How the Barbie Movie Was Made
Mattel has been trying to make a "Barbie" movie as far back as 2009. For this video, we’ll be looking at all of the amazing elements that went into creating this landmark cinematic achievement.
Transcript
00:00 "Mom, are you really gonna let Barbie take you and your tween daughter to an imaginary
00:04 land?"
00:05 "Yes!"
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're discussing how the Barbie movie was made.
00:10 "Every square millimeter of every look was so finely considered, and there was so much
00:17 philosophy and thought behind it."
00:19 For this video, we'll be looking at all of the amazing elements that went into creating
00:23 this landmark cinematic achievement.
00:25 Attention all Barbies, Kens, and Allens, this video is not spoiler-free.
00:30 What was your favorite part of the movie?
00:32 Share your thoughts in the comments below.
00:36 Crafting a complex story
00:37 For years, there's been talk of a live-action Barbie film.
00:41 But despite the efforts of many creatives who've tried to tackle the project since 2009,
00:46 nothing solid ever came to fruition.
00:48 That is, until actress-producer Margot Robbie and her production studio Lucky Chap Entertainment
00:53 came along in 2018.
00:55 Roughly a year later, she brought on Lady Bird writer/director Greta Gerwig.
00:59 "And I was like, if she says no, we are down to like, it's a very small group of people
01:05 that I think would make the film worth making, sort of thing.
01:08 So thank God she said yes."
01:11 Gerwig and her partner in life, love, and art Noah Baumbach attended a Barbie boot camp
01:16 of sorts hosted by Mattel, where they learned about the doll's storied history and her late
01:20 creator Ruth Handler.
01:21 The former Mattel CEO's motivation for creating Barbie stemmed from her daughter Barbara's
01:26 limited toy options.
01:27 "With a baby doll, little girls have no ability to really dress and do things that girls love
01:35 doing."
01:36 Inspired by this mother-daughter relationship, Gerwig sat down with Baumbach to pen the script
01:40 in March of 2020.
01:42 Both filmmakers are known for their character-driven stories with an indie essence.
01:46 "One of us will write something and we're like, maybe it's not funny, and the other
01:49 one's like, no, it's so funny."
01:51 "That's true, yeah."
01:52 "Yeah."
01:53 "It's so funny, so there's kindness in it."
01:55 "We kind of see it the same way, pretty quickly."
01:57 They're not exactly the type of artists you'd think of for a big summer blockbuster like
02:02 Barbie, but that's what makes their involvement so exciting.
02:06 Mattel and Warner Bros. also generously afforded them creative freedom.
02:10 Gerwig later decided to direct as well, ensuring that her specific vision was realized.
02:15 "What a complex, terrifying thing to try to tackle.
02:19 So that was kind of the source of the fear, but also the source of the excitement, because
02:23 I'm actually, I'm just always interested in things that are messy and complicated."
02:28 As many of the cast and creators told us, Barbie was not what audiences thought it would
02:33 be.
02:34 "And my heels are on the ground."
02:36 The iconic doll in character form suddenly experiences imperfections for the first time,
02:42 and goes through an existential crisis that takes her out of her pink paradise of Barbie
02:46 land and into the dreaded real world.
02:48 The film manages to balance comedy, adventure, and a touch of drama, drawing endless laughs
02:53 and a few tears from its audience.
02:56 It covers a range of important topics and themes such as gender politics, motherhood,
03:00 and self-discovery.
03:02 We may not have predicted this kind of journey for Barbie, but we sure appreciate Gerwig
03:06 and Baumbach's insightful and fun storytelling.
03:09 "Barbie is this emblem of plastic perfection.
03:13 I was like, what better journey to give her than one that gives her humanity."
03:19 Becoming stereotypical Barbie and Beach Ken.
03:22 Aussie native Marco Robbi admitted she wasn't much of a Barbie girl in childhood, and while
03:27 she was passionate about making the Barbie movie happen, she didn't plan to step into
03:32 the role herself.
03:33 "I said to her when she said, 'Yes, I'll come on board.
03:36 I don't have to be in the movie.
03:38 I'm very passionate about making this as a producer, but I don't have to play Barbie
03:43 or be in the movie in any capacity.
03:44 I'm happy just to produce.'"
03:46 Gal Gadot was her ideal choice, since Robbi thinks the Wonder Woman actress radiates natural
03:51 Barbie energy.
03:52 Gadot was unavailable at the time, but later expressed interest in being in a possible
03:56 sequel.
03:57 In the end, Robbi agreed to play Barbie, later called "stereotypical Barbie."
04:02 "I don't have anything big planned, just a giant blowout party with all the Barbies
04:05 and planned choreography and a bespoke song.
04:07 You should stop by."
04:08 Robbi, known for playing iconic women like the fictional Harley Quinn and real person
04:13 Sharon Tate, was all in on becoming Barbie.
