Barbie in a Mermaid Tale – Queen of the Waves on Legs and with Fins!
In Malibu, ‘Queen of the Waves’ Merlia Summers only has one thing on her mind and that’s surfing. But when her hair spontaneously turns pink in the middle of a meet, she discovers that she’s far from a regular girl. In fact, she’s a lost Princess of a Kingdom in dire need of saving from a tyrannical ruler.
I knew that this film existed but only really discovered it once I was in my 30s and wishing, more than anything, that I wasn’t. I’ve always been a massive fan of all things mermaid ever since I watched The Little Mermaid and this certainly scratches that particular itch. From here onwards to 2015, Mattel took on more storylines set in the modern day, dispensing with the fairy and princess tales. They also began production on the web series, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse around this time, led by Technicolor who had helped on two of the films.
The movie kicks off with an honestly brilliant intro to Merliah and her friends doing what they do best, surfing. Admittedly, I do not know anything about surfing, except that it looks really good when you’re doing it right. There are a lot of these scenes in this film and I honestly find them really entertaining, the fluid animation and Merliah’s theme song honestly has my foot tapping along with it. It makes a reprise later in the film when she and her mermaid allies have to distract the villain so she can get one of this film’s Mcguffins and I honestly can’t say no to a repeat of a good song.
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Speaking of the plot, it’s a pretty standard ‘gather the items and the villain will be defeated’ scenario and I find that it makes for an engaging set of scenes if done right. In this case, Merliah has to travel through different locations to find what she needs but, above all, she needs a tail which gives the movie the opportunity for another song, though this is just an instrumental track. To get what she needs, Merliah has to use the talents she has both in the water and on land and I genuinely love for this. Being half human, it’s important for her character that she maintain a connection with both sides.
Back to the song, It’s probably the weakest and the least memorable of the tunes, but that’s probably just because, out of the lot, it’s the one I’ve heard the least. As for Merliah’s mermaid friends, Kayla and Xylie who help her during this montage, they seem to be considerably fashion focused, to the point of it being a little annoying and I honestly find their whole situation weird. They sell tails for mermaids but… why? How do mermaids wear them? I understand it must be like trousers but it just doesn’t make sense to me. These two are unique for having accents but I don’t understand why this is. Another thing I flat out don’t understand is how Merliah’s watch/phone can work underwater without so much as a glitch. I know it’s movie magic, but it’s off-putting. That could just be because I’m older.
On the other side, Eris is quite a fierce opponent with a habit of banishing those who displease her in red whirlpools. Of course, this turns out to be just about anyone as she orders daily worship. She has an immediately recognisable design, wearing reds and oranges that stand out considerably against the pinks and blues of the setting and orders her subjects around without mercy. Aside from her sea dragon herald, she has a squad of orange jellyfish and she takes immediate action to both take and keep the crown. She has to keep her sister, Merliah’s mother, alive to create the power that keeps the whole sea healthy but it’s failing in what it’s meant to do because of the rightful Queen’s misery in captivity.
For a swimmingly good time, enjoy this film and maybe head down to the beach whilst the weather is still warm.
Next time, it’s time for a trip to France for fashion shows and flairies!
