Barbie Fairytopia
Bravery, commitment to friendship, and personal sacrifice empower the weak and give rise to unlikely heroes in the magical world ofFairytopia.  Elina (played by Barbie) is a wingless fairy who is mercilessly teased by a trio of spiteful fairies.  Luckily for Elina, Dandelion (a fellow fairy) and Bibble (a cute little puffball) are good, supportive friends.  When the evil Laverna plots to take over Fairytopia and spreads a potion that causes an epidemic of flying sickness in Fairytopia, Elina is the only fairy not overcome with the illness.  It's up to Elina, Bibble, and new friend Hue to find a way to defeat Laverna and save Fairytopia from ruin.  While the brightly colored animation ofFairytopiais enticing and the messages of friendship and sacrifice wholesome, the story line and characters are shallow and predictable.  Worse yet, the colloquial dialogue and prepubescent attitude of many of the characters is downright annoying.  While young Barbie fans will doubtless enjoyFairytopia,Barbie Princess and the Pauper,Barbie Nutcracker, andBarbie Swan Lakeoffer richer story lines with better developed and more likeable characters.  On a technical note, the DVD played fine on three test DVD players (Sony and Panasonic). (Ages 3 to 9)--Tami Horiuchi