We have made it. The final passion blog of the semester and no better way to end it than with the best Barbie movie of all time: Princess and the Pauper. I don’t even know if I can do this film justice with my words alone. It is a cinematic masterpiece that stands the test of time.

Princess and the Pauper follows two polar opposite girls- Princess Anneliese and pauper Erika. Anneliese lives a privileged life in the castle, but when her kingdom begins to go bankrupt she is set up to be engaged to King Dominic, which is unfortunate for her because she is in love with Julian, a commoner who is her best friend. What they also don’t realize is that the Queen’s treasurer, Preminger, is the one stealing the kingdom’s natural resource of gold for himself so that the princess will have to marry him for his riches and make him the king. Erika, on the other hand, was born into poverty and works as a seamstress for the abusive Madam Karp to pay off her debt. The catch is, Anneliese and Erika look exactly alike (except for hair color– hence a wig). When Preminger kidnaps Anneliese to prevent the wedding to King Dominic that would interfere with his plan to become king, Julian enlists Erika to impersonate Anneliese where she ends up falling for Dominic.

Just by the storyline, it is clear that this movie is complex. This is not your basic kid’s movie with a predictable, two-dimensional storyline. There are twists and turns and betrayals. It’s complicated because when Anneliese “ran away” (was kidnapped by Preminger) she (Preminger) left a note behind but was signed with the wrong scent, which Julian recognized. He became suspicious of Preminger which is why he went to find Erika. He knew that when “Anneliese” (Erika) returned and did not instantly tell everyone about the kidnapping (because only real Anneliese knows), Preminger would get suspicious and go to check on Anneliese, where real Julian could follow her. Unfortunately, Anneliese ends up escaping but when she returns they don’t believe it’s her since Erika is in her spot. Preminger ends up finding out their plan and Anneliese and Julian both end up kidnapped, left for dead, but escape last minute. Preminger makes plans to marry the Queen and exposes Erika as a fraud, where she is then let free by King Dominic. In the end, Erika marries Dominic and Anneliese marries Julian.

I know I didn’t have to give the whole synopsis but it is SO GOOD I just couldn’t resist. There is so much dramatic irony that it makes watching it so suspenseful and engaging.

This movie easily has the best music of all the Barbie movies. Every single song is so catchy and amazing and I am absolutely convinced that this movie is the reason I can harmonize in thirds on the spot. Plus, this is the first movie-musical that Barbie did so it’s historic and iconic! When my sister and I were little we would dress up as Anneliese and Erika and perform an entire scene and song for my parents, delivering lines word for word. I have always felt I had a special connection to this movie because of how it reminded me of my sister and I, and these are memories that I continue to cherish.

Anneliese also promotes being a woman in STEM. She easily could have been a pretty princess with no substance or a damsel in distress but it is clear from the beginning that she is intelligent and quick-witted. In her songs she emphasizes her love for reading, and in the situation with her being kidnapped or almost drowning to death, her and Julian quickly come up with effective solutions. It is her discovery of geodes in the cave that she was trapped in that ends up saving the kingdom from financial ruin at the end of the movie.

As for Erika, she finally got her happily ever after not only because she got to marry a King, but because she got to fulfill her dream of traveling the world and singing. Plus the fact that King Dominic- a respectful, attractive, rich, talented, smart, kind, funny man waited for her when she went to travel when he didn’t know when she was going to return set the bar so high for men.

One of the best parts of this movie is the bloopers at the end. A couple of Barbie movies do this, but these bloopers are such a core memory to me. My sister and I would literally rewind the DVD and watch them on repeat over and over again; we could not stop laughing. This movie, like most of the movies on this list, are so quotable and memorable.

All in all, this movie is stunning and beautifully done. This is universally accepted as the best Barbie movie and is the epitome of old Barbie and great cinema. Princess in the Pauper is a clear number one.