INTRO

Barbie is the blockbuster of the summer, with a huge opening weekend and rave reviews – it’s bright and joyous and fun, and has spawned its own fashion trend, filling cinemas all over the world with Barbies! But there is one not so totally awesome thing that seems to be creeping into even the five-star reviews. So what’s really up with this snag in this otherwise beloved film, and what does it mean for the movie as a whole?

From the moment it was announced that iconic feminist filmmaker Greta Gerwig would be directing a live-action Barbie movie, there was debate about if a film about Barbies could really ever be feminist. Some felt that her history of being used as a white, thin ideal of “perfect” womanhood would be impossible to overcome, others pointed out that Barbie has always been feminist by teaching young girls that they could become anything they wanted to be. Gerwig, and co-writer Noah Baumbauch, certainly had their work cut out for them. But in the end, they really did manage to create a film that both takes a loving look at everything fans adore about Barbie and directly confronts the more problematic parts of her history. It seems that Gerwig and Baumbach were looking to make a much weirder film than anyone expected, and one that at least attempts to grapple with the real life struggles girls and women face. Its major plot points revolve around feminism, patriarchy, and perfectionism, all tied in a pretty pink bow – managing to have fun while trying to tackle tough conversations.

And the film has far exceeded everyone’s expectations – both by being an absolute blockbuster smash hit and in just how genuinely good it really is. But even in the most loving reviews, there’s one little thing that keeps throwing everyone a bit off… But the problem isn’t Barbie, but her overlords Mattel trying to keep not only her but the film itself in a safe and shiny commemorative box. The only part of the film that rings a little false is the treatment of Mattel – pointing out all of its problems and then… kind of hand waving them away. Of course, no one is surprised that the company wasn’t going to pay millions of dollars for a hit piece on themselves. So how did Mattel’s meddling affect the film overall? And how did Gerwig and company manage to make such a wonderful, record breaking film in spite of them? Here’s our Take!
Gerwig has quickly established herself as an iconic filmmaker who’s helmed great films like Lady Bird and 2019’s Little Women, so if anyone was going to be able to craft a film that could grapple with the full complexities of Barbie’s history and trouble finding her place in the present, it would be her. And she truly succeeded. While taking us along on Barbie’s journey to self-actualization, the film doesn’t try to hide the problems that have arisen from Barbie’s so-called perfect image and the effect that that has had on women and young girls (and even Barbie herself.) It’s a testament to Gerwig’s directorial prowess that she was able to make the film so fun while also hitting home with so many genuinely touching, relatable, and heartfelt moments about deep issues.

CH 1: THE MATTEL PROBLEM

But, snuck in between all of the great moments of the film, are a few that fall a little flat. This isn’t really surprising, no movie is perfect, of course. But it feels that these blips are from outside forces causing the film to creatively pull punches – the most obvious with Mattel being set up as the villains the entire movie just to have it all… kind of just ignored at the end? This creative choice isn’t really unexpected because at the end of the day, they’re still under the thumb of Mattel, the multi-billion dollar toy company developing the film. But it does feel a little out of step with the other messages of the film. So what’s really going on there?

The film does even take aim at Mattel itself, surprisingly. Its executives are all men, who work in a Dr. Strangelove-esque boardroom. They’re so helpless that they can’t even figure out how to use their keycards to leave the building to chase Barbie, and they only listen to America Ferrera’s idea of creating a “normal” Barbie because a male executive says the doll would make a lot of money. It almost feels self-aware, like the company is open to tackling its own involvement in creating the problems the movie highlights. But when a real life executive at Mattel told the New Yorker that he was excited for the Barbie movie because, “In the world we’re living in, I.P. is king. Pre-awareness is so important,” it makes it clear that company’s willingness to play the ‘bad guy’ is more like Netflix’s villain arc on Black Mirror – they’re fine with being mocked by their own content because they know in the end it’s going to make them a lot of money and they won’t really be forced to change.

In a time of writer’s strikes, actor’s strikes, the creeping of AI, the streaming wars, and the decline of movie theater attendance, Hollywood is even more interested in creating films with recognizable intellectual property. Mattel wants to get in on creating movies around its many properties and according to the New Yorker, has even recruited J.J. Abrams for the Hot Wheels movie and Vin Diesel for the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie. According to Mattel COO Richard Dickson, “When our toys connect to what’s happening in the world, you see significant growth in the company…What you start to realize is: This is a pop-culture company.”

Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz once said, “Barbie is aspirational, inspirational—not something you want turned into a parody.” The film clearly wants to take into account both people’s positive and negative opinions of Barbie, and it does address many people’s criticisms of Barbie head on. But everyone involved knew that it’d be bad for business if audience members walked away from the film with a negative impression of the doll or Mattel as a brand. Because, for Mattel, Barbie is just the beginning – they already have a slate of 45 more IP-based films they’re setting into production. Barbie is being touted as a success for original content, but the truth is that it very much is IP – Barbie is indeed one of the most recognizable intellectual properties in the world. If Mattel really wants to have their new IP-movie train running full speed ahead, they need to make sure they’re taking the right lessons from Barbie’s major success. The film isn’t breaking records and getting people back into the theater just because it’s about a toy people know, it’s the combination of huge talent in front of and behind the scenes being given the leeway to make a real, compelling story out of the existing IP. Audiences are tired of just being spoon-fed the same handful of characters and films over and over again, so bringing new content to the screen can be a very lucrative venture, as we’ve now seen with Barbie. But it’s important that Mattel, and all other Hollywood execs, not make the assumption that this film’s success is solely due to it being familiar IP and fail to use this as a chance to create opportunities for new, original scripts and concepts. There’s a big danger of these execs getting in their own way and becoming so concerned about “brand alignment” and using these films solely as long-form commercials meant exclusively to drive toy sales, that they crush the creative process of the artists they hire to bring these films to life.

But even given all of this, Barbie does feel like it has some bite and something to say. So how did the creative team manage to make this film into what it is in spite of Mattel wanting it to just be a really expensive doll commercial?
Gerwig and the other lead creatives, including producer and star Margot Robbie, have been pretty open about the fact that they had to fight back against the company a bit to tell the story they wanted. In Time Magazine, it was revealed that Mattel’s President literally flew across the world to argue with Gerwig and Robbie about a specific scene in the script because he didn’t feel that it fit the company’s brand. And Gerwig has also spoken about having to fight to keep in a scene that she felt was “the heart of the movie.” Barbie, finding herself lost (both literally and psychologically) in the Real World, sits on a bench next to an elderly woman. Barbie tells the woman that she’s beautiful, and she agrees – reminding Barbie of her positive, self-confident friends back in Barbie Land, which gives Barbie the push to continue on her journey. It’s a sweet scene that adds heart to the film, but apparently the execs saw it differently. They tried to push Gerwig to cut the scene because they felt it didn’t push the plot forward. But Gerwig refused to compromise her vision, and so the scene was saved! She told The New York Times, “The idea of a loving God who’s a mother, a grandmother — who looks at you and says, ‘Honey, you’re doing ok’ — is something I feel like I need and I wanted to give to other people.”

CH 2: BARBIE BITES BACK

Finding a balance between the creative ideas you want to share with the world and the demands of the people financing your creation is a problem that all artists come up against again and again in their careers. And Gerwig, who started out making DIY mumblecore films and has been slowly building her career on larger and larger projects, has been smart about attaching herself to projects where she won’t have to completely sacrifice her vision for someone else’s bottom line. And her pushing back and being proven correct about the creative decisions that the company tried to change, not only helps her but also gives some leverage to other creators on their come ups. They, too, will now be able to point to the insane super-hit that is Barbie as proof that, yes, it is important to keep the heart in your film even if your goal is to make money. Because people like to pay for things they can connect with. Barbie’s immense box office success, with a female director and female audience also disproves Hollywood’s long-held belief that men are the only group that really drive sales and so that all film content should cater to them. Barbie has made it clear that women can absolutely helm large scale, multi-million dollar projects and that they’re 100% willing to show up and show out at the box office when they feel a connection to a film.

