Magic, friendship, and princesses: how do some animated movies from over 20 years ago empower girls?
Mattel’s Barbie movies from the early 2000s are feminist because they depict close female friendships, characters believing in themselves, and women growing confident without sacrificing their femininity.
Barbie’s many careers, from flight attendant to president, teach girls that they can be anything. It is said that you cannot be what you cannot see, so by showing a woman going to the moon, young girls know they can too. In these movies, Barbie succeeds, thrives within sisterhood and finds love, becoming a multifaceted symbol of feminism.
Barbie dolls have been associated with promoting harmful beauty standards. Barbie is more than a blonde doll; she is a symbol of imagination and possibility. Furthermore, this narrow perspective makes Barbie one-dimensional by focusing solely on her appearance.
In my opinion, the following five films are the best examples of feminism in the Barbie universe in the early 2000s.
“Barbie: Princess Charm School” (2011)
This film has feminist themes because of its focus on self-worth, a matriarchal society, relationships between female characters, its depiction of intersectional feminism, and its lack of focus on romantic relationships.
In Barbie: Princess Charm School, Blair, a lost princess in the fictional country Gardania, was left on her adoptive mother’s doorstep as a baby. Now 17, she works in a café to support her family. When she wins a lottery to study at a school for princesses and their advisors (Lady Royals), the heir to the throne, Delancy, and her mother, Dame Devin, bully Blair because of her background.
Despite feeling like she doesn’t belong, Blair keeps studying, and begins to succeed with the help of her teacher, and becomes close friends with her roommates, Hadley and Isla. Blair stands up to the bullying and tells her friends, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”. She shows girls that they must stand up for themselves and never let go of their self-worth.
Although Blair has a male friend, Prince Nicolas, the story centres on her friendships with other girls, prioritising female friendships over romance.
Also, Gardania is a prosperous matriarchal kingdom ruled by a single princess, advised by her Lady Royal. She does not need to marry a prince for power or social advantage.
Blair is from a working-class background in an upper-class environment. By telling a story that criticises the upper class and gentrification (Dame Devin announces her plans to tear down Gardania’s working-class neighbourhoods and replace them with parks), this film highlights the struggles that women underrepresented by feminism face.
At Delancy’s coronation, she stalls the ceremony so Blair and her friends can reveal that she is the lost princess. Blair is crowned ruler of Gardania. Instead of punishing Delancy, she forgives her and chooses her to be her Lady Royal. Dame Devin is arrested, but Blair does not resent Delancy.
“Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper” (2004)
In Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, Princess Annelise wants to escape an arranged marriage to King Dominic, which would save her bankrupt kingdom. She is in love with her lifelong friend and tutor, Julian. Later, Annelise meets Erika, an indentured servant at a dressmaker’s who looks exactly like her. She dreams of travelling the world as a singer. Erika wants to escape poverty through talent, not marriage to a rich man.
In the song “I Am a Girl Like You”, the women realise they are trapped in similar ways and bond with each other in achieving their own versions of freedom. Though their lives are difficult, neither of them tries to downplay the other’s hardships.
After Annelise is kidnapped by the evil royal advisor Preminger, Julian asks Erika for help. So, she disguises herself as Annelise to buy Julian time to find her, and Erika quickly falls in love with King Dominic.
Annelise escapes by herself and takes Erika’s place under her cruel boss, Madame Carp. Julian is later captured by Preminger and saved by Annelise. The four stop Preminger from marrying the queen for power, and the kingdom is saved. While Annelise escaped a mine with Julian, she solved the kingdom’s financial problem by selling the geodes.
At the end of the film, Erika’s debt is paid by Annelise and not Dominic. So, Erika does not feel obliged to marry him. She then travels the world to sing. Before she left, Dominic asked her to stay, but she put her dream first. Dominic did not make her promise to come back, but remained hopeful. When Erika is happy with her travels, she returns to the kingdom and marries Dominic. Erika’s career made her financially independent, so she married for love.
Most of these films end with Barbie and her love interest getting married or becoming a couple, but that was not the most important part of the story. The women in Barbie movies are not motivated by romance or marriage; it is simply a bonus to their adventure.
“Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus” (2005)
In this movie, the protagonist fights back against male entitlement and misogyny by collaborating with other women.
In Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Princess Annika rebels against her parents by leaving the castle to ice skate. While skating with the villagers, the evil wizard Wenlock proposes to her. When she rejects him, he turns her parents and subjects to stone. Then she is saved by a pegasus and has three days to accept Wenlock’s proposal or the spell becomes permanent. Annika is sent on a quest to build a Wand of Light, which will defeat Wenlock. On her quest, she meets Aidan, who helps her. At first, they butt heads over their headstrong personalities. But their determination draws them to each other, and they fall in love.
Years ago, Wenlock proposed to Annika’s sister Brietta, but transformed her into a pegasus when her parents refused. Annika and Brietta’s sisterhood pushes them to not only save their kingdom but also turn Brietta back into a human. Of Fact and Fantasy notes the ways other female characters help the duo. Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus tells the story of women empowering one another, resilience against misogyny, and having hope.
