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Barbie Mariposa and Her Butterfly Friends
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Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Find all by Universal Studios
Directed By: Conrad Helten
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Theatrical Release: December 3, 2008
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
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Retail Price: $19.98
Online Sale Price: $14.99
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Join Barbie in an all-new world of Butterfly Fairies! Mariposa is a beautiful butterfly fairy who loves to read and dream about the world outside her home in the land of Flutterfield. Flutterfield is protected by the Queen's glimmering magical flower lights, but when the Queen is poisoned by the evil fairy Henna, the special lights begin to go out one by one. It's up to the brave Mariposa and her friends to journey beyond the safe borders of the city in search of a hidden antidote that will save the Queen. Join the butterfly fairy friends on an exciting adventure that will transform them forever!
User Submitted Barbie Mariposa and Her Butterfly Friends Reviews
November 25, 2008
There are better Barbie movies
While Mariposa is probably the best of the Barbie Fairytopia series, it's certainly not the best of the Barbie films overall, and in fact is one that I love to hate at times. The first thing that threw me off was Kelly Sheridan not being in the lead role, but rather was the "bad" fairy. I only found this annoying, but young children might find this confusing, and it's not the last of things that might be a bit troublesome for kids.
The fear of the dark that so many kids have is exploited in the movie with fairies only being safe in the light from the little bug-like skeezites, which kids may find scary by themselves. I have to wonder if this won't exacerbate the fear of the dark problem with some kids. The characters also seemed to dive right into eating strange plants without a second thought. Little ones who can't keep from putting things in their mouths could be confused the next time you tell them not to eat something bad. It might be a good idea to watch with them the first time around and point out some things to keep them on the right track if they're particularly sensitive.
On a much more serious note, there were only two black characters in this movie; one was a guard, and the other is the butler-- really! I'd rather them not include something like this at all than to portray the only black characters as servants-- and not very bright ones at that. All the other characters seem to be light-skinned. While a lack of diversity in these movies seems to be a common complaint, I found it particularly irksome in a movie that really should have and could have had more of a variety of skintones in it. Because so many of the characters seemed to have Spanish accents, it's really inexcusable, especially considering the wide variety of Spanish-speaking people throughout the world.
That said, *most* kids should not have major problems with anything in the story, and the issue with the dark-skinned characters will probably fly right over their heads-- no pun intended. Mariposa is much more colorful than Barbie movies in the main series (Princess and the Pauper, Rapunzel, etc.) and with all the movement, light and sparkle it will certainly entertain, even though it lacks the music and overall production quality of the main films. Kids will like it, but adults will probably not be as enthralled with it as with Barbie As The Princess and the Pauper, or the other non-fairy Barbie movies. There are better Barbie movies, and I would recommend considering those instead.
October 15, 2008
Best of the Fairytopia series, but not in the same class as the Barbie Princess movies!
As the mother of a 3 year old, I own all of the Barbie movies. My daughter and I enjoy watching them together, especially the musicals and the Princess series. Of all the Barbie series, the Fairytopia line has been our least favorite. None of them kept my daughter's attention for more than 10-15 minutes, except for Mariposa. It is by far the best movie from the fairytopia line, but does not hold a candle to the other Barbie movies. It has a good lesson for all girls, especially those that do not fit into the norm. It is definately worth watching...once or twice, but not over and over again!
September 20, 2008
Clearly the worst of the Barbie Movie franchise
Yes, my daughter loves it, but I have to say this is the worst of the movies that they've put out.
What's the story line? Who are these people? Why are Mariposa and her friend indentured servants to the two bratty girls? I'm not expecting Pixar-level story telling here, but come on... this thing is a train wreck.
And yes, being a parent fan of the franchise (meaning, no, I wouldn't watch these normally, but my daughter loves them), I miss Kelly Sheridan's voice in the lead role.
That said, hardly any child is going to notice or care about such adult "gripes", but we DO end up watching these too, so it would be nice if we got to be entertained at least to the level we've come to expect, with movies like Magic of Pegasus, or Princess and the Pauper.
Your kids (if they are age appropriate to the film) will likely love it, but you may be bored to tears, or annoyed to no end as they watch it over, and over, and over...
August 3, 2008
Another good continuation of this series
My 7-year old daughter really enjoys this movie, and had watched it at least 5 times in the first 2 weeks. The first time she watched it, I watched it with her, and at no time was I completely bored with the story. The animation in this series continues to improve with each new release. The voice-acting is good, and the story is enjoyable, with characters that keep the viewer interested.
In this release, Elina relates a story to Bibble -- so it's not actually a "real-time" story about Elina, but rather a story about a new fairy. The perspective changes from the story Elina is relating to scenes of Elina talking to Bibble. This actually helps break the monotony.
If you have a young daughter who enjoys the other animated Barbie series, you will probably want to add this to your collection.
July 31, 2008
Terrible video for kids
I couldn't believe what I was allowing my 3yo to watch. Thank goodness I watch the movies with her to make sure they are okay. Well this one was not. Very poor representation for the female gender - has valley-girl -speaking fairies whose main purpose is to be google-eyed over the prince. I did not care for the "crying babies" that awaken the sea creature either. I thought it was a poor story and definitely not one that is for my daughter. Too bad I purchased it instead of borrowing from the library. It went into the garbage because I would feel too guilty if someone else picked it up for their kids.
