The Summer of 2023 was glittered in pink Barbie nostalgia. I was initially captured by the awe of Barbie at the first viewing on the big screen but since discussing the movie post-viewing, it did not live up to my (originally) high expectations.
Read My Previous Articles on Barbie: The Movie:
If you haven’t already, you can read my previous articles on Barbie: The Movie by clicking the links below:
- ‘Every ‘Barbie Doll’ Merch Released for Barbie: The Movie’
- ‘Barbie Fashion References From The Barbie Movie’s Pink Carpet Premiere‘,
- ‘Barbie Dolls: 30 Doll References in Barbie The Movie’
- ‘Hi Barbie! The Movie References in Barbie The Movie‘
Now back to the Barbie: The Movie review! As a Mattel-supported production I expected to not only see Barbie dolls from different eras, but various fashions, houses, and friends from Barbie’s life. Instead, the most the collectors received was a line up at the start of the different careers Barbie has had but none of these were represented by dolls – instead played by different actresses.
I was most shocked at how the filmmakers seemingly forgot to mention, in its 114-minute runtime one of Barbie’s best friends – Teresa. She is described as ‘the most frequently featured female companion in the toy line’ alongside Barbie.
Yet every female in ‘Barbie Land’ was called Barbie and represented different roles and personalities e.g., ‘Doctor Barbie’ and every Ken was also called Ken. This of course represents the different careers Barbie has had over the years, but it also leaves behind the many beloved characters that have enriched Barbie’s world across the eras.
Characters such as, Nikki, Teresa, Kira, Raquelle, Skipper, Stacie, Todd, Whitney, and Shelly/Kelly. Does the avid Barbie collector just forget about these characters when watching this film? It could have also served as a lesson for new viewers who are unfamiliar with the older characters. Such a missed opportunity here.
Then a montage scene showed a snippet of real-world dolls but of course, these dolls were from the new Barbie range and completely ignored Barbie’s other eras and leaves the collectors feeling if this was just an advertising ploy from Mattel?
It’s not a secret that the filmmakers are not fanatics nor collectors of Barbie and it shows! Barbie: The Movie needed someone on set that actually knew the history of Barbie well – they needed a Barbie expert to tell them everything that is missing. This wasn’t a film that pleased doll collectors, this was a politically-led film targeted towards a young (mainly child) audience. Minus the fact it mentioned some adult themes including, mentions of genitals and swearing that was ironically bleeped out with the ‘Mattel logo’.
There will certainly be a Barbie trend for Halloween outfits inspired by the fashions in Barbie: The Movie. The most popular outfits will be the ‘Hot Skatin’ Barbie’, the ‘Western Barbie’, ‘The Perfect Day’ Barbie outfit and the ‘Gold Sequin’ Barbie outfit from the most popular scenes in the movie. The question is which outfit will be the most popular for Halloween? One thing’s for sure, it will be a popular social media trend.
It’s a shame to see that most of the actors, including Margot Robbie have confessed that they did not grow up with Barbie and nor did they watch any Barbie animated films to prepare for the movie. Margot Robbie stated in an interview that her older sister had Barbies, but she did not play with them but wanted the Barbie Dreamhouse instead, and she only watched a couple of clips from the animated Barbie films before donning the role as ‘Barbie’.
There have been 40 animated Barbie movies since 2001, meaning there have been approximately 1 or 2 movies released per year. The most iconic and fan-favourite movies have undoubtedly been the first three films released. This iconic trio included the first ever animated Barbie movie – Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001), then Barbie as Rapunzel (2002) and Barbie of Swan Lake (2003).
These three films played a large part in my childhood and the VHS tapes were constantly replayed throughout my childhood years. As the first live-action Barbie film ever, shouldn’t it be compulsory homework for the actors to watch at least the first three Barbie films which began the Barbie Animated franchise?
The real stars of the film that take the ‘star-power’ from under Barbie’s (Margot Robbie) plastic arms are (the main) Ken (played by Ryan Gosling) and Weird Barbie (played by Kate McKinnon). Ryan Gosling excels at alluding ‘Kenergy’ and masculinity as well as being the best dancer on screen and singing to Barbie (with his real voice).
‘I’m Just Ken’ is also the best song on the soundtrack, produced by Mark Ronson and featuring the best lyrics with the standout lines being, ‘Doesn’t seem to matter what I do, I’m always number two’ and ‘Cause I’m just Ken/ Anywhere else/ I’d be a ten.’ Ken dons a Grease-like number that sees all the Kens dancing to the ‘I’m Just Ken’ song as they reunite as one.