The prodding of Mattel’s issues only to pull back and suggest ‘actually it’ll probably be fine’ at the last second does feel off, and like an uninspiring end to that specific plot thread. But, if that was what it took to get the rest of the film made (including all of those parts specifically calling out the societal and structural issues that Mattel is directly involved in creating and upholding,) then maybe it was worth it to get the ball rolling. Because no one’s really walking out of this movie thinking, “Well gee, Will Ferrel said he might let America Ferrera make that normal doll so I guess the doll industry and society as a whole is fixed now!” Even if there was a requirement to neuter that plot at the end, they still managed to use the rest of the film to ignite this important conversation.
Okay, so, aside from the Mattel issue, how does the movie actually do in its attempt to create a progressive and relatable story about Barbie? Actually, surprisingly well. No one was expecting a major motion picture financed by a mega corporation to be Earth-shatteringly radical, but everyone has been pleasantly surprised by just how much the film was able to do. There are moments that feel a bit too on-the-nose, but it is a film about a children’s toy so it’s not necessarily a problem that they got a little heavy handed with the more important themes. One scene that’s gotten some chatter around this, for example, is America Ferrera’s big monologue about the myriad hardships that come with being a woman in modern society after she realizes how crazy it is that even perfect Stereotypical Barbie can’t keep up with the wild standards. It is very ‘tell instead of show’, with America just standing in Weird Barbie’s weird living room and listing off all of the contradictions of womanhood (if you cover up too much you’re a prude, not enough and you’re shamed; you can’t be too nice or it’s your fault if you get walked over, but also if you’re not nice enough then you’re a problem, and so on.) Everything she says is certainly very true to the experience of women and girls around the world today, but having this story screech to a halt to just have all of this spoken aloud feels maybe less engaging than a version that showed us this through the storytelling. But, on the other hand, maybe it is important for audiences to just hear all of this said directly, 30 feet tall and in full stereo, without any distractions or possibility that people might miss the point.

CH 3: BACK TO BARBIE LAND

The film also touches on how the patriarchy hurts everyone through Ken’s story. When he travels to the Real World with Barbie, he becomes aware of how male (and horse) dominated our society is, and brings patriarchy back to Barbie Land. After a lifetime of only caring about “Beach” and Barbie, he feels like taking over and remaking Barbie Land into a Kendom will make him a somebody. The way Ken receives information that approves his patriarchal worldview, then wants to rally the guys together, is an effective take on how men often go spelunking down internet rabbit holes and radicalizing forums before espousing those views out in the real world. The Barbies get swept up into the patriarchy too, claiming they enjoy serving men beers and dressing up as maids. But Barbie and her Real World-companions companions trek back to Barbie Land and, after a bit of wallowing in defeat after realizing how the Kens have ruined everything, hatch a plan to put things back how they should be. In an interesting turn, tThe women use the men’s flaws against them, and ask them to do douchey bro things, like explain The Godfather to them, or play a guitar while making weird eye contact through the whole song. When the Kens get jealous that their Barbies are giving other Kens attention, it turns into an all out war. Eventually, Ken realizes that he really just needs to take the time to find himself, and that ruining Barbie Land and making Barbies second-class citizens isn’t going to fix him, or any of the other Kens. And the Barbies realize that maybe the Kens should have some say in Barbie Land, with President Barbie agreeing to one seat in local government for the Kens. In the end, everyone (including Barbie) comes to realize that if they really want to be happy, they need to work together but also follow their own path.
In the end, Gerwig, Robbie, and their creative team managed to make a touching, fun movie with heart and bite, even under the thumb of a mega corp and with all of the pressure of bringing a cultural icon to life. Nothing and no one is perfect (not even Barbie) – and as the film makes clear, that’s a-ok! What’s really important is that you try your best, work with your community, and put good things out into the world. Just like fixing Barbie Land, fixing the movie industry is going to be a team effort that takes a lot of work – this film makes clear the struggle that is trying to make something great while stuck working within the limitations of the depressing real world. While Barbie may not have been able to escape those realities, Gerwig and Robbie are showing us that there is a totally awesome way forward, if we’re willing to fight for it.

CONCLUSION

In the end, Gerwig, Robbie, and their creative team managed to make a touching, fun movie with heart and bite, even under the thumb of a mega corp and with all of the pressure of bringing a cultural icon to life. Nothing and no one is perfect (not even Barbie) – and as the film makes clear, that’s a-ok! What’s really important is that you try your best, work with your community, and put good things out into the world. Just like fixing Barbie Land, fixing the movie industry is going to be a team effort that takes a lot of work – this film makes clear the struggle that is trying to make something great while stuck working within the limitations of the depressing real world. While Barbie may not have been able to escape those realities, Gerwig and Robbie are showing us that there is a totally awesome way forward, if we’re willing to fight for it.