Parents' Guide to

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper

Movie NR 2004 85 minutes
Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Tracy Moore By Tracy Moore , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 5+

Updated fable features romance; a few positive messages.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 5+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

See all
age 5+

Based on 9 parent reviews

Fiel J.
Fiel J. Adult
April 16, 2023
age 3+
First movie I’ve ever watched in my childhood. I just hope these Barbie movies came out in this year. More technology and easy to give reviews. These movies could have been boost up. 🥺❤️ But these old Barbie movies got a good lessons and I learned a lot from it. I was abandoned by my parents growing up at the age of 3 and watching this, leads me to be successful.
Msberann
Msberann Adult
February 7, 2021
age 5+

Really cute and charming barbie movie!!

I really like this movie! I love musical movies and I think this is a relly good animated musical. The songs are so beautiful. And even though the animation isn't spectacular, it's still surprisingly pleasant to watch; the pastel colours are very nice to watch with the dresses and the backgrounds. And both of the main characters are great role models for girls. This is definitely the best one of the barbie movies, you can defenitely tell that they didn't just wanna to sell toys with it, they also wanted to make a fun and clean musical movie. If you have a little girl who love barbie and musicals, this one is a must watch! :)
See all 9 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Two girls, a blonde princess Annaliese and a brunette pauper Erika (both voiced by Kelly Sheridan) look identical, but could not be more different in backgrounds. A chance meeting leads to an unlikely friendship, but when a scheming royal advisor, Preminger, plots to kidnap Annaliese and then "rescue" her to worm his way into the queen's heart, the women's similarities suddenly become essential to unraveling his evil plot.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9 ):
Kids say (16 ):

Barbie movies seem stuck in a limited approach to girl entertainment, often drawing on extremely traditional models and trying to update them; they almost succeed here. Princess Anneliese and Erika are both interested in things outside of their roles as princesses or servants (science and singing), and the film makes a point to show them making room for those interests, and even putting them first over romance, for a moment. But the big finish still centers around them pairing off, fairy-tale style.

Kids will enjoy the castle stand-in for the Barbie dreamhouse, the funny cat who barks, and the suspense of the swapped identities. The animation quality is expected for 2004, and much improved from previous Barbie films. Parents may appreciate attention drawn to class inequality, and the precious few scenes focusing on girls liking science, books, and less passive pursuits.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the class differences between the Princess Anneliese and Erika. How are there lives different? How are they the same?

  • Princess Anneliese enjoyed gemology, the study of different gemstones. Have you ever looked at rocks or gems and tried to identify the different types?

  • The film underscores the importance of following your dreams, whether in art or science. What are your dreams for when you grow up? What would you like to be?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper Poster Image
See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate