| Character |
- For the Barbie in The Pink Shoes character, see Rothbart (The Pink Shoes).
Rothbart is the main antagonist in Barbie of Swan Lake. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer.
Story[]
Once upon a time, Rothbart lived in the Enchanted Forest with his cousin. Both of them were born into the royal family who ruled the forest. It was obvious even at an early age that Rothbart's ambition was to become ruler of the forest one day.
When the two cousins reached full maturity, and the time came for their uncle, the King, to choose his successor, he picked Rothbart's cousin instead. Rothbart angrily stormed out of the forest, and he was not seen again for many years. Though the exact details of his actions and whereabouts were never revealed, there were still some confirmed facts: at some point, Rothbart married, and he had a daughter, Odile. He also studied the dark arts.
When he emerged as an absolute master of evil magic, he returned to the Enchanted Forest with Odile, and began taking over the forest piece by piece. The Fairy Queen tried to force him to leave, but she was overwhelmed by his incredible dark powers. Several of her bravest fairies and elves tried to stop him, but he transformed them into animals, and forced them to build a new palace for him in the forest. He took the opportunity to thoroughly spoil Odile by showering her with precious jewelry.
It seemed as though Rothbart was unstoppable, especially since his powers grew stronger with every prisoner he took. However, even in his deep-rooted arrogance, he was still wary of two things: the Magic Crystal (because it was foretold that whoever freed it would defeat him) and the Book of Forest Lore (because it contained the secret of how to properly utilize the Magic Crystal to stop him).
Upon being informed by his spies as to how a human girl named Odette had freed the Magic Crystal, he wasted no time in taking Odile to meet her. After mocking the apparent incredulity of Odette being destined to defeat him, he transformed her into a swan, and it was only thanks to Lila's timely efforts that Odette managed to escape from him to meet up with the Fairy Queen, who placed a crown set with the Magic Crystal on her head.
The two cousins quickly got into an argument: Rothbart insisted that the forest was rightfully his, and he demanded the Fairy Queen just hand over the crown to save them a world of trouble. The Fairy Queen adamantly refused, retorting that her obliging him would only lead to him destroying the rest of the forest. At this, Rothbart laughed and, through his ring, prepared what seemed to be a fatal attack, proclaiming that Odette's days were over. To his shock and indignation, however, the Magic Crystal conjured up a powerful forcefield that protected Odette from his curse. (which his evil influence had been increasingly diminishing). Realizing that he was momentarily defeated, Rothbart and Odile turned into vultures and they returned home.
The Magic Crystal's show of power was enough to convince Rothbart that, in order to completely conquer the forest, he first had to acquire it, and wondered about how it was to be done. It was then that Odile gave him the idea of using a human being to destroy Odette, because as an enchanted swan, she was now effectively a creature of the forest, and even the Magic Crystal was powerless to protect her from the attack of a human being.
With that in mind, Rothbart lured Prince Daniel into the forest, intending to use him to kill Odette while she was in her swan form. Unfortunately for him, Daniel found Odette even as a swan so beautiful that he could not bear to kill her, and he set aside his bow and arrows just in time to see her transform back into human form. Rothbart realized that the Fairy Queen still had some powers left, because her magical interference was the only reasonable explanation as to how his curse on Odette had been altered.
He made his appearance after Odette had explained her full story to Daniel, and would have turned Daniel into a pig if Odette had not protected him with the Magic Crystal. Fortunately for Daniel and Odette, Rothbart was forced to leave them upon hearing Odile's cries for help, finding his daughter being tormented by the odors emitted from a group of skunks. The stench was enough to overwhelm even him, and he was forced to take his daughter home.
Eventually, he learned from one of his ravens that Erasmus found the Book of Forest Lore. He kidnapped the troll Erasmus and took the book from him, reading that if the wielder's true love confessed love to another, the Crystal would lose all its power. He enchanted Odile's necklace to magically disguise her as Odette and transformed Erasmus into a worm for his ravens to eat. He and Odile then left for the ball.
At the ball, Rothbart disguised himself in a form similar to Odette's father and presented his disguised daughter to Prince Daniel. He and the Queen watched Odile dance with Daniel. The Queen commented to Rothbart that her son seemed to be in love with his daughter, and he agreed. He saw Odette trying to fly in through the ballroom doors and magically shut them to prevent her from intervening.
When Daniel asked Odile to marry him at the conclusion of their dance, thinking she was Odette, Rothbart asked him to confirm his love for her. Daniel affirmed that he loved "Odette" with all his heart, causing Odette to faint and the Magic Crystal to lose its power. Rothbart then thanked Daniel for his "help" and transformed to reveal his true form, while Odile did the same. Rothbart and Odile went outside, where Rothbart took the crown off of Odette, who had just transformed back into her human form, and took out the crystal, then gave the crown to Odile to wear. As Rothbart was taunting Odette for thinking that she could defeat him, Odile then saw Daniel's reflection in the crown and warned Rothbart. Rothbart sarcastically asked Daniel if he had come to discuss his wedding plans and magically turned Daniel's sword into a feather. He then tried to turn Daniel into a pig, but Daniel dodged behind Odile and caused his magic to transform Odile into a pig instead.
Rothbart was distraught at what he had accidentally done to his daughter, but was forced to leave her when the Fairy Queen and Lila took the unconscious Odette in a carriage back to the Forest. Rothbart chased after them in vulture form and caused their carriage to crash. The Fairy Queen tried to stop him, but he turned her into a mouse; when Lila tried to attack him, he dodged and caused her to get her horn stuck in a tree. He then tried to attack Daniel, but Odette woke up and ran to Daniel's defense. Daniel tried to protect her in return before Rothbart hit them with his magic, knocking them out.
Rothbart began gloating over Odette and Daniel, bragging that he won, until the Crystal began to glow so powerfully that it lifted him up into the air. The power of Odette and Daniel's love had restored the Crystal because they had proven their willingness to sacrifice themselves for each other. Rothbart screamed in agony as the Crystal's power overtook him and exploded, causing all his spells to be broken, his house to collapse, and the Enchanted Forest to be restored to its full glory.
In the aftermath, what little of Rothbart remained was transformed into a cuckoo clock bird in Erasmus' vault. His cuckoo bird form popped out while Odile, now restored to normal and forced to be a maid, whined about how she was allergic to dust while dusting off Erasmus' books.
Personality[]
Rothbart is an evil, cruel, rude, selfish, cold, and utterly ambitious wizard who has no qualms over using his powers to achieve his goals. It is easy to view him as delusional due to his adamant belief in that it was his destiny to rule the Enchanted Forest, but it is also this very delusion that makes him all the more ruthless, and therefore a dangerous enemy. After finding out that Odette is the one destined to stop him, he is determined to stop her to keep her from fulfilling the prophecy, even in an unconscious state, he still went after her.
The only person that Rothbart seemed to hold an affectionate regard for was his daughter, Odile, who he occasionally addressed by pet-names. He indulged her every whim whenever he could. In the end, however, it was proven that even his familial affection for Odile could not compare to his determination to eliminate those he viewed as his foes, given how he left her to her own devices (Daniel had tricked him into transforming her into a pig) to pursue Odette, though it was never revealed as to whether he had any plans of returning for her once he had utterly destroyed Odette.
Powers and Abilities[]
Described to be a Master of the Dark Arts by the Fairy Queen, Rothbart is a powerful sorcerer whose special gift appears to be transforming other people into whatever he wants them to be. He channeled his magic into reality by means of a ring that he always wore. For instance, he transformed the fairies and elves who tried to stop him into animals, and he later transformed Odette into a swan during their very first encounter. In all instances, the Fairy Queen's powers were not strong enough to break his spells completely, and even she herself was transformed into a mouse by his magic during their final confrontation. He was also able to transform himself into whatever form he desired, as seen by how he and Odile transformed into vultures so they could fly home.
Rothbart also seemed to have the ability to cast glamours or illusions to deceive other people, given how he enchanted Odile's necklace and he himself so that, every time Daniel saw them, he interpreted them as Odette and Odette's father. It is possible that his ability to turn his eye color red is a manifestation of his glamouring powers.
Quotes[]
- "A little bird whispered in my ear that some human girl freed the Magic Crystal."
- (Sarcastically) "Ooh. My days are numbered. I'm shaking in my boots."
- (Before turning Odette into a swan) "Odile, my little pigeon, how would you like a new feather pillow?"
- "You still think you can interfere with my destiny? Ha! This is my forest. Mine. Just as it always should have been. Now why don't you save us all a lot of trouble and hand over the crown?"
Trivia[]
- The junior novelization omits the epilogue that shows him as a cuckoo clock and Odile as a maid. It instead outright states that Rothbart is gone for good after being destroyed by the Magic Crystal's power, indicating he died in that adaptation.
| Barbie of Swan Lake |
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 Media: Barbie of Swan Lake Quote: "You're braver than you think." Characters: Barbie | Baker | Carlita | Erasmus | Fairy Queen | Ivan | Jenny | Kelly Roberts | Kelly the cygnet | Liana | Lila | Marie | Marisa | Odile | Prince Daniel | Princess Odette | Queen Mother | Reggie | Rothbart Objects: Magic Crystal | Book of Forest Lore | Odile's Necklace Locations: Bakery | Enchanted Forest | Palace | Rothbart's Palace | Village Transportation: Lila's Carriage Songs: "Wings" |