20 stuff you didn’t learn about Barbie

Right here are 20 stuff you didn’t learn about Barbie. She’s right here! The brand new Queen of Cinema. All this time, we had been considering Tom Cruise was saving the films, when in reality, it could have simply been the ladies that each one little ladies had of their toy chests at one time or one other.

Barbie isn’t simply one of many biggest new films of 2023 but in addition, in our opinion, the most effective feel-good films ever made. As made apparent in our Barbie assessment, we additionally assume it’s merely the most effective films we’ve seen shortly (sorry, Oppenheimer), and it has undoubtedly reignited a love of the films for a lot of.

And whereas the Barbie forged does an excellent job of letting us in on some Barbie intel and acknowledging some in-world meta-Barbie lore, we needed extra. And we all know you do, too, in order that’s why we went to work on bringing you some info on the doll and the film that you just’ve in all probability missed.

1. Barbie and Ken: Maintain it within the household

It’s no shock to most Barbie followers (and anybody who’s already seen the film) to listen to that Barbie is called after Ruth Handler’s daughter. Handler, the inventor of the unique Barbie doll, even confesses as a lot to Margot Robbie’s Barbie that her namesake is her personal little one. However do you know that Ken’s origin is equally near dwelling? Whereas Handler’s daughter Barbara would turn out to be well-known for being the inspiration behind Barbie’s identify, her son Kenneth was additionally influential, offering the identify for everybody’s future favourite blonde buddy.

2. Barbie’s first job was as a style mannequin

In keeping with Mattel, Barbie has had over 200 careers in her lifetime. She’s been a politician, conquered the medical trade (a handful of instances), and has even been a sports activities persona. However her first job was one thing a bit of extra associated to the general Barbie canon: a style mannequin. That’s proper, within the yr of her invention, 1959, Barbie was working as a teenage style mannequin. We are able to solely guess it was boredom that led her to ditch this for jobs within the STEM discipline as a substitute.

3. The true Barbie isn’t really a fan of… effectively, Barbie

Going again to the unique Barbie, (AKA: Barbara Handler Segal), it turned clear over time that the doll’s human inspiration by no means actually cared a lot for the associations that might come to dominate her life. In later years, she would actively deny that she had something in frequent with the world-famous Barbie.

“It sounds foolish, I do know,” Barbara Handler admitted [via The Los Angeles Times]. “However I’m actually not very effectively acquainted with Barbie dolls in any respect.”

4. Blondes have extra enjoyable, based on Barbie

Most individuals robotically consider Barbie as a traditional blonde (as evidenced by the casting of Margot Robbie for the position of ‘Stereotypical Barbie’). However really, when Barbie first got here out in 1959, she was out there in two sorts: blonde and brunette. Nice information for brunettes! Or not less than it was up till it was realized that Barbie was promoting far more items as a blonde.

From that time on, Barbie can be robotically generally known as a blonde, with brunette variations solely changing into out there in sure renditions of the character, and red-haired Barbies solely changing into out there within the early ‘60s.

5. Ken is Barbie’s junior

Though Barbie and Ken had been a pair within the Barbie canon, since Ken was really launched two years after Barbie, that might make him two years her junior. If we’re wanting on the pipeline to the Barbie film, this sort of is smart. In any case, the Ken from the film is vastly extra immature and insecure than Barbie, so maybe we will simply pin that all the way down to age variations.

6. Thanks, Madam President

Barbie’s profession has prolonged into politics a number of instances over. Actually, over the course of her lifetime, Barbie has run for president at least six instances. Within the doll world, this simply implies that she had six completely different fashions of ‘President Barbie’.

This may finally turn out to be full circle within the Barbie film, whereby President Barbie is a significant character performed by Issa Rae. Actually, President Barbie is such an integral a part of Barbie historical past, that it appeared in an SNL sketch far earlier than the Barbie film was even launched.

