To say that I am excited about today’s review is an understatement. When I originally planned this event, the strikes were still ongoing, and planned to look at a picture book adaption of this movie but that book did not do this movie justice. I watched it on my flight out to California and have become obsessed with this movie. I’ve watched a lot of the animated Barbie movies this year and I’ve found that I am drawn to ones starring Barbie and her sisters. This is honestly one of my favorite Barbie movies and of the three Barbie Christmas movies, this one is my favorite. It’s just that good. It’s a simple story about making the best of a bad situation and that is something that I’ll explore as I look at the story. Another plus for this movie is this is the first movie that Skipper aka my fave Barbie character showed up in. I’d apologize for the gushing but it’s been a while since I’ve been this excited about something I was reviewing. This might be hyperbole but this might just be one of my favorite Christmas movies. With that out of the way, let’s begin.
The Plot
Admittedly the plot is rather simple in how it isn’t the things that make a perfect Christmas. Yes, I understand that it might be a bit ironic for a movie based on the world’s most famous doll to have a message such as this but I think it makes sense as the heart of this movie is the title, A Perfect Christmas. What is a Perfect Christmas depends upon the person but the message the movie seems to send is that a perfect Christmas doesn’t come from presents but from the memories you make and the time that you spend with one another. We get a taste of this in the opening number, It’s Gonna Be Amazing.
There is a sense of dramatic foreshadowing in this number as the Roberts Sisters are excited about leaving Malibu and heading to NYC for Christmas and we get an idea of what each of the girls want. Barbie is excited about seeing a Broadway show, Skipper is excited about seeing a band play her song, Stacie wants to skate at Rockefeller Center and Chelsea wants to feed sea lions at a zoo. But if you’ve seen any movie you know things go awry and that is what happens here due to a snowstorm they are forced to land in Minnesota. (Hi, Linkara).
Now there are other plot points to break down as we go through this movie, Barbie being the oldest sister wants to give her three younger sisters a perfect Christmas. This is brought to life in a hauntingly beautiful song by Barbie that she sings after her sisters are asleep and hints at why I love her. This is The Wish I Wish Tonight.
This song to me hits at something many may not think about when it comes to Barbie but she is the idealized older sibling who looks out for the wellbeing of her siblings. Before Dreamhouse Adventures introduced her parents, Barbie was the adult in the Roberts family, and she had to look out for her sisters. This is what we get from this song as Barbie knows that she can’t give her sisters the Christmas they want but she still wants to find a way to give them a Perfect Christmas but she doesn’t know how to do that. As it shows there are limits to what even Barbie can do and she has to accept that and pivot. This is where she learns from Christie Clauson (Talk about her more soon) that a Perfect Christmas isn’t a place but rather the people that one is with. This comes in handy as the next day their flight to NYC is canceled again. So yeah, Christie Clauson, she’s heavily hinted to be the niece of Santa Claus and her helpers are elves. We see this both in the number that introduces them, Wrap it Up, Stack it Up, and with a barn full of toys that will be important in the Stacie/Chelsea portion of the plot.
Yeah, this number is fun and Chelsea is the only one that seems to believe that this is a workshop for Santa. She’s probably right but while it’s implied I appreciate that Santa doesn’t appear in this movie as I don’t think he is needed for one thing and another I feel as though would have undermined the message of the movie that while magic is implied to exist, magic doesn’t make a perfect Christmas but the company you keep does. In many ways, that message is reminiscent of When We’re Together sung by Elsa and Anna in that it is the memories that we make together that make Christmas special.
Stacie gets annoyed by Chelsea copying her. This comes to a head during a rehearsal for Skipper’s show as she’s stressed by all the decisions that go into putting a show together and Chelsea thinks Skipper is mad at her so she runs away to a barn that we saw previously in the movie storing a bunch of toys but is now empty of toys and has been set up for a concert. And once Chelsea is found we get a cute sisterly hug.
How about that? Stacie and Chelsea make up in the end and we get a cute number of them performing with dogs before Skipper takes the stage.
Skipper’s plot doesn’t kick in until the second act in how she wants to put on a Christmas show to perform her song after meeting a garage band but she doesn’t want this to be a Barbie thing, she wants to make all the decisions herself which lead to some mishaps and an interesting exchange between the two eldest sisters.
Skipper: Sure. This must look like kind of a mess to you. I mean you do stuff like this all the time by yourself, and it’s always great. I’ll get it right though, I will.
Barbie: Skipper, I never do anything like this by myself.
Skipper: Oh, you do. I’ve seen you. You’ve put on plays and starred in movies and done block parties… and what about the fashion show you did in Paris for Aunt Millie?
Barbie: I didn’t do any of those things by myself. Tons of people helped me.
The line I find interesting might seem throwaway but the idea that other movies Barbie starred in exist within the world of this movie lends credence to the idea of Barbie as an actor. I like this and the fashion show line is a direct reference to A Fashion Fairytale.
Sorry about getting sidetracked with the movie line but I found that so fascinating to think about. As I mentioned up-top the barn has now been transformed for a Christmas concert and this is where we get the titular song.
I adore this song, I’ve listened to it numerous times and it goes so well with the message of the movie. As Skipper describes all these bad things happening in the song but highlights that it’s still a perfect Christmas because of the people she is. When you spend the holiday with people you love is what makes it special. We even see some Christmas Magic at work as their Aunt Millie who they were supposed to spend the holidays with shows up after Skipped performs and we close the movie on Deck The Halls which I feel like including a classic Christmas song to be included in children’s movies.
Now there are some other fun moments I didn’t touch upon like seeing the sisters building snowmen that speaks to the bond of the Roberts girls and how they enjoy being together.
Even small moments such as this harken back to the theme of the movie, it’s not the gifts or where you are that make a perfect Christmas, it’s the people you’re with.
My Final Thoughts
I adore this movie. I’ve now watched all three Barbie Christmas movies and this is my favorite. As of this writing, I’ve watched it twice and I can’t wait to watch it again. I have to imagine that I’ll watch it annually around this time of year as it has become a favorite Christmas movie. I’m not quite done with Barbie yet but I don’t want to reveal what’s next, so I’ll just leave you with this.
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