barbie movie reviews nz

Review: Barbie is a stunning, delightful and surprisingly relatable film about womanhood

Watch: Kate Rodger's Barbie review. Credits: Video - Newshub; Image - Warner Bros. Discovery

Every now and then I've been known to humiliate myself in a crowded cinema. I have an embarrassingly loud laugh and I scare very easily in a way that will almost certainly be accompanied by an extremely loud screech.

But there was a particular moment in Barbie , courtesy of an incredible piece of scripting and phenomenal delivery from America Ferrera, where I found myself yelling out an involuntary "whoop"!

A "whoop? Who does that? Turns out, I do.

Because the most amazing thing about this Barbie movie, the one thing I never expected from a Barbie movie, was how much of myself I would see in it. How much of the complicated, messy, wild, bewildered, empowered, womanliness of me and of almost every woman I know. 

In a Barbie film. I know.

More from Newshub

But let's rewind, readjust my film critic cap a little and look at Barbie , the movie.

With so much promo content to dine out on (hats off to the marketing dept - give them all the awards!) fans have been given what feels like an enormous insight into what this story is all about. But hold your horses, as aforementioned this is not the story you might think.

Aussie actor Margot Robbie is so perfectly cast as 'Stereotypical-Barbie' living her best life in 'Barbie World' with all the other Barbie and Kens. The 'Real World', a world they all believe is a world where women and men are equals and where women everywhere have genuine power, is of course far from that. As in it's actually the real world.

But when our Barbie wakes up one fine morning ready to live her "BEST DAY EVER" she is instead very suddenly afflicted with thoughts of death, her always tippy-toed high-heeled-clad feet very suddenly slammed down flat; total panic consumes her. She must visit Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) on the hill, and it's here this pink-drenched scenario shifts from heels to Birkenstocks as Barbie must journey to find the sad, complicated real woman who is behind her descent into reality and to save her from becoming 'Cellulite-Barbie'.

Enter Emmy-winning actor America Ferrera as Gloria. Along with her tweenage daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) they will change the course of Barbie history, while at the same time validating the female experience in the most nourishing of ways.

And then, there's Ken. Ryan Gosling camps up his Ken to dizzying heights of lovesick ridiculousness and is basically the best Ken ever. I now also get why Barbie and Ken are such LGBTQ icons.

The overall jammed-packed crazy storyline means there is something for everyone. It's a lot.

The pink-drenched giddy silliness of it all, the song and dance 'Kenergy' of it all; I will admit might just be a tippy-toe too far - this movie is very busy.

There are also a few leaps of faith I can imagine will be too far for some.

I can also understand how a good many Kiwi blokes aren't reading this review because it has "Barbie" at the top of it and this pains me. But for those of you still with me here, not only is the male gaze still a part of this story, but what an opportunity it is to learn so much more about the inner workings of all the women in your life, and a bit of your own.

And what about Ken? He's a legend! All the other Kens, they're awesome too! And Will Ferrell, he's in it, so stay with me here. 

That all-encompassing group hug aside, it is brilliant to see a giant Hollywood blockbuster movie unashamedly built by women, for women - and it looks set to dominate the global box office with massive projections.

Girl power, woman power, a feminist war-cry wrapped up in a pink bow and full of real heart and seriously lols; it's a Barbie World, and you should be in it.

Four-and-a-half stars.

"Barbie," director and co-writer Greta Gerwig 's summer splash, is a dazzling achievement, both technically and in tone. It's a visual feast that succeeds as both a gleeful escape and a battle cry. So crammed with impeccable attention to detail is "Barbie" that you couldn't possibly catch it all in a single sitting; you'd have to devote an entire viewing just to the accessories, for example. The costume design (led by two-time Oscar winner Jacqueline Durran ) and production design (led by six-time Oscar nominee Sarah Greenwood ) are constantly clever and colorful, befitting the ever-evolving icon, and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (a three-time Oscar nominee) gives everything a glossy gleam. It's not just that Gerwig & Co. have recreated a bunch of Barbies from throughout her decades-long history, outfitted them with a variety of clothing and hairstyles, and placed them in pristine dream houses. It's that they've brought these figures to life with infectious energy and a knowing wink.

"Barbie" can be hysterically funny, with giant laugh-out-loud moments generously scattered throughout. They come from the insularity of an idyllic, pink-hued realm and the physical comedy of fish-out-of-water moments and choice pop culture references as the outside world increasingly encroaches. But because the marketing campaign has been so clever and so ubiquitous, you may discover that you've already seen a fair amount of the movie's inspired moments, such as the " 2001: A Space Odyssey " homage and Ken's self-pitying ‘80s power ballad. Such is the anticipation industrial complex.

And so you probably already know the basic plot: Barbie ( Margot Robbie ), the most popular of all the Barbies in Barbieland, begins experiencing an existential crisis. She must travel to the human world in order to understand herself and discover her true purpose. Her kinda-sorta boyfriend, Ken ( Ryan Gosling ), comes along for the ride because his own existence depends on Barbie acknowledging him. Both discover harsh truths—and make new friends –along the road to enlightenment. This bleeding of stark reality into an obsessively engineered fantasy calls to mind the revelations of " The Truman Show " and "The LEGO Movie," but through a wry prism that's specifically Gerwig's.

