Movies That Made Me: "Barbie's Princess and the Pauper"

This past weekend, my roommate and I decided it would be fun to sit down with a bunch of snacks and watch our favorite childhood movies. 

Of course, I chose my first ever "favorite" movie: Barbie's 2004 "Princess and the Pauper" film. You know how every child has a movie they could continue to watch on repeat no matter how many times they've seen it? Yeah. This one was mine. 

I was three years old at the time of it's release, and so I feel like this movie definitely made an impression on my young mind. I probably haven't seen this movie since 2006, but I could still sing every word to a few of the songs. This movie was probably what made me fall in love with musicals. Certain facets of this movie will live on in my brain forever, probably, because this was one of the movies that made me. 

Watching it again as an adult after all these years, I was personally intrigued to see:

1. How the movie had "aged" over time (ie. whether the societal norms, humor, etc are still appropriate today) 

2. Which specific moments of the movie had been engrained in my brain, and ask myself why

3. Outline which lessons this movie teaches its young audience. 

After viewing the film, here's what I noticed:

First and foremost, I'd like to give a brief synopsis of the plot: the film centers around two female protagonists, Anneliese and Erika, who are on two different sides of the socioeconomic spectrum: One lives as royalty and the other works diligently for spare change. Despite their differences, both wish to be free from the life they were born into, and have the choice to do what they want with their lives and express themselves without fear of judgement. Meanwhile, a member of the royal court plots to take over the kingdom for himself. In a strange turn of events, the girls are able to temporarily switch places and take on a role they've never experienced before. They scheme to take back the palace. 

Freedom of choice is the main "theme" of this movie. Sounds like a good lesson for young girls, right? So far so good... 

Well, it would be nice and easy if it was that simple. However, their version of "freedom" in this film is conditional, and they almost admit that it will always be out of reach. Here are lyrics from the song "Free", that seem to be oddly contradictory: 

"I could take flight but would it be right?

My conscience tells me stay

I'll remain forever royal....

Duty means doing the

Things your heart may well regret

But I'll never stop believing...

In my dreams

I'll be free"

That feels kind of ominous. "Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret". Ouch. That line definitely went over 3-year-old Meg's head, which is probably a blessing. Is this what they are trying to paint as the female experience? Set aside the things you want to do for the approval of others?

Another moment that definitely went over my head as a child, but stuck out to me as an adult, was this exchange of lines: 

Anneliese: "I'm savoring a first and last taste of freedom before getting married next week... to a total stranger."

Erika: "At least you're not an indentured servant."

HUH????? THOSE are the two best options? "As a woman, you should feel grateful that you're being married off like a piece of property because hey, in another life you could be working tirelessly for no pay"? Is that what this movie is trying to teach young girls?

Shocking, to say the least. Those two lines made my jaw drop to the floor.  

Secondly, I'm so glad that we've been having our class discussions about "the male gaze", because boy does that concept put this film under a microscope. This movie ends with a double wedding -- the princess getting married to her "commoner" best friend, and the pauper marrying the "stranger" prince that the princess was set up to marry at the beginning of the film. 

I had to sit back and ask myself: Why does every happy ending for a female character revolve around marrying a man? "Happily ever after", that's what we were taught, right? While I understand that incorporating romance into a story can heighten the stakes of the characters, it seems hypocritical to marry the girls off at the end, especially considering that the initial conflict at the beginning of the film was that the princess felt she wasn't ready to get married. Why is marriage the price a woman has to pay for a happy ending?

The character design of the women, too, is seemingly to appease the male gaze, even though the target audience for viewership is young girls. Barbie in and of itself is a marketed strategy to teach young girls to aspire for approval of the male gaze, but hey, that's another conversation for another time. 

I was surprised to find that the moments from the film that stuck with me over all these years were not romantic moments, protagonistic triumphs, or even some of the songs. In reality, it was the one-liner jokes that still remain in my head to this day. This film, along with the rest of the Barbie movie franchise, plays on situational humor surrounding unintelligent characters, who are more often than not also a villain, which gives the viewer a free pass to laugh at them. Which, in my mind, is a pretty tame avenue of comedy compared to what films and TV relied on so heavily during that time that haven't aged very gracefully into today. 

All in all, I found a sense of healing in rewatching and critiquing something that I held on such a high pedestal as a child. It's a good reminder of where I've come from, but also where I'm heading.