Barbie Raperonzolo

The worst thing about this video is its cover, which looks stiff, commercial and artificial. What's inside, however, is a very well done original take on a little-dramatized but familiar fairy tale that entertains without overdoing or offending and has an extremely positive subtext. You can tell it's got its heart in the right place, when at the very beginning in an introductory sequence Barbie, at an easel, encourages her little sister to paint what she wants and express herself rather than telling her what to do. Rapunzel, not immature in this version of the story, though sheltered, also paints when she can to pass the time between chores, and unlike Disney's Little Mermaid, doesn't feel the need to forego developing her talent and creativity to chase handsome princes. She discovers and explores her world while always trying, though not usually successfully, to keep peace with her unreasonably demanding and jealous stepmother, whose voice is effectively performed by Angelica Huston, and with feuding royalty in two neighboring kingdoms. The impossible-to-dramatize plot elements of the original fairy tale have been replaced by effective new characters and story ideas, which keep the presentation from being all decoration without substance, and though Rapunzel's baby dragon friend may be somewhat distractingly big and purple, her own sub-plot does work into the main story well and add interest when we are introduced to her grown up dragon father, the guardian of the tower. Choices made in good taste are all over this DVD, which is refreshingly free of Disney-style smartass humor and sell-out scripting. The original music is nice and very underplayed--Barbie could easily have been made to burst into song at any time here, but wisely the producers just let the perfectly decent story stand on its own instead of trying to make it into a Broadway musical. The whole package here is pretty, original, pleasantly presented, and encourages self-expression without pandering or being heavy handed about its message at all. From start to finish it is refreshing, interesting and positive. Only the packaging is corny, but even the doll it cross-promotes is as pleasant-looking as the movie. Highly recommended for the little girl in the family.

My 2 year old daughter loves this movie. I find it hard to sit through, with numerous plot holes and terrible dialogue, not to mention annoying animation. However, it's (almost) completely nonviolent and has a pretty good message. My daughter particularly likes the dragon character, Penelope. Overall, a pretty good kids movie, if not cutting edge.

I am in my 30s and am a father of 3 little girls so I have to watch movies like this. I was surprised that this movie was quite good, and the best of the Barbie movies (most of which are likewise good!). This is no Care Bears or My Little Ponies movie. I can actually watch this movie with my kids and not be bored or repulsed. It has an interesting plot, good character development, and good morals, and even a little exciting.

This is not Pixar stuff, but for a straight-to-video release I am pleased that they took some pride in their work and made a good product with what little budget they probably had.

Barbie as Rapunzel follows much the same vein as the other historical/fairytale Barbie films. The plot is strong and it's great to see Rapunzal with a slightly feminist twist before the amazing Disney film that is tangled.

The Maiden in the Tower archetype or cliche goes all the way back to even pre Christian Europe with pagan tales, Barbie as Rapunzel follows the story very closely and I enjoyed the storyline. The voice acting is average, except for Anjelica Huston who is fantastic in her role as the baddie Dame Gothel who is extra villainous and always steals the screen presence whenever she's on. I found the talking dragon and rabbit to be unnecessary and childish and they sometimes take away from the making any of it serious, but for very young children they'll be good to make sure they're never scared of the villain or mild peril associated with the film.

The slightly feminist reversal of the Rapunzel tale is that Rapunzel rescues herself, not the Prince rescuing her. I liked this as it's a good twist to subvert expectations and I also liked the Prince's character, I thought he was one dimensional and stereotypical but he was quite sweet and wholesome.

6/10: Good storyline, the CGI is a little dated but definitely makes them look like dolls (if they were going for that effect) nice themes, and a brilliant villain.

1st watched 10/19/2002 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Owen Hurley): Surprisingly well-done Barbie fluff. What impressed me the most about this made-for-video computer animated movie was the obvious time and attention that was put into the story, animation, and character development despite the usual bland Barbie stuff created by Mattel. The animation isn't intended to make you forget that it's animation because we're watching a `doll' in action, not a person(and this is okay). They basically took the Rapunzel character and crafted an entirely different movie than what's in the original book. There is a formidable enemy(voice played by Anjelica Huston), and endearing characters who are Rapunzel's friends(a talking rabbit and a young dragon), as well as a few others who all are done well. There are two very good songs that accompany the movie(although it doesn't try to be a musical), and the usual fairy-tale ending that will please young and those who are young at heart. The bottom line here is that this was a very big surprise to me. I enjoyed this movie from beginning to end, which I believe even those who don't carry the dolls around with us will enjoy this right alongside those younger-folk who do still meddle with them.