This is a movie that acknowledges Barbie's unrealistic physical proportions—and the kinds of very real body issues they can cause in young girls—while also celebrating her role as a feminist icon. After all, there was an astronaut Barbie doll (1965) before there was an actual woman in NASA's astronaut corps (1978), an achievement "Barbie" commemorates by showing two suited-up women high-fiving each other among the stars, with Robbie's Earth-bound Barbie saluting them with a sunny, "Yay, space!" This is also a movie in which Mattel (the doll's manufacturer) and Warner Bros. (the film's distributor) at least create the appearance that they're in on the surprisingly pointed jokes at their expense. Mattel headquarters features a spacious, top-floor conference room populated solely by men with a heart-shaped, " Dr. Strangelove "-inspired lamp hovering over the table, yet Will Ferrell 's CEO insists his company's "gender-neutral bathrooms up the wazoo" are evidence of diversity. It's a neat trick.

As the film's star, Margot Robbie finds just the right balance between satire and sincerity. She's  the  perfect casting choice; it's impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed stunner completely looks the part, of course, but she also radiates the kind of unflagging, exaggerated optimism required for this heightened, candy-coated world. Later, as Barbie's understanding expands, Robbie masterfully handles the more complicated dialogue by Gerwig and her co-writer and frequent collaborator, filmmaker Noah Baumbach . From a blinding smile to a single tear and every emotion in between, Robbie finds the ideal energy and tone throughout. Her performance is a joy to behold.

And yet, Ryan Gosling is a consistent scene-stealer as he revels in Ken's himbo frailty. He goes from Barbie's needy beau to a swaggering, macho doofus as he throws himself headlong into how he thinks a real man should behave. (Viewers familiar with Los Angeles geography will particularly get a kick out of the places that provide his inspiration.) Gosling sells his square-jawed character's earnestness and gets to tap into his "All New Mickey Mouse Club" musical theater roots simultaneously. He's a total hoot.

Within the film's enormous ensemble—where the women are all Barbies and the men are all Kens, with a couple of exceptions—there are several standouts. They include a gonzo Kate McKinnon as the so-called "Weird Barbie" who places Robbie's character on her path; Issa Rae as the no-nonsense President Barbie; Alexandra Shipp as a kind and capable Doctor Barbie; Simu Liu as the trash-talking Ken who torments Gosling's Ken; and America Ferrera in a crucial role as a Mattel employee. And we can't forget Michael Cera as the one Allan, bumbling awkwardly in a sea of hunky Kens—although everyone else forgets Allan.

But while "Barbie" is wildly ambitious in an exciting way, it's also frustratingly uneven at times. After coming on strong with wave after wave of zippy hilarity, the film drags in the middle as it presents its more serious themes. It's impossible not to admire how Gerwig is taking a big swing with heady notions during the mindless blockbuster season, but she offers so many that the movie sometimes stops in its propulsive tracks to explain itself to us—and then explain those points again and again. The breezy, satirical edge she established off the top was actually a more effective method of conveying her ideas about the perils of toxic masculinity and entitlement and the power of female confidence and collaboration.

One character delivers a lengthy, third-act speech about the conundrum of being a woman and the contradictory standards to which society holds us. The middle-aged mom in me was nodding throughout in agreement, feeling seen and understood, as if this person knew me and was speaking directly to me. But the longtime film critic in me found this moment a preachy momentum killer—too heavy-handed, too on-the-nose, despite its many insights.  

Still, if such a crowd-pleasing extravaganza can also offer some fodder for thoughtful conversations afterward, it's accomplished several goals simultaneously. It's like sneaking spinach into your kid's brownies—or, in this case, blondies.

Available in theaters on July 21st. 

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Margot Robbie as Barbie
• Ryan Gosling as Ken
• America Ferrera as Gloria
• Will Ferrell as Mattel CEO
• Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie
• Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha
• Issa Rae as President Barbie
• Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler
• Hari Nef as Doctor Barbie
• Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie
• Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie
• Michael Cera as Allan
• Helen Mirren as Narrator
• Simu Liu as Ken
• Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie
• John Cena as Kenmaid
• Kingsley Ben-Adir as Ken
• Scott Evans as Ken
• Jamie Demetriou as Mattel Executive
• Alexandre Desplat
• Mark Ronson
• Greta Gerwig
• Noah Baumbach

Cinematographer

• Rodrigo Prieto

Leave a comment

Now playing.

Small Things Like These

Bird (2024)

Meanwhile on Earth

Christmas Eve in Miller's Point

Stockholm Bloodbath

The Last Rifleman

Weekend in Taipei

Youth (Homecoming)

The Piano Lesson

Latest articles.

