YMMV / Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper

aka: Barbie In The Princess And The Pauper

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Towards the end of "Free", both heroines walk out of the room to the balcony, of all things. To the very edge of the balcony, to be precise. They do it right after they've been introduced to the biggest problem in their existences (especially Erika, poor thing). Note that they are both, like, sixteen; children of that age are capable of doing the most awful things on the whim. So these two hormone-addled grief-stricken teenage girls are standing at the edges of balconies high above the earth and singing how it would be wonderful to "take flight" (yep, "flight" means "escape", but if you take it literally...), so that they could be free. Of course, having as much as an allusion to suicide is impossible for a Barbie musical^note Or any other Barbie movie, for that matter, but still, looks very suggestive.
  • On a lighter note, a lot of older fans have noted that Erika and Anneliese's quick friendship and instant chemistry can easily be interpreted as Love at First Sight / Love at First Note.
• Awesome Music: Let's just say this film has every right to bill itself as the "first Barbie musical".
  • "I Am A Girl Like You" and "Free" brings Julie Stevens and Melissa Lyons' vocals as Erika and Anneliese put together to make an intriguing duet both times. The result is a surprisingly amazing tune where the voices blend in perfectly like bread and butter.
  • Erika and Dominick's love duet "If You Love Me For Me" also counts. Especially when the two sing in counterpoint at the end. Even the piano and orchestra is fittingly soothing.
  • "How Could I Refuse". Martin Short delivers utterly dramatic singing for the film, all while being rather boastful, cunning and sinister all at the same time.
• Common Knowledge: Even though they sound very similar, Erika and Anneliese do not have the same singing voice. Erika's singing voice is provided by Julie Stevens, while Anneliese's singing voice is provided by Melissa Lyons.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Even with only about fifteen minutes of screen time Preminger is easily one of the most well remembered parts of this film, for many good reasons.
  • A lot of people, even diehard Anneliese/Erika shippers, really like Julian and King Dominick. It helps that unlike a lot of love interests in Barbie movies, they have distinct and likeable personalities that mesh very well with the girls'.
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Anneliese/Erika has become incredibly popular over the years.
  • For some, a Marry Them All / One True Threesome situation is preferred because of Julian and Dominick's presence. Heck, even in the movie, Anneliese and Erika marry Julian and Dominick, respectively, in a double wedding.
• Fan Nickname: "Skałddäus"- The Royal Scheduler, as a portmanteau of Skałmar and Thaddäus, given that his German and Polish voices share the same role.
• First Installment Wins: The film is billed as the first Barbie musical and it's also the most acclaimed one.
• Growing the Beard: For the Barbie animated film series. While the previous entries (Nutcracker, Rapunzel and Swan Lake) weren't seen as bad, per se, they're widely regarded as So Okay, It's Average at best. Princess and the Pauper took things up a notch, with tighter plotting, better developed characters, catchy songs and improved animation (which, amomg other things, helped tone down the occurences of Unintentional Uncanny Valley in the earlier films). It was followed up by several other more acclaimed entries and to this day, Princess and the Pauper is one of the most popular movies in the whole series.
• Ham and Cheese: Martin Short plays Preminger as if he's a man made entirely out of ham. The results are Awesome!
• Iron Woobie: Both of the girls. The song "Free" is all about this. Anneliese has just found out she'll be forced to marry a complete stranger in a week's time to save her kingdom from bankruptcy. Erika has been working off her parents' debt since she was a child, and it's clear Madame Carp has no intentions of letting her leave, even if Erika does manage to pay it all off. Still, they both manage to remain optimistic, and continue soldiering on. Can someone give these girls a massive hug, please?
  Anneliese: I'll remain forever royal.
  Erika: I'll repay my parents' debt.
  Both: Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret.
  Anneliese: But I'll never stop believing!
  Erika: She can never stop my schemes.
  Both: There's more to living than gloves and gowns and threads and seams! In my dreams, I'll be free!
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: While Preminger is the villain and obviously meant to be rooted against, his comedic qualities balance out his villainous deeds; Madame Carp, however, has absolutely ZERO likable moments, and runs her dress emporium like an 1800s sweat-shop.
• Les Yay: You could make a case for Anneliese/Erika, what with their instant connection and deep friendship, and the lengths Erika will go to for Anneliese after only one meeting — and indeed, a lot of young women who grew up with this movie now ship them.
• LGBT Fanbase: Anneliese and Erika is popular amongst LGBTQ audiences because of their chemistry.
• Mandela Effect: No, the title is not Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper, as Barbie plays both Anneliese and Erika. However, some people believe that it is the actual title, likely because of many other Barbie films beginning with Barbie in, such as Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses, as well as Erika not appearing like she's being played by Barbie, due to Barbie's iconic blonde hair. Interestingly, This Very Wiki's article used to be called that, before it was corrected.
• Memetic Mutation: For some bizarre reason, Preminger ^note specifically, Martin Short's hamtastic performance as him and the various odd noises he makes took off as a meme on YouTube in early 2021, some 17 years after the movie's debut.
• Older Than They Think: 1987's Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World is technically the first Barbie animated musical.
• Rainbow Lens: You can't throw a rock in the fandom and not hit anyone who belives that Wolfie is a metaphor for trans people, as he is a dog in a cat's body and has a song about being who you really are. His owner wearing dresses that are the colours of the trans flag only intensified it.
• Retroactive Recognition: Julian is played by Alessandro Juliani. Guess Anneliese was one of the earliest L fangirls, huh?
• Ron the Death Eater: While she's not outwardly demonized, some people claim Anneliese is a whiny Spoiled Brat and has no right comparing her life to the far less well-off Erika. Never mind that it was Erika who first compared their lives to one another, and even then Annelise never had the gall to claim they were exactly the same. It's also worth noting that while Anneliese does privately angst about having to marry a stranger and having her life planned for her (which is quite understandable), she is still willing to go through with it to save the kingdom; Julian even gets tipped off that Anneliese was actually kidnapped because he knows she'd never run away from her responsibilities.
• Ship Mates: Most Anneliese/Erika shippers just pair Julian/King Dominick together, even though they have little interaction.
• Squick: Preminger trying to marry Anneliese. He's old enough to be her father (which wasn't that out of place back then, but very out of place in the soft and gentle Barbie-fied version of nineteenth-century Europe).

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