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.
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Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
Animation · Family · 2006
King Randolph sends for his cousin, Duchess Rowena, to help turn his daughters, Princess Genevieve and her eleven sisters, into royal material. But the Duchess strips the sisters of their fun, including their favorite pastime: dancing. When all hope may be lost, the sisters discover a secret passageway to a magical land where they can dance the night away.
Movie details
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
“Enchanted dancing in a magical world!”
2006 Animation · Family 1h 23m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.6 / 10
Community rating
King Randolph sends for his cousin, Duchess Rowena, to help turn his daughters, Princess Genevieve and her eleven sisters, into royal material. But the Duchess strips the sisters of their fun, including their favorite pastime: dancing. When all hope may be lost, the sisters discover a secret passageway to a magical land where they can dance the night away.
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 in the 12 Dancing Princesses?
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 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: The Princess & the Popstar
Family · 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.
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 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: The Pearl Princess
Family · 2014
Barbie plays Lumina, a mermaid girl with the power to change the color of pearls. Cheerful and creative, Lumina finds herself working in a mermaid salon customizing fabulous hairstyles. And when Lumina has the chance to attend the royal ball, her friends adorn her with a gown fit for a princess. At the ball, villains try to seize power over the kingdom, and Lumina finds within herself an unexpected power that proves she is much more than a hair stylist.
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 in the Pink Shoes
Animation · 2013
About a young girl who finds a pair of pink ballet shoes and is taken to a magical ballet land.There she learns how to help her friends and follow her instincts.
Barbie in the Nutcracker
Animation · 2001
The Mouse King casts an evil spell over Clara that causes her to shrink. Clara and the Nutcracker set out on an adventurous journey to find Sugarplum Princess, who has the power to undo the spell.
Barbie: Fairytopia
Animation · 2005
Elina is a flower fairy who discovers that her home of Magic Meadow has been overcome by a horrible malady that is killing the flowers and making the fairies unable to fly. With the help of Bibble, a puffball and a giant butterfly named Hue she attempts to find Azura, a Guardian Fairy. She's challenged along the way by the evil Laverna who wants to usurp the Enchantress, the ruler of Fairytopia.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Greg Richardson
Written by
Elana Lesser · Cliff Ruby
Kelly Sheridan
Genevieve (voice)
Catherine O'Hara
Duchess Rowena (voice)
Christopher Gaze
King Randolph (voice)
Nicole Oliver
Ashlyn / Twyla (voice)
Jennifer Copping
Blair (voice)
Lalainia Lindbjerg
Courtney (voice)
Kathleen Barr
Delia (voice)
Court is in session
Put Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses 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.