Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow (NR, 2007)

In MAGIC OF THE RAINBOW, Barbie is back as Elina, the good fairy who has earned her wings, turned into a mermaid, and then back into a fairy. This time she's working with other fairies to save Fairytopia from green-haired Laverna, who wants to plunge Fairytopia into ten years of bitter winter by stopping the annual spring ritual to produce the first rainbow of the season. Elina is chosen as an apprentice to one of the seven Guardian fairies who oversee Fairytopia and report to its leader, the Enchantress. Elina attends fairy school with six other apprentices, most of whom resent her fame for saving Fairytopia in the past. They learn skills in magic, flance (that's flight plus dance), and luminescence. Meanwhile, the Enchantress' jealous sister, Laverna, plots to gain her sister's crown. As Laverna moves forward with her plan, Elina must get the self-involved and resentful apprentices to work together and outmaneuver Laverna's powerful fairy magic.

Children between 4 and 8 will probably enjoy the simple story, flat characters, and the triumph of good over evil. The subplot of Elina's pet puffball Bibble, whose attention is split between a loose tooth and a new friend, will work for younger kids in the tooth-losing stage as well.

There is a concise and helpful introduction recapping Elina's adventures in the first two movies, and like the other Fairytopia movies, the animation is lush and mesmerizing. Some viewers may notice that flance instruction looks suspiciously like the Dance Dance Revolution. video games.