DVD Review: Barbie the Movie

Barbie the Movie
(DVD Barbie)

I imagine you’ve heard that there’s a new movie about Barbie?

 

First, to clarify, this is not one more installment of the animated Barbie remakes of fairy tales. Back in the day when I was babysitting my niece, we would watch Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses nearly every day and I can assure you she loved it, and for me, it was a good nap. Too much sugar!

 

Barbie the Movie does have its fair share of sugar, but it also contains enough spice to make it enjoyable, especially to the over 12 crowd.

 

Imagine a world in which Barbie isn’t just a fashion queen, but instead, stands in for all of the things a female person could be.

 

This “Stereotypical Barbie” believes that Barbies have been teaching young women that they can be anything that they want to be. Doctors, gymnasts, teachers, vets, scientists, space explorers (“Yay, Space!”) — a girl just needs to choose her own path. She can have a job, a house, a car, and even a Ken, if she wants one.

Although I know many people loved the moment when America Ferraro gives a speech about how hard it is to be a woman in today’s world, my favorite moment was after the young Bratz girls knock Barbie down for being a role model for unattainable body shape. Barbie, in tears, says, “She thinks I’m a fascist?  I don’t control the railways or the flow of commerce.” “Stereotypical Barbie” isn’t the blonde ditz that these young women have assumed, even if she is naive in her belief that girls have been empowered by her existence.

 

I highly recommend taking this journey with Barbie. You’ll have amazing side trips like seeing Will Ferrell and his posse of corporate execs chasing Barbie on rollerblades, a mystical moment where Barbie gets to have tea with her creator, poor Ken’s whole story arc, and just enough “stiff like a plastic doll” moments to tickle your funny bone. And yeah, plenty of mother-daughter moments to play on the heartstrings of what I think is the movie’s target audience: Women from ages 35-70. (We can’t help it if we carry some latent Mickey Mouse Club feelings for Ryan Gosling.)

 

Unlike Sandy from Grease, Barbie is not going to re-invent herself to fit Ken’s ideal. Ken (Ryan Gosling) and Ken (Simu Liu) are just going to have to do their Danny Zuko dance battle by themselves. Grease isn’t the only movie that’s referenced. There’s a slough of “Easter Eggs” to spot, and, if you delve online, you can find lists of the movies Greta Gerwig (the director) took as inspiration, including The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Red Shoes, The Truman Show, and Splash. You will see nods to Grease, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, The Matrix, Swann’s Way, Midnight Cowboy, Playtime, and many more.

 

Maybe Barbie’s mere existence doesn’t solve all women’s problems, but this movie may surprise you with the substance beneath its many layers of fluff. As the song playing as Barbie leaves Barbieland goes: “There’s more than one answer to these questions / pointing me in a crooked line / and the less I seek my source for some definitive / closer I am to fine.” For me, the major theme of the movie is how there aren’t any straightforward answers in life. Reflecting on Barbie’s journey can be as deep or as fluffy as you want it to be. Follow that Pink Brick Road to your own interpretation!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Red Shoes or Amelie for their similar technicolor esthetic, or any of the referenced movies, like Splash or The Truman Show.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official Barbie the Movie web site )

 

See Scott C.’s review of the Barbie the Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack in the September 2023 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

(Carrie actually gives this a “9.9” but our graphics limit us to giving it a “10” rating)

 

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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