July 19, 2008
Incorrect Zone - unable to use
I recently purchased this product but am unable to play it because it is the incorrect zone for my DVD player. There was nothing to indicate the restricted zoning on the page I made my purchase from and am exceedingly disappointed I wasted my time and money. I would have thought Amazon were more customer savvy than to sell items to someone living in Australia who is no able to use them. I only gave the one star rating because it was a mandatory field that could not be left blank. The children are very disappointed, thanks for wasting my time
June 2, 2008
my daughter LOVES this!
My 3 year old daughter loves barbie! This is a good movie about adventure and believing in yourself. Even my 8 and 9 year olds watched this and didn't mind it, even though they're "too old" for Barbie! Elina from the fairytopia and mermaidia movies also makes an appearance. Cute movie.
May 18, 2008
A new heroine for the fourth "Fairytopia" Barbie film
This fourth offering in Mattel's series of "Fairytopia" Barbie films continues the trend towards ever more beautiful animation, has a very similar plot, and introduces a new heroine. As with every previous "Barbie" video, my six year old daughter absolutely loves it and has watched it many times. As he has now reached the age where he doesn't think he's supposed to enjoy "girlie" things, her twin brother pretends not to like it, but he seems to find his way into the family TV room and sit down to watch a remarkably high proportion of the time when this film is playing.
For reference, this is the fourth in the "Fairytopia" sequence which currently consists of:
Fairytopia
Mermaidia
Magic of the Rainbow.
Mariposa and her Butterfly fairy friends
The film is bookended by Elena, the heroine of the first three "Fairytopia" films, who is telling her puffball companion Bibble the story of her friend Mariposa and how she had the courage both to overcome a threat to the fairy realm and persuade other fairies who at first did not take her seriously to do so.
As with all the Barbie films, the story is relentlessly positive and aims to encourage the viewer to strive to achieve everything she is capable of. To a greater extent than some, Mariposa also has a number of second level jokes designed to provide some amusement to mums and dads who are watching the film with their daughters.
Before we first rented one of the Barbie videos for my daughter, I was expecting them to be trite, over-commercialised, over-sugary and over here. In general, however, I have been pleasantly surprised.
Yes, they do have a lot of commercial spin-offs and a high saccharine count, but the quality of the Barbie films we have subsequently bought or rented, including all four "Fairytopia" films, was significantly higher than I had originally expected before watching any of them. These films have not just kept my children engrossed for hours - including my son as well as my daughter - but introduced them to some beautiful stories. Several - but sadly not this one - also introduced my children to some truly wonderful music.
On more than one occasion I have been listening to a CD of a classic such as Beethoven's pastoral symphony, or "The Queen of the Night's aria" from Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute", and little girl has recognised and expressed appreciation of the music, and correctly remembered which Barbie film had used it. ("Magic of Pegasus" and "Mermaidia" respectively.)
I was a little disappointed that the last three of four Barbie films, including "Mariposa" did not continue this tradition: no great classics this time. This film introduces a new composer: musical scores for all the previous Barbie films had been written by Arnie Roth, who was brilliant at arranging the classics and who ranged from competent to good as a composer in his own right. Music for "Mariposa and her butterfly fairy friends" was written by Eric Colvin: it doesn't come up to the standards of Mozart, Mendelsohn or Beethoven as adapted by Arnie Roth, but is nevertheless quite easy on the ear.
The animation and backgrounds are quite stunningly beautiful: the last few Barbie films seem to get more visually beautiful each time and tbhis one continues that tradition.
There are a few extras on the DVD including some games involving dressing fairies for a ball at the fairy palace which my daughter enjoyed playing.
Those people who enjoy criticising the way Mattel operate the Barbie franchise will not have much difficulty finding things in this production to sneer at. If you, or more importantly your kids, are allergic to an excess of twee sweetness, then this film and the Barbie videos generally may not be for them.
And the female characters are all on the thin side of plausibility: I'm not worried that watching this is going to give my own daughter anorexia as she likes food too much and has a good sense of the difference between fantasy and reality. And after all, the characters in this story are fairies, complete with wings! However, if you are worried that your children may be forming an unrealistic idea about how thin a healthy female body shape is, it is not quite impossible that this film may contribute to it.
But on the plus side: it is beautifully made, it will hold the attention of most small children for long enough for the typical exhausted parent to clear the mess they have made in several rooms of the house or collapse for an hour's rest after doing so. And there are still a few more sophisticated jokes thrown in, so you won't be completely bored to death if you decide to watch it with your offspring.
Overall this is not, in my opinion, quite as good as some of the previous Barbie videos, including the first two Fairytopia" titles, but anything which can hold my children's attention as well as this film did clearly has something going for it.
April 28, 2008
First Barbie Comedy!
My 9 year old and 6 year old daughters and I have seen all the Barbie movies, and we found this one especially enjoyable. They both pointed out to me that this is the first Barbie movie that is a comedy - they particularly find the character "Willa" hilarious. I must agree - this one is a definite keeper! They have watched it several times since we got it, and although they love the musical ones (Mariposa does not have any singing), they really find this one quite entertaining.
April 28, 2008
Good movie
i watched it w/ my 7yr old niece and i thought it was a good movie. it teach kids that it's ok to be different and learn how it will benefit them.
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