Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams (2021)
On December 6, 2023 by CrescentBarbie: Big City, Big Dreams begins a new era of Barbie movies: twice the Barbie and twice the fun! It’s a shame this movie can’t really aim much higher than mediocre. I had high hopes for it.
Story
Big City, Big Dreams brings the Barbie we know to New York for a summertime course about the performing arts. There, she meets another girl with the same name, and they decide to go by their hometown names from then on. Our Barbie–Malibu–makes fast friends with the new Barbie–Brooklyn–and a few others at their school. They both seek stardom, and they hope to find it together… Even though others hope to stop them from seeing it.
Big City, Big Dreams has a fun story overall. It’s nothing too remarkable, but I enjoyed the fish out of water story here. It feels earnest, and it’s new for Barbie to keep things fresh. The story is simple, but it doesn’t need to be anything over the top. It does its job perfectly well, and it’s fun to watch too.
My one problem here is with the villain. He frames Malibu for sabotage, but after being yelled at by his daughter, he never sees any consequences for his actions. I don’t know what consequences I would suggest for him to face, but nothing isn’t a good option here. It makes the end of the movie feel like it’s missing something.
As a whole, Big City, Big Dreams has a fun story, but it lacks closure on the part of the antagonist.
Story: 5/10
Characters
The two leading characters of Big City, Big Dreams are the two Barbies: Malibu and Brooklyn. The two are similar but distinct, and they’re perfect foils for each other. Malibu is uncertain of herself and trying to find her footing while Brooklyn is confident and headstrong. Their friendship is one of the best parts of the movie, and I loved seeing them together. I’m glad these two return as a duo for future movies; they’re a lot of fun.
The other members of the cast are fun too. The most notable standouts here are Emmie and Rafa. Emmie’s history with Brooklyn is interesting, and I’m glad they were able to make up. I wanted nothing but the best for her soon after we met her. The same applies to Rafa. He’s a lot of fun to watch, and I found myself smiling the entire time he was on screen. This might be a strange comparison, but he feels like an evolution of Jacques from Fashion Fairytale. I love that more than I could ever hope to say. I love Rafa to bits.
The only complaint I have here is one that spirals out to other parts of the movie… Emmie’s father. Mr. Miller is framed as the antagonist, especially after he frames Malibu for sabotaging Brooklyn. And yet, he never gets any punishment for what he did. Seeing Emmie yell at him was satisfying, yes, but I wanted something a bit more. A villain who did something that significant and bad should get more than just a slap on the wrist.
Him aside, I love the cast of Big City, Big Dreams. They really hit it out of the park here.
Characters: 8/10
World Building
Since Big City, Big Dreams takes us to a real city, there’s not much to discuss in terms of world building. It’s New York City, and that’s most of what you need to know. The only real exception to this rule comes in the form of Emmie Lee, a singer who kicks off the story with her arrival. I found her history with Brooklyn interesting, and I was glad to learn more about it. This backstory also ties in well with everything that happens with her father. Everything comes together well here. I enjoyed it.
There’s not all that much else to discuss in terms of the setting. The school is a fun backdrop, but there’s nothing particularly new here. If nothing else, I enjoyed it for what it was… Though the problem with Emmie’s history with Brooklyn once again ties in with her father never seeing punishment for his actions. Yeah, that’s one stain the movie can’t really escape from.
The world building of Big City, Big Dreams is simple but fun for what it is.
World Building: 5/10
Themes
Big City, Big Dreams doesn’t have a theme listed at the end of the credits. That means I’ll just have to come up with something for myself. I’d say this movie’s moral is about succeeding together. Even if people pit you against your friends, your friendship needs to win out in the end. Competition isn’t worth giving up a friendship. Overall, I think this theme is executed very well. Malibu and Brooklyn have a great rapport, and they do well to overcome the obstacles to their friendship. I think’s great.
Themes: 6.5/10
Production
Big City, Big Dreams continues the trend of modern movie animation only getting better, and it’s a welcome return to form after Lost Birthday and its numerous stumbles. As a whole, the movie looks great. I will say that Brooklyn’s hair can look a bit clunky at times though. I can only assume this is because it was the animation team’s first time animating textured hair, and her braids have a problem of clipping into her shoulders. If you can set that aside though, the rest of the movie looks great.
The voice acting of Big City, Big Dreams is great. Every voice actor goes above and beyond to portray their character, and I love it. The problems I had previously with the voices feeling stilted is luckily long gone. It’s good to know that was a Lost Birthday problem only and that we’ve moved on from it now.
The music of Big City, Big Dreams is unfortunately a letdown though. The songs are mediocre overall, but the song during Malibu’s struggling montage near the start of the movie is horrible. It’s another of my least favorite songs in the entire franchise, and I hate having to say that. I wish I enjoyed the music more than I do, but as it stands, it feels like none of it is any good. Some songs are better than others, but none of them are great.
Big City, Big Dreams has a great production in most ways, but its music unfortunately lets it down massively.
Production: 3/10
Overall
Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams feels fresh but is held back by the movie feeling like it ends too soon. The songs are mediocre, but the characters are a lot of fun. I’d say this movie is a bit of a mixed bag, but I’d watch it again if a friend was interested.
Overall: 5.5/10
Silly Superlative: Barbie movie with the least punished villain
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