Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Barbie: Spy Squad Blu-ray Movie Review

Bond. Barbie Bond.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 3, 2016

Mix up Mission: Impossible, James Bond, and Batman, paint it all pink (which is actually a trophy in LEGO Dimensions), and get Barbie: Spy Squad, the latest adventure in an ever growing line of digitally animated films featuring the world-famous blonde. Barbie: Spy Squad is everything one would expect of Barbie meets Bond, from the gadgets and gizmos to an elder British mentor. Though it features precious few original ideas beyond putting its own spin on familiar standby plot devices, action scenes, and bits of character growth, it has enough fun along the way that its enthusiasm covers up its inability to stretch the material. The result is a movie that's definitely made to fill a niche, but it might find broader appeal -- like, walking into the room and giving it a few minutes -- just because it copycats some of the more popular franchises around.

The Spy Squad.

Barbie (voiced by Erica Lindbeck) and her friends are top-talent gymnasts with a real shot at winning a major competition, but Barbie's failure to trust in her talents nearly costs them a spot in the finals when her performance flops under self-inflicted mental pressure. She and her teammates head out to the Hollywood sign for a picnic, but no sooner do they get there does the sign open up. They eagerly go inside to check it out and discover a high tech laboratory teeming with all sorts of cool gadgets and gizmos. But their arrival is no accident. Their gymnastic talents mean that they're the perfect choice to become super secret agents and stop a gem thief before she can use her plunder to set off a disastrous electromagnetic pulse. The girls are given plenty of cool gadgets that every superhero needs, including an invisibility suit. But none of that matters unless they can learn to trust their talents and work together to save the world from certain destruction.

Barbie: Spy Squad is less about story and more about dazzle. That's sometimes obvious by plot and sometimes only obvious by the assault of pinks, purples, and blues that saturate most every frame. The movie is nothing if not immodest, like every other Barbie movie (though it's certainly not as eyeball damaging as Barbie in Princess Power in terms of full-on color assault). Color certainly seems to the series' trademark, but so too is the way the franchise, and this film in particular, always works in fun little bits that blur the line between reality and fantasy. Here, that comes by way of Barbie and friends' many spy gadgets. Rather than utility belts crammed with items, the girls instead rely on all of the standbys they normally carry in their purses, all modified to save the day, not just help them look the part. Brushes, compacts, lipstick, and press-on nails are actually nifty tools that help them along the way. There are all sorts of Spy movie staples scattered throughout, including the obligatory acrobatics through a crisscrossed laser field, training montages, and other little bits that will be familiar to adults and exciting enough for the kids.

The movie also works in a fairly standard plot about trusting oneself and working together as a team. Spy Squad is necessarily very transparent. Barbie fails to hit a key jump in a gymnastics routine early in the movie because she's scared to fail. Along the way, she'll need to learn to trust her ability, and her friends, without second guessing herself. It's very crude, but effective in the movie's context. Barbie: Spy Squad works it seamlessly into the story and never overwhelms the plot with Barbie's mental hurdles, save for a few key moments where the growth and lessons are introduced and later when it makes its full circle return.

Barbie: Spy Squad Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Color is the series' trademark, and Barbie: Spy Squad doesn't disappoint. Bubble-gum pinks, purples, and blues light up the screen. There's not a lot of subtle shading, however. It's a barrage of basic shades that will have the viewer instantly identifying the franchise. Detailing is fine, but the movie's largely softer edge animation doesn't always lend itself to precision. Finer details on jeans, leather jackets, sparkling accents, and basic environments are fine, but faces are generally plastic-flat and many surfaces offer only cursory textures. Banding creeps along a few backgrounds and aliasing is more prevalent than it should be. Hair is particularly prone to a distracting shimmering effect. A few jagged lines interrupt otherwise smooth laser beams. But color dominates all, and the little ones will probably be too lost in the dazzle to care about the presentation's technical shortcomings.

Barbie: Spy Squad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Barbie: Spy Squad's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack could stand a little fine-tuning, but overall it's a serviceable-to-good presentation. Music is satisfyingly energetic, producing good definition through its Pop-Rock beats. The low end is by no means prodigious and musical surround support isn't exactly consistent, but front-side spacing is always wide. The surrounds do carry some discrete effects and very light environmental atmospherics pop up from time to time. Action scenes are never potent, but they approach "robust." Crashing pots and pans in a kitchen, for example, clatter and clank but never with anything approaching a realistic sensation. Dialogue delivery is clear and center focused.

Barbie: Spy Squad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Barbie: Spy Squad contains two brief extras. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for an iTunes/UV digital copy are included with purchase.

• Music Video (1080p, 2:53): "Strength in Numbers."
• Outtakes (1080p, 1:50): Some manufactured fun moments "from the set."

Barbie: Spy Squad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barbie: Spy Squad lacks plot creativity, but there's enough support detail made up from the Barbie universe that it feels original, even if it's really not. Fans should find the movie a pleasant and abundantly colorful diversion from the largely boy-centric superhero and spy genres it imitates. Universal's Blu-ray release offers decent video and audio. Supplements are skimpy. Recommended for Barbie movie fans.