Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses

The princesses get tortured mentally getting forced to drop everything they love to become ideal ladies like the description for the movie says. Similar to Cinderella the evil stepmother. This is pretty good for 2006 era of television and movies. This is a child friendly version of the mentality that children will go through once they start being treated poorly and go to imaginary places to cope with the new stress of a different life and routine.

This 3D animation was expressive and silly animal pets that are unusual and exotic for modern life. With a indian parrot when no one in the film is of that region. Shows the parrot was adopted later on in its life, and also gives some silly nice diversity for the film.

This is a nicely-done story with pretty music, lots of dancing, lots of big sister/little sister interaction (almost all of it positive), and lots of wishes granted. There are funny moments that older children and adults will enjoy, such as when King Randolph exclaims, "They're just SHOES! Aren't they?" And tender moments such as when Princess Genevieve comforts her youngest sister, Lacey, after a blunder.

The animation is perhaps not as good as Disney, but it still is very good. The facial expressions are nuanced, particularly for Genevieve, King Randolph, Duchess Rowena and her servant, Derek the cobbler, and little Princess Lacey. My only quibble on the animation is in the dance sequences where the dancing princesses become absolute carbon copies of each other without the slightest deviation -- even the three youngest copy the dance steps perfectly. I would have liked to see a little more individualism in the dancing, considering that these girls are not professional ballerinas or chorus dancers.

The resolution of the story is handled cleverly to get rid of a villainess without actually hurting her. There is some violence done to guards in the story, and the villainess's monkey is mean to other animals in the story.

My 4-year-old daughter loves this movie and has watched it repeatedly, and I have found it to be quite acceptable for her to watch.

I feel that this movie is different from so many others in that it shows a family of girls who actually care about each other. They may have faults, but bitterness and put-downs have no place with these girls. Try to find that on TV or in the usual movies. It is a breath of fresh air to see girls being feminine--wearing beautiful, feminine dresses and shoes. Contrast that with the apparel in stores today, i.e. raggedy and faded jeans and jackets, etc. The story line has an evil thread running through but that is what makes it more realistic and interesting. I know that it is animated, but it still gives you a feeling that families can stick together and come out okay. I would recommend this movie for boys and girls alike.

The graphics in this are much better than some of the others that came just before it (especially barbie diaries and fairtytopia) which made it a much better experience.

As far as the plot, it is a little slow at first but really ramps up and is rewarding if you stay for the whole thing. The magic portrayed in it was sooo cool I wish they had done a second one or just expanded on the magic world/how it works. I'd love to know if their mother hired an enchantress to set it up or something for instance.

The characters were good (especially rowena and the male lead and surprisingly the animal sidekicks were great in this movie too) but some of the side characters seem quite flat especially a few of the princesses that look like carbon copies of each other, like another reviewer said.

Dancing and music was really fun. I like that they were portrayed as a singing family.

My favorite part were the princesses teaming up on the guards and the special dancing part (no spoilers you just have to watch).

I DID think there was a huge plot hole in that Rowena could have just wished to be queen of her own kingdom instead of causing trouble (again if this doesn't make sense it's bc no spoilers you just have to watch).

Solid 7/10. I would give it an 8 if I ever watch it again.

I do get some pleasure out of the Barbie movies, and the 12 Dancing Princesses is no exception. The animation is mostly full of lovely colour, fluid backgrounds and nuanced facial expressions. True, the animation in the dance sequences is not very inspired, but none of it is bad as far I could see. The music is whimsical and catchy, the dialogue is decent with some fun moments even with some corniness, the story has a lot of charm and heart making an existing story fresh in terms of storytelling and while the characters are not much different from the types of characters from the previous Barbie movies they are likable still. The voice acting is solid from all involved. Overall, a very charming movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox