Barbie Trivia | 50 facts about the upcoming movie

Barbie is an upcoming fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig. The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken respectively.

Let’s find out more about the movie!

1. Barbie is an upcoming fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach.
2. Based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel.
3. The film is the first live-action Barbie film after several computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films.
4. The film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, respectively.
5. In the film we will see an ensemble supporting cast that includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.
6. The film was announced in September 2009 by Universal Pictures with Laurence Mark producing, but development began in April 2014.
7. Following multiple writer and director changes and the casting of Amy Schumer and later Anne Hathaway in the titular role, Sony lost the rights, which were transferred to Warner Bros. Pictures in October 2018, with Robbie in talks to star.
8. Margot Robbie was cast in 2019.
9. Greta Gerwig was announced as director and co-writer with Baumbach in 2021.
10. Ryan Gosling and the rest of the cast were announced in early 2022.
11. Principal photography took place primarily at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England from March to July 2022.
12. Barbie is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
13. According to Ryan Gosling, he accepted the role of Ken after seeing his daughter’s Ken doll lying face down in the mud next to a squished lemon.
14. He then took a shot of the doll and lemon and sent it to Greta Gerwig, saying, “I shall be your Ken, his story must be told.”
15. Despite fan expectations, the original “Barbie Girl” song by Aqua will not be featured in the film. Mattel has a bad legal history with the band over the song, and unsuccessfully tried to sue them over it for “copyright infringement,” only for Aqua to win the lawsuit as their single was a parody and protected under fair use.
16. However, a sample of the song is used in “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice that was recorded especially for the movie’s soundtrack.
17. The font used in the film is based on the font that was used for all Barbie dolls, products, and merchandise from 1975-1991. The Barbie logo usually undergoes a makeover for each generation.
18. Kate McKinnon’s Barbie in the film is a humorous nod to the kind of rough play to which a child could subject their Barbie doll. The stains on her face are from marker and her messy haircut is a result of a child butchering their doll’s hair with scissors.
19. Originally announced in 2009, this project has undergone multiple different iterations and been a property for three different studios. Originally it was a Universal Pictures production, but after five years of development, Sony Pictures took over in 2014. Jenny Bicks was hired as a screenwriter, but replaced by Diablo Cody the following year. In December 2016, Amy Schumer entered negotiations to star in the title role, as well as rewrite the screenplay alongside Kim Caramele.
20. Schumer exited the project in 2017, where it was announced Alethea Jones would direct, Olivia Milch would write and Anne Hathaway would lead role. Sony’s option expired in October 2018 and the project transferred to Warner Bros. Pictures, where the project would finally make progress and become a film.
21. Michael Cera plays Allan in the film, who is Ken’s best friend introduced in 1964. His girlfriend-turned-wife Midge also appears in the film played by Emerald Fennell. Both characters were canonically married in 1990 with the Wedding Day Midge dolls.
22. Simu Liu plays an Asian variant of Ken in the film. Though he’s not based on a specific Ken, the first Asian Ken doll to be released was in 2011, with the collector edition Japan Ken (also known as the Samurai Ken) included as part of the Dolls of the World series. Not only was he the first Asian Ken, he was also the first (and so far, only) Ken to be included in Dolls of the World, which was previously a Barbie-only line.
23. Ryan Gosling’s Ken is inspired by the appearance of Sun Lovin’ Malibu Ken from 1979, who also wore turquoise swimwear and had blonde hair with tan skin.
24. Nicola Coughlan’s Barbie is a Diplomat. Though there hasn’t been a Diplomat Barbie doll released specifically, the Australian Diplomat Julie Bishop was honored with a Barbie doll by Mattel in 2021, as she was the first woman to serve as Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
25. The first trailer is a tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
26. Emerald Fennell plays Barbie’s friend Midge in the film, first introduced in 1963 as her redheaded companion. Her appearance in this film is specifically based on the 2003 Pregnant Midge & Baby doll from the Happy Family line. This doll is infamous for having been controversial back when she was released, as the doll was accused of promoting teen pregnancy (even though Midge was an adult in this version) and for seemingly being an unwed single mother (even though Midge had gotten married to Ken’s friend Allan in 1990 with the Wedding Day Midge Giftset, and Allan was a part of the Happy Family line as her husband). The box for Midge & Baby lacked a cutout of Allan in the back, making it seem like she was unmarried and pregnant, so Walmart pulled the doll from shelves and Mattel replaced it with a new box that had a cutout of Allan in the corner of the box to make it more obvious she’s married, her silver wedding band on her hand was also painted to be thicker to make it more noticeable.