Time Moves On: Jesse Eisenberg on "A Real Pain"

A Voice from the Great Unconscious: Tony Todd (1954-2024)

"Arcane" Makes Triumphant Return to Netflix

Tokyo International Film Festival 2024: Godzilla Turns 70

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Barbie, the movie: Greg Bruce and Zanna Gillespie review the biggest film of the year

Married film reviewers Greg Bruce and Zanna Gillespie give their verdict on Barbie

They’ve put some crack into the marketing of this movie. They’ve got us all thinking pink, using the very same brainwashing techniques the Kens use to brainwash the Barbies in the film – tell me you’re brainwashing me without telling me you’re brainwashing me. I was every bit as excited for this movie as the people wearing pink at the cinema. It’s the movie event of the year, and Warner Bros and Mattel have made sure we feel that in our bones.

A vital ingredient to the success of this film, and it is successful, is writer/director Greta Gerwig ( Little Women , Lady Bird ). She has made a film that simultaneously indulges our Barbie fantasies and provides a cultural critique of the negative role Barbie has played in shaping feminine ideals. A cynic would say that’s exactly what Mattel’s brief would have stated: “You can explore Barbie’s role in perpetuating unrealistic, Western-centric beauty standards as long as audiences walk away loving Barbie more than ever.” She nailed it.

Barbie Land is a perfect world, run by Barbies, where everyone is happy all the time – until Stereotypical Barbie, Margot Robbie, starts having some experiences that reveal a glitch in the space-time continuum between Barbie Land and the Real World: thoughts of death, flat feet, burnt waffles. Weird Barbie, the superb Kate McKinnon, then reveals to her that the only way to save Barbie Land is to venture into the Real World to repair her relationship with her owner.

Robbie is an obvious choice as Stereotypical Barbie; she has the same symmetrical face and unattainable perfection that has made girls and women feel bad about themselves for generations. But Ryan Gosling’s Ken steals the film. He’s very funny as a hollow shell of a man whose sole purpose in life is to get the attention of Barbie. Gosling’s early career in the Mickey Mouse Club really comes to the fore here with amazing dance routines, including one in which the story of the many Kens learning to make love not war is told through dance. And when Ken stows away with Barbie on her journey to the Real World, learns about patriarchy, loves it and brings it back to Barbie Land, we all laugh at the ridiculous Andrew Tate-ness of it all.

You wouldn’t call this film subtle. Barbie’s owner – a Mattel employee played by America Ferrera – has more than one diatribe on how impossible it is to be a woman in the Real World. But Barbie has never been a subtle character. She is stereotypical femininity dialled up to 100 and the film is girl power on steroids.

We both really enjoyed this movie and if it weren’t for the Barbie Movie-esque existential crises Greg and I both experienced in the car ride home thinking about the ways in which corporations like Mattel are essentially autonomic machines that we, largely good humans, are in service to, it would have been a Perfect Movie.

I was sitting next to two young women dressed in pink, who, even before the movie started, were fantastically excited, bouncing up and down in their seats, slapping their legs, clapping with excitement, fanning their faces as they teared up, hugging and grabbing at each other.

I tried to imagine how two equally excited young men might react at the screening of something they were equally excited about. It’s possible they might punch each other in the arm and call each other “dickhead”, but only if they could be sure no one was around to notice.

Why the wildly differing reactions? One common argument is that men are not as emotional as women, but as any therapist will tell you, that’s bunkum. Men are actually highly emotional – it’s just that we have spent most of our lives learning to hide it behind public expressions of love for fighting sports and Tom Cruise doing his own stunts.

This repression of emotion has been important for men, helping us to reach positions of power in the capitalist world we have created, in which the expression of emotions is seen as inferior to the expression of uninformed self–belief, because we’ve decided it should be.

What’s great about the Barbie movie is that it brings all this to the surface and makes us think and talk about it. What’s gross about the movie is that its motivation for doing so is to sell plastic and deliver shareholder value, mostly to people who don’t need it, and who couldn’t care less about the movie’s “message” as long as it returns a profit and shifts units.

I bring all this up because I went into the movie with those thoughts already in my mind, and then I sat down next to those excited young women, and I was instantly and powerfully struck by the contrast: the cynical middle-aged man who had come to roll his eyes at Mattel’s use of indie-darling filmmakers to credibility-wash their problematic product, and the young women who had come to laugh, cry and take selfies.

Because I’m a man and I therefore want people to think my judgements are rational rather than emotional, I’d like to think I would have enjoyed the movie regardless, but there’s something contagious and powerful about being in the presence of unbridled enthusiasm. I loved that feeling, I felt the movie was a triumph and I felt like I was being swept up in the joy and power of a movement. Still, I can’t help but wish that the movement was focused more on changing the world and less on changing the way the world sees a doll.

Barbie is in cinemas now.

Latest from Lifestyle

I’d had the perfect childhood – what was it about me that made me an alcoholic, recipe: these air fryer french fries are 'simply the best', uk tv star slammed for ‘disgusting’ remarks about princess kate, new tech powers off-grid comfort.

Telegraph: Is addiction down to personality, genetics or trauma, or does it hit randomly?

I’ve helped 150 couples fix their sex lives. This is the advice I give to all of them

Sponsored: Make sure your valuables are covered

• Trending on RT

Barbie First Reviews: Hysterically Funny, Perfectly Cast, and Affectionately Crafted

Critics say greta gerwig's send-up of the iconic doll is a thoughtfully self-aware, laugh-out-loud comedy that benefits from a flawless margot robbie and a scene-stealing ryan gosling..

