Barbie, 2023.

In 1995, Disney and Pixar released a film that would change how a story can be told. It was about a Cowboy toy that tries to stay his owner’s favorite when a new space ranger action figure challenges his place. The film was a big success for Disney and Pixar, as it was a blockbuster hit and was a favorite among critics and viewers alike. That film, as you might have guessed, is “Toy Story”. The film will go on to release three sequels, the last being in 2019 and a fourth sequel releasing in 2026. Other films tried to capture Toy Story’s magic, from inspirations like  “Small Soldiers” in 1998, and films from Disney and Pixar themselves, like the “Cars” films and their spin-off film, Planes. But while some of those films managed to be successful in some way, they didn’t manage to capture the magic of Toy Story.

Enter “Barbie”, a film that Warner Bros released in 2023 when they decided to take their shot at creating their film that was inspired by Toy Story. The film was a big success at the box office and was one of the best films in 2023. It was written and directed by Greta Gerwig, director of the 2019 adaptation of “Little Women” and the live-action version of “Snow White”. It had an all-star cast featuring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera, as well as Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, and Kate McKinnon from Saturday Night Live. 

In this review, we shall take a deeper look at the film and see if it is another film about toys or if there is substance underneath the Barbie magic.

The Toy Story effect:

Based on the idea alone, it was clear that Warner Bros and Mattel were aiming for a film that resembles Toy Story, as there is little they could do with a story set and focused in Barbie’s World or any other fictional world, as other films have tried that idea and most of them were direct to video. Another challenge is that even if they were to create a fictional world story, there is not enough lore to explore and base the story on, unlike Hasbro’s Transformers or G.I. Joe franchises. Therefore, a Toy Story inspired film was the right decision.

But despite this fact, the film does stand out from the others and creates its own identity and separates itself from the film it was inspired by.

Themes:

“Barbie” tackles six themes, three of which fall under feminist ideologies. The first of these three is the idea of the patriarchy. From the start of the film until its end, the film strongly says the world revolves around patriarchy, in which man is the dominant gender and that women are only sexualized objects and are only useful as cooks, cleaners, and housewives. The theme is further explored when it becomes the main plot of the film, as the Kens use the basics of this idea to control Barbie Land. The film also states that patriarchy still exists to this day but it’s “hidden better”. The film brilliantly manages to focus on this theme but also manages to weave in other themes and sub-themes as well. The second theme is the image of Barbie the doll, as the character Barbie believes that she is the representation of how women can be powerful. Confident and independent, while Sasha, one of the characters in the film, believes that Barbie was interpreted as what a woman should look like, and instead became the stereotypical sexualized woman that can be used for capitalist benefits and an impossible, unrealistic expectation. This has been one of the challenges that the Barbie doll has faced in its lifespan, and the film uses this as a reflection of society’s view of women. This connects with the third theme, the image of a woman. This theme is presented by a speech that Gloria, America Ferrea’s character, gives at the beginning of the final act. In her speech, Gloria states that women are expected to be many things but are not expected to overshadow men, or they will be shamed by society. What makes this speech so perfect is how Ferrera delivers this speech as she does it with anger and frustration and yet with honesty and confusion, the speech reflects how the film sees an imbalance between men and women and asks for the creation of one in a unique way. It is at this point that I would like to give an interlude in this review and discuss a point that has been on my mind about this particular point. And I would like to give a spoiler warning from this point until I discuss the third theme. After Gloria makes her speech, President Barbie regains her memories, and she, Gloria, and the other Barbies create a plan to bring back the memories of the other dolls. They do this by having Gloria repeat the speech to all the dolls. This creates a domino effect where the other Barbies overthrow the invading Kens and take control of their land. The thing that I wonder about is, throughout the plan’s execution, the Kens are shown to be gullible, egotistic, and the stereotypical image of the macho man, when the Barbies retain their places in power, one of the Ken suggested that men can have some form of power to which President Barbie refuses and instead gives them minor places of power. To me, this creates two interpretations: the first is that the Barbies don’t want to lose their places as the dominant gender, and the other is that they don’t believe that the Kens specifically are fit to hold high positions, at least not yet. There is of course a third simple interpretation, that the film wishes to return the story to its original status quo, or at least as close as it can be to it. I believe that this point is left to the viewer's interpretation. Another theme that the film tackles is Identity. This theme is done when Barbie becomes self-aware, a point that the film uses creatively, and she discovers more about herself and wants to create a personality of her own while Ryan Gosling’s Ken struggles to find his place besides Barbie as he believes that his identity is intertwined with hers. This theme is also shown beautifully in a confrontation between Barbie and Ken at the end of the film in which Barbie states that one is not attached to who he is supposed to be but what he wants to be. The film also tackles the importance of humanity and what it means to be human, as Barbie discovers that humans carry all kinds of emotions from happiness to sadness, and she wishes to discover all of these emotions. The film scratches the surface of the difficulties of the relationship between a mother and her daughter, through Gloria and Sasha. Finally, the film tackles masculinity as its final theme. This is done through Ken experiencing the male-dominated real world and using what he learned to grow his masculinity, as well as moving the plot forward.

