Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Barbie and the Secret Door Blu-ray Movie Review

Kids should crack this one open.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 3, 2014

The world's favorite series featuring perfectly proportioned, prim and proper, and pristinely pictured plastic playthings returns for an all-new movie in Barbie and the Secret Door, a movie in which the title character is nowhere to be found but who is instead replaced by the generic "Princess Alexa" (voiced by Kelly Sheridan) who is whisked away to a fairy tale kingdom where, what else, evil threatens to ruin all that's good in the land. It's basic girl-centric animated stuff, never straying from routine and failing to really capture the imagination of anyone outside the target audience. Yet it makes sense to take a timeless franchise and build around it a timeless sort of story, a basic "outsider saves the day" variety with life lessons, cheery characters, bright colors, and family-safe action and themes dominating the experience.

This movie redefines "Reading Rainbow."

Princess Alexa is a bookworm whose social skills a little bit lacking. She doesn't particularly enjoy all of the things that go along with being a princess, like ballroom dances and public appearances. Yet her mother insists she prepare for the opening dance on her 17th birthday to continue on a longstanding family tradition. Her more understanding grandmother, however, gifts her a book that speaks of magical kingdoms and the power to make anything happen. While she's lost in its pages, she stumbles upon a door that takes her to a magic kingdom filled with colors and characters beyond her imagination. There, she meets new friends and discovers her own magical abilities. She soon learns, however, that the evil Malucia (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) is out to steal all of the world's magic for herself. Now, Alexa and her new friends must join together to stop the menacing Malucia at all costs.

Barbie and the Secret Door is a Musical for modern audiences, eschewing a more classic Disney style in favor of a barrage of bubble-gum Pop numbers that don't always even fit the world but that will, at least, get the little ones up and dancing along with the beat. The songs lack originality but at least support basic storyline purposes, providing an upbeat routine to help support a rather simpleminded story. Indeed, the film's lack of dynamic characterization or story detail and originality are its biggest faults, but considering the target audience it's suitable, family-safe entertainment that does lack a purpose beyond bringing smiles to the youngest audience members faces. Children should enjoy the cheery colors, character variety ("human" and others), and easily accessible plot. The film may be forgiven, then, for failing to dig up any novelty. It's more than adequate entertainment for a core viewership, which is all one can really hope for in a film such as this.

Visually, the film is a step above the really cruddy CGI animation found on movies like The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale, enjoying a firm middle ground that sees it rise above low budget fare but not quite achieve the same level of excellence audiences expect from something like a How to Train Your Dragon or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs film. The world is vibrant and alive, and the characters likewise, enjoying little touches and details and digital effort that make it a pleasure to look upon, though for more discerning adults perhaps not enough to warrant a full-blown watch. Still, it's nice to see the movie not take the easy road out. Likewise, the voice performances are satisfying. There's nothing special, but the cast finds a depth to the characters and a purpose to the story that rises it above the scripted happenings with an enthusiasm and grasp of the material that might be the film's best asset. The singing is nicely performed, too, making this a good little technical display of sight and sound that does a fine job of helping to cover up the core story's shortcomings.

Barbie and the Secret Door Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Barbie and the Secret Door opens up on Blu-ray with a good and abundantly colorful 1080p presentation. Universal's presentation is occasionally soft, but it does all it can to capture the available image definition with a robustness befitting the imagery. There are some quality skin and clothing details evident in close-up shots that give a little more texture and life over the somewhat flat and plastic look that dominates. Image clarity allows all of the shapely and lively background objects to enjoy strong definition throughout. Colors are wildly varied and heavy on the shades of pink and purple. They're complex but not so nuanced as to dazzle, many but not so varied as to redefine color output on Blu-ray. It's certainly a cheery presentation that's the equivalent to sugary eye candy. Black levels are of a high enough quality, but the image does suffer through some minor bouts of unsightly aliasing. Overall, however, this is a solid presentation that suits the material well and should dazzle younger viewers, just as intended.

Barbie and the Secret Door Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Barbie and the Secret Door features a fairly robust and active DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Musical numbers and score alike play large, with a wide-open soundstage that fills the fronts and emits strongly from the rears. Whether sugary pop or princess pomp and circumstance, there's no shortage of enjoyably robust musical elements everywhere in the movie. The track finds some decent background ambience in places but never creates a sonic environment quite so rich as it does create a detailed visual world. The track enjoys a fair number of hefty, well defined action effects, particularly throughout the third act. Dialogue is delivered in a straightforward, clear manner through the center channel.

Barbie and the Secret Door Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Barbie and the Secret Door contains several kid-friendly extras. In the case is a DVD copy of the film and a UV/iTunes digital copy voucher.

• Music Video (1080p, 2:47): "If I Had Magic" by Brittany McDonald.
• Outtakes (1080p, 1:53).
• Barbie Life in the DreamHouse Episode Part 1 (1080p, 3:23): Barbie and friends become fashion superheroes called the "Style Supersquad."
• Barbie Life in the DreamHouse Episode Part 2 (1080p, 3:45): The Style Supersquad interferes with Barbie's life, so the group must come up with a solution to build the team from the outside.
• Music Video (1080p, 2:41): "Anything is Possible" by Fifth Harmony.
• Trailers (1080p): Additional Universal titles.

Barbie and the Secret Door Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Barbie and the Secret Door may not offer novel storytelling or richly developed characters, but it's found its way to a nice middle ground of digital competency where the blend of mid-grade animation, cheery colors galore, and good voice performances (not to mention a number of feel-good, toe-tapping Pop numbers) will please younger audiences and mask the various shortcomings that exist throughout. Parents might slink away when the kiddos are fully engaged, but those young ones should enjoy it well enough. Universal's Blu-ray release of Barbie and the Secret Door features solid 1080p video, active lossless audio, and a few family-friendly supplements. Recommended for the target audience.