An Examination of Barbie: Fairytopia as a Hero’s Journey Narrative
Barbie: Fairytopia (2005) is the fifth movie in the series of 39+ movies produced by Mattel to promote their Barbie doll line, most of which are set in worlds independent of each other (to learn more about the Barbie Cinematic Universe (BCU), I highly recommend taking the Barbie Bonanza Agora class this spring). Fairytopia is the first movie in a trilogy following Elina the fairy (played by Barbie) as she has adventures and saves her beloved Fairytopia from various threats. In this post, I will examine Barbie: Fairytopia as a hero’s journey. Warning: spoilers! Fairytopia starts with Elina at equilibrium. She is the only fairy without wings in the Magic Meadow, and keenly wants them. Her call to adventure happens when she hears that an evil fairy named Laverna has kidnapped a fairy guardian and has released a spell that weakens fairies’ ability to fly. Because all her friends are getting sick, Elina sets out to get help, along with her sidekick Bibble, and after a long road of t...