''Barbie as Rapunzel'' is a 2002
computer-animated fairy tale film directed by Owen Hurley. It was released to video and DVD on October 1, 2002, and made its television premiere on
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
on November 24, 2002.
The film is the second entry in the
Barbie film series
This article lists all CGI/ computer-animated feature films and streaming television films which form the core component of the multimedia franchising of ''Barbie'', a fashion doll manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel.
...
, and features the voice of
Kelly Sheridan
Kelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress best known for being the voice for Barbie in the ''Barbie'' film series from 2001 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. She had also voiced in numerous animations and English-language dubs of Japanese animati ...
as Barbie. The story is adapted from the German fairy tale "
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of '' Persinet ...
".
''Barbie as Rapunzel'' was nominated for eight
DVD Premiere Awards, winning Best Original Score and Best Animated Character Performance for its main antagonist Gothel.
Plot
The story is told by Barbie to her younger sister, Kelly, who is insecure in her painting abilities.
Rapunzel is a young woman with long, floor-length hair who lives as a servant to the wicked witch Gothel, residing in a magically secluded manor in the woods. She finds companionship in Penelope, a young dragon and Hobie, an anxious rabbit. She spends her time painting pictures of places she dreams of going when she is free one day; Gothel disapproves of this, accusing Rapunzel of being ungrateful to the witch for supposedly saving her from abandonment as a baby.
One day, Rapunzel and her friends inadvertently open a secret passage to the basement where Rapunzel finds a gift from her birth-parents: a silver hairbrush engraved with a message affirming their love for Rapunzel; this leads Rapunzel to question Gothel's story. Through a tunnel, Rapunzel is led to the kingdom outside, where she saves Princess Katrina from a
pit trap with the help of her older brother, Prince Stefan. He tells her the trap was set by King Wilhelm, the ruler of an opposing kingdom who has an ongoing feud with Stefan's father, King Frederick. Rapunzel leaves in a rush without learning Stefan's name to avoid Gothel discovering her disappearance. However, Gothel's pet ferret Otto, who had followed her, informs his mistress of Rapunzel meeting a man. When Rapunzel insists she doesn't know who he is, her paintings are destroyed and her room transformed into a high tower with Penelope's father Hugo tasked with ensuring she doesn't leave. As Rapunzel sleeps, the hairbrush magically transforms into a paintbrush.
When Rapunzel attempts to use the brush, a mural of the kingdom magically appears on her wall which acts as a portal. Rapunzel uses it to meet Stefan again, though she insists he never tell her his name for fear of Gothel. Stefan gives her an invitation to the masquerade ball that night. Back at the tower, Rapunzel paints herself a beautiful costume. Unfortunately, Otto swipes Rapunzel's invitation and takes it to his mistress. Gothel cuts off Rapunzel's hair, shatters the paintbrush, and destroys the portal to the kingdom. When Rapunzel once again cannot give Stefan's name, Gothel puts a spell on the tower to never release its lying prisoner.
With the help of her friends, Rapunzel escapes the tower as she never lied about not knowing Stefan's name. At the ball, Stefan is attacked by a disguised Gothel wearing Rapunzel's hair; King Wilhelm also infiltrates the castle and accuses Frederick of kidnapping his daughter many years ago—the source of the feud; Gothel reveals that she was the one who took Wilhelm's daughter, Rapunzel, due to her unrequited love for him, wanting the kingdoms to destroy each other. Rapunzel arrives and Wilhelm recognizes her as his daughter. Rapunzel tricks Gothel into running into her painting of the tower, where she becomes permanently imprisoned for her lies.
Rapunzel is reunited with her biological parents and marries Stefan. The feud ends and the two kingdoms are united. In the end, Kelly feels better and begins painting after Barbie reminds her that creativity is the true magic in art.
Cast
*
Kelly Sheridan
Kelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress best known for being the voice for Barbie in the ''Barbie'' film series from 2001 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. She had also voiced in numerous animations and English-language dubs of Japanese animati ...
as
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
/
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of '' Persinet ...
