Barbie and Her Embrace on Winter
by Diana Campos
The tradition of sitting down to a holiday movie during the winter months has been a favorite pastime of mine for years. Just imagining being in my warm and snug pajamas, themed out to the holidays. A cup of hot chocolate just waiting to warm my hands and touch my lips with warm delicacy. And sitting down to play none other than our favorite fashionista, Ms. Barbie herself, in one of her few movie interpretations of holiday classics. Barbie movies are such a comfort watch, offering many of various ages to be able to enjoy the warming embrace she has during the winter holidays.
By Nicole Nguyen
Films like Barbie in A Christmas Carol (2008) and Barbie in The Nutcracker (2001) truly come to mind when I think about her soft embrace when partaking in holiday traditions. While both are widely distinct in plot, they both offer a loving holiday message through their vibrancy and nostalgia. We get to explore the true meaning of the holidays and themes of selflessness and escapism as these films use Barbie to adapt classic tales for a wider audience and to be enjoyed for generations to come for that cozy warm feeling inside.
In her adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic story, Barbie stars as Eden Starling, a selfish and demanding diva in A Christmas Carol. Like Dickens’ main character, Eden (aka Barbie) goes through her arc of redemption and transformation. Eden’s travels with the three spirits, while being toned down, keeps the message clear on how much of a hold this film has with all, young and old. She learns what the true meaning of Christmas is, learning gratitude and committing to charity and generosity. This evokes that warm and familiar feeling of the holiday spirit, no matter how many times I’ve replayed the film during the winter seasons that have come and gone. Barbie elicits that good old feeling of nostalgia through vibrancy of various colors throughout the whole film. We see warm colors serve as a visual for joy and warm feelings, whereas cool tone colors are used to display feelings of hopelessness. Classic Christmas carols incorporate us into feelings of childhood memories, reliving them as if viewing through a Barbie themed snowglobe.
In Barbie’s version of The Nutcracker, I’m always thrown into that warm embrace of hers every annual holiday viewing. While the film isn’t set to be particularly Christmas centered, it has become such a recommended viewing in the season. The magical adventure and emotional depth of this adaption of the famous ballet just pours vibrancy and feeling of the holiday spirit in each minute. Hope and optimism that we’ll be okay at the beginning and end of our holidays just promotes the beauty this film holds. I believe the snow, the gorgeous colors, and fascinating music pull me into Barbie’s arms every winter season, as well. The movie also spreads the nostalgic music and dance brought on by Tchaikovsky, bringing me feelings of comfort, enough that I can enjoy festive activities during my yearly watch, like baking cookies and making crafts of holiday decor. The same can be said for Barbie in Swan Lake (2003), just holding out to us tales of warm holiday embraces brought on by song and dance, the glitters and glimmers of shining holiday cheer.
All these films are so classic in their simplicity of delivering comfort with each frame, it’s easy to see how one (such as myself) can view these films every year and never be fatigued from yearly watching. Barbie being able to use visual storytellings of classic adaptations offers that accessibility to enjoy these messages of hope and supporting one another in friendships. It feels as if she (Barbie) comes for my hand, offers me her warm embrace, showing me that no matter how old I’m getting, these films will never become redundant to me. Each Barbie adaptation is like turning the key of the music box and Barbie popping out to dance for us, telling us to embrace these winter traditions in any shape, way, or form we sit fit. She embraces us into connection and the collective spirit of the winter season, an embrace I will never let go of, wherever Barbie lands.
