Barbie and the Diamond Castle (2008)

looks like a good barbie movie

I bought this for my five year old daughter for christmas. We saw a clip online and it looks good. She likes the music and the pets. She wants the dolls that sing too. November 17, 2008

Nancy

I bought this item for my 4 year old grand-daughter and she absolutely loved it. I have the items shipped to their home and they love going to the mail box and getting these special packages. This is a wonderful way to send along special packages different times during the year, letting these little ones know they are thought of not just during the holiday but all year long. November 16, 2008

How about NO

Absolutely disgusting. What do you get when you pair the worlds' most anatomically daring blonde doll with a couple of gooey eyed dogs? Well, its "Barbie and the Diamond Castle", yet another film in the famed Barbie cannon, that will have young girls (and some boys) in their therapists' offices for many many more years to come. Oh glory!

I actually have seen this - truth be told, I got it for free, and thought, "Hey, why not spend an evening gouging my eyes out with audiovisual abuse?". And I went on from there. As Amazon says, "Barbie and the Diamond Castle opens with Barbie and her friend Teresa singing, playing guitar, and relating a story about friendship to Stacy who's just had a disagreement with her best friend Courtney." But oh, dear reader, it is so much more complexthan that. If only you knew!

To cut things short, Barbie tells us a tale about loss in this story. Even though shes not in it much, she makes sure to hog the limelight. That Barb! The music is something off a Miley Cyrus soundtrack, and the two animals really got on my nerves. Seriously, its 2008. Do we still have to reduce cartoon animals to these slithering blobs of cuteness who do nothing except elicit oohs and aahs?

If I was 3, I would probably be eating this up, but since I'm not, I'm gonna go with a negative ranking and a review summary of "Nonsense". AVOID. November 14, 2008

Barbie Fun for my 4 Year Old

As I am reading the reviews for this DVD, which we recently purchased, I was dumbfounded at the speculation of the Lesbian subplot! First, I have no problem with alternative lifestyles; it's an individual choice. With that said, I suppose if you are "looking" for it or have something against being gay, you could find that kind of subplot in some twisted way -- but I would challenge any pre-k to tween age kid to find it. Kids who would enjoy this movie are all about friends at this time in their lives, and are learning what friendships are and just how they work. It's a great story of unconditional friendship. Period.

I did raise an eyebrow for a moment at the scene where the women in the tavern were obviously miffed by Jeremy's and Ian's arrival -- but it was not clear exactly why they were miffed to my Daughter. If she was older it might have been awkward trying to explain the "one night stand" dynamic.

The incidents of more mature concepts could be compared to the humor you find in Shrek or Madagascar, whereas there is an adult level of humor that kids don't pick up on, but parents do, and that makes the movie enjoyable for the parents. I think this approach is something new for the Mattel films, and perhaps they just need some time to refine their comedic passes.

The music is great, and ecclectic too! I love the contrast in music from rock and roll, to contemporary to classical. The tunes are catchy and I even find myself singing along when I hear it -- which my Daughter thinks is fun.

In general I'm happy with the purchase. My Daughter loves the movie and would watch it over, and over, and over again, if I let her. Isn't that what really matters?

I'd love to give it 5 stars, but I think Mattell needs to polish up their attempts to camouflage adult humor.
November 11, 2008

Terrific movie for all ages!

I read with some dismay the negative reviews of this wonderful movie. As a conservative mom myself, I found it to be fantastic fun! The music is GREAT, the good vs evil theme is a classic, and the two goof ball guys come through in the end! (They are my favorite characters! They throw out hysterical one liners!) I absolutely would recommend it to any family as a feel good, happy ending movie with just enough 'oh, no!"s thrown in to keep everyone involved. Buy with not just confidence, but anticipation! November 9, 2008

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