Barbie The Princess & the Popstar

Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar is the 23rd computer-animated Barbie movie. It is the second Barbie movie to be based on Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, following Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper. A princess and a popstar, both played by Barbie, magically switch places before realizing it is best to be themselves.

Official Summary
''In this sparkling musical adventure with fantastic songs, Barbie stars as Tori, the kind-hearted princess of the magical kingdom of Meribella, who would rather sing and dance than perform her royal duties. When she meets her favorite pop star Keira, the girls discover they have much in common including a magical secret that lets them look like one another and swap places. When the kingdom's magical secret is stolen, their true friendship is tested and they discover that the best thing you can be is yourself.''

Plot
In summer, Meribella, a magical kingdom, was soon going to have its five hundredth anniversary. Princess Tori and her younger sisters Meredith and Trevi were very busy. They had to attend ceremonies and balls, and always be poised and proper. The princesses thought it was hard work. Whenever they had the chance, they would sneak away and play together. Before Meribella's five hundredth anniversary, the princesses had to greet royal visitors, who came to Meribella for the occasion. Tori wished she could have an exciting, music-filled life like her favorite popstar, Keira. She wished she could watch Keira performing in an ampitheatre near her palace.

Keira, a world famous singer-songwriter, was on the guest list and was going to perform at the festival for the Meribella's five hundredth anniversary. Keira enjoyed touring, greeting fans and having extravagant, spectacular concerts. However, it left her with no time to do what she was passionate about: writing songs. Keira thought being a princess would be carefree.

The next day, members of the royal court were invited to the palace in Meribella to meet the royal family. Duchess Amelia, Tori's aunt, told off Tori for watching Keira's nearby concert when she was supposed to be greeting guests. Tori had to go back to the guests, so she used a magic hairbrush to style her hair before leaving.

When Keira went to the palace for the festival, she met Tori. They became great friends instantly, and so did their pet dogs Vanessa and Riff. Tori gave Keira a tour of the palace and so they began joking about trading places. Keira showed her magic microphone, that her aunt had given her, to Tori. It transformed her outfit into a royal gown. Tori used her magic hairbrush, so she used it to transform her hair into a different hairstyle. They realised that they looked just like each other.

Tori and Keira stayed disguised as each other while Tori carried on giving Keira a tour of her palace. They entered the secret garden, where fairies tended to the plants. There were gardenia flowers made out of diamonds, which were called Diamond Gardenias. Tori told Keira that the Diamond Gardenia roots spread through the entire kingdom. Without it, Meribella would wither and die. The Diamond Gardenia made the kingdom magical.

Later, Crider and Rupert, two evil men, uprooted the Diamond Gardenia. The fairies tried to stop them, but their efforts were in vain. Tori and Keira stop them, and they learn that it's important for them to be their own selves.

Starring the Voices Of

 * Princess Victoria: Kelly Sheridan
 * Singing Princess Tori: Jennifer Waris
 * Popstar Keira: Ashleigh Ball
 * Singing Popstar Keira: Tiffany Giardina
 * Duchess Amelia: Ellie King
 * Seymour Crider: Peter Kelamis
 * Rupert / Palace Guard #1: Jonathan Holmes
 * Nora: Allison Warnyca
 * King Frederic / Page: Christopher Gaze
 * Meredith: Lauren Lavoie
 * Trevi: Ashlyn Drummond
 * Prince Liam / Riff: Adrian Petriw
 * Vanessa: Leala Selina
 * Duke Trentino: Mark Oliver
 * Limburger / Palace Guard #2: Michael Dobson
 * Daniel: Zeke Norton
 * Emily: Lily Snowden-Fine
 * Charlotte: Aislyn Watson

DVD Bonus Features ("More Fun")
The song "Look How High We Can Fly" plays on the bonus features menu.
 * Music Video
 * Polly Pocket Webisode
 * Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse Music Video
 * Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse Episode

