5 short stories that inspired the Barbie animated films

Considered the most famous doll in the world, Barbie has been winning the hearts of millions of children around the world for exactly 65 years. Due to her success, in addition to being a toy, she has also become a movie character, starring in numerous feature films.

With plots that feature Barbie in different contexts, some of the stories starring the doll were inspired by internationally popular tales that have been passed down from generation to generation for decades — and RECREIO will introduce you to five of them. Check it out!

1. Rapunzel

The film “Barbie as Rapunzel” premiered in 2002, and adapts the tale “Rapunzel” popularized by Brothers Grimm in 1815, through the book “Tales for Children and the Home”. In the original version, the protagonist becomes pregnant after her first encounters with the prince, and has her hair cut when the witch finds out.

When he thinks his beloved has died, the prince commits an act of madness and goes blind. When Rapunzel gives birth to twins, the couple reunites, and the princess’s tears allow him to see again. In the animation, however, none of this happens, and the story also features the addition of magic paintbrushes and talking dragons to the plot.

2. The Snow Queen

In the animation “Barbie and the Pink Shoes” (2013), Barbie takes on the role of Kristyn, a character who ends up being transported to a magical world of ballet, where she meets the villain Snow Queen, a character who was based on the 1844 short story “The Snow Queen” by the author Hans Christian Andersen.

This same tale was also responsible for inspiring the plot of the “Frozen” franchise, especially the character Elsa. In addition, fans believe that the Snow Queen also served as inspiration for the White Witch, presented in the saga of “The Chronicles of Narnia”, by the author. C.S. Lewis.

3. The Three Musketeers

“The Three Musketeers”, historical novel published by the French author Alexandre Dumas first published as a serial in the newspaper Le Siècle in 1844, it inspired the 2009 animation “Barbie and the Three Musketeers”, where Barbie plays Corinne, a country girl who moves to Paris, France, to become a musketeer, just like her father was.

The original version presents a story very similar to the film. In the book, we meet D’Artagnan, who moves to Paris with the intention of joining the king’s musketeers, the guards responsible for protecting the monarch. There, he meets three “inseparable” musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, where together they face countless adventures under the king’s command. Louis XIII and the queen Anne of Austria.

4. The Prince and the Pauper

Being one of the great North American authors, Mark Twain published the book “The Prince and the Pauper” in 1881, inspired by his trip to Europe, where he tells the story of a very poor boy who manages to enter the royal palace and meets Edward, the Prince of Wales. After creating a friendship and realizing how similar they are, the two switch places to experience the difference in their lives.

The work, which has already served as inspiration for different films, also served as the basis for three Barbie animations: “The Princess Switch” (2004), “The Princess & the Popstar” (2012) and “Barbie Princess Adventure” (2020).

5. The Twelve Dancing Princesses

“Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses” (2006) follows 12 sisters who are passionate about dancing and are forbidden from dancing. However, on the youngest sister’s birthday, they receive a book left by their mother, which reveals to them the secret of a place where, by dancing on the tiles of the room, a magical portal would open, and would take them directly to a garden where they could dance without being disturbed.

The plot was based on the tale of Brothers Grimm“The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, from 1457, which basically tells the same story, however, it had slightly more bizarre moments, as it was written to scare naughty children, as pointed out by AdoroCinema.