TAGGED AS: Comedy , First Reviews , movies

Here’s what critics are saying about Barbie :

Is the movie funny?

“ Barbie can be hysterically funny, with giant laugh-out-loud moments generously scattered throughout.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

“Often funny, occasionally very funny, but sometimes also somehow demure and inhibited, as if the urge to be funny can only be mean and satirical.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“The entire screenplay is packed with winking one-liners, the kind that reward a rewatch.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

“One of the funniest comedies of the year.” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

Will fans of Greta Gerwig’s other movies enjoy Barbie?

“In some ways, Barbie builds on themes Gerwig explored in Lady Bird and Little Women .” – Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

“ Barbie balances the incredibly pointed specificity of the jokes and relatability of Lady Bird , with the celebration of women and the ability to show a new angle of something we thought we knew like we saw with Gerwig’s take on Little Women .” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

“Never doubt Gerwig.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

(Photo by ©Warner Bros. Pictures)

How is the script?

“It’s almost shocking how much this duo gets away with in this script, and in certain moments, like a major speech by America Ferrera’s Gloria, who works at Mattel, it’s beautiful that some of these scenes can exist in a big-budget summer film like this.” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

“One character delivers a lengthy, third-act speech about the conundrum of being a woman and the contradictory standards to which society holds us… [and it’s] a preachy momentum killer — too heavy-handed, too on-the-nose, despite its many insights. ” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

“The moments that aren’t just laughing at and with the crowd, however, are shoved into long, important monologues that, with each recitation, dull the impact of their message.” – Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

Does it stick the landing?

“The second half of Barbie bogs down a bit.” – Michael Philips, Chicago Tribune

”It’s frustratingly uneven at times. After coming on strong with wave after wave of zippy hilarity, the film drags in the middle as it presents its more serious themes.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

How does it look?

“It’s a visual feast.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

“Highest honors to production designer Sarah Greenwood, costume designer Jacqueline Durran and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto.” – Michael Philips, Chicago Tribune

How is Margot Robbie as Barbie?

“She’s the perfect casting choice; it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role… Her performance is a joy to behold.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

“She gives an impressively transformative performance, moving her arms and joints like they’re actually made of plastic.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

“Anything Gerwig and Baumbach’s verbally dexterous script requires, from Barbie’s first teardrop to the final punchline, Robbie handles with unerring precision.” – Michael Philips, Chicago Tribune

“Robbie is simply incredible in the title role… She has often excelled in these types of roles where we see the power a woman truly has in her environment, but there might not be a better example of that than in Barbie .” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

What about Ryan Gosling’s Ken?

“For an actor who’s spent much of his career brooding moodily, here, he finally gets to tap into his inner Mousketeer.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

“Ryan Gosling is a consistent scene-stealer… He’s a total hoot.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

“Ken allows Gosling to go broad in a way that we’ve never seen him go before, and the result is charming, bizarre, and one of the most hysterical performances of the year.” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

Does it feel like a toy commercial?

“It’s Gerwig’s care and attention to detail that gives Barbie an actual point of view, elevating it beyond every other cynical, IP-driven cash grab.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

“ Barbie could’ve just been a commercial, but Gerwig makes this life of plastic into something truly fantastic.” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

“This movie is perhaps a giant two-hour commercial for a product, although no more so than The Lego Movie , yet Barbie doesn’t go for the comedy jugular anywhere near as gleefully as that.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“The muddied politics and flat emotional landing of Barbie are signs that the picture ultimately serves a brand.” – Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

Are there any big problems?

“If the film has a flaw, it’s that Barbie and Ken are so delightful that their real-world counterparts feel dull by comparison.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

“The only segment of Barbie that doesn’t work as well as it maybe should is the addition of Mattel into this narrative.” – Ross Bonaime, Collider

“Because the marketing campaign has been so clever and so ubiquitous, you may discover that you’ve already seen a fair amount of the movie’s inspired moments.” – Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

Who is the movie ultimately for?

“ Barbie works hard to entertain both 11-year-old girls and the parents who’ll bring them to the theater.” – Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly

“ Barbie doesn’t have that tiring air of trying to be everything to everybody. With luck, and a big opening, it might actually find the audience it deserves just by being its curious, creative, buoyant self.” – Michael Philips, Chicago Tribune

Barbie opens in theaters everywhere on July 21, 2023.

Thumbnail image by ©Warner Bros. Pictures

On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.

Related News

Weekend Box Office: Venom Is Tops Again Over Lackluster Weekend

30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming

Gladiator II First Reviews: The Grand Spectacle of Action and Intrigue You’re Hoping For

Dune: Prophecy First Reviews: Like Game of Thrones in Space, but Weirder

Your Full List of All Upcoming Marvel Movies — With Key Details!

Movie & TV News

Featured on rt.

November 11, 2024

25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now: What to Watch on Streaming

Top Headlines

• Best TV Shows of 2024: Best New Series to Watch Now –
• Best Movies of 2024: Best New Movies to Watch Now –
• 30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming –
• 25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now: What to Watch on Streaming –
• 100 Best Netflix Series To Watch Right Now (November 2024) –
• All Leonardo DiCaprio Movies Ranked By Tomatometer –

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the ... Read all Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.