04:16 The role required an in-depth study of Barbie and her many controversies, as well as some
04:20 work with a dialect coach to mask her accent.
04:23 But she credits Greta Gerwig with helping her get into the unusual mindset of a doll.
04:27 "Those questions led to some pretty deep answers and conversations, and not even answers, because
04:34 there isn't really an answer.
04:35 What we kept coming back to is like, 'I can't sum up the meaning of life in a neat little
04:40 sentence.'"
04:41 Robbi and Gerwig knew Ryan Gosling was the perfect Ken, literally envisioning the actor
04:46 in the part.
04:47 "We always said in the script, 'Barbie Margot and Ken Ryan Gosling.'
04:51 So we manifested that into existence as well."
04:54 While it took a bit of convincing and some Kennergy conjuring, he eventually agreed.
04:59 At least a year before the 2023 press tour, Gosling was already sprinkling Ken-isms into
05:05 the world.
05:06 The actor's "Kenthusiasm," if you will, has yet to fade, and fans are eating it up.
05:11 "I just decided I'm just gonna Ken as hard as I can.
05:15 You know, I Kenned in the morning, I Kenned at night.
05:18 If I'm honest, I'm Kenning a little bit right now."
05:21 Casting the Barbies, Kens, Allens, and Humans
05:24 Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling aren't the only plastic couple in Barbie-land.
05:28 Multiple Barbies and Kens reside in the sunny Utopia, and though they all share an endlessly
05:33 optimistic outlook, they're each their own person.
05:36 Well, doll.
05:37 "I think that with Greta's approach, it was a mixture of getting to know us as individual
05:43 humans and then fusing that with what she saw for these various Barbies."
05:49 Robbie maintained she didn't want the movie to feature only one Barbie because it would
05:53 imply, as she said, quote,
05:55 "This is the one version of what Barbie is, and that's what women should aspire to be
05:59 and look like and act like.
06:01 Instead, a focus on diversity and representation was made a priority."
06:05 "We wanted Barbie-land to feel incredibly inclusive and we wanted this film to feel
06:10 like everyone was welcome."
06:11 Incidentally, Mattel's Barbie brand didn't really celebrate diversity until they released
06:16 the first black Barbie in 1980, followed by dolls from other parts of the world.
06:21 Greta Gerwig, however, welcomed everyone into Barbie-land, assembling an ensemble cast of
06:26 all shapes, sizes, and identities to play the doll inhabitants.
06:29 "It's funny because Barbie has always been how we've all seen ourselves, and you guys
06:34 have allowed so many people in our world, not in Barbie-land, to see themselves."
06:39 Additional Barbies include Issa Rae as President Barbie, Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie,
06:45 Hari Neff as Dr. Barbie, and SNL alum Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie.
06:50 Additionally, Margot Robbie look-alike Emma Mackey plays Physicist Barbie, while her Sex
06:55 Education co-star Shuti Ghatwa is one of the Kens, alongside Simu Liu, Kingsley Benedeer,
07:01 and Scott Evans.
07:02 "You're looking good, Barbie."
07:03 "Thanks, guys."
07:04 Two unlikely characters in Barbie are discontinued dolls from the past.
07:10 "Here's your big moment.
07:11 Do you take Alan?"
07:13 "I do."
07:14 Actress-filmmaker Emerald Fennell plays the pregnant Midge, Barbie's freckled gal pal
07:18 introduced in 1963.
07:21 At one point in Barbie lore, Midge was coupled up with Ken's best buddy Alan, whom Michael
07:25 Serra brings to life wonderfully on screen.
07:28 Neither doll saw much success in their respective runs, so they're the odd ones out in Barbie-land.
07:33 "There are no multiples of Alan.
07:36 He's just Alan."
07:37 "Yeah, I'm confused about that."
07:40 As for the human beings living in the real world, America Ferreira and Ariana Greenblatt
07:44 as Gloria and Sasha, respectively, bring some fantastic authenticity to the party, and the
07:50 sleepovers.
07:51 We, of course, can't forget about Will Ferrell as Mattel's quirky CEO, and the rest of the
07:56 hilariously uncoordinated Mattel employees.
07:59 "Greta's given a lot of us a chance to kind of improvise and encourages all of that, in
08:06 fact."
08:07 Barbie in Technicolor
08:08 For the look of Barbie, Greta Gerwig referred back to some of her favorite classic films,
08:13 such as 2001 A Space Odyssey, as well as old soundstage musicals, like The Wizard of Oz
08:18 and Singing in the Rain being the most well-recognized.
08:21 Film buffs, however, will also be able to spot homages to Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas
08:26 of Cherbourg and The Red Shoes by Michael Powell and Emerick Pressburger.
08:30 "Just the theatricality and the colors and the way that it never pretended to be anything
08:37 other than on a soundstage, I like that.
