Barbie Dolphin Magic

Barbie Dolphin Magic
Release Poster
Written by	Jennifer Skelly
Directed by	Conrad Helten
Voices of	Erica Lindbeck Shannon Chan-Kent Kazumi Evans Claire Corlett Ciana Swales Adrian Petriw Maryke Hendrikse Paul Dobson Garry Chalk
Music by	Rebecca Kneubuhl
Country of origin	United States Canada
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Julia Pistor Christopher Keenan
Producer	Sarah Serata
Editor	Cassandra Simonds
Running time	63 minutes
Production companies	Rainmaker Studios Mattel Creations
Distributor	Netflix
Release
Picture format	1080i HDTV
Audio format	Stereo
First shown in	YTV (Canada)
Original release	September 17, 2017 (2017-09-17)
Chronology
Related shows	Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures (follow-up)
External links
Website
Production website

Barbie Dolphin Magic^[1][2][3] (also called Barbie: Dolphin Magic) is a 2017 American-Canadian computer-animated friendship family television film directed by Conrad Helten and written by Jennifer Skelly. It is the 36th entry in the Barbie film series and the pilot to the Dreamhouse Adventures TV series.^[4] It first aired in Canada on YTV on September 17, 2017 before its official worldwide release on Netflix a day later.

This is the last film to feature Erica Lindbeck as the voice of Barbie as America Young would take over from Dreamhouse Adventures onward. This is the only Barbie film produced by the animation studio under the name of "Rainmaker Studios" before it changed its name to the current "Mainframe Studios". This marks the first time a Barbie film is not officially distributed by Universal Pictures; however they released DVD and Digital HD copies for online distribution.^[5] Following this film, Mattel put the Barbie film franchise on a hiatus to focus on the aforementioned then-upcoming TV series; they returned it only on Netflix as "television specials" to the TV series, but could be picked up for broadcast in certain countries globally.

The film was dedicated to the memory of American publisher David Hall.

Plot[]

A mermaid and her four dolphin companions hide from a ship. The youngest dolphin, named Emerald, curiously goes near the boat and is instantly captured as a rare "gemstone dolphin", as there is a mysterious woman offering a reward for them. The mermaid tells the dolphins to stay put and sets off in pursuit of the boat.

Meanwhile, Ken has taken an internship at a marine biology institute, and has arranged for Barbie and her sisters to stay in a beach-side cabin nearby. While scuba diving, Skipper notices a strange animal heading towards the institute, and they follow it in the boat. Upon arrival, they find the perfectly healthy dolphin imprisoned in a cove modified into a recovery tank. Ken concludes that Emerald must have accidentally gotten in when the gate was open. Marlo, the institute's director, stops them from letting Emerald out, saying she has to wait until a vet can see him per protocol.

Once the group leaves, the 'animal' appears and reveals itself as the mermaid, who magically turns her tail to legs and tries to free the dolphin herself; however, Marlo has locked the gate. Barbie spots her, and tells her what Marlo said. The mermaid introduces herself as Isla, and reluctantly agrees to trust Barbie and return next afternoon when the Vet is supposed to be there. The sisters offer her a bed in the cabin, and she proceeds to amuse and puzzle them with her lack of experience with such simple concepts as mattresses, toothbrushes, sisters, dogs, and even sandwiches.

The next day, Emerald's family Ruby, Topaz, and Amethyst show up, and Isla reveals her secret to Barbie while swearing her to silence about it, which Barbie agrees to keep on condition that Isla teach her how to swim like a mermaid. They hear Emerald's cries through a cave, and realize there is an underwater tunnel from the bay into the cove. Isla and the Dolphins try to find the way through to free Emerald, but the cave system is too complex, and they have to give up. Meanwhile, Stacie, Chelsea, and Skipper see a sideshow company's helicopter land at the institute, and when they follow it they learn that Marlo intends to sell Emerald to the owner.

The dolphins disobey Isla and head for the cove. Marlo has Ken open the gate and then close it behind them, on the pretext that they will help reduce Emerald's stress level. Ken suspects something is off, and when the rest arrive after Marlo leaves, he realizes the truth and goes to open the gate; however, Marlo has already changed the code.

Skipper and Chelsea hatch a plan to hack into Marlo's key fob device for locking the gate, which succeeds, but Marlo simply changes the code again and destroys the device. Isla dives into the cove and reveals herself as a mermaid to the rest of the group, and hides the Dolphins in the caves. Marlo, thinking they got out through the gate, sets off in the helicopter. Isla gives Barbie a magic shell, and Barbie goes to the other end of the tunnel in the bay and uses it to create a signal that Isla can follow to help the dolphins escape. They make their way to Ken's motorboat, but Marlo spots them in the bay and gives chase. Barbie disguises herself as Isla and swims mermaid-style the other way, and is captured by Marlo, giving the rest time to escape. Once Marlo realizes her mistake, she lets Barbie go, but Barbie tells her she knows all about the dolphin poaching, and plans to go to Marlo's superiors and the authorities.

Many days later, Barbie uses the magic shell to communicate with Isla, and she and the Dolphins come back to the beach, now that it's safe, to visit them. Barbie dubs Isla her "sister of the sea", and they vow to always remain friends.

Cast[]

• Erica Lindbeck as Barbie
• Shannon Chan-Kent as Isla
• Kazumi Evans as Skipper
• Claire Corlett as Stacie Roberts
• Ciana Swales as Chelsea Roberts
• Adrian Petriw as Ken
• Maryke Hendrikse as Marlo
• Paul Dobson as Hugo
• Garry Chalk as Pete

References[]

External links[]

• Barbie Dolphin Magic on Netflix
• Barbie Dolphin Magic at IMDb