Barbie in A Mermaid Tale

''Barbie in A Mermaid Tale'' is a 2010 computer-animated adventure film directed by Adam L. Wood and produced by Mattel Entertainment with Rainmaker Entertainment. It was released to DVD on March 9, 2010, and later made its television premiere on Nickelodeon on April 4, 2010. The seventeenth entry in the Barbie film series, it was followed by a 2012 sequel, ''Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2''. It revolves around Merliah Summers, a surfing champion who learns she's half-mermaid and sets out for an undersea adventure to rescue her mother, the queen of an ocean kingdom. "Barbie in A Mermaid Tale" was based in Australia.

Official description

"Barbie stars as Merliah, a surfing champion from Malibu. One minute she's a normal teenager and the next she learns a shocking family secret: she's a mermaid! Merliah and her dolphin friend Zuma set off on an undersea adventure to rescue her mother, the queen of Oceana. With help from her new mermaid friends, Merliah saves the ocean kingdom. In the end, she discovers what makes you different can also be your greatest strength."

Plot

Merliah Summers (played by Barbie) is a young, up-and-coming surfing star in Malibu. While participating in a competition, Merliah loses concentration when her hair spontaneously streaks pink, causing her to wipe out. While underwater, she discovers that she is able to breathe, and is approached by a talking, pink dolphin named Zuma. Shocked by this turn of events, Merliah tells her grandfather Break what happened. Break explains that Merliah's mother is a mermaid and that Merliah was given to Break as a baby to raise because she was born with legs. Merliah leaves in disbelief.

After telling her friends Fallon and Hadley the story, Zuma appears to the girls, confirming that Merliah is half-mermaid. Zuma explains to Merliah that her mother is Calissa, the previous queen of the underwater kingdom of Oceana. Oceana's current queen, Eris, Calissa's sister, is a tyrant who took the throne when Calissa went missing years earlier; Zuma hopes that Merliah will claim her birthright and usurp Eris. Merliah refuses, and in her anger throws the necklace she'd been wearing since she was an infant. The smashed pendant reveals a magical image of Calissa, confirming that she is alive. Merliah agrees to go to Oceana in the hopes that Calissa can make her normal again.

On the way to Oceana, Zuma explains that the ocean is weakening due to Eris being unskilled at spinning Merillia—a magical substance that sustains the ocean. Merliah and Zuma sneak into Oceana during an "Eris festival," wherein Eris distributes Merillia in exchange for the citizens' adoration. In reality, the Merillia is spun by Calissa, who is imprisoned in the palace dungeon.

With the help of mermaids Kayla and Xylie, Merliah's legs are disguised with a fake tail. The group visit the Destinies, three mermaids with prophetic powers. The Destinies tell Merliah that she needs to collect three items in order to succeed in overthrowing Eris: the Celestial Comb, a Dreamfish, and Eris' protective necklace. The group search for the items, occasionally calling Fallon and Hadley for help with research. They find the Celestial Comb in an underwater cave and the Dreamfish in the Adenato currents.

In order to obtain Eris' necklace, Merliah, Kayla, and Xylie approach her during the next Eris festival and perform a song and dance to distract her. Merliah grabs Eris' necklace, but soon has her tail pulled off, revealing her legs. In a rage, Eris creates a whirlpool to banish Merliah to the deepest trench in the ocean. Trapped inside the whirlpool, Merliah calls the Dreamfish for help. The Dreamfish offers to grant Merliah's deepest wish and send her back to Malibu and erase her mermaid half for good. Merliah rejects the wish and accepts her responsibility as the princess of Oceana. As a result, Merliah is given a real mermaid tail, which she uses to escape the whirlpool herself. Merliah reveals her identity to the people of Oceana, brandishing the Celestial Comb as proof. Eris rushes Merliah; and after a chase, Merliah is able to lure Eris into the whirlpool. Eris is trapped and sent into the deepest trench in the ocean.

Merliah finds and sets Calissa free. Calissa is made queen once again, and, now able to spin Merillia at full strength, restores Oceana to its former glory. Merliah confesses that she misses her life as a human, and Calissa gives her a magical necklace that enables her to be a human or mermaid whenever she wishes. Merliah then returns to land, where she is reunited with her grandfather and wins the surfing competition.

Characters

*Merliah Summers is a girl from Malibu nicknamed "Queen of the Waves", whose father was a human, but her mother the queen of the mermaids. Her father died when she was a baby so her mother Queen Calissa gave baby Merliah to her grandfather to raise, thinking that she will be safer on land than in the ocean. She is a cool, modern and a little bit sassy girl. She is the main protagonist.
*Zuma is a pink, sparkly dolphin who shows Merliah around the ocean kingdom and helps her save Calissa.
*Fallon is one of Merliah's best friends (played by Grace). She's sassy, outspoken and a little bit sarcastic, but she's a loyal, helpful and great friend. She has dark skin, black hair, and brown eyes.
*Hadley is Merliah's other best friend (played by Teresa). She's prone to daydream. She is imaginative, funny and silly. Her personality makes her the first one to believe that Merliah is half-mermaid. Hadley has reddish-brown hair, green eyes, and tan skin.
*Kayla and Xylie are best friends and super-stylish mermaids. They own a luxurious boutique under the sea where Merliah gets a mermaid makeover. They own Snouts, a sea lion pup. They help Merliah fight the evil Eris. Kayla has blonde hair with blue streaks, while Xylie has brown hair with purple streaks. They are British.
*Snouts is a sea lion pup who works with Kayla and Xylie.
*Calissa is Merliah's mother. She was the Queen regnant Queen of Oceana, until her evil younger sister, Eris, stole the throne from her.
*Eris is the sister of Calissa and aunt of Merliah. She is the one who overthrew Calissa and became their new evil queen. Everyone in the kingdom is afraid of her. The main antagonist of the film.
*Break Summers is the grandfather of Merliah and father-in-law of Calissa. He is the one who raised Merliah and told her about her past.
*The Destinies are three girls named Dee, Deanne and Deandra who own a hair salon and can also see the future. They tell Merliah the three tools she needs to defeat Eris and restore Oceana.
*Remo is a yellow-and-green striped sea dragon who is Eris' sidekick. Remo is constantly abused by Eris. He leads Merliah to where Calissa is held as soon as Eris is defeated. He likes to blow through a shell.

Cast

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbie In A Mermaid Tale
American direct-to-video films
Canadian direct-to-video films
2010s English-language films
2010s American animated films
2010 direct-to-video films
2010 computer-animated films
American animated fantasy films
American children's animated fantasy films
American fantasy adventure films
Mermaid Tale
Canadian animated fantasy films
Canadian children's animated films
Canadian independent films
Computer animation
Films set in 2010
Films set in the 2010s
Films set in the 21st century
Films set in the United States
Films set in California
Films about mermaids
Films about dolphins
Films about competitions
Films about mother–daughter relationships
Swimming films
Universal Pictures direct-to-video animated films
Universal Pictures direct-to-video films
2010 films
2010s Canadian films