My daughters, ages six and two and a half, are big fans of Barbie and the Diamond Castle. Ever since the movie and tie-in toys were released in September, my girls have loved making the Princess Liana and Alexa dolls sing together at the toy store. Needless to say, when Santa found a good deal on the two dolls just before Christmas, I broke my unwritten "no more Barbie dolls in the house" rule.

A little background
In the movie Barbie and the Diamond Castle, Barbie and her best friend Teresa inhabit the bodies of Liana and Alexa, two best friends that love to sing duets together and ultimately save Melody (a muse trapped in a mirror) and her diamond castle, where they transform into princesses of music.

Princess Liana
Like Princess Alexa and most other Barbie dolls, Princess Liana is about 11 1/2" tall and made of plastic. Her hair is a little longer than shoulder-length, with blond Shirley Temple curls held back with a purple tiara and half-ponytail. Liana has a pink heart-shaped 'diamond' on her chest that shines when she sings. The heart is actually the center of a purple painted-on daisy chain style necklace. To complete Princess Liana's look, she wears purple high heeled shoes and carries a 'gold' heart-shaped hairbrush with a picture of Melody on it. As far as my girls are concerned, this is the mirror Melody is stuck inside in the movie.

Unlike the Barbies of my childhood, Princess Liana does not measure 36-12-32. No, her chest is a little flatter and her waist a little wider. However, this does not prevent Liana from looking like a freak of nature. That honor goes to Liana's...

Freaky legs and dress
Princess Liana's legs are bright pink and rock hard. Playing devil's advocate, I can get past the freaky legs, but then Mattel had to go with this transforming dress idea. On the Princess Alexa doll, this transformation from pauper to princess occurs by tightening a handy drawstring, but Princess Liana does it via a flappy skirt that can not be removed. The skirt of Liana's sparkly pink dress consists of six length-wise flaps. There is a big corkscrew style plastic knob on her back that you turn to make the flaps do a literal 180 from "less sparkly" to "more sparkly."

In case my tone did not get through clearly, these two features are a major disapointment. Part of the fun of a Barbie doll is being able to change their clothes, which the instructions and box specifically state that you can not do. The big pink knob in the back is kind of awkward as well. I don't understand why Mattel could not let Liana have the same transforming method as Alexa. It would make a world of difference and, I assume, avoid the need for freaky pink legs.

Final Words
The best thing about the Princess Liana doll is that you can push the tiny button on the palm of her hand and listen to her sing "Two Voices" and "Connected" from the movie and CD. When you press the button on her hand at the same time as the button on Alexa's hand, they sing their corresponding parts of the songs in duet.

My daughter got the basic (non-singing) Princess Liana from a friend for her birthday, and she likes that one a lot better. I only recommend getting the Singing Princess Liana if your little girl wants to be able to make the two dolls sing together. Otherwise, I would go for the basic Liana and singing Alexa.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 11.99
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years