27. Issa Rae in the film plays a Barbie for President doll. Her appearance is based on the 2004 Barbie for President African American version that had a red pantsuit. Barbie for President is a Mattel doll line that first appeared in 1992 depicting Barbie as a presidential candidate, and the line reappears every presidential election year.
28. The shot of Barbie stepping out of her heels on her tippy toes is a nod to the body mold of the traditional Barbie. Until 2015 with the introduction of Barbie Fashionista dolls with feet molded to be flat so that they can wear flat footwear, all Barbie dolls that had feet were molded to only wear high heels, even if the doll had no shoes as part of the gimmick or accessories (like the beach-themed Barbie dolls for example).
29. Sharon Rooney plays a Lawyer Barbie in the film. Though there hasn’t been a Lawyer Barbie released specifically (with the closest examples being 1963 Career Girl Barbie, 1992 Business Executive Barbie, and 1999 Working Woman Barbie), there was an Elle Woods Barbie released in 2003, as a promotional tie-in with the release of Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde (2003).
30. The older woman Barbie is talking to in the real world, according to the subtitles of the official Main Trailer, is called Ruth. She is named after Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Mattel and is considered the “Mother of Barbie”. She created the first Barbie in 1959.
31. This will mark the first time Barbie appears in a theatrical live action feature film as opposed to her animated appearances in the direct to video films and television specials. But this does not include the two animated films Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 3 (2010) which are from Disney and Pixar and only used by permission from Mattel.
32. In fact Barbie was going to appear in the first Toy Story (1995) film as the love interest of Woody until she got replaced by Bo Peep since Mattel refused to let her appear in the film.
33. The second trailer for the film is a tribute to The Matrix (1999) by Lana and Lilly Wachowski.
34. Dua Lipa plays a Mermaid Barbie in the film. Her appearance is directly based on the blue Dreamtopia Mermaid Barbie doll from 2018.
35. Alexandra Shipp plays a celebrated Author Barbie in the film. Though there hasn’t been an Author Barbie released specifically, Mattel did honor acclaimed author Maya Angelou with a Barbie doll in 2021 as part of the Inspiring Women series.
36. Both Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon, who play Barbie, previously starred in Bombshell (2019). In that film, Jess Carr (McKinnon) called Kayla Pospisil (Robbie) an “anchor Barbie”.
37. Before the teaser trailer was released, Deadline reported that the film will be rated PG by the MPAA.
38. Hari Nef plays a Doctor Barbie in the film. She is inspired by the historically important Doctor Barbie released in 1973, depicted as an M.D. with teal blue scrubs, surgical mask, and a stethoscope. The doll had actually received a commemorative reproduction by Mattel in 2022.
39. The first theatrically released live-action movie to be based on a doll line ever since Bratz (2007).
40. Ritu Arya plays a Pulitzer Prize winning Barbie in the film. She’s not based on any specific Barbie but there was the commemorative release of the Ida B. Wells Barbie released in 2021 as part of the Inspiring Women series, who herself is a Pulitzer Prize winner.
41. Saoirse Ronan was going to appear in the film, but scheduling conflicts prevented her from being able to film. Ronan previously collaborated with Greta Gerwig on Lady Bird (2017) and Little Ladies (2019).
42. Margot Robbie has been a fan of Barbie since childhood, having been gifted a Barbie Dreamhouse at Christmas.
43. Margot Robbie had one request for director Greta Gerwig: she wanted a slide for Barbie’s house that would go from her bedroom to her swimming pool.
44. Ana Cruz Kayne plays a Supreme Court Justice Barbie in the film. The first Barbie to depict her as a courtroom judge was released in 2019 as part of the Career of the Year doll line.
45. Ncuti Gatwa plays an African American musician Ken variant in the film. The first AA Ken to be released was in 1982 with the Sunsational Malibu Ken doll. His appearance in this film is also inspired by the Ken from the Grand Ole Opry Country Duet Giftset featuring both Barbie and Ken as country musicians.
46. Though not directly based on a specific doll, Emma Mackey’s Barbie is inspired by the Scientist, STEM Leader, and Astrophysicist Barbie dolls that Mattel has released prior as part of Barbie’s various careers.
47. Scott Evans in the film plays a Western themed Ken. His appearance is a tribute to the Cowboy Ken released in 1993 called the Western Stampin’ Ken doll.
48. Production designer Sarah Greenwood claimed that so much fluorescent pink paint from the company Rosco was used for the set construction that it caused an international shortages. However, according to Lauren Proud, vice-president of Rosco paint, while the production did indeed use as much paint as the company had, the shortages were connected with the supply chain problem during the Covid-19 pandemic.
49. Hari Nef, a transgender woman, plays a Barbie in the film. The first transgender Barbie doll Mattel ever released was the Laverne Cox Barbie doll in 2022 as part of the Tribute Collection series honoring iconic women. The doll is historical for being the first Barbie to be transgender.
50. Barbie floats down from her house to the ground rather than using any stairs from her Dreamhouse, which it does not have upon closer inspection. This is a nod to the fact that the earlier Barbie Dreamhouses did not actually have stairs inside of them for Barbie to walk down on, so any child playing with the doll would just have her “float” from one floor to the next, defying physics.