Other notes:

Story wise, the film is coherent and easy to follow, and the dialogue is complex yet simple, and the jokes are mostly funny and clever. 

The camera work is simple yet perfect for this film; there are a lot of beautiful shots that may seem fit for a B movie, but work wonderfully in the film’s favor. The costumes, makeup, and settings are all simple and marvelous, and like the camerawork, they work in favor of the film and not against it. The film also manages to create the magical world of Barbie and spread it throughout the film, and even in the credits. All the accessories and vehicles look like they have come out of Barbie's toy box. The film also utilizes the pink color, as well as other neon colors, to create a bright, beautiful atmosphere that lasts until the very end of the credits. The soundtrack is amazing and is meaningful to the plot, as it sometimes tells part of the story through its songs. The soundtrack was made by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt and it features many artists like Lizzo and Billie Eilish, as well as a modern version of “Barbie Girl”.

However, there is one thing that I believe the film could have done better and that is that some characters are used poorly. The first is Sasha’s father, a character who is only seen twice for the entirety of the film and is only used for two simple, barely funny jokes. He has no background, no personality, and is entirely one-dimensional. This issue could have easily been avoided by having Gloria become Sasha’s only parent. The film already has enough jokes and could have added another topic to discuss. The other character is Allan, played by Michael Cera. Like Sasha’s father, Allan does very little in the film, he might have a good line or a good scene here and there, but for the most part is vague and directionless. And then there is Simu Liu’s Ken, whose only purposes is to be Gosling’s rival. And while there is nothing wrong with him, I think they could have done more by exploring his background and having a slightly bigger role in the plot. And finally, there is Mattel’s CEO, played by Will Ferrell. This character is possibly the second best male character next to Gosling’s Ken. He is what the film wants him to be, the perfect image of how the world is male dominant. But the only thing that I wonder about is that he does not have an end goal, and his intentions are not clear. One time he worries about gaining profit and in another he worries about the world’s state. There could be a joke here, but if there is then it is deeply hidden within this character's ambiguity.

But despite these flaws, “Barbie” is still a wonderful film and these flaws don’t hinder its beauty in any way.

Final Verdict:

“Barbie” is a wonderful, beautiful film. Its simple, witty dialogue and smart and funny jokes, as well as its simple and magnificent camera work, and its meaningful soundtrack in addition to its all star cast, it manage to create a film that is worthy of being one of the best films of 2023. It manages to create its own identity and separate itself from the shadows of Toy Story through its feminist ideologies and tackling social themes that exist in our time. Despite that some of the male characters are used poorly, it won’t ruin the enjoyment of the film. I highly recommend this film to the whole family, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I give “Barbie”  a 4 out of 5.