Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper
Encyclopedia
Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper is a 2004 direct-to-video computer animated Barbie
film, and the first musical
in the Barbie film series
. It is directed by William Lau and stars the voice of Kelly Sheridan
, who has been voicing Barbie in all the CGI films to date, as both Anneliese and Erika. The story is loosely inspired by the Mark Twain
novel The Prince and the Pauper
, but it is unrelated to the 1939 film The Princess and the Pauper
. It is the first movie not to be told by Barbie, but narrated by her.
Songs for the film are written by Amy Powers
, Megan Cavallari and Rob Hudnut, who also executive produced the film.
and a brunette pauper are born simultaneously and grow up unaware that their facial features are identical to each other. The princess, Anneliese, craves freedom from her royal duties, especially when she is informed by her widowed mother, Queen Genevieve,(princess from 12 dancing princess never said) that she must marry the wealthy king of a nearby kingdom because their own royal treasury is nearly bankrupt. The Pauper, Erika, craves a different sort of freedom as she is an indentured servant
at the Madam Carp's Dress Emporium to work off her parents' debt.
Unbeknownst to the royal family, the royal advisor Preminger is responsible for their near-bankruptcy
. His minions Nick and Nack have been stealing gold from the royal mines for some time, which is what led Queen Genevieve to believe she is nearly bankrupt. Preminger plans to announce his newfound wealth to Queen Genevieve, which he believes will allow him to marry Princess Anneliese. When Preminger learns that Queen Genevieve has approached King Dominick of Dulcenia to marry Anneliese, he decides a change of plan is in order. Preminger orders Nick and Nack to kidnap Anneliese, so that Preminger can stage his "rescuing" her, hoping that Queen Genevieve will be so happy that she will give him Anneliese's hand in marriage.
Anneliese's tutor, Julian, is sad that Anneliese will be getting married; Anneliese and Julian have feelings for each other, and have kept it secret, including from each other. As a treat, Julian decides to take Anneliese into town for a last taste of freedom. There, Anneliese crosses paths with Erika. The girls are shocked to see how identical they are, the only differences between them being their hair color/style and the crown-shaped birthmark on Anneliese's right shoulder. After Preminger's dog chases Serafina (Anneliese's cat) rescued by Wolfie (Erika's cat who barks like a dog), they fall in love. The two girls become friends, but Anneliese has to quickly return to the palace.
On the same night, Anneliese is kidnapped by Nick and Nack, who leave a fake letter on her desk stating Anneliese "ran away" to avoid marrying King Dominick. Julian suspects that it was a kidnapping with Preminger as the mastermind, so he asks Erika to impersonate as the princess until he can rescue the real Anneliese. Erika agrees to the temporary ruse to help her friends, and surprises Preminger when she arrives to welcome King Dominick. Dominick and Erika fall in love, despite Erika's fear of being thrown into prison when revealed that she is an imposter.
Meanwhile, Anneliese manages to escape from Nick and Nack. Julian however doesn't know that and is on his way to free her. When there, he discovers Preminger's plan. He is on his way back to inform the Queen but Preminger catches him before he leaves. Julian now gets captured by Nick and Nack. Meanwhile, Anneliese is turned away from the palace by a guard, who believes "Anneliese" is in the palace with Dominick and the Queen. The real Anneliese is mistaken for Erika by Madame Carp, and she is locked in the Dress Emporium. Preminger, who has started to suspect that Erika is a fake, discovers the real Anneliese at the Dress Emporium and takes her away to the gold mines, where Julian is already being held prisoner.
Now knowing the truth, Preminger returns to the castle where he exposes Erika as a fraud and claims that she had conspired with Julian to kill and replace the real princess. Erika, unable to prove her good intentions,is locked away in a small cell by the queen until she is executed. She gets the keys and bumps into Dominick, who reveals that he doesn't believe that Preminger is telling the truth. Elsewhere, Anneliese and Julian confess their love for each other and work together to escape the mines.
Preminger, in the wake of Anneliese's supposed death, has convinced Queen Genevieve to marry him in order to save the kingdom. Although Queen Genevieve does not wish to marry him, she cannot see any other option. Just as the wedding ceremony is about to end, Anneliese arrives. The true story is revealed and Preminger tries to escape on horseback but is betrayed by his horse who sends him falling into the wedding food where he is arrested.
