WATCH NOW
I dare not read this again, but I’ll do it just this once… For the first time in this project, I owe someone an apology, and by ‘problematic’ I meant it is one of the better Barbie movies. To be frank, there’s nothing horrible about The Pearl Princess, and it certainly is one of the better Barbie movies I’ve seen in the last batch. I cannot begin to guess what was going through that teenage girl’s head when she wrote that three word review; and all I can say to justify it is that it is certainly no more or less offensive than anything in the old Barbie canon. And just like them, it is pretty, and dare I say, even prettier than the best of them.
The Pearl Princess is a tale about mermaids living under the sea. It is similar to the fairytale of a “lost princess” where a girl is saved by a gallant prince’s aid. The story follows Lumina, who is indeed a mermaid. However, she dreams of stepping onto the dry land and interact with humans. The young girl’s wish is halted by her Aunt Scylla who is submerging her deep under the ocean. However, things take a turn when Scylla gets an invite to a kingdom which will help to further her agenda of ruling the sea: grabbing the invitation would allow Lumina to explore the sea while also allowing her to interact with the outside world. But it’s not like the princess would be anyone we know in the movie or anything. It’s also worth mentioning that the king and queen sea rulers had a princess who went missing seventeen years back but supposedly died.
Moreover, the way her powers are explained in the story is vague, but she does possess supernatural abilities. The explanations about her versatility of using pearls is as unconcise as Euro Truck Simulator, for example, where elements such as changing pearls into dress is more like the developers pulling out something during the last moment. Fortunately, her powers are not of much relevance to the plot. To bind the villain, she uses the powers at the end, but they are hardly the main weapons.
Watching The Pearl Princess, one thing that came out really good was the animation. While it may not have been as appealing as Mariposa & the Fairy Princess, aside from that movie, it definitely stands out the most. The film captures a stunning sense of iridescence and depth while the nuances of blue and pink are soothing and not harsh, unlike Mermaidy and A Mermaid Tale.
Even if Lumina, one of the characters, did not speak, her breathtaking tail alone handles all the attention. Similar to how other characters move, she twirls and flips her body in a fluid manner instead of taking steps towards her destination. This gives emphasis to the dress and other details. This way of moving does justice to the underwater world unlike other mermaid films.
Don’t get it twisted, though, as what makes this film interesting is not in what is happening within it. The actual story is rather simple; we have the optimistic but kind-hearted Lumina, the aunt who has odd concerns regarding Lumina, and the uncle who has grand delusions of becoming king. (Though I will give a little credit to the evil uncle, sometimes his delivery felt like a cheapened Tim Curry which, while not being Tim Curry, is still endearing in the fact that the dude tried.) The only two that leave an impression are the bad guy’s nerdy son, Fergis. Kyle Davis could have made him grosser than they did, (eating your own snot as a child is not exactly uncommon and claim your right to do so) and his jerk of a father, and Murray, a comedian in a blue sea serpent costume who speaks in a hiss that more resembles Kaa from The Jungle Book than anything intriguing because of the film’s so called technical baddie.
There’s also Madame Ruckus, an octopus who operates a somewhat terrifying salon (to be fair, it isn’t as terrifying as many other of the creature designs in Mermaidia). If anything, I’d like to assume part that annoyed me the most prior to watching this movie Madam Ruckus’s salon. Well, plot wise it’s annoying but: Lumina arrives at the kingdom on a mission, only to end up working at the salon for the day which she seems totally fine with. Even though this was a rather obnoxious detour, it did not bother me much this time. It’s definitely filler but filler that shows Lumina interacting with other merpeople and proving herself, which she had dreamt of.
In simpler terms, The Pearl Princess is altogether charming. It doesn’t seek to break the mold as it is not innovative, but then again, few Barbie films do, and it’s a medium to strong and strong and very sensory execution of the formulaic. With Mariposa & The Fairy Princess, A Pony Tale and now The Pearl Princess, that’s several movies in a row that I have genuinely liked and that have not made me feel like I want to die, which feels pretty great considering how distant we are from the “good old days.” Still, there are some good parts in the new Barbie movies. The Pearl Princess is one of the most obvious examples. This underwater fairytale is simple, sweet, and shimmery, so it’s definitely not “wretched” at all.
To watch more movies like (Barbie: The Pearl Princess (2014)) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
