2005 saw the release of the fifth in
a series of direct-to-video computer-animated Barbie films, Barbie: Fairytopia. Barbie,
as a wingless flower fairy named Elina (Kelly
Sheridan), had to save Fairytopia from an evil fairy named Laverna (Kathleen Barr). It was the
first Barbie movie to feature a completely original story written by Elise Allen and Diane Duane, and directed by Walter P. Martishius and William Lau.
As with the other Barbie movies, Mattel released a wave
of merchandise that tied into its setting and themes. They also licensed Barbie out to Kellogg’s to produce
a limited-edition cereal based on the film. It was the first cereal for the
doll since 1989’s Breakfast
with Barbie Cereal. The cereal contained berry-flavored pieces in pink and
purple heart shapes and marshmallows in the shape of a mirror, a jewel, a
flower, a purse and a butterfly. The back of the box featured a maze game with
characters from the film.
However, that wasn’t the end of the
cereal. In 2007, the eighth computer-animated film, Barbie as the Island Princess, was released to video. This was the
second musical in the series, and the first produced under Mainframe Entertainment’s
new name of Rainmaker Animation. Barbie
was Ro (Sheridan), who was shipwrecked on an island as a young girl and raised by
the animals there. After she rescued handsome prince Antonio (Alessandro Juliani) when he
ended up on her island, he brought her back to his kingdom so that she could
try to discover who she was. They fell in love along the way, but the evil
Queen Ariana (Andrea Martin) had her
sights set on acquiring the throne from Antonio’s parents—by any means
necessary. The movie was written by Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser
and directed by Greg Richardson
and Jesyca C. Durchin.
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| The Fairytopia and Island Princess boxes. |
Rather than create an entirely new cereal, Kellogg’s simply renamed
theirs Barbie as the Island Princess Cereal and
changed the box to feature her likeness from the film. Each box featured 5 out
of 10 collectible cards depicting various characters and scenes.
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| Three of the four Multi-Grain boxes. |
The cereal sold well-enough that in
2008 Kellogg’s continued to produce it, but didn’t tie it into the latest Barbie movie. Instead, they renamed it Barbie Multi-Grain
Cereal and the artwork featured 2D animated versions of either Barbie, Barbie
with a tennis racquet, or Barbie with her best friend, Teresa. The backs of the boxes
featured more Barbie-themed
games, collectible cut-out trading cards and keepsakes, or a cut-out picture
frame.
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| Back of the Multi-Grain box. |
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