Anneliese confesses to her mother that she loves Julian and does not wish to marry King Dominick. She has also solved the problem of the kingdom's gold shortage; the rocks discarded by the miners actually hold amethysts and the mine is full of them. Dominick confesses to loving Erika for who she is and if she should choose to, he would be willing to marry her. With Madame Carps out of business (thanks to Anneliese taking her business elsewhere), Erika chooses not to accept marriage just yet and achieves her dream of being able to sing around the world, discovering that the place she would really like to sing is among her friends. She returns several months later and marries Dominick while Anneliese marries Julian in a double wedding. While they marry, Wolfie and Serafina have a marriage as well, cat style.
CGI films. An official soundtrack album has not been released to date, however, the entire soundtrack (including popular duets and the opening orchestral theme) can be found on the "Barbie Sings! The Princess Movie Song Collection" CD, released by Mattel in 2004.
The songs in the film are, in chronological order:
Preminger sabotages different parts of the kingdom, to endanger the people and threaten Anneliese to marry him. Anneliese, Erika, the female cat Serafina and the male cat Wolfie struggle in four levels with four stages and a minor boss-level each to undo the damage. They operate as pairs in the different stages of the levels: the two girls, the two pets, Anneliese with Serafina and Erika with Wolfie - each character has its special ability. The boss-levels are fought by one character alone and when all levels are completed, every character once fights Preminger until he's defeated.
Progress is saved with a password, the player has an infinite number of lives.
The game play is pretty simple, so children can enjoy it without great skill.
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
film, and the first musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
in the Barbie film series
Barbie film series
Since her film debut in 1987 in Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World, Barbie has been a virtual actress starring in several feature films and short films...
. It is directed by William Lau and stars the voice of Kelly Sheridan
Kelly Sheridan
Kelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Biography:Sheridan has voiced various roles in anime and other animated cartoons, such as Barbie in the computer generated Barbie film series since 2001...
, who has been voicing Barbie in all the CGI films to date, as both Anneliese and Erika. The story is loosely inspired by the Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
novel The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper is an English-language novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada before its 1882 publication in the United States. The book represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction...
, but it is unrelated to the 1939 film The Princess and the Pauper
The Princess and the Pauper
The Princess and the Pauper is a 1939 Technicolor cartoon sponsored film. It is actually an advertisement for Chevrolet. A king offers his daughter hand in marriage to the wealthiest man in the kingdom. More deserving is a pauper boy, who tries to get to girl with help from Nicky Nome. It is a...
. It is the first movie not to be told by Barbie, but narrated by her.
Songs for the film are written by Amy Powers
Amy Powers
Amy Powers is an Emmy Award and Annie Award nominated lyricist, songwriter and producer who creates songs for film, television, theater, animation, pop and country artists, theme parks and children’s brands...
, Megan Cavallari and Rob Hudnut, who also executive produced the film.
Plot
In an unnamed kingdom, a blonde princessPrincess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
and a brunette pauper are born simultaneously and grow up unaware that their facial features are identical to each other. The princess, Anneliese, craves freedom from her royal duties, especially when she is informed by her widowed mother, Queen Genevieve,(princess from 12 dancing princess never said) that she must marry the wealthy king of a nearby kingdom because their own royal treasury is nearly bankrupt. The Pauper, Erika, craves a different sort of freedom as she is an indentured servant
Indentured servant
Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
at the Madam Carp's Dress Emporium to work off her parents' debt.
Unbeknownst to the royal family, the royal advisor Preminger is responsible for their near-bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. His minions Nick and Nack have been stealing gold from the royal mines for some time, which is what led Queen Genevieve to believe she is nearly bankrupt. Preminger plans to announce his newfound wealth to Queen Genevieve, which he believes will allow him to marry Princess Anneliese. When Preminger learns that Queen Genevieve has approached King Dominick of Dulcenia to marry Anneliese, he decides a change of plan is in order. Preminger orders Nick and Nack to kidnap Anneliese, so that Preminger can stage his "rescuing" her, hoping that Queen Genevieve will be so happy that she will give him Anneliese's hand in marriage.
Anneliese's tutor, Julian, is sad that Anneliese will be getting married; Anneliese and Julian have feelings for each other, and have kept it secret, including from each other. As a treat, Julian decides to take Anneliese into town for a last taste of freedom. There, Anneliese crosses paths with Erika. The girls are shocked to see how identical they are, the only differences between them being their hair color/style and the crown-shaped birthmark on Anneliese's right shoulder. After Preminger's dog chases Serafina (Anneliese's cat) rescued by Wolfie (Erika's cat who barks like a dog), they fall in love. The two girls become friends, but Anneliese has to quickly return to the palace.
