Underplayed Gems

Life-Size (2000)

Life-Size poster
Directed by
Mark Rosman
Genre
children's film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 26m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 482 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A young girl tries to use magic to bring her dead mother back to life but accidentally brings her fashion doll to life instead. The doll has to learn how to exist in the real world and the two form a friendship.

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What happens

Life-Size is a 2000 American fantasy comedy television film directed by Mark Rosman and starring Lindsay Lohan and Tyra Banks. It originally premiered on March 5, 2000, on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney block. Lohan portrays a young girl who casts a magic spell to bring back her deceased mother and, instead, accidentally brings to life her fashion doll, played by Banks. The film then follows their relationship as the doll creates havoc while trying to fit into the real world. Life-Size was popular among its demographic, developing a cult following that frequently revisited and reexamined it in the years following its release, and generated a sequel 18 years after the original broadcast. It is considered a didactic children's film that set the tone for doll-inspired movies and is perceived by many fans as "the first live-action Barbie movie" due to the similarities between the two dolls despite not having the rights to the official character. The film made its streaming debut on Disney+ in November 2025, after previously never having been available through digital platforms. The sequel, titled Life-Size 2: A Christmas Eve, premiered on December 2, 2018 on Freeform with Banks reprising her role. In 2020, Banks announced another sequel was in the works. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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