The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar
Family · Animation · 2012
Tori is a blonde princess who is bored of living her royal life, and has dreams of becoming a popstar. Keira, on the other hand, is a brunette popstar who dreams of being a princess. When the two meet, they magically trade places, but after realising it is best to be themselves.
Movie details
Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar
“True friends rock in perfect harmony!”
2012 Family · Animation 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
5.9 / 10
3.1K votes
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Tori is a blonde princess who is bored of living her royal life, and has dreams of becoming a popstar. Keira, on the other hand, is a brunette popstar who dreams of being a princess. When the two meet, they magically trade places, but after realising it is best to be themselves.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Barbie and the Secret Door
Animation · 2014
A shy princess discovers a secret door in her kingdom and enters a magical world full of magical creatures. She meets a mermaid and a fairy who tell her about a spoiled ruler threatening them.
Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale
Family · 2010
Barbie, a popular actress on a sabbatical, learns that her fashion designer aunt Millicent has sold her business to a rival. With the help of a few magical beings, Barbie steps in to save the day.
Barbie as the Island Princess
Animation · 2007
Young Rosella is saved by a few kind animals after a shipwreck. Now called Ro, she learns to talk to animals. One day, she saves the life of a prince and returns to civilisation to discover her past.
Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus
Animation · 2005
Princess Annika escapes the clutches of the evil wizard, explores the wonders of Cloud Kingdom, and teams up with a magnificent winged horse - who turns out to be her sister, Princess Brietta - to defeat the wizard and break the spells that imprisoned her family.
Barbie of Swan Lake
Animation · 2003
Barbie as Odette, the young daughter of a baker, follows a unicorn into the Enchanted Forest and is transformed into a swan by an evil wizard intent on defeating the Fairy Queen.
Barbie as Rapunzel
Animation · 2002
Barbie stars as Rapunzel, a young girl who is entrapped by a magical barrier by the wicked, Gothel. Rapunzel finds an escape where she finds a Prince and a feud between two kingdoms which goes back to the day she was kidnapped as a child.
Barbie and the Diamond Castle
Animation · 2008
Liana and Alexa are best friends who share everything, including their love of singing. Upon meeting a girl inside a mirror, the duo embark on a journey that will put their friendship to the ultimate test.
Barbie: Princess Adventure
Animation · 2020
With new friends in a new kingdom, Barbie learns what it means to be herself when she trades places with a royal lookalike in this musical adventure.
Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams
Animation · 2021
Barbie meets another Barbie Roberts, forming a close friendship, nicknaming each other Malibu and Brooklyn when they both attend the Handlers, Performing Art School in NYC, over the summer, competing for a spot at the spotlight solo.
Barbie in Rock 'N Royals
Animation · 2015
When royal Princess Courtney trades places with famous rock star Erika, two worlds collide while both learn to appreciate new friends and experiences.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Ezekiel Norton
Written by
Steve Granat · Cydne Clark
Kelly Sheridan
Princess Tori (speaking voice)
J
Jennifer Waris
Princess Tori (singing voice)
Ashleigh Ball
Keira (speaking voice)
Tiffany Giardina
Keira (singing voice)
E
Ellie King
Duchess Amelia (voice)
Peter Kelamis
Seymour Crider (voice)
A
Allison Warnyca
Nora (voice)
Court is in session
Put Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.