Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses
DVD cover
Directed by	Greg Richardson
Produced by	Shea Wageman
Written by	Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby
Starring	Kelly Sheridan Nicole Oliver Jennifer Copping Kathleen Barr Chiara Zanni Adrienne Carter Ashleigh Ball Britt McKillip Maddy Copozzi Chantal Strand Catherine O'Hara Shawn MacDonald Christopher Gaze
Music by	Arnie Roth
Editing by	Colin Adams
Studio	Mattel Entertainment Mainframe Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release date(s)	September 19, 2006 (2006-09-19)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States Canada
Language	English

Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses is a fun computer-animated movie from 2006. It's a dance film that tells a story inspired by the classic fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" by the Brothers Grimm. This movie is the ninth one in the popular Barbie film series.

In the film, Kelly Sheridan voices Barbie, who plays the main character. The movie was released on September 19, 2006. It was the first Barbie movie to be shared by Universal Studios. The music for the film was created by Arnie Roth. The song "Shine" was even nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007!

Story of the 12 Dancing Princesses

The movie is about Genevieve and her eleven sisters. They are all princesses who love to dance! They live in a big castle with their father, King Randolph. Their mother, the Queen, has passed away.

The princesses are very adventurous and have many unique hobbies. But some people in the royal court think their ways are not proper. So, King Randolph asks his cousin, Duchess Rowena, to come and teach the princesses better manners. However, Duchess Rowena is very strict. Her rules start to make the princesses feel sad and lose their sparkle.

The Magical Secret

On the birthday of the youngest triplet sisters, Genevieve and her sisters give them a special gift. It's a copy of their late mother's favorite story. The story is about a princess who found a magical land. She danced there for three nights before it disappeared.

As the princesses look at their storybooks and the tiles on their bedroom floor, Genevieve discovers a secret! She finds a way to open a gateway to the magical land. When they enter, they find a beautiful pavilion. There, they dance all night long. In this magical place, they also find golden flowers that grant wishes. The water there can even heal! Lacey, the youngest princess, bravely takes some of this special water in a small bottle.

Rowena's Evil Plan

The next day, the princesses are very tired. Duchess Rowena notices their dancing shoes are worn out. This makes her suspicious. Meanwhile, King Randolph becomes very sick. Genevieve asks Derek, the royal cobbler, to find out what Rowena is really up to.

That night, the princesses go back to the magical land. At the same time, Derek discovers that Rowena has been poisoning the King! The next morning, the sisters are tired again. Rowena doesn't believe their story about the magical land. She decides to make them work as servants.

The princesses overhear their father talking to Rowena about them. Feeling heartbroken, they return to the magical land for a third time. Rowena finds them missing the next morning.

Saving the King

Derek figures out how to enter the magical gateway. He goes to tell the sisters what he found out. Rowena's monkey, Brutus, spies on Derek. This helps Rowena learn how to enter the magic land too. She takes one of the wish-granting flowers.

The story says that after their third visit, they can never return to the magic land. But the princesses decide to go home to help their father. However, they and Derek get trapped! Rowena orders her helper, Desmond, to destroy the gateway in the princesses' room.

But Genevieve and Derek manage to open a different gateway by dancing together. They escape! Once they are home, they find out the King is dying. Rowena has taken over as Queen.

The other princesses cleverly distract the guards. Genevieve and Derek rush to face Rowena. The Duchess uses the golden flower to wish for Genevieve to dance forever. But Genevieve quickly blows the magic dust back at Rowena with a fan! This makes Rowena dance without stopping. When Desmond tries to help her, he also gets caught in the spell. They both dance right out of the castle!

Lacey uses the special water she brought from the magic land to help her father. The King gets better! He apologizes for not seeing Rowena's true nature. He realizes how truly special his daughters are. Soon after, Genevieve and Derek celebrate their wedding.

Meet the Characters

The Princesses

Each of the 12 princesses has a special gemstone and a flower. Their flower appears on their dresses and on the floor tiles in their bedroom. Each princess's name starts with one of the first 12 letters of the alphabet.

