So I've watched a lot of the various YouTube shorts that have been coming out since 2019. I'm talking about the shorts that have doll versions of the characters, as well as the animated shorts that aren't done by Mainframe Studios (the main animation studio for Barbie projects). I'm not talking about the vlogs. While they definitely borrow a lot from the Dreamhouse Adventures era, mainly the designs, set pieces, and most of the voice actors (excluding Barbie Travel Mysteries and Barbie Dreamhouse Trend House, which use young voices), they also have some differences between them.
1. Some major characters from Dreamhouse Adventures don't appear. There's some mentions of George and Margaret, but they don't physically appear. Similarly, you don't see Trey or his parents appear in them. It's not like it's just pre-Dreamhouse Adventures that only appear. Daisy, who debuted in that series, has appeared in many of them. Brooklyn has also appeared in recent shorts. It could be to emphasize independence more.
2. On the flip side, characters who were created specifically for the shorts haven't appeared in the main projects. For example, in The Barbie And Barbie Show shorts, you have characters called The Extras. It could be a way to make up for not using everyone.
3. There's more emphasis on fantastical or out there elements. Some episodes of Ask Barbie involve Barbie flying in a plane to other countries (she flew a helicopter once in Dreamhouse Adventures, but not a plane) and some show her as a mermaid. There's also Return To Dreamtopia having unicorns and mermaids or those Mega Building shorts that involve being transported elsewhere. I mean, there's Magical Dreamcamper shorts.
4. The type of short emphasizes certain aspects of Chelsea's personality. The shorts that use different animation show more of her innocent sweet side while she's more mischievous and prank happy in the doll shorts. On a similar note, in two recent music videos (Weekend Jam and Cheer For You), she seems to be a bit older.
5. The doll shorts lean more into being silly and a bit over the top when it comes to humor while the differently animated shorts are less about being funny and more just charming since you find the characters charming.
And that's all have. Thanks for reading.