is already enjoying later this month, with an extravagantly detailed and carefully executed press tour led by star and producer heaping further hype onto already-high expectations.
Alongside that she’s rocked at various premieres, we’ve been treated to sneak peaks at the likes of struggling with playing second fiddle to his girlfriend, and various glimpses of the film’s amazing version of Barbie’s Dreamhouse.
Most excitingly, we’ve also been briefly introduced to the , including the president (Issa Rae), a Barbie with a Nobel prize in physics (Emma Mackey) a lawyer (Sharon Rooney) and a diplomat (Nicola Coughlan) among many others.
It feels like director and co-writer Greta Gerwig’s film is not only going to be stuffed full of intricate references and nostalgia that Barbie fans will go mad for but – crucially – it is also going to celebrate the versatility and ability of Mattel’s market-dominating doll.
In 2023, Hollywood is finally making Barbie cool again and smashing all the negative stereotypes that have followed her around since she was first introduced back in 1959.
As someone who would lose myself in hours of creative play and world-building with my own extensive collection of Barbies (60 plus and zero regrets), my dolls were something I was still interested in as a tweenager, later than many of my peers.
It’s something Gerwig revealed herself too, admitting to : ‘I played with dolls until… I don’t want to say too late, but I played with them long enough that I didn’t want kids at school to know I still played with them.
‘I was a teenager. I was about 13 and still playing with dolls, and I knew that kids at that point were already kissing. I was a late bloomer.’
With Barbie’s release looming, now is the time to finally celebrate and cheer loudly for her and everything she can represent – without it being some sort of shameful secret.
‘Barbie was a huge part of my childhood from when I was four years old and remains a huge part of my adulthood. She’s always in style,’ freelance crafter Kerri Marsh, 34, tells Metro.co.uk.
‘I don’t know what it was about her that made me love her so much, but as a child, I had everything and anything of Barbie. As an adult, I’m into collecting Barbie clothing, bags and stationery.’
It’s also led her into her chosen career.
‘Barbie has inspired me to share my love of her with the way I dress and another passion of mine, which is crafting.’
Lucy Askew, 42, also agrees that she has been inspired in her work by Barbie.
‘I worked in theatre for 16 years and now run a cinema. I honestly think Barbie played a huge part in determining the career path I ended up taking. It rooted imagination, creativity, and escapism at the heart of what makes me a happy human,’ the CEO of Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, shares with Metro.co.uk.
Lucy says she was ‘hooked’ as soon as she was given her first Barbie doll as a young girl and saw her as an avenue to explore her imagination as well as various career options.
‘At that time my mum was a stay-at-home mum, as were both my grandmas, so Barbie opened up this world of possibility that I could be anything and not just a home maker.
‘She also provided a way to create endless worlds and stories, I would play with Barbies from the moment I got up until it was bedtime. Games ranged from playing schools, or hospitals to or pretending there was a nuclear war in Barbie world!’
The mum, who has passed on her enthusiasm for Barbie to her daughter, still has her original dolls from when she was growing up and ‘at key birthdays make it quite clear that a collectable Barbie is the thing I want most’.
For actor Rachelle Grubb, 30, Barbie has also been an inspiration in her adult life and focus.
‘I think [Barbie] allowed my creativity to come through. I started drawing clothes and creating my own designs and styles quite young, which is something I always now come back to when I feel in a creative rut in my acting job.
‘I remember just loving matching outfits for my dolls when I would pretend they were off to the shops. I probably had all the accessories going because I wanted them to have such vibrant outfits all the time!’
Cleaning influencer and interiors expert Nicola Rodriguez, known as the Essex House Dolly, still uses her love of the fashionable Barbie world from her childhood in her professional life too.
‘It definitely inspired me to do the job I do today! Being the Essex House Dolly for me is creating Barbie homes,’ the 47-year-old explains.
‘I absolutely loved Barbie when I was young and only parted with my collection when I was 17. It wasn’t so much about the doll itself, it was all the other things that came with Barbie. I’ve always loved home interiors and organising, so I would spend hours rearranging the house furniture and accessories.’
Kerri is adamant too that Barbie has ‘inspired me to believe that I can be anything I want to be and to go after my dreams’.
The ‘total fashion icon’ has also influenced her own choice of clothes.
‘I dream of having a wardrobe like hers someday! She’s inspired me to wear what I love, which includes a lot of Barbie pink. It may be ‘too much’ for some people when I’m out and about dressed head-to-toe in pink with a Barbie bag in hand – but I have had women come up to me and compliment me which makes my day.’
Barbie has received a lot of flak in the past for with an abnormally tiny waist, long legs and freakishly small feet.
However, more recent releases have seen some movement towards different body types and certainly more diversity in Barbie’s skin colour as well as a real effort to be .
‘I think she’s had a lot of stick over the years. I’m not sure her body shape has helped me with my own body image, but all she’s ever really been [doing] is reflecting the same kind of idealised shape that the fashion world and Hollywood perpetuate,’ Lucy points out.
‘Mattel has done such great work over the past few years increasing the diversity of Barbies available, it’s been great to see the brand evolve in such a positive way.’
Kerri doesn’t feel like the criticism is fair and says she never felt pressurised or alienated by Barbie’s appearance.
‘I’ve never recalled thinking at any age that I should look like Barbie. I see her for what she is – a doll who literally has everything a girl could dream of!’
She’s also an admirer of the steps Mattel has taken to expand its range.
‘There are now dolls who are petite, tall and curvy, in wheelchairs, have prosthetics, vitiligo and . Hopefully now, every child (and adults) can see a little bit of themselves in Barbie.’
However, Nicola does agree with the criticism ‘to some extent’ as she’s seen ‘the lengths people go with plastic surgery’.
‘I think we have to look at it with understanding – the world was different when Barbie first came into the market,’ argues Rachelle.
‘What people should focus on now is how the brand can really represent the world we now live in.’
All the women are looking forward to watching the Barbie movie and anticipating its message, with Nicola especially enjoying the build-up.
Kerri shares: ‘I’m hoping it will be everything I imagine Barbie to be and more. I can’t wait to see Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling take on the most famous and iconic duo, Barbie and Ken!’
For Lucy, it’s both a personal and professional highlight, given how the after-effects of the pandemic are still negatively affecting the film industry.
‘Cinema in the UK has been really struggling to get audiences back to anything close to pre-pandemic levels and it looks like Barbie is about to knock it out the park – we’re .
‘It couldn’t be more perfect for me – Barbie once again saves the day like she did in all my childhood games!’
She’s also really happy with how the movie appears to be portraying Ken via Gosling and his fellow Kens, including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir.
‘The Barbie movie has captured the idea of Ken being a bit secondary to Barbie so well – “he’s just Ken”.
‘So many fairytales have the princess being rescued by the prince but it always felt like Barbie had agency and could save herself. However, this never came at the expense of Barbie also being able to wear a princess dress, or look after a baby, she could be ‘girly’ without that being all she was.’
In Rachelle’s case, she’s particularly excited for the film’s comedy element – as well as Barbie’s outfits, of course.
‘I can’t wait for the comedy. I feel like the industry doesn’t allow women to be funny and I feel that this production is going to throw stereotypes at the walls and burn them.’
We’re certainly here for that.
Barbie hits UK cinemas on Friday, July 21.
