Barbie of Swan Lake


 * "You're braver than you think."
 * —Barbie

Barbie of Swan Lake is the third computer animated movie in the Barbie film series. It was released in 2003 .The story is loosely adapted on the Swan Lake ballet and features the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The movie's animation if made by Mainframe Entertainment.

Barbie stars as Odette, a shy village girl who thinks she is not brave. One day fate takes her to an Enchanted Forest and she discovers that she is the only person who can save it from the evil wizard, Rothbart.

Official Summary
"A young girl named Odette follows a beautiful Lila into the  Enchanted Forest and picks up a magic crystal, that proclaims her destiny as savior of the enchanted forest. Odette, hampered by an overwhelming sense of insecurity, proclaims herself unfit for the job and sets out to leave the forest when the evil wizard Rothbart turns her into a swan. Bolstered by the powers of the magic crystal, Odette vows to defeat Rothbart. Meanwhile, love blossoms between Odette and the town's Prince Daniel and, eventually, Odette finds a courage within herself that, combined with her intelligence and the true love between her and the Prince, proves powerful enough to defeat Rothbart."

Full Story
The story is being told by Barbie to her little sister Kelly, who is feeling uneasy about being at camp overnight for the first time. She remembers the story while looking at constellations, being started on after finding Cygnus.

The story begins with Odette dancing in her father's bakery. Odette feels happy because she knows how to dance a ballet dance which is to be very hard to handle or to be practiced. Her sister, Marie is also shown as a fast horse rider. A unicorn named Lila arrives in the village and manages to escape hunters and runs into an Enchanted Forest with the curious Odette on her heels. Lila becomes trapped and Odette unknowingly removes a magic crystal (that was meant for whoever removed it to defeat Rothbart), unaware that the Fairy Queen is watching, then Odette was shocked with what is happening.

She uses it to free Lila and the Fairy Queen tells Odette that she is the chosen one for the crystal chose her by letting her take it away from the tree. She explains that Odette is the one who will purge the evil plaguing the forest, the Fairy Queen's cousin, Rothbart. Odette, not wanting to get mixed up in the situation, refuses. The Fairy Queen complies but sends Lila to escort her out and give one last try at convincing her. Rothbart appears in the wood with his daughter, cornering Odette by a tree. There she is trapped and transformed into a swan by the evil wizard, who wants to use Odette and the crystal to defeat his enemy the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen is able to partially counter the spell so that Odette retains her human form by night, although she will still have to turn into a swan by day.

Odette also meets the other elves of the forest: Carlita, now a skunk; Ivan, a porcupine; Marisa, a deer; Liana, a fox; Kelly, a cygnet; and Jenny, a mouse. Odette's father and Marie start searching for her, afraid because Odette is missing. Prince Daniel, the prince living in the castle in Odette's village, is introduced. A spirited man, he prefers exploring rather than marriage, much to the dismay of his mother.

The fairy queen also gives Odette a crown with the crystal in it that will protect her from Rothbart. Odette is determined to find a solution to the problem and goes to a magical library to find it. However, they are unable to locate the book and Odette is disheartened. Rothbart lures Prince Daniel into the forest, determined to get him to hunt Odette. However, Daniel is captivated by the swan's beauty and decides to let it live. The two soon fall in love when he sees her true form. They dance gracefully and afterwards Odette transforms into a swan.

Daniel asks Odette to a ball, but at first she denies until he finally convinces her to come. Odette agrees. Soon, Erasmus -the troll in charge of the library - arrives, having found the book. He reveals to them that the solution is true love. Realizing that Daniel can save them all, the Fairy Queen teaches Odette how to waltz at the ball but are interrupted when Erasmus is kidnapped. They manage to save him but Rothbart learns of what will be his downfall. So, he transforms his daughter Odile to look like Odette in the eyes of Daniel.

Odette races to get to Daniel but is too late. At the ball Prince Daniel pledges his love to Odile, thinking her to be Odette. Odette, who was trapped outside in swan form, is unable to tell Daniel about the trick. Odette falls to the ground, the crystal having lost its power and she is mortally weakened.

Rothbart reveals the truth and he and Odile escape. Daniel runs after them and the Fairy Queen attempts to revive Odette, who is barely alive. However, Rothbart turns her into a mouse and attempts to kill Odette and Daniel. The two fall onto each other, their hands intertwined.

At that moment, the crystal's power explodes outwards, stopping Rothbart, as they two were truly in love. The two awaken and all of Rothbart's evil is undone. At last, Odette and Prince Daniel confess their love for each other. Everyone from the village and the Enchanted forest celebrate. It is revealed that Odette and Daniel are to be married and are finally happy. Rothbart gets his just desert as he is now a Cuckoo Clock while Odile is a maid.

At the end, it is shown the story has given Kelly a new resolve and she promises she will participate in the race the following day. She yawns and heads off to bed, with Barbie smiling behind her.

Awards
Barbie of Swan Lake has been nominated for two awards. In 2003, the movie was nominated for the Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie by the DVD Exclusive Awards. The movie's producers, Jesyca C. Durchin and Jennifer Twiner McCarron, were the potential recipients for the award. In 2004, the Satellite Awards nominated Barbie of Swan Lake for the Best Youth DVD.

Music and Choreography
The music in Barbie of Swan Lake was produced by Arnie Roth. The score includes excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Ballet score "Swan Lake" arranged by Arnie Roth. All of the additional music was composed, arranged and orchestrated by Arnie Roth. The music was performed by The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arnie Roth, with Nicola Bendetti as a guest violonist soloist in Swan Lake Act I Pas de Deux.

A song performed by Leslie Mills named "Wings" was used in the closing credits of the movie. It was prodyced by Mills and Chris Pelcer. The recording studios used for the film were Abbey Road Studios in London, and A W R Music Studio in Chicago.

Peter Martins choreographed dances with principal dancers from New York City Ballet. The dancers were Charles Askegard, Ellen Bar, Maria Kowroski, Benjamin Millipied, Abi Stafford and Janie Taylor.

DVD Special Features

 * The Ballet Dances of Swan Lake
 * Explore the Stars
 * The Music in You Documentary
 * Barbie in the Nutcracker and Barbie as Rapunzel trailers.
 * DVD-Rom Sampler