Gener: Biography, Drama
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writers: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
Directior: 1h 54m
Stars: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae
Barbie is a fantasy comedy movie of 2023 that was directed by Greta Gerwig and is based on a screenplay she co-wrote with Noah Baumbach. After multiple animated films and specials, this is the first live-action Barbie movie, based on the fashion dolls of the same name by Mattel. It follows Margot Robbie, who plays the title role, and Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken, as they embark on a journey of self-discovery through Barbieland and the real world after experiencing an existential crisis. It also serves as an assessment of the consequences of feminism and patriarchy. America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell are among the supporting cast members.
Barbie had a world premiere on July 9, 2023, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. On July 21, it was released in the US. The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon was sparked by its parallel release with Oppenheimer from Universal Pictures, which enticed viewers to watch both movies as a double feature. With $1.446 billion in gross, the movie hit multiple records and became the highest-grossing movie of 2023 as well as the 14th highest-grossing movie of all time. After being ranked among the top ten movies of 2023 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review, the movie garnered praise from critics and other honors. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Original Song for “What Was I Made For?” Barbie also took home the Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.
Storyline:
The film broke numerous records and became the highest-grossing film of 2023 and the 14th highest-grossing film of all time with a $1.446 billion box office haul. The film received positive reviews and other accolades after being named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. It received eight Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture, and its song “What Was I Made For?” won Best Original Song. In addition, Barbie won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Box Office Performance.
During a dance party one evening, Barbie had a sudden worry about dying. She gets flat feet, cellulite, and foul breath all of which interfere with her regular routine and the traditional Barbie perfection. A deformed doll named Weird Barbie instructs Barbie to locate the child who is playing with her in real life in order to heal herself of her ailments. Ken accompanies Barbie as she decides to take the advice and go for the real world, stowing away in her convertible.
Barbie smacks a man after he approaches her on Venice Beach after he makes advances. Ken and Barbie get momentarily detained. The CEO of Mattel orders the dolls to be recaptured, alarmed by their existence in the real world. Barbie finds her owner, Sasha, an adolescent girl, and she berates Barbie for promoting unattainable beauty standards. Barbie is devastated to learn that Gloria, Sasha’s mother and a Mattel employee, unintentionally set off Barbie’s existential crisis when Gloria started tinkering with Sasha’s old Barbies. Barbie eludes Mattel’s effort to place her in a toy box for remanufacturing with the assistance of Gloria and Sasha, and the three set out for Barbieland while Mattel executives pursue them.
In the meantime, Ken discovers what patriarchy is and experiences respect for the first time. He convinces the other Kens to assume control when he returns to Barbieland ahead of Barbie. The Barbies are brainwashed by the Kens into accepting positions like housewives, maids, and acceptable girlfriends. When Barbie shows up, she tries to talk the Barbies back into being autonomous. She is depressed when her endeavors don’t work out. Gloria talks on how frustrating it is for women to have to adhere to contradictory standards in the real world. Barbie’s confidence is restored by Gloria’s remarks.
Gloria deprograms the Barbies from their indoctrination using her real-world knowledge, with the help of Sasha, Weird Barbie, Allan, and the discontinued dolls. After that, the Barbies trick the Kens into fighting among themselves so they won’t be able to write male supremacy into Barbieland’s constitution and the Barbies can take back control. The Barbies decide to right the wrongs of their former society, stressing better treatment of the Kens and all outcasts, having now personally experienced institutional oppression.
Barbie and Ken express their regret for their previous transgressions to one another. Barbie tells Ken that he needs to discover his own identity when he laments the lack of meaning in his life without her. Barbie encounters Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel and the person who created the Barbie doll, who says that Barbie’s narrative has no definitive conclusion and that her constantly changing past goes beyond her origins. Barbie is still unclear of who she is.
Following her farewells to the Barbies, Kens, and Mattel executives, Barbie makes the decision to transform back into a human and rejoin society. A little later, Barbie—now going by the name “Barbara Handler”—is taken to her first gynecological appointment by Gloria, her husband, and Sasha.
Barbie Movie Cast:
- Margot Robbie as Barbie, a doll who is often referred to as “Stereotypical Barbie”
- Main variations of Barbie played by:
- Issa Rae as President Barbie, the ruler of Barbieland[12][13]
- Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, the outcast deformed Barbie who lives in the Weird House and has knowledge of the lands outside of Barbieland[14][13]
- Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie[15][13]
- Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie[16][13]
- Hari Nef as Dr. Barbie[13]
- Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie[12]
- Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie[12][13]
- Ritu Arya as Journalist Barbie[12][13]
- Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie[17][13]
- Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie[12][13]
- Ryan Gosling as Ken, often referred to as “Beach Ken”[18]
- Main variations of Ken played by:
- Simu Liu as Tourist Ken/”Rival Ken”[19][20][13]
- Kingsley Ben-Adir as Basketball Ken[12]
- Ncuti Gatwa as Artist Ken[19][12]
- Scott Evans as Stereotypical Ken[12]
- John Cena as Kenmaid, a merman Ken[21][22]
- America Ferrera as Gloria, a Mattel employee who helps Barbie in the real world[23]
- Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha, Gloria’s daughter[24][25]
- Genvieve Toussaint as young Sasha
- Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler, a co-founder of Mattel whose ghost has an office on Mattel’s 17th floor[5]
- Helen Mirren as the voice of the narrator[b][26]
- Will Ferrell as the Chief executive officer (CEO) of Mattel[27]
- Michael Cera as Allan, a Barbieland inhabitant where there was “only one” of him.[28][29]
- Connor Swindells as Aaron Dinkins, a low-level Mattel employee who informs the CEO of Barbie’s appearance in Los Angeles
- Jamie Demetriou as the Chief financial officer (CFO) of Mattel
- Emerald Fennell as Midge, a pregnant doll in Barbieland who lives nearby Stereotypical Barbie despite being discontinued[30][29]
- Asim Chaudhry as a Mattel warehouse employee
- Ray Fearon as Dan at the FBI
- Erica Ford as Skipper, one of Barbie’s neighbors[29]
- Hannah Khalique-Brown as “Growing Up” Skipper, one of the discontinued dolls who lives with Weird Barbie whose “growing up” feature that involves growing breasts when her arm is pushed remains intact[29][31]
- Mette Narrative as Barbie Video Girl, a doll with a TV on her back who is among the discontinued dolls living with Weird Barbie[29]
- Marisa Abela as Teen Talk Barbie, a teen-talking doll who is among the discontinued dolls living with Weird Barbie[29][32]
- Lucy Boynton as Proust Barbie, one of the discontinued dolls who lives with Weird Barbie
- Rob Brydon as Sugar Daddy Ken, one of the discontinued dolls who lives with Weird Barbie. To clear up his name to Sasha when she quoted “sugar daddy“, he states that his toy puppy is named Sugar and that he is Sugar’s father.[29][12]
- Tom Stourton as Earring Magic Ken, one of the discontinued dolls who lives with Weird Barbie and wears a magic earring[29][33]
- Ann Roth as the woman on the bench[34]
- Annie Mumolo as Anxiety Mom[35]
- Lauren Holt as Time Mom[36][35]
- Ryan Piers Williams as Gloria’s husband[37]
Also present was Tanner, a discontinued toy dog known for his pooping feature that lives with Weird Barbie.