• Ashlyn - The oldest sister, 22 years old. She is calm and smart. Ashlyn loves music and plays the flute. She tries to be a good role model for her sisters. Her flower is the purple geranium, and her gemstone is a garnet. She wears a purple dress.
• Blair - The 2nd sister, 21 years old. She loves riding horses and collects music boxes. Blair is brave and always speaks her mind, especially about Rowena. Her flower is larkspur, and her gemstone is a ruby. She wears a red dress.
• Courtney - The 3rd sister, 20 years old. She is close to Ashlyn and Blair. Courtney is a bit shy and loves to read. Reading makes her smart, but sometimes she doesn't notice what's happening around her. Her flower is the forget-me-not, and her gemstone is a sapphire. She wears a blue dress.
• Delia - The adventurous 4th sister, 19 years old. She is Edeline's twin. Delia loves sports like croquet and horseback riding. Her flower is the sunflower, and her gemstone is a green peridot. She wears a green dress.
• Edeline - The 5th sister, 19 years old. She is Delia's twin. Edeline also loves sports, especially badminton. She can be a bit messy sometimes. Her flower is honeysuckle, and her gemstone is orange citrine. She wears an orange dress.
• Fallon - The 6th sister, 17 years old. She loves animals and plays the harp. Fallon is a romantic who hopes everyone finds their happy ending. She likes hearts, lace, and writing stories. Her flower is the camellia, and her gemstone is a pearl. She wears a pink dress.
• Genevieve - The 7th sister, 16 years old, and the main character. She often runs late! Genevieve is also good at chess. More than anything, she loves dancing. Derek, the royal cobbler, has a crush on her. Her flower is the pink rose, and her gemstone is a pink opal. She wears a dark pink and white dress.
• Hadley - The 8th sister, 13 years old. She is Isla's twin. Hadley loves walking on stilts with Isla. Her flower is the narcissus, and her gemstone is a topaz. She wears a blue dress.
• Isla - The 9th sister, 13 years old. She is Hadley's twin. Isla is a skilled acrobat and enjoys walking on stilts. Her flower is the lily of the valley, and her gemstone is an emerald. She wears a light violet dress.
• Janessa - The 10th sister, 5 years old. She is the leader of the young triplets. Janessa is interested in bugs and loves collecting them. She can be a bit bossy, but she always means well. Her flower is the jonquil, and her gemstone is aquamarine. She wears a light blue dress.
• Kathleen - The 11th sister, 5 years old. She is the middle triplet and close to her sisters. Kathleen loves art and painting, but she can be messy like Edeline. She helps keep things balanced among the triplets. Her flower is the daisy, and her gemstone is a pink diamond. She wears a light pink and yellow dress.
• Lacey - The youngest sister, 5 years old. She is very close to Genevieve and collects teddy bears. Lacey is a bit shy and sometimes clumsy. She often needs help with simple things. Even though she loves her family, Lacey sometimes wonders where she fits in. Her flower is the white lily, and her gemstone is an amethyst. She wears a light purple dress.

Other Important Characters

• Derek - A handsome 16-year-old royal cobbler. He is friends with the princesses and secretly likes Genevieve. Derek becomes their main helper in stopping Rowena. At the end of the movie, he and Genevieve get married.
• Felix - Derek's talking parrot. He wants Derek and Genevieve to be together. He often spills hints about Derek's feelings, which makes Derek embarrassed.
• Duchess Rowena - King Randolph's cousin and the main villain. She comes to the castle to help the King raise his daughters. But she secretly wants to take over the throne by poisoning Randolph and getting rid of the princesses. She ends up dancing forever when her own magic spell backfires.
• King Randolph - The father of the twelve dancing princesses. He loves his daughters very much. He wants them to be "proper princesses" with Rowena's help. He doesn't know that Rowena is slowly poisoning him. It's up to his "unruly" daughters to save him.
• Desmond - Rowena's big and strong helper. He seems to like Rowena and does whatever she asks. He is forced to dance with her forever when he tries to free her from the spell.
• Twyla - Genevieve's pet kitten. She tries to act tough and often fights with Rowena's monkey, Brutus. Twyla is friends with Felix and believes she is related to tigers.
• Brutus - Rowena's pet monkey. He is mean and proud, just like his owner. He loves to make Twyla angry and spies on the princesses to get them into trouble.
• Mr. Fabian - A person who sells poison to Rowena. He trades poison for stolen goods. Derek eventually finds him and trades his horse for Queen Isabella's special goblet.
• Queen Isabella - The princesses' mother, who has passed away. She is seen in a painting in the castle. Even after her death, she helps her daughters find the magical kingdom. She also shows them how important family is. Rowena steals her goblet to buy poison.

Voice Cast

Music in the Film

The movie features several musical pieces. Here are some of them:

• The "12 Dancing Princesses" theme song.
• "Shine" (the song played at the end of the movie), sung by Cassidy Ladden.
• "The Birthday Song" (sung for the triplets before Rowena stopped it).
• "Argeers" by John Playford (played when Derek plays a tune).
• "Sacerdotes Domini" by William Byrd (sung by the princesses for their sick father).
• Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream - Nocturne" (played when they first enter the magical world and ride the boat).
• Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream - Fairies' March" (played when the triplets fall asleep and the other girls dance).
• Felix Mendelssohn's Fourth Symphony, first and third movements (played when the princesses dance on the first and second nights).
• Mendelssohn's Fifth Symphony, second movement (played when the girls dance with the brass statues).
• Mendelssohn's Fourth Symphony's last movement (played during the final fight with Rowena and Desmond).
• Gottchalk's "Tarantella for piano and orchestra" (played when Rowena and Desmond dance at the end).

See also

In Spanish: Barbie y las 12 princesas bailarinas para niños