Barbie has been a beloved figure in American Pop culture since the 1960’s, first as a toy doll created by the Mattel corporation and then again in cartoon movies, starting in 2001, with Barbie in The Nutcracker. For over 20 years, Barbie movies have inspired and entertained children, teenagers and honestly adults as well… My dad loves them!  

Barbie movies have consistent core themes of focusing on being true to who you are, showing kindness, and following your dreams. They’re also just entertaining, light hearted, thoughtful movies. 

Being a huge Barbie movie fan, and with over 30 Barbie movies to choose from, I felt compelled to share my Barbie Top Ten movies:

10. Barbie as the Island Princess – Follows Barbie as a girl who washes up on an island as a young child after a terrible shipwreck. Barbie calls herself “Ro” based on the necklace she has.  On the island Ro is raised and cared for by the wild animals on the island. Her best friends are a baby elephant and a monkey. She also develops the ability to “speak” to each animal.  When Prince Antonio arrives on the island, he is instantly mesmerized by Ro and he takes her back to his kingdom where Ro must navigate the “jungles” of society and uncover more information on her true identity.  A great message for being true to yourself and not changing to “fit in.”

9. Barbie in Mariposa – Set in the world of Fairytopia, Elina begins to tell us about her old friend, Mariposa the butterfly fairy. Elina tells us how Mariposa set out on a journey to save her queen and reinstate the shield that protected her kingdom from monsters. Mariposa slowly solves the mystery, learning about friendship and trust along the way. Truly a wonderful story, though when I was younger those monsters used to terrify me.

8. Barbie in the Nutcracker – The first Barbie movie that was released. A reenactment of the classic tale in which Clara wakes to find her newly gifted nutcracker doll fighting the Mouse King. The Mouse King shrinks Clara and to reverse the spell she must travel to another world with the Nutcracker. Fun familiar characters and a classic Christmas story!

7. Barbie in a Fashion Fairytale – When Barbie arrives at her aunt’s fashion house in Paris, she’s exploring the attic when she finds a mysterious, magical wardrobe containing three fashion fairies. Together Barbie and the fairies must work to save the fashion house from being sold, while also dealing with the enemy fashion house, who plot against them at every turn. Barbie shows strength and resilience, as well as an amazing fashion sense. The scenes where the fairies enchanted the dresses were mesmerizing and so well done.

6. Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia – The fairy Elina travels underwater to rescue her friend Prince Nalu, who’s been kidnapped by the evil fairy Laverna. Elina finds an ally in Nori, Prince Nalu’s best friend. Nori is first mistrustful of Elina but as the girls continue on their quest they become good friends. I found this movie to be more dramatic than the other Barbie films and with a message of a solid friendship can weather many challenges.  The underwater characters were very fun!

5. Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princess – After their evil cousin, Duchess Rowena arrives, she forbids Princess Genevieve and her eleven sisters from dancing. However, the sisters discover a magical world where they can dance. They sneak away at night to dance and must keep this world secret from the Duchess and their father. This is one of the funnest Barbie movies there is, the inclusion of all the different characters and their distinct personalities of the 12 princesses made the movie so much more interesting. I especially enjoyed all the sisters working together to be able to keep dancing.

4. Barbie Princess Charm School – Blair Willows receives a scholarship to Princess Charm School, a school for ladies in waiting and to-be princesses. Blair was a loner, working hard to take care of her mother and sister, she doesn’t have a lot of experience with teamwork, but when a sinister plot about her past, and the kingdom’s, begins to unravel Blair will need all the help she can get. Teaches you a good lesson about making friends in expected places, never taking what you have for granted, and that you should stand up for what you believe in, even if it’s against your family’s wishes. Also the outfits and creativity in this movie? Stunning.

Drum roll please….we are now moving onto my top three Barbie movies! 

3. Barbie and the Diamond Castle – Brandon Crowbar from Featured Animation says, “Barbie and the Diamond Castle ventures into one of the franchise’s most musical films,” and Crombar is absolutely correct. In the music focused Barbie film, Liana and Alexa come across a magic mirror with a girl, Melody, trapped inside. Melody tells the girls about a plot to destroy the Diamond Castle and all music along with it, together the three of them must work to stop the evil plot. All the song lyrics are beautifully written, and add depth to the film. A romantic movie featuring music, friendship, and forgiveness. 

2. Barbie and the Three Musketeers – Barbie plays Corrine, a girl from a farm who heads to Paris to learn to be a Musketeer like her father. However, she’s not allowed to learn to be a musketeer because she’s a girl. This doesn’t stop Corrine from pursuing her dreams though, she stays in Paris, working in the castle and slowly, she begins to uncover a plot against the king. There were so many of my favorite concepts in this movie: solving crimes, making friends, and using mundane skills in extraordinary ways! Not to mention, the fight scenes and upbeat music really keep you on the edge of your seat. This is definitely one of Barbie’s most thrilling movies.

1. Barbie as Princess and the Pauper – A stunning rendition of the familiar story, and a core childhood memory. Barbie as princess and the pauper – Barbie plays the Princess, and the Pauper who find each other and realize they could be twins! Unfortunately, shortly after they meet the Princess is kidnapped by a power hungry villain and the Pauper must step up to help rescue her. Thrilling, funny, and amazing songs, this is my number one Barbie movie. The plot was engaging, entertaining, and creative! There were so many fun little details that were added, like the cat that barks. Even when the movie was over, Barbie was still entertaining through the bloopers! The bloopers at the end of a Barbie movie were a lot more common with older movies, but still so fun. They made the movie that much more enjoyable and gave this life and realness to Barbie, making her even more impactful. 

Well there you have it…my top Ten Barbie movie list!  All of the Barbie films offer a great message on friendship, believing in yourself and following your dreams.  So get comfortable, grab some popcorn and let the Barbie Movie marathon begin!