• Greta Gerwig
• Noah Baumbach
• Margot Robbie
• Ryan Gosling
• 1.8K User reviews
• 457 Critic reviews
• 80 Metascore
• 207 wins & 429 nominations total

Top cast 99+

• Weird Barbie

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Barbie is 23% larger than everything in Barbieland to mimic the awkward, disproportionate scale that real Barbies and Barbie activity sets are produced in. This is why Barbie sometimes appears too large for things like her car or why ceilings seem to be too low in the Dreamhouses.
• Goofs Gloria drives a Chevrolet Blazer SS EV, yet during the car chase scene her electric vehicle makes conventional gas engine acceleration noises.

Ken : To be honest, when I found out the patriarchy wasn't just about horses, I lost interest.

• Crazy credits All the actors playing Barbies and Kens are not indicative of which Barbie and Ken they portray, and are simply listed as playing "Barbie" and "Ken", with the exception. (Just for clarification's sake, Margot Robbie plays "Stereotypical Barbie", Kate McKinnon plays "Weird Barbie", Issa Rae plays "President Barbie", Hari Nef plays "Dr. Barbie", Alexandra Shipp plays "Writer Barbie", Emma Mackey plays "Physicist Barbie", Sharon Rooney plays "Lawyer Barbie", Ana Cruz Kayne plays "Judge Barbie", Dua Lipa plays all the "Mermaid Barbies", Nicola Coughlan plays "Diplomat Barbie", and Ritu Arya plays "Journalist Barbie".)
• Alternate versions The IMAX version, released on September 22, 2023, has an extended runtime of two hours.
• Connections Edited from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Soundtracks Requiem (1963/65): 2. Kyrie Written by György Ligeti Performed by Bavarian Radio Orchestra (as Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks) and Francis Travis Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH Under licence from Universal Music Operations Ltd

User reviews 1.8K

"barbie" - a multifaceted exploration of femininity, consumerism, and existentialism.

• andypaps101
• Jul 18, 2023

Incredible Looks From the 'Barbie' Press Tour

• How long is Barbie? Powered by Alexa
• July 21, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Official Instagram
• Official Site
• Venice Beach, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Warner Bros.
• Heyday Films
• LuckyChap Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $100,000,000 (estimated)
• $636,238,421
• $162,022,044
• Jul 23, 2023
• $1,446,938,421
• Runtime 1 hour 54 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• IMAX 6-Track
• 12-Track Digital Sound
• D-Cinema 96kHz 7.1
• Dolby Atmos

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

‘Barbie’ May Be the Most Subversive Blockbuster of the 21st Century

By David Fear

It’s tough to sell a decades-old doll and actively make you question why you’d still buy a toy that comes with so much baggage. (Metaphorically speaking, of course — literal baggage sold separately.) The makers of Barbie know this. They know that you know that it’s an attempt by Mattel to turn their flagship blonde bombshell into a bona fide intellectual property, coming to a multiplex near you courtesy of Warner Bros. And they’re also well aware that the announcement that Greta Gerwig would be co-writing and directing this movie about everyone’s favorite tiny, leggy bearer of impossible beauty standards suddenly transformed it from “dual corporate cash-in” to “dual corporate cash-in with a very high probability of wit, irony, and someone quoting Betty Friedan and/or Rebecca Walker.”

Editor’s picks

The 100 best tv episodes of all time, the 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, the 200 greatest singers of all time.

Except, in the middle of one of their regular super-cool and totally awesome sing-alongs, Barbie blurts out, “You guys ever think about dying?” No one, least of all the shiny, happy person who said it, has any idea where that random bummer came from. The next morning, Barbie’s imaginary shower is cold. Her imaginary milk has curdled. The collective perkiness of her friends and neighbors only seems to highlight her inexplicably bad mood. Her stiletto-ready arches suddenly fall flat. And then, she comes face to face with what can only be described as the Thanos of the Barbie Cinematic Universe: cellulite.

Related Content

'heartbroken' dua lipa cancels jakarta show over unsafe stage, will ferrell and billy eichner are 'loud white men for kamala' in new 'billy on the street', will ferrell urges 'gary' to get out and vote, will ferrell proposes new song for u.s. naturalization ceremonies on 'last week tonight'.

Once in our world, Barbie will encounter sexual harassment, gender inequity, the benefits of crying, the CEO of Mattel ( Will Ferrell ) and the mother (America Ferrara) and daughter (Ariana Greenblatt) who’ve introduced such morbid thoughts into her brain. Ken will discover horses, Hummer SUVs, and toxic masculinity . She returns with her new human friends to Barbieland in a state of dazed enlightenment. He comes back as a full-blown Kencel, spreading a gospel of full-frontal dude-ity.

Trending Stories

Americans didn’t vote for what donald trump is about to give them, chloe fineman claims elon musk is the 'snl’ host who made her ‘burst into tears’, art garfunkel on his emotional reunion with paul simon: ‘my soul is connected with him’, the edge looks back on 'atomic bomb,' ahead to u2's next album.

