Barbie as The Island Princess (NR, 2007)

The movie opens on a desert island where Barbie appears as Ro (voiced by Kelly Sheridan), who washed ashore years earlier and has befriended three animal sidekicks: an elephant, a red panda, and a pompous peacock. Her devotion to her animal "family" is a recurring theme. But Ro's idyllic life is turned upside down when the island is discovered by Prince Antonio, who begs her to return with him to his kingdom. Ro agrees to go, curious to see whether she can find the human family from which she came. Drama ensues when they arrive in Abalonia to find that the prince has been betrothed in his absence, to the very sympathetic Luciana.

A nice twist in this movie is that Luciana and Ro are NOT pitted against each other, and in fact help each other when they have the opportunity. And the prince, from the start, is attracted to the girl with personality and verve, not just beauty. Overall the folks at Mattel seem to have caught on that parents are looking for female role models with more than just good looks.

The movie's lush original score, which is performed by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, lends it a quality not often found in children's movies, and the lyrics are catchy as well. The computer-generated animation in these movies continues to improve with each new film; seeing the fabrics sway as the characters move in their ornate gowns is a treat. With BARBIE AS THE ISLAND PRINCESS, parents can rest assured that the subject matter is entertaining and kid-appropriate, and put their energies toward worrying about all the commercialism surrounding it.