Barbie The Princess & the Popstar

Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar is is the 26th computer-animated Barbie movie. It is the second Barbie movie to be based on Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. A princess and a popstar, both played by Barbie, magically switch places before realising it is best to be themselves.

The Princess & The Popstar will be released in Fall 2012. The movie will have a cinematic release in Vue cinemas in the UK from August 10th, and will be released on DVD in the UK on August 27th. In the US, the movie will be released on September 11th.

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 popstar (also played by Barbie). Keira is also bored with her popstar lifestyle and dreams of being a princess like Tori. Ashleigh Ball provides her voice while her singing voice is provided by Tiffany Giardina.
 * Prince Liam - a blonde prince (played by Ken).
 * Crider - Keira's greedy manager
 * 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 she is white and brown dog with pink accessories.
 * Riff, Keira's pet - which he is gray and white dog and he has a purple mohawk and collar.
 * King Frederick of Meribella - he is Tori, Meredith and Trevi's father
 * Duchess Amelia, who is Tori, Meredith and Trevi's aunt
 * Ellie King (voice)
 * Allison Warnyca (voice)
 * Jonathan Holmes (voice)
 * Peter Kelamis (voice)

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. The official trailer was released August 1st 2012.

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 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 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 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.

DVD Special Features

 * A Polly Pocket webisode
 * Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse music video
 * A Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse webisode
 * Trailer gallery

Soundtrack

 * 1) "Here I Am (Keira Version)"
 * 2) "Here I Am (Tori Version)"
 * 3) "Here I Am/Princesses Just Want To Have Fun"
 * 4) "I Wish I Had Her Life"
 * 5) "Look How High We Can Fly"
 * 6) "Perfect Day"
 * 7) "Finale Medley"
 * 8) "Princesses Just Want To Have Fun"
 * 9) "To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar"

Trivia

 * While previously just showing the teaser trailer, the official website for the movie updated on August 2nd, 2012. It then had a music video; a bloopers video; the teaser trailer; character information; a page to listen to the movie's songs; and a music game.
 * 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.
 * The song "Here I am" can be heard four times during the movie. Each time with other version.
 * From all the 10 song of the movie Tori sings two songs alone and Keira sings three songs alone.
 * "True friends rock in perfect harmony!" is the tagline for the movie.
 * There were rumors that both Diana Kaarina and Kelly Sheridan would voice the movie's protagonists, Tori and Keira. However, Kaarina officially stated that she would not be in the movie.
 * There is animated movie named VeggieTales: Princess and the Popstar. Like Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar, a princess and a popstar trades places for more exciting lives, and realise that the best thing you can be is yourself. Unlike Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar, the VeggieTales movie involves religion.
 * The dance choreographer for the film, Teresa Espinosa, has worked with Miley Cyrus during her Hannah Montana years, Janet Jackson and Prince. Espinosa 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"
 * The movie's animation style is the similar as Barbie: Princess Charm School and Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2.
 * To mark the 50th anniversary of Random House publishing books for Barbie, many books at several reading levels were made for this movie's tie-in books.

Also Known As

 * Poland - Barbie: Księżniczka i Piosenkarka
 * Netherlands - Barbie: De Prinses en De Popstar.
 * France - Barbie: La Princesse et La Pop Star.
 * Germany - Barbie: Die Prinzessin und Der Popstar.
 * Italy - Barbie: La Principessa e La Pop Star.
 * Brazil - Barbie: A Princesa e A Pop Star.
 * Spain - Barbie: La princesa y La Cantante.
 * Philippines - Barbie: Ang Prinsesa at Ang Pop Star
 * Latin America - Barbie: La princesa y la Estrella de Pop.
 * Sweden - Barbie: Prinsessan och Popstjärnan.
 * Greece - Barbie: Η Πριγκίπισσα & Η Ποπ Σταρ.
 * Russian - Барби: Принцесса и Поп Звезда.
 * Finnish - Barbie: Prinsessa ja Poptähti

Release
The movie will be released in the US on September 11th. In the UK, it will be released on August 27th. Vue cinemas will show the movie in the UK from August 10th from 10:30am.