Barbie as Rapunzel is a 2002 direct-to-video Barbie film directed by Owen Hurley. It is the second in in the Barbie film series of computer animated Barbie films, and features the voice of Kelly Sheridan as Barbie. The story is adapted from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel".
Plot
The story is being told by Barbie to her little sister Kelly, who does not have confidence in her painting abilities.
Rapunzel(Kelly Sheridan) lives as a servant to the witch Gothel (Anjelica Huston), who resides in a castle isolated in the woods. She grows up believing that Gothel saved her from abandonment as an infant. Rapunzel finds companionship in Penelope, an outgoing dragon, and Hobie, a worrisome rabbit. Rapunzel spends what free time she has painting pictures of her friends and a dream castle by the sea.
One afternoon, while preparing tea for Gothel, Rapunzel and her animal friends find a secret staircase which leads to an old room below the manor. In it they discover a gift from her parents who allegedly deserted her: a silver hairbrush engraved with the following: “Constant as the stars above, always know that you are loved. To our daughter, Rapunzel on her first birthday. With Love Forever, mother and father.” These words leave the young artist questioning her past for the first time. Her diversion is quickly interrupted by Gothel’s calls for tea.
After serving Gothel her meal, Rapunzel and her friends revisit the cellar where they expose yet another secret: a tunnel leading to the nearby village. Rapunzel takes this path to the small kingdom and is able to rescue a princess named Katrina from a pitfall. For her good deed, Rapunzel is introduced to Katrina’s elder brother, the handsome Prince Stefan. He explains to her that the trap Katrina managed to escape was put there by King Wilhelm, the ruler of an opposing kingdom. Enchanted by the mysterious maiden, Stefan asks to meet her again, to which she agrees, though their meeting is ended abruptly before Stefan could tell her his name when she quickly rushes back to the woods to avoid being discovered by Gothel. Unknown to Rapunzel, Gothel’s pet ferret, Otto, has witnessed the entire exchange.
Gothel punishes Rapunzel for her behavior, transforming her bedroom into a high tower and stations Hugo, Penelope’s father, outside. Gothel refuses to let Rapunzel go until she tells her the name of the boy she met.
That night, Rapunzel has a dream that Prince Stefan found her tower. He came up by climbing her long hair. When up there, they are about to kiss, but Gothel shows up and separates them. Rapunzel then wakes up and reads the engraving on the hairbrush. She realizes that there is still hope.
Rapunzel is left alone with Hobie and Penelope, who cheer her up with new paint to replace the ones taken away from by Gothel. The hairbrush, which turned into a paintbrush, has magical properties and whatever Rapunzel paints comes to life. She paints her way out of the tower by creating a secret passageway into the palace gardens and continues to secretly meet with Prince Stefan alough she still dosen't know his name.
One time, Prince Stefan asked Rapunzel to a masked ball. She said that she would meet him there. He says that her hair is a 'beautiful give away.' Penelope then tells Rapunzel that if Gothel finds out she's gone, Gothel will hurt Hugo. She decides to go. Before they go, she paints a picture of the tower on a door by the castle, so they can escape faster.
When back at the tower, Rapunzel uses the paintbrush to paint herself a beautiful gown. Hobie and Penelope provide a mask. They don't notice that Otto is outside watching.
Once again, Gothel discovers the truth from Otto. She cuts of some of Rapunzel's hair and destroys her magic paintbrush and the paintings she'd made. Because she thinks Rapunzel refused to tell the truth, Gothel puts a spell around her tower, which holds people who lie forever and can never be broken. An angered Gothel storms to King Frederick and Stefan's castle, intent on destroying them. Back at the tower, Rapunzel manages to escape with the help of Penelope (the spell only works if the prisoner is a liar) and rushes to save Stefan.
Wilhelm appears before Frederick, hoping to end the feud by force. It is revealed the source of the feud was because he believes Frederick kidnapped his daughter, who has been missing since she was an infant. Frederick replies that he planned nothing of the sort and he has no idea where Wilhelm's daughter is. Rapunzel arrives just in time to stop them from fighting and Wilhelm recognizes her as his daughter. It is revealed that Gothel has loved Wilhelm and was broken-hearted when she learned that he only looked to her as a friend, and decided to kidnap his daughter.
A brief skirmish ensues, and Gothel begins to attack Rapunzel with magic. As Rapunzel runs into the royal maze she remembers the magic painting of the tower and trick Gothel into falling into it—which Hugo reminds her she can't escape having a lying heart. Otto is now forced to do all the labor for her.
Rapunzel is reunited with her father, and marries Stefan, thus their fathers reconcile to re-unite their kingdoms, with Hugo, Penelope, Hobie living in the castle with them. And a shot is seen of the couple walking along a beach(the same one Rapunzel and Barbie painted)with a castle in the distance imply her dreams came true(this could be backed up as seen in the game version). it should be noted her hair was its original length in this shot.
Kelly now feels better and begins painting with blue which turns into the credits.
Cast
Reviews
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- The film was rated a B- by Entertainment Weekly magazine.[1]
- Moira McCormick (2002-10-05). "Barbie Returns In 'Rapunzel'". Billboard. "The Barbie as Rapunzel campaign expands on many of the promotional components from Mattel's Barbie in the Nutcracker, which had a 94% sell-through rate and sales of more than 3.5 million units. Print ads started one week before street date, and Ross says they are expected to generate 260 million consumer impressions through the end of the year. TV spots also began airing on Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network in August."
- Scott Hettrick (2002-10-11). "BARBIE'S HAIR-RAZING TALE". Sun-Sentinel. "Anjelica Huston delivers an entertainingly menacing voice as evil Gothel and the producers have imbued the much more simplistic but typically dour original Brothers Grimm tale with multiple characters that kids will find engaging."
- Chris J. Parker (2002-11-01). "'Rapunzel' Barbie trades hairbrush for paintbrush". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. "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 era. But it's watchable, especially for younger viewers."
- Neil Buckley (2003-02-08). "Barbie's new roles play to a new audience: Making a movie star was a smart move for Mattel, says Neil Buckley". Financial Times. "Her 2002 film, the 76-minute Barbie as Rapunzel, with the voice of actress Anjelica Huston as the evil witch Gothel, was a bigger success... It tied in with merchandise including a Barbie as Rapunzel doll - with the longest hair of any Barbie since her creation - dolls representing the other characters, an "Enchanted Tower" playset and a range of themed products, including denim jackets, watches, backpacks, musical hairbrushes and hair extension gift sets."
References
External links
