There have been several American computer animated and motion capture-based direct-to-video films based on and featuring the doll Barbie. Since her film debut appearance in 1987's Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World, Barbie has been a computer-animated virtual actress starring in several feature films and short films (including a 1998 video game, Barbie: Riding Club, that contains a short film). After a fourteen-year absence, Mattel commissioned films to feature Barbie as a heroine of several princess or fairy-themed stories to accompany a franchise of related dolls and accessories. Barbie also made appearances in My Scene, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.
Many of the Barbie movies are stand alone tales. There are several series within the overall collection. The most notable of these are the Barbie Princesses Collection series, Barbie Fairytopia series, mermaid-themed series, modern day-themed series, as well as musical and ballet series. Some films are based on the stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the Brothers Grimm, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen and Alexander Dumas. Some also include music from Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, and Adolphe Adam.
Riding is a homonym of two distinct English words:
From the word ride:
From Old English *þriðing:
A riding is an administrative jurisdiction or electoral district, particularly in several current or former Commonwealth countries.
The word riding is descended from late Old English *þriðing or *þriding (recorded only in Latin contexts or forms, e.g., trehing, treding, trithing, with Latin initial t here representing the Old English letter thorn). It came into Old English as a loanword from Old Norse þriðjungr, meaning a third part (especially of a county), cf. farthing. The modern form riding was the result of initial th being absorbed in the final th or t of the words north, south, east and west, by which it was normally preceded.
A common misconception holds that the term arose from some association between the size of the district and the distance that can be covered or encircled on horseback in a certain amount of time (cf. the Walking Purchase).
Ridings are originally Scandinavian institutions.
In Iceland the third part of a thing which corresponded roughly to an English county was called þrithjungr. The island of Gotland and the Swedish province Närke were also divided into þrithjungar instead of hundreds.
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a "constituency" or a "riding", is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based. It is officially known in Canadian French as a circonscription, but frequently called a comté (county).
Each federal electoral districts returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the Canadian House of Commons; each provincial or territorial electoral district returns one representative — called, depending on the province or territory, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Member of the National Assembly (MNA), Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) or Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) — to the provincial or territorial legislature.
While electoral districts in Canada are now exclusively single-member districts, multiple-member districts have been used at the federal and provincial levels. Alberta has had a few districts that returned from two to seven members: see Calgary, Edmonton and Medicine Hat. British Columbia had a mix of multiple-member districts in Vancouver and single-member districts elsewhere until the 1991 election, and Prince Edward Island had dual-member districts until the 1996 election.
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle.
Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.
Barbie is a multi-platform video game developed by Imagineering for Hi Tech Expressions. It is based on Mattel Inc.'s doll of the same name, and it was created in an attempt to get more girls to play video games. As such, it is one of the few explicitly girl-oriented NES games. The game takes place in a dream where Barbie must travel through three different worlds (Mall, Underwater and Soda Shop) to gather accessories before attending a ball to meet Ken. Despite it having been of little interest to typical gamers at the time of its release, some critics have praised it as "not bad" for a generic platformer. Others have advanced the view that its genre is not appropriate for its content.
Barbie dreams that she has been invited to the Fantasy Ball, but in her dream she has nothing nice to wear. She travels to three different worlds to gather accessories for the big night and a chance with Ken. Along the way she meets a veritable menagerie of animal friends and searches to find Dream-Ups, Glamor Items, and Charms for her bracelet that will help her along her way.
Barbie is a Commodore 64 computer game from 1984 that allows players to participate in the life of the famous fashion doll of the same name.
Players must talk to their boyfriend Ken (using a real voice audio soundtrack) in addition to driving a yellow convertible around town, trying out swimming outfits (both one-piece and two-piece swimsuits can be used) in addition to dresses and shoes. Options for dates include either a dinner out on the town or a relaxing day at the beach. An incorrect combination of clothing will force Barbie to skip the date sequence and work her way towards the next objective while a correct combination will allow players to see Barbie and her date in a photograph of the event.