll, complete with a sword, is on the shelves.

What's the story?

Barbie plays Corinne (voiced by Kelly Sheridan), a girl from the French countryside who has always dreamed of being a Musketeer like her father. Now that she is seventeen, she has enough skills to go to Paris and follow her passion. She takes her horse, her cat, and a letter of introduction to the big city. But she soon discovers that girls are not allowed to be Musketeers, which makes her even more determined to follow her dream. She happens to become employed by the royal family as a maid, and meets three other girls who also want to be Musketeers. They are trained by the house maid, who is secretly also a Musketeer, and soon the four girls find themselves defending the Prince's life in earnest.


Is it any good?

 

Though it feels more like Cinderella, this movie looks like an attempt by the creators to jump on the Pirates of the Caribbean ship. Barbie does all kinds of acrobatic moves, which flaunt her girlishness, but putting a sword in her dainty little hands seems to be a stretch. When she boasts, "I'm gonna be a Musketeer," she sounds a little too much like a cheerleader. Moreover, the high-toned language of Tim Curry, who plays the bad guy, Philippe, strikes a jangly contrast to Barbie and her friends who say things like, "Musketeers rock!" and "Let's do this!"

On the other hand, trying to fashion strong female characters isn't a bad thing -- like Helene (Kathleen Barr), the chamber maid-slash ninja master who teaches the girls how to fight. But she's ultimately never elevated beyond her maid status. And though Barbie and her crew become Musketeers in the end, their hair is perfectly coiffed as they ride into the sunset with their matching outfits and their kitten. A pretty good try, but this Musketeer misses the mark. 


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the history of females as warriors. Who are the women who have gone to battle in times past? Is there a reason why women should or shouldn't go to war? Why have women traditionally left the violence to men?

  • Though it's not exactly violent, this movie has a lot of sword play and fighting. How does even the mildest level of violence affect a young viewer? This article looks at the effects of media violence on our society's most impressionable viewers.

  • Barbie and her friends help to save the Prince. This is a role-reversal from the typical fairy tale. Can you think of some alternate ending to some other fairy tales? How are girls portrayed in typical fairy tales?

  • Does being equal mean that girls must be initiated into the violent world of boys?


This review was written by Joly Herman
Parent of 5 year old
October 8, 2009
 
Teaches your child to be violent
My daughter is now getting in trouble at daycare for increased hitting of her friends since the first time she saw this movie. I noticed a change in her behavior immediately after watching the movie for the first time.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 9 years old
January 23, 2011
 
it's very good
i love so much

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 6 and 10 year old
July 16, 2011
 
Girl power
I think it might be a little scary because of fighting but it does have good messages. No one can tell them they can't be musketeer because girls can be anything they want to be!

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 2, 4, and 7 year old
June 10, 2010
 
I really like barbie movies as an alternative to the disney princess movies for my girls. It seems that most disney movies are girls in distress and boys coming to save them with a kiss and then they get married. I want my girls to know there are more options for them. I like how Mattel has barbie as the hero in most of the movies. Just a nice change of pace.

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Kid, 13 years old
January 29, 2010
 
Terrible!!!!!!
I hated it! It has bad anamation and a bad story line. Do not waste your time watching this dumb movie.

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Teen, 18 years old
January 4, 2011
 
My cousin has me watching this with her, and I'm thinking,"A Barbie Musketeer? Come on!" But I was surprised; though the story line was convenient (prince happens to fall for Barbie/Corienne, Corienne happens to be leader of girls, etc.), it was one of the best Barbie movies I've seen so far. At least it's not some sappy love story; yuck! Animation was ok; loved the fighting scenes and the girls' creative dresses. Somewhat reminded me of Mulan, with the sword and fan-fighting. No language to worry about, just some really lame lines that don't belong in the movie. It's the 1600s, people; girls didn't go around saying words like "date", "you rock",or things like that. Otherwise, all clear!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
December 1, 2009
 

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Kid, 10 years old
August 20, 2011
 
OMG
Okay turtlewomyn, a child in daycare shouldn't be watching this, and second, where is your knowledge?

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
June 16, 2011
 
Somewhat strange barbie movie is best reserved for young girls!
Yes, it is kind of iffy for a barbie movie. But it was okay. Not like other boring Barbie movies. 4 year olds can watch it, but you have to make sure they are mature enough because they might start punching and kicking at people or objects. Anyway, 4 year olds are okay. But, if they are still not mature, maybe at 5 years of age.

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Teen, 16 years old
January 21, 2011
 
i love this movie.i love barbie movies. an i actually really liked her in this movie. i liked how she had to save the prince and not the other way around. good movie

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This review was written by Joly Herman
Topics:magic and fantasy, princesses and fairies, adventures, book characters
Studio:Mattel Entertainment Inc.
Director:William Lau
Cast:Kelly Sheridan, Kira Tozer, Tim Curry
Genre:Family and Kids
Run time:81 minutes
DVD release date:September 15, 2009
MPAA rating:NR
MPAA explanation:Not Rated

This review was written by Joly Herman
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
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