Outtakes

 * When Princess Victoria, disguised as Keira, and Rupert were practicing dance moves, Rupert was dancing behind them.
 * Keira and Princess Tori river dance in Tori's bedroom.
 * Nora tries to teach Daniel a dance, but he can't do the moves properly.
 * In the concert stands, Duchess Amelia and King Frederic dance.
 * Crider and Rupert dance in the secret garden.
 * Behind the scenes of a concert, Mr. Limburger and another man do the "Walk Like an Egyptian" dance.
 * In the scene when Riff was in Tori's bedroom and had a toy rabbit on his head, he makes it dance.
 * During the final concert of the movie, Keira and Tori do part of the dance "Queen of the Waves" from Barbie in a Mermaid Tale
 * The guards in front of King Frederic's palace do the robot dance.
 * Princess Meredith, Princess Trevi, Emily and Charlotte dance on stage replacing Keira's back-up dancers.
 * Duchess Amelia and King Frederic are seen dancing again.
 * Rupert dances on stage.
 * Keira and Tori are shown river dancing in Tori's room again.
 * Vanessa and Riff dance on a table, in the scene when Vanessa was having tea with Riff.
 * In the place where Tori met Emily and Charlotte who live near Meribella, Emily and Charlotte are seen dancing but one of them falls over.
 * The toy rabbit in Tori's room is seen dancing again, and Riff pops up from under it.
 * Princess Trevi, Princess Meredith, King Frederic, Nora, Princess Tori, Keira, Daniel, Rupert, Prince Liam and Duchess Amelia all do the dance routine of "Here I Am".

Trailer Gallery
The song "Here I Am/Princesses Just Want To Have Fun" plays on the Trailer Gallery menu.
 * Barbie in the Pink Shoes
 * Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2
 * Barbie in A Mermaid Tale
 * Barbie: Princess Charm School
 * Barbie: A Fairy Secret
 * Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale
 * The Barbie Movie Collection

Release
The movie was released in the US on September 11th. In the UK, it had a cinematic release in Vue cinemas on August 10thand was released on DVD on September 3rd. The movie was also available for Digital Download.

Music

 * "Here I Am/Princesses Just Want To Have Fun"
 * "I Wish I Had Her Life"
 * "To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar"
 * "Perfect Day"
 * "Look How High We Can Fly"
 * "Here I Am (Tori Version)"
 * "Princess and Popstar Finale Medley"
 * "Princesses Just Want To Have Fun"
 * "Here I Am (Keira Version)"

Videos
The first version of the teaser trailer was seen on the DVD for Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2. The second version was seen on Barbie.com in May 2012. The second teaser trailer has better graphics and different shots from the first one. The official trailer was released August 1st, 2012.

Trivia

 * Unlike Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, the two characters played by Barbie are not voiced by the same actress.
 * Tori says she pranked a duchess by turning the image of the duchess in a portrait into a donkey. Tori pranks Duchess Amelia by turning an image of her in a portrait into a donkey. Courtney pranked a duchess in the same way in Barbie in Rock 'n Royals.
 * There were rumors that Diana Kaarina would voice Keira. However, Kaarina officially stated that she would not be in the movie.
 * There is an animated VeggieTales episode called The Princess and the Popstar which has the same premise as this film.
 * In the "To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar" scene, there is a photo on Keira's tablet of Teresa Espinosa, the choreographer, rehearsing with her.
 * In 2013, Britney Spears said this was her favorite movie.
 * To mark the 50th anniversary of Random House publishing books for Barbie, Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar]] tie-in books at several reading levels were made.
 * During the bloopers, Tori and Keira do a part of the dance for "Queen of the Waves" from Barbie in A Mermaid Tale.
 * Tori has one of the same dresses that Blair Willows has.
 * The dancers on Keira's stage all have the same hairstyle as Portia. One of them also has the same hair color.
 * The songs have a faster tempo in the movie than on the soundtrack.
 * On a magazine in the movie, the headline: "What the coming year has to hold for Dame Devin" is printed on the magazine several times.
 * In the first trailer for the movie, when Tori and Keira swap looks, the necklaces do the same.
 * When Keira sings Look How High We Can Fly to Trevi and Meredith, Tori's bed is changed into the balloon from Barbie and The Three Musketeers.
 * The film debuted at #1 in Amazon's Family & Children DVD's.
 * In the storybooks, Tori and Keira don't wear their necklaces because they planted them due to having diamonds from the Diamond Gardenia on the necklace, so in the Finale Medley they don't wear their necklaces.
 * According to the Junior Novelization, Tori ends up being a great princess while Keira gives up her singing career, claiming that she wants to make music just for fun without business having anything to do with it.
 * Keira mentions Billboard and Twitter, and Rupert mentions Mick and Keith.