Critical thinking isn’t mind corruption, of course. Nor is pointing out that you can love something and recognize that it’s flawed or has become inflammatory over time, then striving to fix it. It’s definitely not a bad thing to turn a potential franchise, whether built on a line of dolls or not, into something that refuses to dumb itself down or pander to the lowest common denominator. And the victory that is Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling — along with a supporting cast and crew that revel in the idea of joining a benefic Barbie party — slipping in heady notions about sexualization, capitalism, social devolution, human rights and self-empowerment, under the guise of a lucrative, brand-extending trip down memory lane? That’s enough to make you giddy. We weren’t kidding about the “subversive” part above; ditto the “blockbuster.” A big movie can still have big ideas in 2023. Even a Barbie movie. Especially a Barbie movie.

Denzel Washington Teases 'Black Panther 3' Role

• Wakanda Forever
• By Jon Blistein

Amy Adams Didn't Want to Traumatize 'Enchanted' Fans With 'Very Dirty' Lonely Island 'SNL' Song

• Fairest of Them All
• By Larisha Paul

‘Here’s Your Potential. Meet Your Potential’: Aldis Hodge on Playing Alex Cross

• Watching the Detective
• By Alan Sepinwall

Jim Gaffigan Reflects on 'Cool' Experience of Playing Tim Walz on 'SNL'

• Looking Back
• By Emily Zemler

Jon Stewart Investigates What Went Wrong for Democrats on Election Night

• Late-Night TV

Most Popular

Grammy nominations 2025: beyonce leads with 11 nods as taylor swift, chappell roan, sabrina carpenter and charli xcx are among top nominees, 'yellowstone' premiere quickly reveals fate of kevin costner's character: "we let the cat out of the bag", 178 amazon favorites that have earned a spot in everyone's cart, nfl bettors sting draftkings, cost company $250 million, you might also like, ‘yellowstone’ ratings: first episode without kevin costner scores show’s biggest premiere night audience ever, the top 25 brands that held gen z’s attention in 2024, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, ‘carry-on’ trailer: taron egerton is the tsa agent we all want this holiday season, viral dances, makeup tutorials and now… sports tickets.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

• Movie Review
• This Barbie is a feminist parable fighting to be great in spite of Mattel’s input

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is often good and sometimes great, but it always feels like it’s fighting to be itself rather than the movie Warner Bros. and Mattel Films want.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

Share this story

Barbies might “just” be toys, but Barbie™ is an impossibly perfect paragon of glamorous femininity who’s had as many specialized professions over the course of her 64-year-long existence as she has bespoke outfits. There are few pieces of corporate-owned IP that are truly as Iconic (in the pre-social media sense of the word) as the doll that put Mattel on the map and taught children of all genders — but especially little girls — to long for hot pink dreamhouses. That’s why it isn’t all that surprising to see Mattel Studio’s brand protection-minded influence splashed all over Warner Bros.’ new live-action Barbie movie from writer / director Greta Gerwig.

Valuable as the Barbie brand is, it makes all the sense in the world that Mattel would want Gerwig’s feature — a playful, surreal adventure that does double duty as a deconstruction of its namesake and her technicolor, dreamlike world — to play by a set of rules meant to protect their investments. But as well meant as Mattel’s input presumably was, Gerwig clearly came with a bold vision built around the idea of deconstructing some of the more complex realities of what Barbie represents in order to tell a truly modern, feminist story.

Watching the movie, you can often feel how Mattel and Gerwig’s plans for Barbie weren’t necessarily in sync and how those differences led to compromises being made. Thankfully, that doesn’t keep the movie from being fun. But it does make it rather hard to get lost in the fantasy of it all — especially once Barbie starts going meta to poke fun at the studios behind it in a way that seems to be becoming more common .

Along with celebrating innumerable pieces of Mattel’s history, Barbie tells the story of how the most Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) in all of Barbie Land gains the tiniest bit of self-awareness one day and starts to find her growing sense of complex personhood so alarming that she sets off for the Real World to find out what the hell is going on. Like the vast majority of Barbies who call Barbie Land home, all Stereotypical Barbie knows about her own world is based on the picture-perfect, idealized experiences she and her friends are able to breeze their ways through solely using the power of their imaginations. 

Things don’t just happen to Barbies. They’re very much the arbiters of their own wills who’ve worked hard to become people like President Barbie (Issa Rae), Dr. Barbie (Hari Nef), Lawyer Barbie (Sharon Rooney), and Pulitzer Prize-winning Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp). But life for Barbies also isn’t especially difficult or complicated, partially because they’re all dolls living in a plastic paradise. Mainly, though, it’s because Barbie Land’s an expressly woman-controlled utopia reminiscent of Steven Universe ’s Gem Homeworld , where neither misogyny nor the concept of a patriarchy exists because that’s not what Barbie™ is about.

As an unseen Helen Mirren — who seems to be playing a version of herself as Barbie ’s narrator — points out who’s who in the film’s opening act, you can see how Mattel’s willingness to let Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach’s script poke fun at Barbie™ led to some extremely good world-building.

