Barbie et la magie de Noël

It's Christmas season 2011! Now, let me ask people this: Is there anything better than curling up and watching a feel-good Christmas movie during the holidays? Probably, but heh. That's what I did. This film was one of the movies that I chose to watch so that I could get even more into the Christmas spirit. Who doesn't love happy Christmas movies, anyway? :)

In this film, we have an adaption of the world-famous story by Charles Dickens-- Barbie style. The movie begins by Barbie telling her little sister a story about a particular woman, Eden, who just doesn't enjoy the holidays. Eden basically hates Christmas and lives by Aunt Mary's motto: In a selfish world, the selfish succeed. Several Christmas apparitions visit Eden to set her right.

I chose this to be the first Christmas film I watched for the holidays. That was right of me. Young children could possibly find joy and entertainment in this Barbie film. Parents don't have to worry about 'scary things', either. The film has been padded with much-added humor that only children will enjoy. Still, to be fair, it was nice to watch this film. Barbie movies are filled with innocence that I do enjoy! But I didn't like their retelling of Dickens' novel. Fans of Dickens' should steer clear from this one.

Viewed on: December 22-23, 2011

I am watching all the barbie movies in chronological order and this one is THE best so far. Well, I mean I am slightly biased as I love winter themes and The Christmas Carol (I have a special edition that gets reread every few seasons).

On top of this being my 14th barbie movie in a row, I have seen quite a few adaptations of A Christmas Carol. This one is not among the worst imo.

The FMC is actually really good. I love that they give barbie the movie star mole as Eden's character. Her friend is a great character as well and I thought it was relatable how the friend's generosity helps Eden realize she is missing out on the "giving" of Christmas.

The story is great, characters great, sidekick HILARIOUS (chuzzie is funny and iconic in every way). And equally as important to me, the fashion and dresses are totally on point. No overly weird saturation or hair animations. In fact the white dress that Barbie is going to wear to the gala is more reminiscent to me of older barbie movies that have gorgeous ballet outfits.

Maybe not talked about but I also really liked how the lore of the barbie universe is sort of added to in this movie. Barbie hints she may know or be related to Eden from the story and the spirits explain how fate/timelines work. Interesting to think about.

The only improvement I can think of is if they had done bloopers in the end credits like we see in some of the older movies. Missed opportunity for chuzzie and the other funny characters.

Overall, I'm kind of impressed as this was better than the made for TV stuff you would expect out of barbie plots. I recommend this for kids and adults (I'm 35) and ofc any barbie fans.

I know I'm going out on a limb in saying I like this movie, as wherever I go there is always someone who looks down on the Barbie movies with scorn. Although I am not the main target audience(I'm 20) and although none are among the best movies in the world, I do get some pleasure out of them, especially Nutcracker, especially for the music and the characters. Barbie in A Christmas Carol is not one of my favourites in the franchise, but I did like that it had its heart in the right place and it is a nice movie to me. The dialogue is on the corny side, I did find the Ghost of Christmas Past annoying and the animation is not as good as that of Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Diamond Castle, having moments that are either too flat in colour or over-saturated, even then there are some nice moments still. What tempted me in the first place in seeing this movie was not just that it was Barbie, but also what they would do with such a great story that has been told so many times and of course the colourful cover. Surprisingly the story is told very nicely, parts are toned down a little to make potentially scary parts like The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come but considering the target audience this was appropriate, and the storytelling overall maintained the story's heart and sentiment with a heart-warming ending and not too much of an overly-sentimental air. Again, not one of the best adaptations of the story, but a long way from the worst. The music is sprightly and really puts you in a mood for the festive season, and the characters are great on the whole, although I liked the change of pace for Barbie from brave, strong-minded and resourceful to the less idealistic values of selfish to sympathetic my favourite character was Chuzzlewit, who is so funny in his clumsiness and adorable. The voice acting is good, Kelly Sheridan is such a talented voice actress to me, from Nutcracker she showed great promise and is getting better and better every time I hear her. Overall, quite good in my opinion. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I honestly think this is one of the best & warm-hearted Christmas movies ever! It is so nostalgic & perfect for the holidays!

I actually thought it was quite good I know I'm going out on a limb in saying I like this movie, as wherever I go there is always someone who looks down on the Barbie movies with scorn. Although I am not the main target audience(I'm 20) and although none are among the best movies in the world, I do get some pleasure out of them, especially Nutcracker, especially for the music and the characters. Barbie in A Christmas Carol is not one of my favourites in the franchise, but I did like that it had its heart in the right place and it is a nice movie to me. The dialogue is on the corny side, I did find the Ghost of Christmas Past annoying and the animation is not as good as that of Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Diamond Castle, having moments that are either too flat in colour or over-saturated, even then there are some nice moments still. What tempted me in the first place in seeing this movie was not just that it was Barbie, but also what they would do with such a great story that has been told so many times and of course the colourful cover. Surprisingly the story is told very nicely, parts are toned down a little to make potentially scary parts like The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come but considering the target audience this was appropriate, and the storytelling overall maintained the story's heart and sentiment with a heart-warming ending and not too much of an overly-sentimental air. Again, not one of the best adaptations of the story, but a long way from the worst. The music is sprightly and really puts you in a mood for the festive season, and the characters are great on the whole, although I liked the change of pace for Barbie from brave, strong-minded and resourceful to the less idealistic values of selfish to sympathetic my favourite character was Chuzzlewit, who is so funny in his clumsiness and adorable. The voice acting is good, Kelly Sheridan is such a talented voice actress to me, from Nutcracker she showed great promise and is getting better and better every time I hear her. Overall, quite good in my opinion.