Barbie as Rapunzel

"Love and imagination can change the world.

-Barbie

Barbie as Rapunzel is the 2nd Barbie movie. It was released on October 1st, 2002. The film follows the story of a lost princess named Rapunzel who lives far away in the forest in a big tower with her stepmother, Gothel who treats her like a servant, but Rapunzel wants to be independent and wants to paint, which Gothel dislikes.

Official Description
"Long, long, ago, in a time of magic and dragons, there lived a girl named Rapunzel, who had the most beautiful, radiant hair the world had ever seen. But Rapunzel's life was far from wonderful. She lived as a servant for Gothel, a jealous, scheming witch who kept her hidden deep in a forbidding forest, guarded by the enormous dragon Hugo and surrounded by an enchanted glass wall.

"However, in a twist of fate, Rapunzel's discovery of a magic paintbrush leads her on a journey that will unravel a web of deception, bring peace to two feuding kingdoms, and ultimately lead her to love with the handsome Prince Stefan. She succeeds with the help of Penelope, the least intimidating of dragons!

Story
The story is being told by Barbie to her little sister Kelly, who does not have confidence in her painting abilities. Rapunzel lives as a servant to the witch, Gothel, who resides in a manor isolated in the woods. She grows up believing that Gothel saved her from abandonment as an infant.

Rapunzel finds companionship in Penelope, an outgoing dragon, and Hobie, a worrisome rabbit. Rapunzel spends what free time she has painting.

The story begins with Rapunzel painting a beautiful painting of a seashore where she dreams she can go to be free one day. Hobie soon alerts her of Gothel's arrival, and Rapunzel just managed to get things ready in time. However, Gothel noticed a smear of paint on her cheek and accused her not appreciating everything she had done for her.

While preparing Gothel's tea, Penelope accidentally finds a secret staircase which, leads to an old room below the manor. In it, they discovered a gift from her parents who allegedly deserted her: a silver hairbrush engraved with the following: “Constant as the stars above, always know that you are loved. To our daughter, Rapunzel, on her first birthday. With Love Forever, Mother and Father.” These words leave the young artist questioning about her past for the first time--Gothel always told Rapunzel that she was abandoned by her parents in the woods when she was only a few days old and questions why Gothel would've lied to her about it. Her diversion is quickly interrupted by Gothel's request for tea.

After serving Gothel her meal, Rapunzel and her friends revisit the cellar where Penelope exposes yet another secret: a tunnel leading to the nearby village. Rapunzel takes the path to the small kingdom and is able to rescue a princess named Katrina from a pitfall. Soon after, Rapunzel is introduced to Katrina's elder brother, the handsome Prince Stefan. He explains to her that the trap Katrina managed to escape was put there by King Wilhelm, the ruler of an opposing kingdom. Enchanted by the mysterious maiden, Stefan asks to meet her again, to which she agrees, though their meeting is ended abruptly before Stefan could tell her his name when she quickly rushes back to the woods to avoid being discovered by Gothel. Unknown to Rapunzel, Gothel's pet ferret, Otto, had witnessed the entire exchange.

Angered, Gothel demands Rapunzel to tell her the boy's name. Rapunzel insists that she does not know it, but Gothel doesn't believe her, thinking she has been lying to her, despite that she knew his existence. Rapunzel tells her that she cannot her locked away forever, to which Gothel responds: "Watch me". Gothel destroys all Rapunzel's paint and paintings before transforming her bedroom into a taller tower and stations Hugo, Penelope's father outside. Gothel refuses to let Rapunzel go until she tells her the name of the boy she met.

That night, Rapunzel had a dream that Prince Stefan found her tower. He came up by climbing her long hair. When up there, they are about to kiss, but Gothel shows up and separates them. Rapunzel wakes up and reads the engraving on the hairbrush. She realizes that there is still hope. Going back to sleep, a shower of light turns the hairbrush into a paintbrush.

It is revealed that Gothel is the fiendish puppet-master of the whole feud and is enjoying watching the two kings attempt to destroy one another.

Rapunzel is left alone with Hobie and Penelope, who cheered her up with new paints to replace the ones destroyed by Gothel. Hobie discovered the paintbrush, and Rapunzel starts to paint. It soon become clear that she doesn't need paint, and whatever she paints becomes real. Rapunzel paints the village and then steps through it, arriving at the palace's gardens and meets Stefan there.

She shows him the brush and asks for help to find its maker but insists that he never tell her his name. She meets a silversmith who says his brother made it, who lives on Wilhelm's side. The silversmith has not seen his brothers in years, making him very upset. Stefan realized that the feud is hurting the villagers more than he realized.

Afterward, Stefan asks Rapunzel to a masquerade ball. She replies that she will meet him there. He says that her hair is a 'beautiful giveaway.' Penelope soon arrives, explaining that Gothel is coming and they must leave so that Hugo will not be hurt. Rapunzel leaves and paints a way out.

