Barbie (film)



The first-live action adaptation (and the first theatrically-released film in the franchise for that matter; all of the prior entries were released straight to video) of the popular toy line, the 2023 Barbie film is more of a satirical comedy revolving around the titular doll character and Mattel itself instead of the usual fairy tale/princess fare or the Dreamhouse continuity. The film is directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig alongside Noah Baumbach, while Margot Robbie produces and stars as the main Barbie. Also producing is David Heyman.

The story centers around a typical Barbie (Robbie) living in an idyllic toyland populated by Barbie and Ken dolls called "Barbieland". When a series of unusual incidents in her otherwise perfect life led her to ruminate about her existence, she and her friend Ken (Ryan Gosling) travel to the real world in search for answers, all while being hounded by Mattel's corporate management who catches wind of their presence and seek to put her back in a box.

The film boasts an All-Star Cast, with other Barbies including Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Dua Lipa, Alexandra Shipp, Ana Cruz Kayne, Nicola Coughlan, Kate McKinnon, Ritu Arya and Sharon Rooney, as well as Kens played by Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, John Cena (yes, that John Cena), Scott Evans, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Rob Brydon. Also in the film are Michael Cera (as Ken's buddy Allan) and Emerald Fennell (as Barbie's friend Midge).

America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Connor Swindells, Jamie Demetriou, and Will Ferrell comprise the human cast, and Helen Mirren acts as the film's narrator.

The film was released on July 21, 2023.


 * Artistic License Geography: The map of the world as seen in the film is more reflective of a child's drawing than a real-world map.
 * Artistic License History: While the film portrays Ruth Handler as having had trouble with the IRS, in reality Mrs. Handler was charged with financial fraud with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 * Become a Real Woman:
 * Biting the Hand Humor: The film makes light of Mattel's less-than-stellar moments, particularly with Ruth Handler's white-collar criminal record.
 * Camp: Done in spades a la Aqua's "Barbie Girl".
 * Cool Car: Barbie's pink 1956 C1 Corvette and Ken's Hummer EV. The 'Vette is actually a replica made to run on an electric motor, scaled down by 25% and decked with plastic decals for instruments in keeping with the toy aesthetic (the Forza Horizon 5 DLC released to tie in with the film even has a little Easter Egg with the faux odometer reading "031959" in reference to the year the Barbie franchise was launched).
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Largely averted with the Mattel suits, though there are still some shades of it in some way.
 * Darker and Edgier: Despite all the merchandise aimed for kids and the seemingly juvenile premise, the film takes on a decidedly more mature tone as a deconstruction of the franchise and adult topics which children may not easily grasp such as existentialism, masculinity and womanhood.
 * Deconstructive Parody: The film self-deprecatingly mocks and apes Barbie and Ken's lack of genitalia, as well as the franchise's controversial history where detractors of the line criticise it for presenting girls with unrealistic and idealised grown-up fantasies.
 * Easily Forgiven: Despite having
 * Enemy Civil War:
 * Everybody Owns a Chevy: General Motors cars are used exclusively in both Barbieland and the real world.
 * FBI Agent:
 * Flat Character: Sort of an in-universe example. The protagonist is one of hundreds of Barbies, and seems to be the most generic of all of them. Despite this - or maybe because of it - she is the one who starts to gain a sense of Medium Awareness.
 * I Choose to Stay:
 * Innocent Fanservice Girl: Take a wild guess. Barbie is eternally innocent and completely naive, not catching onto the meaning of fanservice until a lout indecently slaps her. Of course, her reaction - she punches his lights out - shows she can be a quick learner.
 * Intimidating Revenue Service: Ruth Handler makes light of how the IRS screwed her over (in actuality, it was her issues with alleged financial falsification that got her into trouble with the SEC, not the IRS; it's likely that the writers changed her criminal record in the film as tax evasion is something most audiences are more familiar with).
 * Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Weird Barbie is an outcast in Barbieland simply because she is, well, weird and unattractive, despite being a sort of oracle who is more than willing to help the protagonist.
 * Medium Aware: The plot, in a nutshell. Barbie malfunctions, realizes she isn't perfect, decides to find her origins, leading her to the real world - and then trying to understand what she finds. Unfortunately for her, there's a lot of folks who want her to stay in her "box"...
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
 * Perfection Is Impossible: Barbie realizing this is what jump-starts the main plot.
 * Pink Is Girly: It's the dominant color in Barbieland, and all of the heroine's clothes have at least some of it.
 * Product Placement: Besides the fairly obvious, a number of General Motors cars were prominently featured such as the above-mentioned Corvette and Hummer models.
 * Red Pill, Blue Pill: In an obvious nod to The Matrix (which was also produced by Warner Bros.), Barbie is given a choice between staying in her home world or going to the real world to find out the truth, represented by a pink high heel and a Birkenstock sandal respectively.
 * Retraux: The film's logo is from the 70s-80s era Barbie logo.
 * Self Deprecating Humor: First of all, the bad guys in this movie are a ficticious version of Mattel. The plot has quite a lot of humor that is aimed at mocking the concept of Barbie and how she might have harmed popular culture - while at the same time focusing on how she might fix it.
 * Toy Time: Barbieland is portrayed as a life-size toyland utopia inhabited by dolls.