“Barbie”, the movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in lead roles, released globally on July 21, 2023. The movie is an homage to the iconic line of fashion dolls created by Ruth Handler. 

Over the last six decades, Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls which helped to cement the line’s legacy. Barbie and Ken are often considered two of the most popular dolls in the world. 

The movie brings their story from Barbieland. Here are some exciting facts you may want to know before heading out to watch the film on the big screen. 

History of Barbie 

Back in the 1950s, all the children’s dolls were made to be infants without many customizable options. Ruth Handler noticed that her daughter Barbara played with paper dolls and gave them adult roles to play. 

She quickly realized that there could be a demand for a grown-up play doll with different roles for kids. Making them customizable would be even more lucrative to unleash the inner creativity of the young ones. Ruth and her husband Elliot co-founded Mattel to go forward with the idea. 

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Initially, Elliot and the board of directors at Mattel were hesitant about a customizable adult-looking doll. But the first “Barbie”, named after the nickname of Barbara, was a massive hit in her signature zebra striped swimsuit in 1959. Barbie was marketed as a teen fashion icon and sold over 350,000 units globally in the first year of its release. 

Barbie made Mattel the second most valuable toy company in the world right after Lego. Back in 2006, the company estimated that they have sold over a billion Barbie dolls across the world in 150 countries. 

Interesting Facts about “Barbie” Movie 

Mattel Films is one of the production companies  

The success of Barbie's line of dolls prompted Mattel to expand its horizon as a multimedia franchise. Over the years, the company has produced several animated feature films and video games featuring the duo of Barbie and Ken. 

For the movie, Mattel Films worked with director Greta Gerwig and Warner Bros to design the set of the film. The company contributed to keeping the old-school charm of the set intact throughout the movie. 

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The movie is the first live-action adaptation of Barbie and the first successful collaboration between Mattel and Warner Bros. 

A long list of lead actors for Barbie 

The idea of a live-action Barbie is nothing new. It has been floating over for more than a decade until its culmination with the Robbie and Gerwig duo. 

Initially, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the film but it later went to Sony Pictures in 2014 due to lack of developments. Amy Schumer was slated to play the lead role and work on the screenplay. But she dropped out due to some unknown reason in 2017. After that Anne Hathaway was chosen for the role but that too didn’t see any progress. 

Finally, Warner Bros picked up the rights in 2019 and settled with Greta Gerwig to direct the film. 

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Margot Robbie was initially hesitant to play Barbie 

Robbie is one of the producers of Barbie. When Greta shared her vision for the lead Barbie in the movie, Robbie felt that she might not be the perfect fit as the lead. Robbie grew up in the Gold Coast of Australia and much of her playtime was outdoors in the sand or the mud. She even claimed to have never owned a Barbie doll as a kid. 

Robbie felt that Gal Gadot brought in the “Barbie energy” that Greta had been looking for. But ultimately Greta went with Robbie. 

Ken was written for Ryan Gosling 

The role of Ken was specifically written with Ryan Gosling in mind. Gosling was initially hesitant about playing the role as he is often considered for serious and dark roles. So, effortlessly switching from Blade Runner to Barbie meant Gosling had to reconsider. 

But it all changed when he saw his daughter’s Ken doll lying flat in the mud. Gosling said that he called up Greta then and there and felt that the story of Ken needs to be told. And it needs to be told by him. 

Gosling also reportedly designed the Ken shorts that he wears throughout the movie. It’s supposed to be a subtle nod to the Calvin Klein line of shorts with the same typography around the waist.

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The global pink crisis 

The extensive set design of Barbie has been at the center of discussion since the first looks of the film dropped. Greta reportedly went for an all-out pink shade in everything. Like there is no solid black or white color in the film. What is meant to be white is the lightest shade of pink available. 

As a result, the high demand for deep pink color caused the contracting company Rosco to run out of their global stock of pink. No one complained though as the end product looks as stunning as the animated Barbie movies.

The Barbenheimer saga 

Social media has been flooded with the “Barbenheimer” hashtag due to the same-day release of “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”. The hashtag quickly spread due to the memes pointing out the stark contrast in story and tonality. 

AMC Theatres announced that more than 20,000 of their members have purchased tickets to both movies to watch on the same day. The cast of the two movies also joined in on the fun by posting tickets to the film. 

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An homage to the early days 

The first scene involving Margot Robbie’s Barbie is the first zebra-striped swimsuit edition of the doll released in 1959. Throughout the movie, Greta pays homage to the iconic styling of Barbie in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. 

The inspiration for Ken was taken from the 1979 edition of Malibu Ken. All the other Barbie and Ken have been inspired by the famous releases in each decade. 

The famous “Barbie Girl” song 

Initially, the movie didn’t plan to include the famous “Barbie Girl” song by Aqua. The song which is synonymous with the Barbie dolls is an integral part of the Barbie experience. When Robbie asked Greta about the song, Greta confirmed that a remixed version featuring Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice would make it to the movies. 

There’s a promotional Barbie home 

The Barbie team made a collaboration with Airbnb to make a promotional Barbie house in Malibu. It is meant to be a replica of the Barbie home in Barbieland. The team even gave away two free tickets to stay in the home. 

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This privately owned residence has been previously used for Barbie promotions as well. Back in October 2019, the home offered $60 a night to celebrate Barbie’s 60th anniversary. 

The Kens are munemployed 

Mattel has always been a proponent of a strong female character in their Barbie dolls. Barbieland is also matriarchal where women have different roles and run the society. Hence, all the kens in Barbieland are essentially unemployed. 

The Beach Ken played by Gosling also does not do much. He just hangs around the beach and aims to impress Barbie. Even the tagline of the movie reads, “She is everything. He is just Ken.”

Final World 

Even though the movie had a lot of initial skepticism, Greta Gerwig and the team had thrown it out of the park with “Barbie”. It is a fresh new story of self-discovery, dealing with adversaries, and promoting women's empowerment. 

The box office and Rotten Tomato scores suggest that the Barbie movie has been a massive hit. People from all over the world dressed up in pink to watch the movie. In essence, the movie took the childhood nostalgia of many people and paid a perfect homage to it. 

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