7. Barbie gained the House Race

Effectively, technically not. However Barbie would tackle the position of moonwalker with the ‘Astronaut Barbie’ mannequin, which got here out in 1965. Nevertheless, man wouldn’t stroll on the moon till July 21, 1969, which means that Barbie was really wandering round in House far earlier than the good House Race was ever accomplished. Sorry, boys.

8. ‘I’m Simply Ken’ wasn’t meant to be sung by Gosling

Though one of many biggest musical moments within the Barbie film sees Ryan Gosling belting out an ’80s-style energy ballad to guide into the Battle of Kens, it wasn’t imagined to be that approach. Actually, when music producer Mark Ronson created the tune, he was fairly positive it wasn’t even going to make it previous Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.

However they liked it, and extra importantly, so did Ryan Gosling. Actually, Gosling liked the tune a lot that he requested he be the one to sing it. The remainder, as they are saying, is historical past.

9. The Barbie film aesthetic is from a selected Barbie period

The Barbie film poster and advertising may really feel extremely acquainted now that we’ve seen it plastered far and wide. However the precise design of the brand used for the film comes from a good distance again in time. Actually, the precise Barbie font and brand had been taken from the 1975-1991 period of the doll. Through the years, the design has been up to date and altered frequently, however we’re glad we ended up with the model we received.

10. “Hey, we’re playin’ with dolls, right here!”

There are many cinematic references within the Barbie film. Greta Gerwig isn’t one to draw back from noting her influences, both. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that one of many traditional films, Midnight Cowboy, was amongst these which impressed a number of the ‘actual world’ scenes within the new film.

Particularly, the sequence during which Barbie and Ken are strolling round Los Angeles sporting cowboy garb is closely taken from scenes of Jon Voight strolling round in the identical method within the 1969 film.

11. Don’t put a hoop on it

In case you look carefully, there are various particulars inside the Barbie film which might be logically appropriate for the doll counterparts. For instance, the truth that Barbie can stroll on the (faux) water in her pool, and the scene during which she will get lifted from her home and positioned into her automotive. However one tiny element might go unnoticed by viewers just because it’s so small.

Barbie’s style is ever-changing all through the comedy film, however one factor you gained’t catch her sporting is a hoop. It’s because Barbie dolls don’t actually have fingers. As an alternative, they’ve flesh-colored mounts for arms with finger markings, so it wouldn’t be anatomically appropriate for Barbie to put on any rings. Good consideration to element, there!

12. Barbieland isn’t Elemental

Though the summer season of latest films included the Pixar animation Elemental, the Barbie film takes an reverse strategy to Earth’s parts. Actually, as confirmed by Robbie herself within the Architectural Digest tour of the Dreamhouse, there are not any parts in Barbieland. “There is no such thing as a water in Barbieland,” she defined. “There’s no water, or hearth, there are not any parts.”

13. Australian Barbie

It might have been destiny that Barbie would finally be depicted in live-action by famous Aussie, Robbie, as a result of there’s, in reality, an Australian Barbie. She was launched in 1993 as a part of the ‘Dolls of the World’ assortment and dons a ranch outfit. She additionally wears a wide-brimmed hat to guard her from the outback solar. Though she was a particular version, you may nonetheless discover previous variations of her on eBay, so it’s possible you’ll want to take action earlier than the worth rockets up, contemplating her real-life Australian counterpart.

14. Will Ferrell is the God of the toy film universe

Will Ferrell stars within the Barbie film because the hilariously dim-witted CEO of Mattel. He’s not dubbed with a reputation, so we don’t assume he’s based mostly on the actual individual, however he’s undoubtedly a number one power all through the film since he’s decided to place Barbie again in her field.

Nevertheless, this isn’t the primary time Ferrell has performed a dominating enterprise tyrant in toy variations. For many who don’t keep in mind, he additionally starred in 2014’s The Lego Film, the place he performed Lord Enterprise, the antagonist of the children film. At this price, we’ll be searching for him in Mattel’s upcoming Barney the Dinosaur film as some type of Man in Swimsuit.

