Summary
The 2023Barbiefilm included a lot of exciting Easter eggs to moments in Barbie’s 65-year-long history, yet it somehow failed to incorporate allusions to theanimated Barbie films. The films have been produced by Mattel since 2001 with the release ofBarbie in the Nutcracker. As of 2024, Mattel has released 43 animated films and streaming television films that either star or feature Barbie.
Although the animated films are not the most profitable aspect of the Barbie franchise,they are still wildly popular among young Millennials and older cohorts of Gen Z. Considering this, it is surprising that Easter eggs from the film series weren’t inserted intoBarbie. It is especially surprising since the films greatly expanded Barbie’s history and lore, something the 2023 film did not explore.
New Barbie Movie Could Be Even Bigger Than $1.4 Billion Hit, Even Without Margot Robbie & Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Barbie was both a box office hit and a pop culture phenomenon, but this other Barbie film could be even bigger.
The Animated Films Expand Classic Barbie Lore
Barbie Is Shown Doing Everything
Because the Barbie doll was originally created to inspire children to think creatively about adult roles,the Barbie of the animated films is seen excelling in numerous different careers, such as a fashion designer or a spy. Barbie’s main role in the animated films — especially during the Classic Era, which covers the films released from 2001 to 2009 — is that of an actress. She is often suggested to be the star of many of the animated films as either a princess or a magical creature.
Because the Barbie doll was originally created to inspire children to think creatively about adult roles, the Barbie of the animated films is seen excelling in numerous different careers, such as a fashion designer or a spy.
From 2010 until the present day,the Barbie animated films shifted the focus away from classic princess stories to more modern settings, allowing Mattel to explore her fictional life.In these films, Barbie is seen in exciting careers involving fashion design, espionage, and computer programming. This change also coincided with the end of Mattel’s home video entertainment in 2017 as the company aligned themselves with the rise of streaming services. In this era, Barbie became a vlogger.
The shift to modern storylines also allowed Mattel toexpand Barbie’s cast of friends and family beyond their original characterizations.For example, her three sisters—Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea (originally named Kelly until 2011)—have co-starred in many entries of the film series, and her aunt, Millicent Rawlins, was introduced inBarbie: A Fashion Fairytaleas a fashion designer in Paris. Similarly,Barbie’s relationship with her former boyfriend Kenwas put to the test in the film series in an attempt to modernize both characters.
Why The Animated Films Weren’t Incorporated In The Barbie Movie
The Creators Wanted To Make Something Original
It’s unclear why the animated films were excluded from the 2023 film. One reason that may explain why the animated films were not incorporated inBarbieis because writer/director Greta Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach were not familiar with the film series. This could be because,prior to 2015, the film series were direct-to-video, meaning that they were perhaps not as indelible a part of public consciousness as a major cinematic release might have been.
Even after the films were put on streaming, it is plausible that the pair stayed away from the series on purpose to authentically craft an original story, despite Barbie being inherently based on IP. Gerwig and Baumbach’s mission to deliver an original story may explain why one of the animated films wasn’t adapted to the big screen — particularly the Classic Era films, most of which are adapted from fairy tales. It makes sense consideringMattel kept failing to launch a live-action Barbie moviefor a long time. The company wouldn’t want to mess up by adapting fairy tales,especially since the goal was to attract adult audiences.
However, it does not explain why aspects of those films weren’t among theBarbiemovie’s numerous Easter eggs(Video Girl Barbie, Sugar Daddy Ken, and Earring Magic Ken, to name a few). Some viewers have pointed out that there is a Pegasus Statue on the beach, which could be a nod to the 2005Barbie and the Magic of the Pegasus. However, the cameo is not as explicit as the other Easter eggs from the film.
What The Future of Barbie Looks Like (And What It Should Look Like)
A Sequel Could Explore Other Barbies
Due to the overwhelming critical acclaim and commercial successBarbiereceived in 2023, many fans have speculated that Mattel would take advantage of the film’s success to produce aBarbie sequel.Although Gerwig and star Margot Robbie have expressed doubts about a potential sequel, Mattel and Illumination — the animation studio known for theDespicable Mefranchise — have been discussing the possibility of making an animated Barbie movie.
The new animated Barbie movie has not been confirmed by either company. Regardless, a potential Barbie film franchise would best benefit from following the anthology strategy of the animated films rather than continuing the story in the 2023 film. This would allow Mattel to further develop Barbie as a character. This also provides an opportunity tocast different actresses as the titular Barbie, which would highlight the company’s commitment to diversity. In fact,there are 175 different Barbies with different hair, body types, skin tones, and abilities(viaTime).
This also gives them the opportunity to cast different actresses as the titular Barbie, which would highlight the company’s commitment to diversity.
Ultimately, there are a lot of directions anotherBarbiemovie could go in.In the age of superheroes combined with female empowerment, audiences may not be keen to see Barbie as a princess or a magical creature.However, it is still an important and nostalgic aspect of Barbie’s lore that has a preexisting fan base. The reintroduction of fairy tale aspects to Barbie stories would not only be a fun way to allude to Barbie’s past, but it would also fill in the classical princess gap à laCinderellaorSleeping Beautyin the mainstream media.