Barbie Land isn’t just a predominantly pink pocket dimension where Life-Size -like dolls live in life-sized, yet still toy-like dream homes. It’s the embodiment of the easy-to-digest, corporate-approved feminism and female empowerment that Mattel and many other toy companies deal in. Only in Barbie Land, the idea of a predominantly female supreme court or construction sites full of nothing but hardworking women aren’t just dreams — they’re a regular part of everyday life. And all the Barbies are better for it because of how it reinforces their belief that they can do anything.

But outside of the Stereotypical Barbie-obsessed Ken whose job is to stand on the beach (Ryan Gosling), none of the other Kens (Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, and John Cena) are ever really given personalities to speak of. It’s clearly a purposeful decision meant to reinforce the idea that Ken dolls, which were invented after Barbie dolls, are the Eves to their Adams — accessory-like beings created to be companions rather than their own people. But as solid as the idea is, in practice, it has a way of making the Kens of color feel like thinly-written afterthoughts hovering around Gosling and like Barbie isn’t sure how to utilize its entire cast — a feeling that intensifies more and more as the movie progresses.

Long before Barbie even starts to have her existential crisis and seek guidance from Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), it becomes painfully clear that there was a strong desire on either Mattel or Warner Bros. parts for audiences to be spoon-fed as much of the film as possible before actually sitting down in theaters. If you’ve watched even a couple of Barbie ’s lengthier ads or the music video for Dua Lipa’s (who plays Mermaid Barbie) “Dance the Night,” you’ve seen a significant chunk of this film and its more memorable moments.

What you’ve seen less of is how often Barbie slows down to have characters repeat jokes and belabor points as if it doesn’t trust the audience to catch beats on their initial deliveries. Some of that can be attributed to the PG-13 movie trying to make sure that viewers of all ages are able to engage because as existentially heavy and slightly flirty as Barbie gets at times, it’s a movie about Barbies, which is obviously going to appeal to a bunch of literal children. But once Barbie’s in the real world being harassed by lascivious men, ruthless teen girls, and a bumbling, evil corporation that the movie goes to great lengths to make fun of, you also get the sense that more than a bit of the movie’s unevenness on the backend stems from Mattel putting its foot down about how it, too, needed to be a part of Barbie’s live-action, theatrical debut.

There’s a time and a place for corporations to try getting in on the fun of events like this by way of meta humor that acknowledges their own existence and the role they play in bringing projects like movies about Barbie dolls into being. But rather than creating the necessary conditions for those kinds of jokes to land, not need explanation, and add substance to Barbie, both Mattel and Warner Bros.’ self-insert jokes work more to remind you how the movie is ultimately a corporate-branded endeavor designed to move products.

That doesn’t keep Gerwig’s latest from being an enjoyable time spotlighting a decidedly inspired performance from Robbie. But it is going to make the rabid Barbie discourse even more exhausting than it already is when the feature hits theaters on July 21st.

Cash App users have a week left to claim part of a $15 million settlement

Analogue’s 4k nintendo 64 launches next year for $249, bluesky adds 700,000 new users in a week, valve finally made a white steam deck that you can actually buy, the push for elon musk to lead american ai policy is already starting.

More from The best entertainment of 2023

• Godzilla Minus One is a brilliant reckoning for the king of monster allegories
• A24’s Dream Scenario is a shapeshifting parable about our obsessions with viral fame
• Killers of the Flower Moon is a devastating snapshot of America’s truth laid bare
• Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is a beautiful relic — and the end of an era
• Across the Spider-Verse is an animated masterpiece that upends Marvel’s Spider-canon
• Suzume is everything that’s beautiful and moving about Makoto Shinkai’s imagination
• Beau Is Afraid is an exercise in laughing to keep from screaming
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the new gold standard for video game films
• Talk To Me is a potent dose of unrelenting teen horror
• Creed III brings Adonis’ story full circle by trading in one set of daddy issues for another
• M3gan is a midrange delight about the horrors of 21st-century parenting

Review: Barbie shows life in plastic is indeed fantastic

Margot Robbie as Barbie looks out over BarbieLand. (Source: Supplied)

Well folks, it's finally here. The movie event of the year.

For the last decade there's always been a superhero film or a Star Wars dominating film conversation, but this year it's a film based on a doll.

Beginning in the picture-perfect world of BarbieLand, the film quickly establishes the status quo for Barbies and Kens. Everything is perfect, women are in all positions of power and the Kens exist only to serve and worship their Barbies.

As far as they are aware, all of women's struggles in the real world were solved years ago thanks to the creation of Barbie.

When Barbie (Margot Robbie) begins to have intrusive, un-Barbie-like thoughts, her existential crisis leads her to the real world where things aren't as pink and bright and harmonious as she was led to believe.

Like has happened to all of us at some point, the reality of the real world crushes her spirit.

Margot Robbie stars as the iconic doll, alongside her loyal Ken, played by Ryan Gosling. (Source: 1News)

While this is Barbie's first time appearing in live action, it may shock you to learn that there are 42 animated films featuring Barbara Millicent Roberts. That's a full name I know because I have seen all 42 of them. I only bring this up so you know that it's coming from an educated place when I say this is the best Barbie movie (and also I would feel like I wasted my time watching them if I didn't go on about it all the time).

