Barbie The Princess & the Popstar

Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar is an upcoming Barbie movie directed by Zeke Norton, which will be released on August 27, 2012 in UK and on September 11, 2012 in US. It is a magical adventure story of two girls, both played by Barbie, who trade places. One is a princess, the other a popstar.

The movie is similar to Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper as they are both based on The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, but this version is more modern. Both of the movies are musicals with the protagonist's genders switched, and both their main characters have two pets; Princess Anneliese has a female cat, Serafina, and Princess Tori has a female dog, Vanessa, while Erika has a male cat, Wolfie, and Keira has a male dog, Riff.

Cast and Characters

 * Princess Tori - the blonde princess of Meribella, (played by Barbie). Tori is bored by her controlled life as a princess and dreams of being a popstar like Keira. Kelly Sheridan provides her speaking, while Jennifer Waris provides her singing voice.
 * Keira - a purple-haired and her real hair color is brown, a popstar (also played by Barbie). Keira is also bored with her popstar lifestyle and dreams of being a princess like Tori. Her singing voice is provided by Tiffany Giardina.
 * Prince Liam - a blonde prince, (played by Ken). His voice will be probably provided by Jonathan Holmes.
 * Crider (character)
 * Rupert (character)
 * Princess Meredith, probably played by Stacie, one of Tori's younger sisters.
 * Princess Trevi, probably played by Chelsea, the youngest of the three princesses of Meribella.
 * Vanessa, Tori's pet - which is white and brown dog with pink accessories.
 * Riff, Keira's pet - which is gray and white dog and he has a purple mohawk and collar.
 * Ashleigh Ball (voice)
 * Ellie King (voice)
 * Allison Warnyca (voice)
 * King Frederick of Meribella, Tori, Meredith and Trevi's father
 * Duchess Amelia, who is Tori, Meredith and Trevi's aunt

Trailers
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.

Official summary
"In this sparkling musical adventure, Barbie stars as Tori, the kind-hearted princess of Meribella who would rather sing and dance than perform her royal duties. When her favorite pop star Keira visits the kingdom, the girls discover they have much in common, including a magical secret that lets them look like one another. At first, swapping places seems like a great idea, until each girl realizes that the other's life isn't as easy as it seems! But Meribella also has a magical secret, and when it's stolen, the whole kingdom is put in danger. Will true friendship save the day? Filled with fantastic songs, fabulous fashions, and fun new friends, it's an exciting musical celebration that shows the best thing you can be is yourself."

Story
In the 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 the 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 wasnchfiu 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 she 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 shsdcdfrge 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.

Music

 * "Princesses Wanna Have Fun", as heard in the teaser trailer, sung by Tori.
 * Keira sang a song on stage in the trailer that has not been named yet.
 * "Here I Am", sung by both Tori and Keira on the stage in the trailer.
 * "Perfect Day" by Hoku was heard on the Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar Musical Light-Up Castle playset. It is the movie's theme song. The doll of Keira sings also this song.

Trivia

 * Voice actress Diana Kaarina officially stated that she will not voice Barbie on this movie. There were rumors that both Diana and Kelly Sheridan will voice the movie's protagonists, Tori and Keira.
 * There is a movie for Veggie Tales with basically the same plot.
 * The dance choreographer for the film, Teresa Espinosa, has worked with Miley Cyrus during her Hannah Montana years, Janet Jackson and Prince. Teresa is a popular dancer from the all-girl dance crew "Beat Freaks" on "America's Best Dance Crew".
 * "Princesses Wanna Have Fun" is a remake of Cyndi Lauper's song "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"
 * Both Tori and Keira have a tiny fairy, Tori's one is pink and Keira's one is violet.
 * The movie's animation style is the same as Barbie: Princess Charm School and Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2.