Barbie: A Fairy Secret (2011)
On October 30, 2023 by CrescentBarbie: A Fairy Secret acts as the unofficial sequel to Fashion Fairytale. It’s the first sequel Barbie has seen in years, and it’s a fun movie… It’s also a little insane. That’s the probably the most important part.
Story
The story of Fairy Secret is absolutely wild from the start. Ken gets kidnapped by fairies after the princess of the fairies, Graciella, is put under a love potion by her attendant, Crystal. Barbie and Raquelle team up with the former’s stylists, Taylor and Carrie, to find a way to rescue him. In the end, Barbie and Raquelle stop the wedding and reconcile their damaged relationship.
Fairy Secret really hits the ground running and goes from zero to a hundred quickly. The story is fine on its own, but it only becomes fun if you really embrace its absurdity. Fairy Secret is kind of an insane movie, and the amount of fun you’re going to have with it feels directly correlated to how willing you are to roll with its strange story decisions. The subplot with Ken is a lot of fun, and I really like Barbie and Raquelle’s dynamic, but the rest of the story is… Wild.
In general, the story of Fairy Secret is fine, and the pacing is good, but it’s just… Bizarre. This was the first movie that surprised me with just how absurd it could get. It’s not a stunning story nor does it do anything too special, but it’s fun because of how ridiculous it is. When it comes to Fairy Secret, you get the fun out of it that you put into it.
If I had to rank it though, I would say… It’s fine. That’s about it.
Story: 5/10
Characters
This movie is an unofficial sequel to Fashion Fairytale, and it uses the same Barbie, Ken, and Raquelle from that movie. Luckily, this is an advantage. Barbie, Ken, and Raquelle are all very fun characters here. I loved seeing Barbie mend her relationship with Raquelle. Ken’s side plot is one of my favorite parts of the movie too. These three really carry the movie, and I love their complexity both individually and as a trio.
The new characters in this movie are… Fine. Taylor and Carrie are decent, but they don’t do much for me. They’re okay, but they don’t have much personality to them aside from fashion. Crystal doesn’t contribute to the narrative much as an antagonist, largely because she hides behind Graciella both narratively and technically. Graciella is fun but very one-note, and it’s hard to really root for her when she has a single character trait most of the time. Zane eventually ending up with Graciella is fun, but again, he doesn’t do much for me as a character.
The cast of Fairy Secret is fairly polarized between very good leading characters and one-note supporting characters. The cast is technically fine, but it’s nothing special.
Characters: 6/10
World Building
Much like the story of Fairy Secret, the world building here is wild. The fairy world, Gloss Angeles, is a place where everything flies. There are different types of fairies, but there’s no real classification system for them. We see shoe, purse, and passion fairies, but… It feels like there’s a power imbalance here. Shoe and purse fairies feel very underpowered compared to passion fairies, and we don’t hear about any other types of fairies. It’s bizarre.
The introduction of fairies in the human world is just as strange, and it’s all shrugged off by the title of the movie. Can you keep the Fairy Secret? That’s how fairies remain unknown to everyone… Though the fairies don’t really put in the effort to keep themselves secret when they fly around in plain daylight. It’s very absurd no matter how you look at it. Just like with the story, you kind of have to lean into the weirdness of it all.
Humans are also required to stay in the fairy world forever if they marry a fairy, but the reverse isn’t true. Fairies can travel to the human realm whenever they want, so why does the restriction exist at all? It’s a strange situation, to put it simply.
This movie’s world building struck me as strange for another reason too. It feels kind of… Pandery. I know movies are meant to make money, but this one is particularly odd to me. Shoe and purse fairies? Really? It feels like it’s trying to strike a chord with younger girls who are watching it, but… It also feels superficial. The world building doesn’t go too deep here, and it’s all very strange. Unless you’re willing to go with it, you probably won’t get much out of it.
The world building is fun if you want it to be, but I struggled to fully enjoy it because of what felt like pandering decisions.
World Building: 3/10
Themes
Fairy Secret grants the theme of “forgiveness lets you fly.” That is perhaps the most literal theme ever given the fact that, yes, Barbie and Raquelle forgiving each other does let them fly. Still, I don’t know how well you can apply that theme to anything else. Forgiving people and being willing to meet in the middle? That’s a good lesson to teach kids. This theme works very well for the story, yes, but it’s a bit too specific to the finale in a way that makes it difficult to apply to most of the movie outside of that scene.
Themes: 5/10
Production
Fairy Secret uses the animation style of its predecessor very well. For the most part, Fairy Secret looks great, and I think this is in part because of the lack of extras. Nearly every character who shows up has plot importance, so the extras don’t become a void of poor animation. Taylor can look a bit wonky at times, but for the most part, the movie looks great. Not having background characters a majority of the time–in all but three scenes–was a good call and one that works in the movie’s favor.
The voice acting is amazing here. I was surprised to learn this movie has such an impressive voice cast, as a matter of fact. Legends of voice acting like Cassandra Lee Morris are here from before they hit their big breaks. That definitely helps Fairy Secret, and the amazing voice acting is a great point in its favor.
The music is unfortunately a bit forgettable. The main theme song isn’t all that interesting to listen to, and the score doesn’t stick in your mind. The music is serviceable, and none of it is actively offensive, but it’s nothing special either.
The animation and voice acting are both great, but Fairy Secret is held back by generic, forgettable music.
Production: 8/10
Overall
Barbie: A Fairy Secret is the greatest example in the Barbie cinematic universe of “you get out what you put in.” This movie is as fun as you’re willing to let it be with how absurd it is. I think it’s worth watching with friends for the ridiculousness of it all, but it’s not the best movie objectively. If you’re interested in grabbing some alcohol and watching something while drunk, this is definitely the movie for you. It’s definitely enough of a trip to keep any intoxicated mind entertained.
Overall: 5.4/10
Silly Superlative: Barbie movie with the weirdest super powers
Archives
Calendar
M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 |
Leave a Reply