Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth

If you enjoyed the original special with Barbie and the Rockers, you will enjoy this animated sequel. In this half hour special, Barbie and her rock group have just finished performing a concert to the world from their space shuttle in outer space. They head back down to Earth when they go through a time warp and find themselves in 1959, the year the Barbie doll was introduced to the American market. They explore how things were like three decades ago and meet a young girl who they make friends with. One familiar song to listen to is "Do You Wanna Dance?" There are many versions of that song out there, so I've heard.

When Barbie and her group return to the present day and give another concert, the girl they've met from the past is still friends, now grown-up and with a daughter of her own. It's too bad though that the idea of a Barbie TV series didn't become possible. Jen and the Holograms were more popular then.

The 1980s 'Barbie' instalments are rather in the shadow of the computer animated franchise that started in 2001 with 'Nutcracker' (one of the franchise's best) and is still continuing with some surprisingly great ones, a lot of in between ones and some not-so-good ones. And it is a shame because both of them deserve to be better known.

It is very easy to meet the 'Barbie' films with a lot of dislike and scorn and they are all very lowly rated here (despite some favourable reviews). It is understandable to take issue with the dialogue (a fair few are ropey in this regard), the predictability of the stories, the odd annoying character, the animation in a few (not all are well animated) and whether there is enough for adults to keep interest.

Despite not being the main target audience, to me they are mostly better than given credit for and don't deserve to be dismissed as baby-ish and for little girls only (a very narrow minded generalisation). Most of them look good if not having the polish of studios specialising in computer animation (Pixar for one), often great music, good lessons and messages, a good deal of charm, have their heart in the right place and have entertaining characters well voiced (some had actors of considerable calibre like Tim Curry, Anjelica Huston and Kelsey Grammar) and a likable title character that particularly young girls can relate to.

The second of two specials released in the 80s, 'Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth' is nice nostalgic fun. Maybe it is too short and the dialogue in all honesty is not brilliant, older audiences may find themselves groaning at it, pretty much the same criticisms held for the first special 'Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World'.

'Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth' does however contain an interesting enough story that maintains the attention of children especially but shouldn't have adults wanting to leave the room, some may feel nostalgic for the 80s. The atmosphere evoked was great, capturing the excitement of the event.

Animation is quite good, with some nice colours and backgrounds even if occasionally the drawing is rough. The characters are likable and the voice acting fitting and pretty good. Best of all is the groovy and very infectious soundtrack, very 80s but in a nostalgic way.

In conclusion, nice nostalgic fun and doesn't deserve to be in the shadow of the computer animated franchise. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This sequel is way better than the original Barbie movie! At least plot-wise. It does really have an interesting plot, on my opinion!