One of the main reasons Barbie: The Movie dominated the box office and cinema screens, beating Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is mainly due to its upbeat, fun, and quirky tone. Barbie is bright, bubbly, colourful and takes you to another world yet Oppenheimer is mainly dark and of depressive nature. Most people flock to the cinema to escape the real world and perhaps for some Oppenheimer was just too true to life, replicating an era of destructiveness that many of us want to forget was ever part of history. Either way they are both massively contrasting stories that clearly had audiences for both movies.
The summer of 2023 saw an exciting time for cinemas where two completely different films were fighting for the number one spot in box-office success. Although, Oppenheimer is undoubtedly a better film, is it fair to compare two heavily contrasting works of art?
On either ends of the spectrum, Oppenheimer gives an origin story that covers an intelligent figure in history that faces a rather depressing life after causing such destructiveness compared to a female narrative-driven escapism into a perfect pink world that reveals itself as anything but perfect in Barbie.
There’s a not-so-subtle diss to Mattel’s biggest rivals in MGA Entertainment’s Bratz dolls with one of the main character’s being called ‘Sasha.’ Sasha is the ‘tween’ daughter of Gloria. Gloria believes in the power of Barbie, but Sasha is a huge non-believer and hater towards Barbie and even makes her shed tears in the school playground!
This is a diss towards their rivalry and shows that the flame is still burning between the two companies. The initial rivalry began once Mattel sued MGA in 2004 for ‘trade secrets’ after a Mattel employee left to work with MGA Entertainment on their Bratz line. Ever since the two companies have been competing against each other and have seen the court rooms numerous times including in 2008 and 2011.
Even though, Bratz did beat Barbie to the live-action adaptation with their 2007 release, Bratz – The Movie. It only took Barbie 16 years later to compete with a live-action remake of her very own in Barbie: The Movie. After all, everything is better in pink (but not plastic). There is a mirroring of powerful speeches with Sasha vs. Barbie delivering a harsh blow of realism at one of Barbie’s lowest moments and Gloria empowering Barbie out of her ‘existential crisis’ state and waking the Barbie Land up to the ideology of the female-empowered real world.
It’s difficult to ignore the very obvious message behind Barbie: The Movie. A message that describes the oppression of women in society – this message really begins once Barbie and Ken travel to the real world. Their fashion is laughed at on Venice Beach as they wear neon pink and yellow matching outfits. Onlookers whistle at Barbie but praise Ken for his ‘coolness’.
As a female, the message is of course important and powerful to tell but the way it was conveyed could have been better if it was written with a little more subtly. But you can still get a sense of what the screenwriters – Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach were trying to do with the sarcastic and comedic tones. When the screenplay is released I will be sure to give it a read!
Here’s a photo of Barbie: The Movie credits from the Trailer (in a not-so-obvious fashion to coincide with nearing the end to this review!) –
After all, this is the first ever live-action Barbie film, but it felt as if it went out more on a pink fizzle than a pink explosion. Let me know your thoughts on Barbie: The Movie in the comments below!
Overall Rating
I give Barbie: The Movie… 2 out of 5 Tiaras.
Barbie: The Movie had so much potential in its ideas and plot. But how it was all executed did not seem to go as seamless as expected. As a Barbie fan and expert there is a high expectation for Barbie movies – especially for the first ever live-action Barbie film! I think with more time and hard work, Barbie: The Movie could have been stronger. Its best parts truly lie in its cinematic references from across Hollywood classics and musicals.
For Barbie fans, dolls and pink merch is all-year round but for the rest of the world who are less familiar with doll collecting, the summer of 2023 was an all-pink marketing phenomenon. It was an exciting trend to be a part of that was inclusive of everyone no matter your age and it connected the female audience through its feminist message.
But ultimately the story was not as strong as I expected although I also appreciate that many people loved the movie, especially within its wave of hype and trending status. Maybe a sequel in the works could explore its deeper potential?
Want to Read More About Barbie: The Movie?
Check Out the Links to the Blog Posts Below!
Remember – don’t forget to check out my other posts related to Barbie: The Movie at the links below.
- ‘Every ‘Barbie Doll’ Merch Released For Barbie: The Movie‘
- ‘Barbie Fashion References From The Barbie Movie’s Pink Carpet Premiere’
- ‘Barbie Dolls: 30 Doll References in Barbie The Movie’
- ‘Hi Barbie! The Movie References in Barbie The Movie‘
See you next time where I review the official, Barbie: The Movie Screenplay Book.
Hannah x
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