Barbie is a funny, quirky, over-the-top, nostalgic movie about the Barbie universe.
*Disclaimer* – This blog post does contain spoilers.
The set designs of Barbie reflect the toy sets available in stores, including her beach house, the beach, water, cars, and the abundance of pink and pastel colors. The designs are incredibly vibrant, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. The travel scenes from the “Real World” to the “Barbie World” were also colorful and toy-like.
The movie evoked a sense of nostalgia by featuring discontinued Barbies, Kens, dogs, and accessories that I found enjoyable to observe. Their images were incorporated into the sky, adding to the overall effect. The film broke the fourth wall multiple times and it added to the comedy.
I liked how we got Barbie’s issue within the first ten or so minutes of the movie. She needs to find the human that is having doubts about Barbie. In a predictable move, the film zooms on an agnsty teenager but it turns out her mom is the human with doubts that she needs to cheer up, not the daughter. I enjoyed America Ferrera’s monologue about women. It encouraged Barbie to look deeper into herself as Barbie and as a woman.
I found it intriguing how Ken displayed jealousy towards the other Kens and craved Barbie’s attention in this universe. When he encountered men in the real world with power and respect, he decided to incorporate everything he observed into the Barbie World. This led to several consequences in both the real world and Barbie World, which the movie aimed to overcome. It’s surprising because Ken’s role is to support Barbie, but in this movie, he was envious, proud, and at times unsupportive, which I didn’t expect from Ken.
As the film neared its conclusion, it appeared that all the storylines had been resolved. However, Barbie still felt the same as she did at the beginning, leading me to think that her issue might not be resolved. Nonetheless, the writers gave her the realization that she can be both Barbie and a woman, which I thought was an excellent resolution. The final scene where she excitedly goes to a gynecology appointment made me chuckle, as it reminded me of how she and Ken had informed some random men in the Real World that they didn’t have private parts. It’s amusing to see that she now does. I wonder how Allen’s doing. I hope he doing ok.
I thought Barbie was a cute, nostalgic, funny, and quirky movie. I recommend watching Barbie if you like pink, women empowerment, and laughing. 8/10.
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