During her final showdown with Wenlock, his wives get hold of the Wand of Light. They must decide to give the Wand of Light to Wenlock or to Annika. As stated in the blog Of Fact and Fantasy, “These women—who have been background figures until now—hold the most power at the climax.” They give the wand to Annika, and she defeats Wenlock, breaking his spell over her kingdom and returning his wives to their human selves. Annika thereby freed them and allowed them to live their own lives again.
“Barbie as the Island Princess” (2007)
This story explores female friendship, mother-daughter relationships, and the importance of being true to yourself.
Ro is shipwrecked on a remote island, where she is raised by animals for over a decade. Prince Antonio then finds her island while exploring, and she leaves with him for his homeland to uncover her past and identity. She does not leave because she is in love with him, which happens later. Ro brings her animal friends and does not hide her true nature to fit in with the people of Antonio’s homeland.
Prince Antonio and Princess Luciana’s parents arrange for them to marry, despite the two having never met before. Ro is upset but does not become resentful of Luciana or see her as a rival. Luciana and Antonio want to marry for love, and someone they know. Instead, the three collaborate to save the kingdom and defeat Luciana’s mother, who was plotting to steal the throne from Antonio’s parents by poisoning the animals, then the people of the kingdom, and blaming Ro for introducing an exotic disease.
English student Karisa Adelia Tabina observed how Ro and Luciana’s friendship helped Ro integrate into society. Luciana taught her human manners, but did not discourage her from talking to animals or climbing trees. She also did not take advantage of Ro’s lack of understanding of society. Despite Ro being a potential threat to her future security. And Ro is not helpless or naive; she uses her ability to talk to animals and her knowledge of botany to protect her friends and save the kingdom.
While saving the animals and stopping the wedding, Ro joyously reunites with her long-lost mother. Their relationship is a source of strength, comfort, and identity for Ro. Luciana and Adriana’s relationship is strained and manipulative; it serves as the catalyst for Luciana’s independence as she defies her mother and breaks off her engagement to Antonio.
“Barbie as Rapunzel” (2002)
This story is feminist because of the female protagonist’s bravery, empowerment of her friends, protection of her love interest, and resourcefulness.
Rapunzel is a painter who finds a paintbrush that brings her paintings to life. She lives in a manor in the woods with her rabbit, Hobie, and her young dragon, Penelope. When she was a baby, she was stolen by Gothel, who now keeps Rapunzel as a servant. She is forbidden from leaving the manor, but dreams of walking along a beach like the one she paints. Rapunzel discovers Gothel lied to her about when she was supposedly abandoned, and finds a secret passage outside and explores the nearby kingdom. This is where she meets her love interest, Prince Stefan.
There is a feud between his kingdom and King Wilhelm’s, and Stefan believes the feud can only be solved with force. Instead of blindly agreeing with him, Rapunzel questions the king’s motives and his inability to solve the feud peacefully. She does not change her opinions to make Stefan like her. This eventually prompts Stefan to question the feud as well. Rapunzel also tells Stefan that he can’t tell her his name, because Gothel will use it against her.
When Gothel learns that Rapunzel escaped, she demands that Rapunzel reveal the name of the prince she met, which she does not know. So, she transforms her room into a doorless tower. However, Rapunzel paints the kingdom and escapes, and her relationship with Stefan grows. Once again, Gothel discovers Rapunzel escaped, so she casts a spell around the tower that traps anyone who lies. Because she did not lie about not knowing Stefan’s name, Rapunzel escapes to save Stefan at the masquerade ball, where Gothel is plotting to attack him and the king.
Throughout the story, Rapunzel encourages Penelope’s fire-breathing and might as a dragon. And this proves to be essential when Penelope flies over Gothel’s force field around the manor.
Before defeating Gothel, Rapunzel discovers that she is King Wilhelm’s daughter, which ends the feud that was caused by her disappearance. Gothel is imprisoned in the tower and cannot escape because she lied to Rapunzel. In the end, Rapunzel is reunited with her family and finally walks along a beach with Stefan by her side.
Final Notes
Barbie’s stories taught young girls to be brave, resilient and kind. Their complex female characters navigated their struggles without relying on a man, connected with other women to help one another and never gave up their self-worth. Barbie is more than a pretty doll, and reducing her to her appearance ignores the morals she teaches young girls.
These films prioritise connections between women. However, the relationship between Barbie and her love interest does not isolate her from her friends. These relationships are another means of support and a result of adventure.
Blair never let people’s prejudice get the better of her. Annelise and Erika bonded over their desires for freedom, and chose their own paths in life. Annika fought back against male entitlement by connecting with other women. Ro stayed true to herself, which saved her love interest’s kingdom and friends. Rapunzel uplifted her friends, and never gave up on her freedom. And Barbie taught young girls that they can have beauty, brains and bravery.
Featured image credit: IMDb