Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper


 * "Live your dream."
 * -- Barbie

Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper is the fourth computer-animated film in the Barbie film series. It is a direct-to-video and DVD film released in 2004. The film follows two girls, a princess, Anneliese, and a pauper, Erika, who look like twins. When Anneliese is kidnapped, Erika pretends to be her so she can help Anneliese's tutor, Julian, save Anneliese. The story is based on Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, but it is a twist on the story as the princes are princesses instead.

Official summary
''In her first animated musical, featuring seven original songs, Barbie comes to life in this modern retelling of a classic tale of mistaken identity and the power of friendship. Based on the story by Mark Twain, Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper feautures Barbie in an exciting dual role as a princess and a poor village girl who look amazingly alike! The girls' paths are fated to cross when Princess Anneliese is captured and Erika, her look- alike, must try to save her. Can Erika pretend to be the Princess and foil her captor, the evil Preminger? And what of the handsome King Dominick, who falls in love with Erika, mistaking her for Anneliese? In this magical musical performance, two beautiful, adventurous girls dare to follow their dreams and discover that destiny is written in a very special place: your heart!''

Story
Long ago and far away, in a village high on a mountain top, something amazing was occurring; At the very same moment, two identical baby girls were born. One, a baby princess. The King and Queen were overjoyed. Princess Anneliese would have only the finest. The second baby girl was called Erika. Her parents loved her every bit as much as the King and Queen love the princess, but they worried; they were very poor and didn't know how they would care for their daughter.

Many years passed. The princess learned her royal duties, while Erika worked long and hard as a seamstress for the spiteful Madam Carp. With lives so different, it wasn't surprising that the princess and the pauper never met, but fate decreed they would.

It all started at the royal mine, when the miners informed the Queen the gold had run out. The widowed Queen was shocked. The kingdom was now bankrupt. How was she going to take care of her people? If only she could call on her trusted advisor Preminger, but he was away on a long journey. She needed to do something quickly to save the kingdom, but what? And then it struck her: Nearby lived a rich young King, who was seeking a wife.

Sick of their lifestyles, Anneliese and Erika sing about how they wish to be free. Anneliese wants to be able to do what she wants and marry her tutor, Julian, who she is in love with. However, her mother tells Anneliese that she must marry King Dominick to save their kingdom. Erika, on the other hand, is complaining about how she doesn't want to be a seamstress in Madam Carp's Dress Emporium, working off debt her parents made trying to feed her. She wants to be a singer. The princess and the pauper both decide that duty means doing the thing your heart may well regret, and they will never stop dreaming of freedom.

Queen Genevieve doesn't know that the reason behind the kingdom's bankruptcy is her advisor, Preminger. He has been stealing gold with his sidekicks, Nick and Nack, for a long time. His plan is to tell the Queen he is rich so he can marry Princess Anneliese. While Anneliese is studying with Julian, who is in love with her, he tells her that King Dominick (who is pretending he is someone else) and Ambassador Bismark have come to see her with an engagement gift, a necklace. The Queen wants the wedding to be a week from then, which gives Preminger less time to carry out his evil plan.

Julian takes Anneliese for a day out into her kingdom as her last day of freedom. She wears a blue hooded cloak. Anneliese hears Erika singing and goes to watch. Erika is singing in the street to raise money for herself but Madam Carp takes the money. Anneliese and Erika talk to each other and learn they identical, apart from the crown shaped birthmark Anneliese has on her shoulder. They sing together and become friends but Anneliese has to go back to the palace. That night, she is kidnapped by Nick and Nack, who leave a letter saying she ran away.

Julian thinks that Preminger kidnapped Anneliese so he asks Erika to pretend to be the princess until she is rescued. Preminger is surprised when Erika, as Anneliese, comes to the palace, because he thought she had already been kidnaped. Over time, Erika and Dominick fall in love but Erika is worried about what will happen when people find out she is not Anneliese. The real Anneliese has escaped from Nick and Nack. Julian finds out and tries to inform the Queen, but then he gets kidnapped. Anneliese is turned away from the palace because the guards think Anneliese is already in there. She gets taken away by Madam Carp because she thinks Anneliese is Erika.

Preminger thinks that Anneliese, Erika, is a fake and takes the real Anneliese to the royal mines with Julian. He goes back to the palace and exposes Erika and accuses her and Julian of treason. Erika is locked away and is to be executed. She sings to make the guard go to sleep and steals his keys so she can break out. She escapes, but bumps into King Dominick. He tells her that he knows she isn't guilty and in the mines, Anneliese and Julian find out how to restore the kingdom's resources from some rocks that have geodes in them. They confess their love and escape from the mines.

Preminger makes the Queen think that Anneliese is dead and says they must marry to save the kingdom, and she has no other options so she agrees. Before they can be officially married, Anneliese arrives and tells everyone the truth about Preminger. She tells her mother that she wants to marry Julian and that they can save the kingdom. Dominick and Erika say they wish to marry as well, and Madam Carp goes out of business. Erika wants to sing so she doesn't marry Dominick right away, but she returns after realising that sometimes freedom means choosing to stay. Anneliese and Julian, and Dominick and Erika, all have a double wedding, and their cats, Seraphina and Wolfie, have kittens.

Trailer(s)
Trailer 1# for Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBqSe6lgCto

Trailer 2# for Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn61ls2fN1o

Cast and Characters

 * The Narrator, played by Kelly Sheridan.
 * Princess Anneliese, played by Kelly Sheridan. Her singing voice is provided by Melissa Lyons.
 * Queen Genevieve, played by Ellen Kennedy.
 * Serafina, Anneliese's cat, played by Kathleen Barr.
 * Erika, played by Kelly Sheridan. Julie Stevens provides her singing voice.
 * Bertie, played by Kathleen Barr.
 * Wolfie, Erika's cat, played by Ian James Corlett.
 * Madame Carp, played by Pam Hyatt.
 * Julian, played by Alessandro Juliani.
 * King Dominick, played by Mark Hildreth. His singing voice is provided by Mark Luna.
 * Preminger, played by Martin Short.
 * Midas, Preminger's dog, played by Jan Rabson.
 * Nick and Nack, two miners who are also Preminger's sidekicks. Nick is played by Brian Drummond. Nack is played by Jan Rabson.
 * Ambassador Bismark, played by Lee Tockar.
 * Royal scheduler, played by Colin Murdock.
 * Palace maid, played by Janyse Jaud.
 * Minister, played by Roger Monk.
 * Herve, played by Gary Chalk.
 * Guards, played by Lee Tockar (2nd guard), Ian James Corlett (3rd guard)

Trivia

 * Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper won "Children's Title of the Year" at the VSDA Awards 2005.
 * The film also had 6 nominations at the 2005 DVD Exclusive Awards.
 * Anneliese's mother's name is Genevieve, hinting that Princess Genevieve from The 12 Dancing Princesses might have been inspired by her.