When back at the tower, Rapunzel uses the paintbrush to paint herself a beautiful gown. Hobie and Penelope provided a mask. Unfortunately, the paintbrush's light can be seen, and Otto sneaks in. He quickly steals the invitation without their notice and presents it to Gothel.

Angered, she arrives at the tower and slices off Rapunzel's hair, and breaks the paintbrush into pieces. She also manages to destroy the painting of the village. Because she thinks Rapunzel refused, to tell the truth, Gothel puts a spell around her tower, which holds people who lie forever and can never be broken. Gothel then storms to King Frederick and Stefan's castle, intent on destroying them. Back at the tower, Rapunzel manages to escape with the help of Penelope and Hugo, as the spell only works if the prisoner is a liar and rushes to save Stefan.

Stefan is lured away by Gothel, who is disguised as Rapunzel, but Gothel reveals herself and begins her attack. Wilhelm appears before Frederick, hoping to end the feud by force. It is revealed the source of the feud was because he believes Frederick kidnapped his daughter, who has been missing since she was an infant. Frederick replies that he planned nothing of the sort, and he has no idea where Wilhelm's daughter is, to which Gothel reveals that she's the one who took Rapunzel because Wilhelm "loved" her but married another woman, as he saw her only as a friend. Rapunzel arrives just in time to stop them from fighting, and Wilhelm recognizes her as his daughter. A battle ensues, and Gothel begins to attack Rapunzel with magic. As Rapunzel runs into the royal maze, she remembers the magic painting of the tower and tricks Gothel into running into it—which Hugo reminds her she can't escape as she has a lying heart.

Rapunzel's reunited with her biological parents, Wilhelm manages to reconcile with Frederick, and the two kingdoms are united under a marriage between Rapunzel and Stefan. The couple moves into a castle of their own, with Hobie, Penelope, and Hugo moving in with them and living a better life. It's later revealed that Otto is now Gothel's new servant, but it's implied that Gothel eventually dies of starvation. The story ultimately ends with Rapunzel walking along a beach with Stefan, which is the same one as Rapunzel painted with a castle in the distance, implying her dreams came true. The scene becomes the painting Barbie had been working on. Kelly now feels better and begins painting with blue, which turns into the credits.

Starring the Voices Of

 * Barbie/Princess Rapunzel: Kelly Sheridan
 * Gothel: Anjelica Huston
 * Penelope:Cree Summer
 * Hobie/Palace Guard: Ian James Corlett
 * Prince Stefan: Mark Hildreth
 * Hugo/General: David Kaye
 * Otto/Skinny Swordsman: Peter Kelamis
 * King Frederick:Russell Roberts
 * King Wilhelm:Christopher Gaze
 * Fat Swordsman/Baker:Terry Klassen
 * Kelly/Rapunzel|Kelly/Princess Katrina: Chantal Strand
 * Prince Tommy: Danny McKinnon
 * Princess Melody:Britt McKillip
 * Princess Lorena:Jocelyne Loewen
 * Silversmith: Dale Wilson
 * Characters also include Rapunzel's Mother and Botticelli.

Trivia

 * Gothel was nominated for "Best Animated Character Performance" at the DVD Exclusive Awards in 2003. The film as a whole was nominated for "Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie", "Best Director", and "Best Visual Effects".
 * Botticelli the horse is named after Sandro Botticelli, an Italian painter who lived from 1445 to May 17, 1510, whose most famous work was The Birth of Venus. Being named after a painter goes with the art theme of the film.
 * According to Hobie, this film was set in the 17th century (the 1600's).
 * As an easter egg, there is a portrait of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on a wall in Barbie and Kelly's house. There was also a portrait of him in Clara's house in Barbie in the Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky composed the music for The Nutcracker, which Barbie in the Nutcracker was based on.
 * This is the first Barbie movie to have an ending quote.

Goofs

 * When Rapunzel walked through the draft, she accidentally threw the candle right out of her hand when a mouse ran by. In real life, the fire would be supposedly gone, but in the movie, it's not.
 * When she was about to paint the wall with the Magic Paintbrush, you can see the image was 'pixelized,' but due to its direct-to-video budget, it's not detailed well enough.
 * Rapunzel's hair is short after Gothel cuts it with her spell, but when Rapunzel was married at the end of the movie, her hair is still long as before.
 * After Penelope puts her foot through the floor, Rapunzel looks down the hole and decides to jump. She lands on the floor, and the fallen wood from the hole is nowhere in sight.
 * Just before Gothel cuts Rapunzel's hair, Rapunzel is turning to face her, but when Gothel cuts it in the next shot, Rapunzel has her back to Gothel.