On the same night, Anneliese is kidnapped by Nick and Nack, who leave a fake letter on her desk stating Anneliese "ran away" to avoid marrying King Dominick. Julian suspects that it was a kidnapping with Preminger as the mastermind, so he asks Erika to impersonate as the princess until he can rescue the real Anneliese. Erika agrees to the temporary ruse to help her friends, and surprises Preminger when she arrives to welcome King Dominick. Dominick and Erika fall in love, despite Erika's fear of being thrown into prison when revealed that she is an imposter.
Meanwhile, Anneliese manages to escape from Nick and Nack. Julian however doesn't know that and is on his way to free her. When there, he discovers Preminger's plan. He is on his way back to inform the Queen but Preminger catches him before he leaves. Julian now gets captured by Nick and Nack. Meanwhile, Anneliese is turned away from the palace by a guard, who believes "Anneliese" is in the palace with Dominick and the Queen. The real Anneliese is mistaken for Erika by Madame Carp, and she is locked in the Dress Emporium. Preminger, who has started to suspect that Erika is a fake, discovers the real Anneliese at the Dress Emporium and takes her away to the gold mines, where Julian is already being held prisoner.
Now knowing the truth, Preminger returns to the castle where he exposes Erika as a fraud and claims that she had conspired with Julian to kill and replace the real princess. Erika, unable to prove her good intentions,is locked away in a small cell by the queen until she is executed. She gets the keys and bumps into Dominick, who reveals that he doesn't believe that Preminger is telling the truth. Elsewhere, Anneliese and Julian confess their love for each other and work together to escape the mines.
Preminger, in the wake of Anneliese's supposed death, has convinced Queen Genevieve to marry him in order to save the kingdom. Although Queen Genevieve does not wish to marry him, she cannot see any other option. Just as the wedding ceremony is about to end, Anneliese arrives. The true story is revealed and Preminger tries to escape on horseback but is betrayed by his horse who sends him falling into the wedding food where he is arrested.
Anneliese confesses to her mother that she loves Julian and does not wish to marry King Dominick. She has also solved the problem of the kingdom's gold shortage; the rocks discarded by the miners actually hold amethysts and the mine is full of them. Dominick confesses to loving Erika for who she is and if she should choose to, he would be willing to marry her. With Madame Carps out of business (thanks to Anneliese taking her business elsewhere), Erika chooses not to accept marriage just yet and achieves her dream of being able to sing around the world, discovering that the place she would really like to sing is among her friends. She returns several months later and marries Dominick while Anneliese marries Julian in a double wedding. While they marry, Wolfie and Serafina have a marriage as well, cat style.
Voice cast
- Kelly SheridanKelly SheridanKelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Biography:Sheridan has voiced various roles in anime and other animated cartoons, such as Barbie in the computer generated Barbie film series since 2001...
as Princess Anneliese and Erika- Tracy MooreTracy MooreTracy Moore is a Canadian television journalist and host of lifestyle magazine CityLine on Citytv since October 2008. She previously served as news anchor on Citytv Toronto's Breakfast Television from 2005 to 2008...
provides the singing voice of Princess Anneliese, while Julie StevensJulie StevensJulie Stevens may refer to:*Julie Stevens *Julie Stevens *Julie Stevens...
provides the singing voice of Erika
- Tracy Moore
- Mark HildrethMark HildrethMark Hildreth is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Van Hammer.-Global Wrestling Federation :...
as King Dominick- Mark Luna provides the singing voice of King Dominick
- Alessandro JulianiAlessandro JulianiAlessandro Juliani is a Canadian actor, singer, and voice actor. He is notable for playing Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica, and Emil Hamilton in Smallville...
as Julian - Martin ShortMartin ShortMartin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
as Preminger - Kathleen BarrKathleen BarrKathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is also the sister of Professor Mark Lyle Barr at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Filmography:...
as Serafina and Bertie - Ian James CorlettIan James CorlettIan James Corlett is a Canadian animation voice artist, writer, and musician. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series Being Ian and Yvon of the Yukon....
as Wolfie and Guard #3 - Ellen Kennedy as Queen Genevieve
- Pam HyattPam HyattPam Hyatt is a voice actress who played Noble Heart Horse in 1986's The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. More recently, she has starred in the English version of InuYasha as Kaede, guest-starred in USA Network's The Dead Zone and voices Campe and Atropos in Class of the Titans.Hyatt is the...
