Greta Gerwig’s film frenzy in pink has been hitting theaters this week, letting Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling meet more doll variants than Spider-People roam the Marvel Multiverse. Because Barbies and Kens have existed in all possible shapes and colors – and professions – for over 60 years.
If you thought that Barbie is a 2-hour commercial for the coolest Barbie dolls available for sale, you’re way off the mark. Not everything is perfect in Barbieland and this is where a few get Mistakes made by the Barbie company Mattel her fat off in a relish way.
Below we present you 5 weird dolls from the Barbie film, their real plastic role models caused controversy upon their publication.
1. Barbie’s pregnant friend Midge
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midge
Among the countless Barbies and Kens, Barbie’s pregnant friend Midge also has a small cameo in the live-action film. She is played by Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell. The gag is that Midge is only allowed to be seen briefly because a pregnant Barbie doll is just too strange – just like her doll role model.
In 2002, a new version of the Midge doll releases a shit storm out of. She wasn’t just pregnant. You could also detach her magnetically attached pregnancy belly and take a small plastic baby out of it.
Conservative parents in the US reacted outraged and insinuated that the doll would advertise underage pregnancies. It was also controversial that the pregnant doll did not have a wedding ring. The American supermarket chain Walmart then banned the entire Happy Family collection from its shelves.
2. The Sugar Daddy Ken is just misunderstood
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sugar daddy
The appearance of Rob Brydon’s flamboyant sugar daddy Ken is one of the many comedy highlights of the Barbie film. The joke about his performance is that his name is just Sugar Daddy, because he is “daddy” of a dog named Sugar. And that’s exactly why Mattel gave the real version of the collectible doll, which was released in 2010. The (clear) ambiguity of his Ken name remains curious.
3. Barbie’s sister Skipper grows her breasts
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skipper
Barbie was given a little sister named Skipper for the first time in 1964. In 1975, an adolescent version of the doll called Growing Up Skipper was released, which was met with controversy. A mechanism not only allowed the doll to grow several centimeters. Also with a twist of the plastic arm, she suddenly grew breasts.
Or as it said on the box: Transform the “cute little girls” in a “tall curvy teen“. And who thinks Mattel has learned from this mistake: In 2007, the breast mechanism was relaunched with the Growing Up Glam doll.
4. Earring Magic Ken unintentionally became a queer icon
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Earring Magic Ken
In 1993, the most stylish version of Ken to date appeared, who also appeared alongside Sugar Daddy Ken in the Barbie film. This Earring Magic fashionista featured bleached hair, a mesh top, faux leather vest, an earring, and a necklace. But it was probably not in Mattel’s interest that this Ken to absolute hit in the gay community became.
Not just because he’s dressed way too cool for a straight Ken and looks like he’s straight out of the club. In addition, its chain pendant is reminiscent of a cock ring. In the US, homophobic conservatives were outraged and Mattel finally stopped making the queer Ken in 1994.
Despite his short lifespan, this Ken did what no other could: Earring Magic Ken became one of the best selling Ken dolls of all time. Unfortunately, he no longer wears his cock ring in the Barbie film.
5. Video Girl Barbie is a body horror nightmare
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Video Girl Barbie
After the release of the video Girl Barbie the FBI had to step in and issue a warning. There was concern that the camera built into this Barbie model could be misused to secretly film minors. Luckily that didn’t happen and this Barbie is still for sale.
But let’s be honest: thanks to the techno body modification, the Videodrome girl could also be straight out of a David Cronenberg horror film, right?
Barbie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling has been in cinemas since July 20, 2023.
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