With all the pressure and expectations that face young girls growing up I’m not sure that Barbie and all she represents is a good role model. This one does not stray from the usual Barbie fare in that it stresses the importance of looks, fashion and makeovers. Not really a progressive or strong message for young girls growing up and being influenced by.
Lumina is a mermaid who dreams of one day becoming a princess. She lives with her aunt who has not allowed her to stray far from home. Throughout her life Lumina has had the ability to make pearls dance and glow.
While her aunt is away Lumina sees an invite to the Royal Ball. Lumina and her best friend Kuda (voiced by Katie Crown), a pink seahorse, set off to find her aunt to give her the invite. En route she ends up in a beauty parlour and is mistakenly hired as a stylist. When it is discovered that she is quite talented at it especially due to her abilities with pearls, Lumina becomes quite in demand in these hours just before the Royal Ball.
When the entire beauty parlour staff receives invites to the Royal Ball Lumina (voiced by Kelly Sheridan) and Kuda get to go. At the Ball Lumina and others discover that Caligo (played by John Novak) and her aunt are working together in a plot to get Caligo’s son named as the successor to the throne. While trying to get to the bottom of things Lumina also discovers something about her own past that her aunt has been keeping from her.
Though there are a few positive messages to be found within Barbie the Pearl Princess it still hammers home the girly-girl stereotypes. Young girls below the age of 9 will entertained while the older ones might complain that the stories have become too similar and are just rehashes. The story of this one is mighty close to Disney’s The Little Mermaid for my liking.
Special Features: Digital Copy, Mermaid Party! Music Video, Light Up The World Music Video, Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse Music Video, Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse Episode
