Barbie au bal des 12 princesses

I do get some pleasure out of the Barbie movies, and the 12 Dancing Princesses is no exception. The animation is mostly full of lovely colour, fluid backgrounds and nuanced facial expressions. True, the animation in the dance sequences is not very inspired, but none of it is bad as far I could see. The music is whimsical and catchy, the dialogue is decent with some fun moments even with some corniness, the story has a lot of charm and heart making an existing story fresh in terms of storytelling and while the characters are not much different from the types of characters from the previous Barbie movies they are likable still. The voice acting is solid from all involved. Overall, a very charming movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is a nicely-done story with pretty music, lots of dancing, lots of big sister/little sister interaction (almost all of it positive), and lots of wishes granted. There are funny moments that older children and adults will enjoy, such as when King Randolph exclaims, "They're just SHOES! Aren't they?" And tender moments such as when Princess Genevieve comforts her youngest sister, Lacey, after a blunder.

The animation is perhaps not as good as Disney, but it still is very good. The facial expressions are nuanced, particularly for Genevieve, King Randolph, Duchess Rowena and her servant, Derek the cobbler, and little Princess Lacey. My only quibble on the animation is in the dance sequences where the dancing princesses become absolute carbon copies of each other without the slightest deviation -- even the three youngest copy the dance steps perfectly. I would have liked to see a little more individualism in the dancing, considering that these girls are not professional ballerinas or chorus dancers.

The resolution of the story is handled cleverly to get rid of a villainess without actually hurting her. There is some violence done to guards in the story, and the villainess's monkey is mean to other animals in the story.

My 4-year-old daughter loves this movie and has watched it repeatedly, and I have found it to be quite acceptable for her to watch.

This movie belongs on my top 2 Barbie films ever! Such a magical plot, the characters really click together, I just adore it!

I have a 4yr old daughter, and before this movie she was all about the Disney princesses, now she watched this movie and all she can talk about is Princess Genevieve, and all her sisters. I definitely recommend this movie for all young girls. This movie is one of the best from the Barbie collection. It shows all the good values that any mother would love to encourage on there little girls. With the great songs and dance moves, it gets my daughter up and trying to mimic the moves. The extras are also good, one even works on how good your memory is. I would definitely have say it is a must see for kids and grown-ups alike.

The graphics in this are much better than some of the others that came just before it (especially barbie diaries and fairtytopia) which made it a much better experience.

As far as the plot, it is a little slow at first but really ramps up and is rewarding if you stay for the whole thing. The magic portrayed in it was sooo cool I wish they had done a second one or just expanded on the magic world/how it works. I'd love to know if their mother hired an enchantress to set it up or something for instance.

The characters were good (especially rowena and the male lead and surprisingly the animal sidekicks were great in this movie too) but some of the side characters seem quite flat especially a few of the princesses that look like carbon copies of each other, like another reviewer said.

Dancing and music was really fun. I like that they were portrayed as a singing family.

My favorite part were the princesses teaming up on the guards and the special dancing part (no spoilers you just have to watch).

I DID think there was a huge plot hole in that Rowena could have just wished to be queen of her own kingdom instead of causing trouble (again if this doesn't make sense it's bc no spoilers you just have to watch).

Solid 7/10. I would give it an 8 if I ever watch it again.