The Barbie Diaries

Mattel spokesmodel Barbie stars in this computer-animated teen tale with a few fanciful twists. Sophomore year is starting off shakily for B-dawg: she has a struggling band with best buds Tia and Courtney (Canadian pop singer Skye Sweetnam provides B's singing voice), falls for hottie jock Todd—at the risk of incurring the wrath of Todd's girlfriend Raquelle), avoids the “popular lawn” where the cool kids hang, and tries to fit in. The plot revolves around Barbie's quest to move up from being school TV star Raquelle's coffee gopher to being her co-anchor—Barbie hopes to “study” the “populazzi” (the best line here comes when another character suggests that she “go Dian Fossey on those girls”), but ends up getting sucked into their web of primping and gossip, ticking off her old pals. Also featuring a subplot about a mysterious mall salesclerk who provides our heroine with a charm bracelet/magical diary (with a viewer version available for a mere $5 more), The Barbie Diaries is relatively predictable: Will Barbie do right by her friends while also patching things up with the cool kids? Will she perfect those high-energy grrl power jams with her musical trio just in time for the big dance? Will she realize that she should switch her affections to her “secret admirer” friend Kevin? Like, totally. DVD extras include a music video, a featurette on singer Sweetnam, and outtakes. Sure to be popular, this is recommended, overall. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)