Barbie: Mariposa and the Fairy Princess (2013)
On November 13, 2023 by CrescentBarbie: Mariposa and the Fairy Princess brings us back to the magical land of Flutterfield. After five years away, Mariposa has returned for a second adventure… But I have to wonder if it was even supposed to be hers in the first place.
Story
Mariposa and the Fairy Princess picks up a short while after the first Mariposa film. Flutterfield has been saved from the Skeezites, and Mariposa has been promoted to royal historian. This position lands her a position as an ambassador to the distant realm of Shimmervale. There, Mariposa is to make peace with the Crystal Fairy residents. Along the way, she is tied up in a revenge plot and must work together with her new friend, Catania, to save Shimmervale.
The story of Mariposa and the Fairy Princess is… Odd. It doesn’t really feel like it was made for Mariposa. Most references to the first film are only made in passing, and there’s not much consistency between the two stories. If anything, it feels like the story was written first with Mariposa being slapped into it later on. The story itself is fine, but it doesn’t seem to fit Mariposa all that well.
In fact, if you take Mariposa out of it, the story is great. It’s paced a bit strangely and is slow to get going, but it’s interesting. The revenge storyline with Gwyllion is intriguing, even if she takes ages to be introduced, and I wanted to know more about her… But the movie isn’t really about that. Instead, it’s about Mariposa struggling to fit in, an arc she already went through in the first movie. It’s strange to say the least.
Mariposa and the Fairy Princess has a fine story, but it doesn’t seem to fit the characters in it at all.
Story: 6/10
Characters
Mariposa and the Fairy Princess has a lot of the same problems as Mermaid Tale 2 when it comes to characters. There are a lot of key faces from the first movie that just aren’t here. Rayna, Rayla, and Zinzie are entirely absent aside from passing mentions. Willa and Carlos are reduced to a subplot that gets less than eight minutes of screen time total. Even Henna, the villain who swore she would be back one day, is nowhere to be found. Mariposa is the only consistency here.
And unfortunately, that consistency is vague at best. Mariposa’s arc in the first movie was about accepting herself for being different. Here, she has to pretend to be someone she’s not in order to fit in. It feels very out of character for her. In fact, it feels like her characterization has been set back to square one, but it certainly wasn’t her square one. Mariposa just doesn’t feel like Mariposa here.
The rest of the cast is nice, but they suffer from the problem of not feeling like they belong in the same movie as Mariposa. Catania is a lovely character, and I greatly enjoyed seeing her develop and thrive over the course of the film. Gwyllion’s revenge scheme was intriguing, and I wanted to see more of her. Regellius was every bit the obstacle he needed to be even if he was frustrating at times. However, none of them mesh well with Mariposa’s characterization from the first movie, and that’s likely the reason for her reset.
The other original characters are massive misses that don’t offset the disappointment of losing Mariposa’s old personality. I didn’t like Boris, Zee, or Anu at all. Zee felt like an attempt at bringing Bibble back, but it rang hollow. Anu was just mean for half of the film before a random change of heart. They’re all frustrating and lacking in charm, especially since Zee is a poor fill-in for Zinzie.
Mariposa and the Fairy Princess is held back by its lack of loyalty to the source material and the first movie’s characters.
Characters: 4.5/10
World Building
Despite being set in a preexisting universe, Mariposa and the Fairy Princess doesn’t do all that much to expand on the first movie. The film takes place in a new place within that universe, and it seems to hurt the first Mariposa movie in retrospect. Why were the Crystal Fairies never mentioned in the first movie? Why are the Skeezites barely mentioned in this movie? Fairytopia is brought up too, but that just makes things more confusing. Elina narrated the first Mariposa movie, but she’s gone here. Nothing new or interesting is done with Flutterfield, and it’s a real shame.
Shimmervale is much more interesting of a location, but that’s largely because of the history between Gwyllion, Regellius, and Catania. That one bit of intrigue carries the back half of the movie for me. The Crystallites are just recreations of the magical lights of Flutterfield, so there’s not much to them we haven’t already seen. It really makes me wonder if this was ever meant to be a Mariposa movie in the first place, and it reiterates to me that this story would be much better as a standalone.
Mariposa and the Fairy Princess does little to expand on the previously established world, and one small bit of intriguing history is not enough to save it.
World Building: 3/10
Themes
Mariposa and the Fairy Princess posits the theme that in order to make a friend, you have to be a friend. This theme works in the context of Catania forgiving Gwyllion at the end of the movie, and you could even apply it to Regellius too… But only if you squint. Mariposa was nothing but kind to Regellius the entire movie, and she didn’t get much of anything from him. She was just used as a doormat the entire time. I appreciate the theme in theory, but it feels like a lot of the movie is spent on showing how some people are just lost causes who don’t want your friendship.
Themes: 4/10
Production
If nothing else, Mariposa and the Fairy Princess looks amazing. The animation has only been getting better as the years go by, and this movie is wonderful to watch. I especially love the colors in this one; Mariposa’s party dress in particular looks incredible with this animation style. Comparing this film to the first Mariposa movie really shows how far the animation has come, and I love it.
The voice acting and music are great too. I love the leitmotif of Shimmervale, and the music here is very distinct from the first film’s score while still feeling unified. The music helps a lot with making it feel like these are two nations in a greater world. No matter how much they push each other way, they are always connected.
The production of Mariposa and the Fairy Princess is strong all around, and it deserves much praise for it.
Production: 10/10
Overall
Barbie: Mariposa and the Fairy Princess is a sequel that doesn’t feel like a sequel. Its story belongs in a standalone film, and the lack of consistency with the first Mariposa movie can be difficult to stomach. Still, if you want something original, this movie is fine, but I don’t know if I can quite recommend it to die-hard fans of the first Mariposa film.
Overall: 5.5/10
Silly Superlative: Barbie movie with the most realistic depictions of trauma
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