08:40 I like that authentic artificiality."
08:43 Gerwig worked with production designer Sarah Greenwood to actually build Barbie-land on
08:47 a soundstage.
08:49 While some filmmakers seek out realistic sets coupled with green screen, Barbie called for
08:53 something the production team referred to as "authentic artificiality."
08:57 Inspired by stylish mid-century modern homes, Greenwood and set designer Katie Spencer constructed
09:02 life-size dream houses, foregoing traditional walls because no one walks their Barbie dolls
09:08 down the stairs.
09:09 "They're timeless pieces, which also has an echo to the actual toys that were in the dream
09:13 house that Mattel make today.
09:15 It's very simple and clear and beautiful."
09:18 They included small details that would be authentic to the doll world, like letters
09:22 scribbled in gibberish and the absence of any real-life elements such as water.
09:27 Later, they would have fun turning the beautiful home into Ken's mojo-dojo casa house during
09:31 the Kendham makeover.
09:33 "Literally we bought everything that a frat boy would like.
09:36 So it was black leather sofas, it was mini fridges, it was massage chairs.
09:41 We had something like over 25 TVs playing all the time."
09:46 Did we mention that production used such an unnatural amount of pink paint that it created
09:50 a shortage?
09:51 "I can't even tell you the meetings we've had about pink."
09:54 "We like sat with all these different kinds of pinks and we were like, 'What is the pink
10:00 and how do the pinks interact?'"
10:02 Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, known for his fantastic work on everything from The
10:06 Wolf of Wall Street to Taylor Swift music videos, expertly shot the colorful, largely
10:11 pink film.
10:12 Gerwig and company employed old-school filming techniques, avoiding CGI in favor of practical
10:17 in-camera effects and hand-painted backdrops.
10:21 "This challenge of execution, but it was, in a way, because I had this very clear vision
10:27 that I wanted everything to be practical and in-camera, it made it easy in terms of how
10:34 we went about stuff."
10:36 The surreal transportation sequences are particularly incredible.
10:39 In this whimsical, childlike atmosphere, we can only hope the crew had as magical a time
10:44 putting everything together as we did watching it all come together.
10:48 "The idea to approach this movie about toys with that spirit of everything being something
10:54 that looks like someone made it is, like it was moving to be on those sets."
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11:15 Disco Dancing and Designer Duds
11:17 Greta Gerwig turned to producers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt for the movie's score, as
11:22 well as original songs for musical numbers.
11:24 "It might have been nice to have a little movie to get used to scoring picture, but
11:29 I, whatever.
11:30 There was something I guess that we just seemed to tap into the musical language of the film
11:36 early."
11:37 They were also tasked with putting together a soundtrack full of bangers, featuring artists
11:42 like Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Sam Smith, and Nicki Minaj.
11:46 Ronson and Wyatt co-wrote Ken's epic power ballad "I'm Just Ken," and you all probably
11:50 won't be surprised to know that's Ryan Gosling's actual voice.
11:54 "I'm just Ken and I'm enough, and I'm great at doing stuff.
12:01 So hey, check me out, yeah, I'm just Ken."
12:07 They also managed to enlist the legendary Slash from Guns N' Roses to play on the track,
12:11 along with fellow musicians Wolfgang Van Halen and Foo Fighters' Josh Friess.
12:16 British songstress Dua Lipa, who also has a part as Mermaid Barbie, performed the disco-infused
12:21 single "Dance the Night," which is featured during Barbie's giant blowout party choreographed
12:26 dance scene.
12:27 "Dance, dance the night away.
12:28 I'll still keep the party running, I want it out of place."
12:35 Of course, the Barbies and Kens, even Alan and Midge, are decked out in glamorous gold
12:39 and white outfits, which is just one example of many award-worthy costumes designed by
12:45 Jacqueline Duran.
12:46 Like the film sets and killer tunes, the wardrobes in Barbie were heavily inspired by vintage
12:51 looks with a modern twist.
12:53 "All the outfits are not one-to-one replicas.
12:55 Some are inspired by real-life Barbies that have existed in the past.
12:59 They might be pictured of like Brigitte Bardot in the 50s or 60s, and that might inspire
13:04 an outfit."
13:05 Some outfits, as you might have picked up, were also taken from fashion found in the
13:09 Mattel archives.
13:11 Duran had a daunting job but rose to the occasion and outfitted each Barbie and Ken in perfectly
13:16 designed ensembles, ranging from retro beachwear, matching pink boiler suits, and chic Chanel
13:22 dresses.
13:23 Oh, and we can't forget about Gosling's shirtless Ken proudly rocking a floor-length
13:27 faux mink lined with horse-patterned silk.
13:30 "Oh, I'm happy.
13:31 Did you noti-- thank you for noticing that.
13:33 It's a horse lining."
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