Similarities to Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper

 * Both of the kingdoms have a money problem in which a lot of people are left in poverty.
 * Both of the films' antagonists aim to marry a royal and steal the kingdom's money supply.
 * Both of the princesses' pets are very classy.
 * The song "To Be a Princess" is repeated in this film. Like in Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper, the song To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar is sung the same way, but the lyrics are different.
 * When Erika and Keira first appear to the public in disguise as a princess, they both trip.
 * Both movies share the same beginning but without the narrator.
 * Both of the non-princess characters have a passion for music.
 * Both of the movies' princesses have one deceased parent: Tori's mother is dead, and Anneliese's father is dead.

Goofs

 * In I Wish I Had Her Life scene when Keira looks to Tori's castle her ribbon appears pink instead of purple.
 * Character models of Josette can be spotted two times at the same place and the same time
 * When Tori tries to distract the other guests to start her tour with Keira, she says, 'Look everyone!', but only few people look towards her.
 * In To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar scene after Tori and Keira swap places, Keira seems to be wearing pink boots instead of heels.
 * When Keira and Tori swap their places during the song To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar, their dogs Riff and Vanessa are with them but when Keira and Tori are stepping downstairs they are not with them . When the song ends they both appear with them.
 * When Keira as Tori is locked in Tori's bedroom and she's trying to get out, it turns out she is wearing Tori's golden heart-necklace, but when Vanessa barked and she told her to be quiet, it she wears her purple stars necklace again.
 * Tori throws Keira's microphone into the audience, but Keira inexpicably has it when she needs to change Crider's outfit.
 * Keira's tablet had no buttons on it.
 * Before the Finale Medley, Tori comes up without the mic and a moment later she has the mic.
 * When Tori is driving Keira's limo, she is shown with her hair in a bun instead of down like it is in the rest of the scene.

Also Known As

 * German - Barbie: Die Prinzessin und Der Popstar
 * Polish - Barbie: Księżniczka i Piosenkarka
 * Dutch - Barbie: De Prinses en De Popster
 * Albanian - Barbi: Princesha dhe Popstari
 * French - Barbie: La Princesse et La Pop Star
 * Italian - Barbie: La Principessa e La Pop Star
 * Finnish - Barbie: Prinsessa ja Poptähti
 * Portuguese - Barbie: A Princesa e A Pop Star
 * Spanish - Barbie: La Princesa y La Cantante
 * Latin Spanish - Barbie: La Princesa y la Estrella de Pop
 * Romanian - Barbie: Prinţesa şi Vedeta Pop
 * Swedish - Barbie: Prinsessan och Popstjärnan
 * Filipino - Barbie: Ang Prinsesa at Ang Pop Star
 * Greek - Μπάρμπι: Η Πριγκίπισσα & Η Ποπ Σταρ
 * Turkish - Barbie: Prenses ve Pop Star
 * Russian - Барби: Принцесса и Поп Звезда
 * Lithuanian - Barbė: Princesė ir Pop Žvaigždė
 * Persian - باربی: پرنسس و ستاره پاپ
 * Arabic - باربي: الأميرة و نجمة البوب
 * Czech - Barbie: Princezna a Zpěvačk
 * Georgian - ბარბი: პრინცესა და პოპ-ვარსკვლავი
 * Hindi - बार्बी दी प्रिंसेस एंड दी पॉपस्टार