*
Chantal Strand as Kelly / Princess Katrina
*
Anjelica Huston as Gothel, the witch
*
Mark Hildreth as Prince Stefan
*
Cree Summer as Penelope
*
David Kaye as Hugo / General
*
Ian James Corlett
Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series ''Being Ian'' and ''Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first En ...
as Hobie / Palace Guard
*
Peter Kelamis
Peter Kelamis (born December 11, 1967) is an Australian-Canadian actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He is known for playing Tail Terrier in ''Krypto the Superdog'', Dr. Adam Brody in ''Stargate Universe'', Goku in Ocean's English dubs ...
as Otto / The Skinny Swordsman
*
Christopher Gaze
Christopher Bower Gaze, (born 12 May 1952) is an English actor, host, artist, theatre and opera director residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
History
Born in Guildford, Surrey, England, he trained at the Bristol Old Vic The ...
as King Wilhelm
* Russell Roberts as King Fredrick
*
Terry Klassen
Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor, ADR director and writer. Before animation, Klassen worked in radio in Winnipeg (CITI-FM), Toronto (Q107), Calgary (CFAC), Portage la Prairie (CFRY) and part-time at CFOX and CFMI. In animation, he is best ...
as The Baker / The Fat Swordsman
*
Britt McKillip
Britt Analisa McKillip (born January 18, 1991) is a Canadian actress and singer. Her credits include the film ''Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular'' and its sequel '' Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy'', and her role as Reggie Lass in ...
as Melody
*
Jocelyne Loewen
Jocelyne Rae Loewen (born 1976) is a Canadian actress working in Vancouver, Canada. She is known for her roles in the English dubs of anime series. She is best known as the voice of Yai Ayano in the '' Mega Man NT Warrior'' series, Mii from ''Po ...
as Lorena
* Danny McKinnon as Tommy
*
Dale Wilson as the Silversmith
Production
''Barbie as Rapunzel'' was the second film produced by
Mainframe Entertainment
Mainframe Studios is a Canadian computer animation company owned by Wow Unlimited Media and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment Inc. by Christopher Brough, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell, Gavin Blair and ...
for
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
, following ''
Barbie in the Nutcracker
''Barbie in the Nutcracker'' is a 2001 computer-animated fantasy film directed by Owen Hurley and written Linda Engelsiepen and Hilary Hinkle from a screenplay by Rob Hudnut. Featuring the voice of Kelly Sheridan as Barbie, it marked the first ...
'' (2001). ''Barbie as Rapunzel'' was produced over a nine-month period. The characters were animated using
Softimage V.3.9, with
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
used for special effects. Performances for the 15 human characters were
motion-captured over 16 days, and created using Motion Analysis,
EVA
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
and
Kaydara Filmbox. Motion capture data was also purchased from LocoMotion Studios in
Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley is a village in Hays County, Texas, United States. It is still predominantly a ranching area outside of town. The population was 2,839 at the 2020 census.
History
Wimberley started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in ...
for use in animating a CGI horse. The rest of the animal characters were animated using
keyframe
In animation and filmmaking, a key frame (or keyframe) is a drawing or shot that defines the starting and ending points of a smooth transition. These are called ''frames'' because their position in time is measured in frames on a strip of fil ...
techniques. Motion capture performer Cailin Stadnyk portrayed Barbie's movements.
Rapunzel's paintings are real art works by
Amanda Dunbar
Amanda Dunbar (born 1982) is a Texas-based artist who gained acclaim at an early age for her oil painting skills. Amanda Dunbar began painting in an after school art class at the age of 13. Her spontaneous and advanced works acquired significan ...
digitally inserted into the film. Dunbar agreed to participate in the project because she "like
that the movie encourages art as a use of expression."
Music
''Barbie as Rapunzel'' features the original song "Constant as the Stars Above", written by
Rob Hudnut and
Arnie Roth
Arnold Roth (born April 28, 1953) is an American conductor, composer, and record producer. His work includes conducting concerts for video game music. He is also a classically trained violinist and a member of the Grammy Award-winning music g ...
, and performed by Jessica Brown. The song is heard as a 30-second lullaby in the film and reprised as a 2-and-a-half-minute version during the closing credits, after
Samantha Mumba
Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) is an Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single " Gotta Tell You", which ...