15. Warner Bros. Easter egg

Talking of Mattel, a big sequence takes place within the Mattel headquarters, within the CEO’s pink heart-shaped workplace. Exterior the window, the cityscape of Los Angeles is painted to provide an otherworldly really feel, however there’s additionally a sneaky Easter egg for the manufacturing firm of the film.

Simply behind Will Ferrell’s character is a constructing that claims ‘Warner Bros. Discovery’, with the ‘WB’ brand up entrance and proudly displayed. This can be a film about toys, in any case, so some subliminal consumerist messages ought to all the time have been anticipated.

16. Barbie’s worth has elevated dramatically

Again on March 9, 1959, Barbie was first revealed on the New York Toy Truthful. When she was finally bought, she was put available on the market for a budget worth of $3. Primarily based on the speed of inflation, that very same Barbie can be price $30.82 at this time.

That mentioned, the price range for the Barbie film was $145 million, which means that lady has soared in worth! And much more impressively, Barbie has made $155 million over her opening weekend, standing as essentially the most worthwhile opening weekend of 2023 thus far. She is aware of her price.

17. The creation of Adam

It will probably’t be denied that the Barbie film is an emotional experience. A few of the most tear-jerking moments come from the interactions between Barbie and her on-screen creator, Ruth.

However some of the touching moments (actually) comes when Barbie encounters Ruth within the hidden rooms of Mattel, the place she sits at her kitchen desk along with her designs. As Ruth gives Barbie tea, she passes her the cup, and their fingers contact in a way just like that of ‘The Creation of Adam,’ during which God offers life to the primary man.

It’s a small, simply missed element, however it’s considered one of Robbie’s favorites, based on the girl herself.

18. Trying ahead

There are some things which may strike as a bit of odd concerning the first design of the Barbie doll (which is proven within the opening scene of the Barbie film). For starters, her eyes aren’t fairly wanting forward. She’s really wanting off to the facet in an alluring approach, probably as a result of she was partly impressed by an X-rated German doll.

However one of many final modifications that creator Ruth Handler would instigate earlier than she was ejected from her personal firm for falsifying monetary experiences was to vary Barbie’s eyes. So when you’re a lot happier that Barbie’s really you, you’ve received Ruth to thank for that.

19. What are the chances?

One of many criticisms that Robbie’s Barbie receives within the film is that Barbie is accountable for girls’s physique points and the strain of self-image. Whereas it’s not precisely a good jab to throw at Barbie herself, it’s a honest level.

Actually, Lecturers from the College of South Australia as soon as investigated the opportunity of Barbie present in human type and located that, based mostly on her measurements and physique formation, the chances of a girl ever with the ability to have the identical bodily type as Barbie can be one in 100,000.

In the meantime, the chances of a person ever with the ability to look precisely like Ken are a bit of extra real looking at one in 50.

20. The Barbie and Ken break-up

Though it’s by no means particularly talked about what kind of Ken Simu Lui performs within the Barbie film, we predict now we have an inkling of who he’s impressed by. Barbie and Ken have all the time been ‘courting’ within the Barbie lore, though the 2 broke up within the yr 2004. (Why Mattel felt the necessity to have two youngsters’s dolls break up stays a thriller to us.)

However Barbie would rapidly discover a rebound within the type of hunky surfer boy Blaine. Barbie and Blaine can be an merchandise for 2 years earlier than Barbie would finally return to Ken. However this has left us considering that Simu Lui may be taking part in a warped model of Blaine, particularly since he’s seen with a surfboard within the first scene of the film and teases Ken about his lack of browsing expertise.

If this nonetheless isn’t sufficient for you, why not check out a few of our Barbie film guides? We’ve received them on the Barbie soundtrack, the Barbie Proustian joke defined, and Skipper. It’s also possible to check out the Barbie ending defined, see if there’s a Barbie 2 launch date within the works, and browse our characteristic on why Ken isn’t the film’s villain — the patriarchy is!