as Madame Carp - Brian DrummondBrian DrummondBrian Drummond is a Canadian actor. He also serves on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. He and his wife serve as vice-president and president, respectively.- Career :Drummond was born in Salmon Arm, British...
as Nick and Guard #1 - Jan RabsonJan RabsonJan Rabson is an American actor and voice actor.Rabson was born in East Meadow, New York. Jan's voice has been heard on thousands of commercials, films, TV shows and animated films and series...
as Midas and Nack - Colin MurdockColin MurdockColin Murdock is a Northern Irish former footballer.He is currently a trainee solicitor at Manchester law firm George Davies LLP...
as the Royal Scheduler - Janyse JaudJanyse JaudJanyse Aldis Jaud is a Canadian actress, dancer and singer/songwriter. She is of Icelandic-French descent....
as the Palace Maid - Lee TockarLee TockarLee William Tockar is a Canadian voice actor and visual artist who works for several studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is also a writer of children's literature, a musician, sculptor, illustrator and collected painter...
as Ambassador Bismark and Guard #2 - Garry Chalk as Herve
- Roger Monk as the Minister
Voice actors abroad
- Arabic dub: Renia Ghosh
- Castillan Spanish dub: Gisela
- Dutch dub: Laura Vlasblom
- Finnish dub: Sanna Majuri
- French dub: Michelle Lituac
- Hindi dub: Rajshree NathRajshree NathRajshree Nath is an Indian voice actress.She originally did the Hindi dubbing for Emma Watson's character Hermione Granger in the first two Harry Potter films after which Parignya Pandya voiced Hermione for the rest of the sequels.She has also voiced Barbie in some of the Hindi dubs of Barbie...
- Japanese dub: Eri Itou
- Polish dub: Beata Wryabkiewicz
Soundtrack
This film is the first musical in the series of BarbieBarbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
CGI films. An official soundtrack album has not been released to date, however, the entire soundtrack (including popular duets and the opening orchestral theme) can be found on the "Barbie Sings! The Princess Movie Song Collection" CD, released by Mattel in 2004.
The songs in the film are, in chronological order:
- Free - Performed by Julie Stevens (Erika) & Tracy MooreTracy MooreTracy Moore is a Canadian television journalist and host of lifestyle magazine CityLine on Citytv since October 2008. She previously served as news anchor on Citytv Toronto's Breakfast Television from 2005 to 2008...
(Anneliese) - How Can I Refuse? - Performed by Martin ShortMartin ShortMartin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
(Preminger) - Written in Your Heart (opening) - Performed by Julie Stevens (Erika)
- I am a Girl Like You - Performed by Julie Stevens (Erika) & Tracy MooreTracy MooreTracy Moore is a Canadian television journalist and host of lifestyle magazine CityLine on Citytv since October 2008. She previously served as news anchor on Citytv Toronto's Breakfast Television from 2005 to 2008...
(Anneliese) - To be a Princess - Performed by Alessandro JulianiAlessandro JulianiAlessandro Juliani is a Canadian actor, singer, and voice actor. He is notable for playing Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica, and Emil Hamilton in Smallville...
(Julian) & Julie Stevens (Erika) - The Cat's Meow - Performed by Julie Stevens (Erika)
- If You Love Me for Me - Performed by Julie Stevens (Erika) & Mark Luna (Dominick)
- Written in Your Heart
- I'm on My Way - Performed by Sara NiemietzSara NiemietzSara Niemietz is an American singer/songwriter and actress located in Los Angeles.-Early life and education:Niemietz was born in Chicago. In 2000, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she currently resides...
Video game
For Gameboy Advance exists a jump 'n run video game of the same name. Its story however is independent.Preminger sabotages different parts of the kingdom, to endanger the people and threaten Anneliese to marry him. Anneliese, Erika, the female cat Serafina and the male cat Wolfie struggle in four levels with four stages and a minor boss-level each to undo the damage. They operate as pairs in the different stages of the levels: the two girls, the two pets, Anneliese with Serafina and Erika with Wolfie - each character has its special ability. The boss-levels are fought by one character alone and when all levels are completed, every character once fights Preminger until he's defeated.
Progress is saved with a password, the player has an infinite number of lives.
The game play is pretty simple, so children can enjoy it without great skill.