A Masterpiece!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

For my sins, I am watching random movies all with 'Christmas' in the title until the Great Day itself. My first two choices were disappointing to say the least... So what's next out of the hat? Well, let's see. Oh dear. Oh dear, indeed.Well, let's look at the positives shall we? Animated films are usually short, right? So It'll all be over before I know it. Plus, my nails are getting kinda long. I could always give them a trim with my teeth. Aanndd... I'm struggling. Lord help me. I'm not even a drinking man... Which is a shame, as a bottle of whiskey would make watching this 'thing' a whole lot less painful.In the end, I just grabbed a note pad and made... notes about every sappy song, each in-your-face moral about FAMILY BEING THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFT OF ALL at Christmas and all the appearances from cute critters till the blessed end. And let me just say... There was a LOT of them. As for the characters... Barbie is perfect, her younger sister Skipper(?) idolises her, there are two bratty kids who squabble, yet make up at the climax.(OF COURSE) and... that's about it.My other scribbles seemed also be along the lines of "WTF A pink Christmas Tree!!" and "References to GPS and blogs... OMG Barbie you so modern". Nothing too cohesive, but it was a darn sight more intelligible than this lobotomized, lifeless, dead-on-arrival pap. Let your daughters stick with the plastic figures... They could create a more interesting story in one wet afternoon than is present here.And 'wet' is most definitely what we're going to be getting this year I'm afraid... 2/10

I'm going out on a limb here to say that I really did find this story to be sweet and entertaining. I'm a novice to these types of movies: I'm a 40-year-old working professional who has a 2-year-old, and I'm discovering the world of childhood video delights and travesties late in life. This was my first Barbie video experience, and I was unexpectedly delighted with it. Yes, the story is not as magical or infused with supernatural creatures as many cartoons, but it's a simple, home-spun story. A family, dreaming of a perfect Christmas in the Big Apple, get stranded in a tiny mid-western town due to bad weather. When it becomes clear they're stranded there, they're sure their Christmas will be ruined. However, it's only when they have time to reflect on what they already have that they learn the true meaning of Christmas. I thought it was very enjoyable, though very young children may not be as engaged as grade school children. It's worth checking out!

When I first put this on for my girls I thought I'd bought a rip off of a Barbie film or something! This is so unlike any of the other Barbie films. I have sat through all of them with my daughter with a little bit of guilty pleasure as the songs are usually fun and the story lines are well thought out. As another reviewer mentioned, the voice acting is awful and almost painful to listen to. The story line is basic and it just seems like they must have really rushed this film to get it out in time for Christmas as there was so little thought that went into it.They definitely need to take a step back towards their older films. I disliked the changes they made recently by giving them all giant heads (!) and they always did the classic stories very well. Having said that most of the films have been fairly fun and entertaining. This was not. They definitely need to bring back Kelly Sheridan for the voice acting. However, for a 5 year old this was good viewing. My children enjoyed it though I don't think (and hope) that it won't be one that gets chosen all the time.

The storyline and message is passable but the voice acting leaves much to be desired and the singing is TERRIBLE. I understand that they wanted Barbie to be more "modern" so they had a casting change from the original woman who voiced Barbie. But if she is going to sing she should still have a gorgeous, stunning voice. The singing voice of Barbie (and every other character) is disappointing. The songs had so much potential but I can barely stand listening to these average voices. Especially considering the singing voice Barbie used to have (Kelly Sheridan). What a let down, I hope the producers take note. Barbie is supposed to be what everyone else deems as the perfect person...good at everything...except apparently singing. Sure, her voice is more raspy and "modern" now but being modern doesn't mean you need to sing like an amateur. And what's with the child's voice? She is what, 6 or 7? Why isn't a child of that age portraying her? The animation has also gone downhill since A Mermaid Tale and Fashion Fairy Tale. I hope this is a one time flub and Mermaid Tale 2 will bring back the awesomeness of the other films. And please, if she's going to do another film where she is singing, BRING BACK KELLY SHERIDAN. What you have done to Barbie is not awesome, cool, trendy or modern. You are making her boring, average, shallow and untalented.