Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World is a traditionally animated special that was released in 1987. It is based on the Barbie and the Rockers doll line. In the special, Barbie and the Rockers is a rock band made up of Barbie and her friends Ken, Dana, Dee Dee, Derek and Diva. They are the most popular music group in history, so the only way to outdo themselves is to do a concert in outer space. The special is followed by Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth. The specials were released together on VHS.
Official Description[]
"Hi, I'm Barbie. My group The Rock Stars, and I are taking off to 'Out Of This World' in our very first video! Ken, Dana, Diva, Dee Dee, Derek and I are going where no group has gone before... into outer space! Now our music is rocking the outer limits because we've launched into an adventure that's totally 'Out Of This World'. So strap yourself into action, because the countdown to fun has begun! Love Barbie."
Story[]
Barbie is a successful singer and song writer in her band, Barbie and the Rockers which is the most popular band ever. Barbie and the Rockers have a triple-platinum album, several awards, and Barbie is named the first Goodwill Ambassador for World Peace. The band finishes their record-breaking world tour, so the press wonders what the group will do next. Barbie says she has something special planned that will be "out of this world". The group gets in their van and Derek drives them to a fancy restaurant called Clouds in the Sky. Dee Dee, Derek and Dana feel sad now their world tour is over.
Even Barbie's fellow group members don't know what she has planned. Barbie tells them everything will be fine, and they all sing and dance together. The other restaurant patrons give them an applause, and Diva says Barbie always knows how to cheer her group members up. Barbie and the Rockers dance all night. In the morning, Barbie gets an invitation from the World Peace Organisation. Since Barbie is the first Goodwill Ambassador for World Peace, a ball will be held in her honor. Barbie asks Ken to be her date to the ball, and she goes shopping with her friends. They help Barbie to get ready and then she goes to the ball with Ken.
Barbie asks the orchestra to stop playing and announces that Barbie and the Rockers next feat will be doing the first concert in outer space. The concert will be dedicated to world peace. Barbie's group members are shocked, but they all agree to do it. Barbie says they can get everything prepared in time with hard work and a little magic. When everything is ready, the band boards their space shuttle. Barbie and Ken find it surreal. After they launch, Barbie says the view is "out of this world." The group lands at the Interstar Amphitheater and they are greeted by a man named Dr. Leonard, along with a small crowd. Dr. Leonard says they will be the band's audience. The band goes to get changed.
Dr. Leonard shows the band the stage. It is unlit and has a dome-shaped glass roof that is covered with pink metal. Dr. Leonard asks the band what they think. Diva politely says it's nice, and Derek apathetically adds that Dr. Leonard did a great job. Barbie asks Dr. Leonard if he's forgotten anything. He raises the stage, adds lights, and makes the metal part of the roof come down like blooming flower petals. Now, outer space is visible through the glass dome roof. The performance is broadcast worldwide. The band debuts a new song that Barbie wrote specially for the concert. On the floor of the stage, the world "PEACE" is shown in capital letters, and it is visible through the glass roof. Barbie declares that this the first day of world peace, and if we all want it enough, it won't be the last.
Characters[]
Cast[]
- Sharon Lewis as Barbie
- Michael Benyaer as Ken[1]
- Mary Adams
- Joanne Wilson
- Sarah Jayson
- John Stoker
- Veena Sood
- Debbie Lick
- Nikki Sharp
- Lynn Johnson
- John Payne
- Doc Harris
- Viktoria Langton
- Garry Chalk
- Katherine Mead
- Doug Parker
Music[]
- "Barbie and the Rockers Theme"
- "Catch Us If You Can" (The Dave Clark Five cover)
- "Best Friends"
- "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" (The Beatles cover)
- "Do You Believe in Magic" (The Lovin' Spoonful cover)
- "Reachin' for the Stars"
- "Everybody Rock"
Release[]
The miniseries has only been released on VHS (though in Italy is was released on DVD also). It has been out of print since the 1980s, and cover songs from the two specials would have to be licensed for the series to get any DVD releases. It was also released in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Great Britain and France, the dubs that kept the original title called them the Rock Stars.
Trivia[]
- Ken's name is not mentioned in the "Barbie and the Rockers Theme". This may because he was not included in the first assortment of Barbie and the Rockers dolls.
- In real life, the first Goodwill Ambassador for World Peace was Danny Kaye.[2]
- Originally departed from Hi Tops in 1987, this miniseries was supposed to have been a Monday-to-Friday cartoon series, but negotiations between DIC Entertainment and Mattel fell through, and the project eventually emerged with a whole new set of characters, and the sponsorship of Hasbro, as Maxie's World the following year.
- The toyline was made to compete with Jem, a Hasbro cartoon and toyline which show and toyline that got cancelled in 1987-1988.
- "Barbie and the Rockers" is mentioned by Nikki in the episode "Let's Make a Doll" from the web series Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse.
- The only dub to translate the songs was Portuguese, while all other dubs left the songs in English.
- As of 2022, the film has not been released on DVD nor have the songs been released on iTunes.
Goofs[]
- When Barbie is being made the first world peace ambassador, her jacket is dark blue in the far away shot. In the close up shot, it is pink, like it is supposed to be.
- When Barbie is getting ready for the ball her earrings changed from small round pink ones to dangly ones that have silver on them.
- As Barbie is getting ready she is wearing her tiara, and then she stops wearing it. The girls put it on her again later on.
- When Barbie runs down the stairs to greet Ken for the ball, her gloves are missing. In the next shot showing her, her gloves are back.
- Near the beginning, Barbie's coat turns from dark blue to pink.
- When Barbie is hanging upside down from the machine, her hat doesn't fall off.
- Upon unveiling the rocket; the veil is seen as yellow. After Barbie cuts the red ribbon, and the camera pans up to the shuttle, the veil is then seen as white.
- When they showed the foreign magazines, one of them was Russian Life, which is strange considering this movie came out during the Cold War.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://archive.ph/D8ZW1 - Michael Benyaer as Ken: "Here’s a #TBT that started my VO career. #barbieandtherockers where I was the first actor to voice #Ken #Barbies main squeeze... #barbie #barbiedoll #kendoll #kendolls Thanks to #mattel and #dicanimation for starting my animation voice career!"
- ↑ First Goodwill Ambassador for World Peace