A Few Reasons

When we were growing up, Barbie got a bad rap. She was too busty, too perfect-- the subject of much heated feminist debate, but Barbie has come a long way since then.

Recently, we have purchased several Barbie movies for our girls. Granted, compared with Disney, Barbie movies are low-budget, but here are a few reasons why I like Barbie movies better than Disney princess movies:

1. Price tag. The newest Barbie release will set you back $15-20, but you can find the older ones for $5.50 at Target. No matter how old a Disney movie, you always a pay the full $19.99 for it.

2. No "vault". Barbie movies don't disappear from the shelves after three years. If Mazie suddenly decides she wants The Princess and the Pauper, and we don't own it, I can still find it in a store or on Amazon. Compare that with Beauty and the Beast, which Mazie desperately wants, but is no longer available, because it went back into "the vault" when she was too young to care.

3. Nice heroines. The Barbie characters are nice. They treat people kindly, and even when they are angry or behaving badly, they don't act all that badly.

4. No overemphasized body parts. Mattel has tamed Barbie's appearance to resemble a slender teen or early twenties woman. Even in the fairy costumes, which, yes, are immodest, she doesn't show cleavage. Compare that with Ariel or Jasmine.

5. Bright scenery. Have you noticed how dark Disney movies get some times? The Barbie movies are bright and cheerful in their scenery.

6. Villains. Even the wicked Laverna is pretty in the Barbie movies. The villains don't look creepy. I think it is important for girls to understand that ugly people are not bad and pretty people are not good. Good and bad are determined by a person's character, not their face.

7. Heroes who aren't Ken. I never liked Ken. I'm glad that the starring roles in the Barbie movies are played by nice young men who DO NOT look like Malibu Ken with his creepy smile. Also, not all these heroes are princes. One is a tutor, another the son of a blacksmith, another is a shoemaker.

8. Music that the girls love. Personally, I don't love the music of The Diamond Castle, but my girls love it. I really do like the music of the Princess & the Pauper and The Island Princess. No matter which movie we put in, Josie starts turning circles in the living room. She loves all the Barbie movies and their music.

9. Ballet. These movies have given me a new appreciation for ballet. They nearly all include some element of dance, and my girls love to watch it. I love that they are true to the form and structure of ballet. If I could enroll Mazie in dance again, I'm sure she would have a better appreciation for what they were doing in those classes now.

10. Content and messages. I remember my sister axing some Disney princess movies from their library because she didn't want her girls to imitate the girls in the movies. This is not a problem with the Barbie movies. Barbie is polite, humble and kind. My girls are free to mimic those characteristics.

11. Lastly, romance. In most of the movies there is romance, but not all. In Fairytopia, there is no romance at all for the main character. I think falling in love and finding someone to marry are important things in life. The Barbie movies show a love that is based on friendship and trust. The characters do not fall in love at first sight, but prove themselves to each other over the course of the adventure. They learn to trust each other and they learn the other person's values. This is a far better example of love than what you'd see in Cinderella or The Little Mermaid. I don't want to discourage my girls from falling in love. I want them to do it right.

So, what do you think of Barbie movies? Comments welcome.