About the Movie (spoilers!)
Written by: Sabrina

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper is a Barbie movie which came out on video and DVD in the year 2004. It is based on The Prince and the Pauper fairytale by Mark Twain, as most Barbie movies are based on fairytales.

The story centers around Anneliese, a princess whose mother, Queen Genevieve is worried about the future of the kingdom. Anneliese is set to marry King Dominick although she secretly loves her tutor, Julian. Julian decided to visit the town with Anneliese one last time before her marriage, especially because he is sad she is to be married. Like she with him, he is in love with her. In the town something amazing happens: Anneliese sees a girl who looks exactly like her, except for hair color. This girl is Erika, who is singing in the village. They are astounded at how alike they are, and they become friends.

There is evil conspiring, however. Queen Genevieve's royal advisor, Preminger, plots to kidnap Anneliese and then to make it seem as though he is the hero. He wants Anneliese to marry him so that he will be king. Things do not go quite as planned, however. Julian is determined to help Anneliese, and he finds Erika where she works (making dresses at Madam Carp's) and gets her to pretend to be Anneliese until he finds out where Anneliese is. Julian is wise and knows that Preminger must be behind this. He finds Anneliese and there is much scuffle and many obstacles. Anneliese has a cat, Serafina, who helps her greatly.

Meanwhile at the palace, King Dominick makes a visit to see Anneliese but is disguised as a guard. He in fact meets Erika, whom he falls in love with. He tells her he is the King and that he believes she is pure at heart. However, Erika is exposed by Preminger and send to be locked away. She manages to escape but is caught by a guard, who is actually King Dominick and wants to help her. Erika also has a cute dog, Wolfie, who helps her greatly. Preminger convinces Queen Genevieve to marry him, but Anneliese arrives, interrupting his plans. He is thankfully caught and Anneliese confesses her love for Julian and King Dominick confesses his love for Erika.

Why?
I have always been a fan of the Barbie movies, but The Princess and the Pauper is by far my favorite! I remember when the dolls first came out in Summer 2004...I was at Target with one of my friends, and when I saw the dolls, I called my sister and was like, "OMG guess what the new Barbie movie is going to be?!" I was so excited, because it looked so great! And it was. :-) I wanted the fanlisting for this movie for over two years before I got it, so I was so happy when Sabrina e-mailed me and offered it to me! I ran through my house squealing hysterically, heh heh. What a nerd.

The best thing about the Barbie movies is that they hearken back to the good ol' days of Disney movies: they're geared for children, and are age appropriate, but can be enjoyed by teenagers and adults, as well. Both Anneliese and Erika are strong heroines who are appealing and convey a good message to girls worldwide. Also, the dresses are so pretty! (I dressed as Erika for Halloween last year; my sister is almost as good a seamstress as Erika herself!) Also, I like the songs. :-) Overall, it's one of my favorite movies, and I'm so happy to run the fanlisting for it!