Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling have teamed up with Greta Gerwig to bring Barbie, Ken and their very special universe to life. Details…
Mattel had thought about bringing Barbie to the big screen for years, but it wasn’t until 2018 that things got serious. In fact, Margot Robbie, who is also a Barbie producer, met Ynon Kreiz, the company’s boss who is determined to diversify revenue streams. “The most important transition was from a toy company to a company that manages franchises,” he said in an interview with Time magazine, making Barbie one of fourteen film projects based on Mattel toys.
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An unlikely duo
Best known for 2017’s Lady Bird or 2019’s The Four Daughters of Doctor March, Greta Gerwig is an amazing director to say the least. But not that much… “I’ve been playing with dolls for too long,” she told the American publication. I was still playing in college. Everyone drank and I played with dolls. Thanks to the pandemic, Greta Gerwig and her husband in town, Noah Baumbach, were able to take the time to write a screenplay without pressure from Mattel or the producers.
Margot Robbie confessed that after first reading the script, she thought “nobody would let us do this, it would be a bit much,” but the team eventually got the green light…even when one of the Mattel execs came to the film set, to make sure a scene wasn’t problematic!
A world all pink and perfect…
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Barbie’s story takes place in Barbie Land, a pink and perfect world where the Kens (Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, etc.) are the henchmen of the Barbies (Margot Robbie, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, etc.). But when the main Barbie starts to think about death, this wonderful world falls apart and so Barbie and Ken set out to find a solution, crossing paths with a Mattel employee (America Ferrera) and the Mattel boss (Will Ferrell) cross … all told by a narrator whose voice is that of Helen Mirren.
The various Barbies are one of the main elements of the film and reflect Mattel’s reality of diversity and inclusion. As Margot Robbie pointed out, “If Mattel hadn’t wanted this diversity in Barbie, I probably wouldn’t have even attempted to make this film.” I don’t think it’s fair to say that there’s only one version of Barbie, and that’s that , as women should be.”
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When asked if Barbie could be associated with the term “feminist,” Margot Robbie replied, “It doesn’t have to be that way or it doesn’t. It’s a film, and it’s a film that has many elements.”
Barbie will tumble into dark rooms starting July 21st.
Crazy barbie…
- During filming, the set designers used so much Rosco brand fuchsia paint that there was a worldwide shortage. “The whole world is out of roses,” said Sarah Greenwood, Barbie’s decorator.
- Greta Gerwig had planned surprise appearances by Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan in Barbie. Unfortunately, the two actors have already been moved elsewhere and could not take part in the production.
- Vietnam banned Barbie because a child-drawn world map seen in the background for a few moments in the film seems to indicate that China controls a disputed sea area. That is not all. Several American Republicans took the opportunity to criticize Barbie and point out the “pressure Hollywood is currently under to please Chinese censorship”.
- At many premieres around the world, Margot Robbie made sure to wear outfits created for Barbie. And during the pink carpet in Los Angeles, she updated a 1960s black evening dress.
- If Emma Mackey plays a role in Barbie, it’s because her admirers often mistake her for Margot Robbie, and the two actresses wanted to wink at their admirers.