The first thing that strikes you is the production design. BarbieLand is so lovingly crafted and the level of care and detail put into it is something we never really see for comedy movies these days.

While it does dip its toes into drama and occasionally existential horror, at the core of it, Barbie is a comedy film. While there's been plenty of funny movies in recent years, it's becoming increasingly rare for a film to make it to the big screen which is primarily designed to make you laugh.

Barbie debuted in 1959, with Ken being released in 1961. (Source: Supplied)

Those that do make it to the big screen usually have paper-thin budgets or no one goes to see them, so it's refreshing to have what's poised to be the biggest film release this year be so much fun.

The film is populated by dozens of different Barbies and Kens and while the supporting cast is all fantastic, mostly in somewhat limited roles, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are absolute perfection as our main Barbie and Ken.

Both have excellent comedic chops which are rarely showcased in their other work, so you can tell they're having a ball flexing them here.

Director Greta Gerwig helms Barbie after her two other directorial efforts both landed Best Picture nominations. When she was initially announced as the director, it seemed like an odd choice. With two arthouse films under her belt no one really knew what to expect from Barbie. But of course like Lady Bird and Little Women, it's another feminist masterpiece.

Barbie and Ken rollerblade in the real world. (Source: Supplied)

Barbie has been a very controversial figure in her 64 years as the most famous doll on Earth. For decades her body type was criticised as being unrealistic for women and the term 'harmful stereotype' has been thrown around probably a few million times. Parents believed that the doll encouraged little girls to focus on the way they looked and not their careers.

In 2023 the reputation of Barbie is a little bit different though, the doll line has diversified their range immensely and if you turn to her offical YouTube channel, you'll see her tackling issues like racism and the expectations placed on women.

I'm glad this film is coming out in 2023, even five or 10 years ago I think we would've gotten a very different film. Despite the harsh portrait of the real world shown in the film, there isn't an ounce of cynicism in the whole film. Women are never put down for not fitting into societal norms, nor are they put down for wanting to fit into those same norms.

Ultimately, while I got a lot out of this film and highly recommend it for people of all ages and genders, there is going to be a specific demographic that gets more out of this film than anyone and I'm sure they know who they are and they didn't need this review to convince them.

But I will say one final thing.

More on this topic

World's Barbie-mania coming to New Zealand

We visit New Zealand's biggest Barbie collector and fan, as the new craze for Barbie rises in the wake of the new movie.

Entertainment

July 6, 2023

'World ran out' - Barbie film's role in global pink paint shortage

The vice-president of Rosco, which supplied the paint for the film's set, confirmed they "used as much paint as we had".

June 5, 2023

To any men reading this worried that this film is an 'attack' on men, as has been reported in some trades, not only is female empowerment not an attack on men anyway, but this film specifically is actually very sympathetic and dare I say empowering to men.

Ken's character arc of only ever existing to serve Barbie before getting a glimpse of what power looks like for himself is crafted with a lot of care. While yeah, there are digs at the patriarchy and typical dudebro attitudes, you gotta be able to laugh at yourself fellas.

More Stories

Megan Fox reveals she's pregnant

The 38-year-old actress — who has Noah, 12, Bodhi, 10, and Journey, eight, with her ex-husband Brian Austin Green — has confirmed that she's expecting her first child with Machine Gun Kelly.

Ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz for sale nearly 2 decades after theft

The footwear at the heart of the beloved 1939 musical were stolen by a thief convinced they were adorned with real jewels.

Crime and Justice

Great Scott! Could we get a Back to the Future musical movie?

Director Robert Zemeckis said he "would like to do Back to the Future: The Musical".

Margot Robbie gives birth to her first child

Robbie and her husband Tom Ackerley have remained tight-lipped on the arrival.

Queen Elizabeth II to make posthumous cameo in Hollywood film

The late monarch died aged 96 in 2022 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.

Al Pacino reveals he turned down the role of Han Solo in Star Wars

The 84-year-old Hollywood legend said he struggled to understand the story and sci-fi concepts.

Thu, Oct 31

Spy satellite images lead archaeologists to site of historic battle in Iraq

Ivy League university to offer a course on Beyoncé and her legacy

Travel linked to new Akl measles case, locations of interest released

Live: Day Two - National Toitū te Tiriti hīkoi travels the country

Ex-Home and Away star walks free after appeal win in Victoria

Moving on: Planning is the key to business succession

Sponsored by BNZ

Police engage with gang leaders ahead of public patch ban taking effect

'Got her': Jury watches moment cop tasers 95yo great-grandmother

Fix for Westland's SH6 will be costly, take years - NZTA

Heroic Victorian kindy teacher pushed kids out of truck's path

More from Entertainment

The artist is not the first performer to be the subject of a college-level course.

Orpheus Pledger led police on a three-day manhunt after stomping on a woman's head in a "disturbing" attack.

Rita Ora pays tribute to Liam Payne at MTV EMAs as Swift wins big

Monday 4:54pm

Noel Gallagher has 'around six tracks' for potential Oasis album

Monday 11:54am

Sabrina Carpenter fulfils her Grammy 'dream'

Sun, Nov 10