's "Wish Upon a Star".
"Rapunzel's Theme" is performed by
Becky Taylor. Roth composed the score, which was performed by the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
.
The film makes use of
Antonín Dvořák's
Symphony No. 9, "From The New World" (also known as the ''New World Symphony''), while the music playing when Rapunzel is visiting the village is "Volte", from
Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms ba ...
’ ''
Terpsichore
In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance".
Appearance
...
''.
Release
The DVD and VHS was released on October 1, 2002.
The DVD bonus features include the 26-minute documentary, "The Artist in Me", which profiles artist Amanda Dunbar along with interviews of children commenting on art and what inspires them.
The DVD also has two interactive features:
dress-up
Dress-up is a children's game in which costumes or clothing are put on a person or on a doll, for role-playing or aesthetics purposes. In the UK the game us called dressing up. In the mid-1990s, dress-up games also became a video game genre itse ...
game "Dress-Up Rapunzel", and "Rapunzel's Art Gallery", a visual tour of paintings by famous artists teaching the difference between
landscape,
portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
and other styles of painting.
Reception
Commercial reception
''Barbie as Rapunzel'' and associated merchandise sales grossed US$200 million in 2002.
Critical response
Eileen Clarke of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' rated ''Barbie as Rapunzel'' a "B-". Praising the film as "terrific storytelling", Lynne Heffley of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' wrote, "the artwork is gorgeously rendered and the characters are quirkily brought to life through the multilayered story and voice talent".
Grant McIntyre of ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' called the film "a delight", writing that it "has all the excitement, idyllic landscapes, gallantry, magic, deceit and romance that have made the
airy talegenre a favourite for centuries."
Reviewing the film for the ''
South Florida Sun Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...
'', Scott Hettrick found "The animation is more sophisticated, the colors are far more vibrant, and the feature is filled with more characters, story lines and overall activity" than the previous year's ''Barbie in the Nutcracker''. Hettrick praised the film's characters as engaging, and noted "in addition to ''Rapunzel'', the story incorporates elements of everything from ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', ''
Romeo & Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...
'' and ''
Dragonheart
''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...
'' to ''
Harold and the Purple Crayon
''Harold and the Purple Crayon'' is a 1955 children's book by Crockett Johnson. Published by Harper Collins Publishers, it is Johnson's most popular book, and has led to a series of other books, as well as many adaptations.
Plot
The protagonist ...
''".
A reviewer for ''
Parenting
Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for ...
'' called ''Barbie as Rapunzel'' "a truly charming update" to the original fairy tale, liking how "This time Rapunzel uses her head-not her hair-to gain her freedom." ''
Los Angeles Daily News'' critic Chris J. Parker similarly praised the film's message and Barbie's character as a positive
role model for young girls, and opined, "The movie is enhanced by its soundtrack, which features music performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The computer-generated animation is still a bit clumsy, especially in this post-''
Shrek
''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...
'' era. But it's watchable, especially for younger viewers."
K. Lee Benson of ''The Video Librarian'' called the film "A contemporary twist on a classic fairytale that will captivate Barbie's worshipful younger fans (though few others)". Rob Lowing of ''
The Sun-Herald
''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald'' ...
'' rated it 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "The ''Shrek''-ish animation makes everyone resemble a doll, but pre-teens will like a chatty dragon and plenty of magic. The slightly twee result still has personality". Reviewing the film for
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. , Tracy Moore advised that parents "may want to offer a counter to the traditional fairy tale narrative here, but can still likely appreciate the focus on Rapunzel's good naturedness, her big heart, her emphasis on following her dreams, and her message about believing in yourself."
Awards
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Rapunzel
American direct-to-video films
American children's animated fantasy films
Canadian direct-to-video films
Canadian independent films
Canadian animated fantasy films
2002 direct-to-video films
2002 computer-animated films
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of '' Persinet ...
2000s English-language films
2002 fantasy films
2002 films
Films set in the 2000s
Films based on Rapunzel
Films set in Germany
Films set in the 17th century
Films about princesses
Artisan Entertainment films
2000s American animated films
Films about witchcraft
Films about kidnapping
Animated films about dragons
2000s Canadian films