The Barbie Diaries (Computer Animation)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Feature: C

 

 

Since her introduction in the early 1960s, Barbie has been the #1 female doll in sales and popularity, and the products have even gone beyond the dolls.  This included playsets, games, turntables and books.  Mattel has not left Barbie out of the visual media either, including an exercise program and a new series of computer animated DVDs.  The Barbie Diaries (2006) is the latest of the new series, as Barbie finds herself in Daria-like situations, though the world is more like a subdued version of the animated classic Josie & The Pussycats.

 

Though young lady safe, the title does not offer much more, though the push of new titles no doubt is to take on the latest competition to Barbie: Bratz!  Barbie’s popularity has been challenged by female dolls before, including Honey West, the Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman.  Even when she is down, she is never out and a recent ongoing series of Barbies as heroines from the pages of DC Comics (Supergirl, Batgirl, Wonder Woman and the new Lois Lane from Superman Returns) was a smart move.  This disc cannot hurt against the new Hip Hop competition.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image has conservative color and the computer animation sometimes looks like rotoscoping, but is better than past Barbie efforts and an improvement over the declining quality of the Bratz animated releases on DVD, reviewed elsewhere on this site.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is purposely child friendly, with a light soundfield, even when the Rock song plays.  Extras include a game, animated outtakes, a Music Video of the opening song, piece on singer Skye Sweetnam and an animated paper clip sequence.  Not awful, but really still secondary to the always-popular doll series.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo