When the first trailer for Mattel’s popular toy brand was released back this April, few would expect that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie would become such a box office phenomenon worldwide. Fun, upbeat, and vibrant, the film brings the childhood magical world of every little girl into life, by following the iconic Barbie, who’s portrayed by Margot Robbie, into her dreamy Barbieland, brimming with other Barbies and Kens that we all know and love. In a summer filled with blockbusters such as Oppenheimer, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Barbie still retains a solid place in the theaters, and gains positive reactions from the audience.
The lead actress, Margot Robbie, who’s known for playing Harley Quinn in the DCEU, has delivered a stellar performance as the iconic Barbie, and is easily one of the best parts of the film. However, few would know that before taking the role, the Australian actress has one requirement for Greta Gerwig to fulfill, and this demand of her eventually makes Barbie even better than we expected. Let’s learn more about Robbie’s demand from the film, and how it affects Barbie as a whole.
#1. Margot Robbie brings every girl’s childhood dreams come to life.
Source: Warner Bros
Barbie is truly an unexpected dark horse this summer, gaining critically acclaimed reviews from both fans and critics thanks to its simple yet intriguing storytelling, and the inspiring messages left behind. In fact, it has got an impressive score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is one of the highest-rated films of this summer.
Margot Robbie’s stunning display as the Stereotype Barbie, the heroine of the show, successfully captures the hearts of the audience in theaters. And in a recent interview with Time Magazine, the actress shared with the public some interesting news about her work in the project, and that one condition she made with Greta to take the role.
#2. Robbie agrees to play Barbie, under one simple condition.
Source: Warner Bros
The current Barbie movie is more than just a toy commercial film, as it is also widely praised for the deep and meaningful message about feminism, diversity, and self-acceptance behind it, and it’s all thanks to Robbie and Gerwig’s endeavor. According to the Aussie star, she and Gerwig have met with Mattel’s chief executive Ynon Kreiz to discuss certain aspects of the upcoming film, regarding its vision, cast, and more.
More than just the typical stereotypes, both Robbie and Gerwig wanted the movie to feature different Barbie characters, with various body types, gender identities, and personalities, while still staying somewhat faithful to the original toy franchise.
#3. Thanks to Robbie’s request, Barbie is an unexpectedly good movie.
Source: Warner Bros
This is considered an attempt by both to implement the elements of feminism, gender equality, and diversity into the movie, which later proves to be a total success. Robbie is especially keen on the idea, stating that if Mattel themselves didn’t approve the request, she “wouldn’t have wanted to attempt to make a Barbie film” at all. To back it up, the actress also claimed that it’s wrong to have only one version of Barbie, and the others should learn from her and try to be like her.
The demand comes through, and as a result, Barbie becomes the box office success of the summer that we all know about, featuring a wide range of Barbies that comes from different ethnicity, body types, and identities.
#4. Barbie is more than just Mattel’s toy commercial.
Source: Warner Bros
Directed by Greta Gerwig, who’s famously known for her work in Frances Ha, Lady Bird, and Little Women, along with some mumblecore projects, Barbie is already expected before long to be more than just a typical toy commercial show. And with Margot Robbie’s demand coming true, the movie proves to be more than that: by using the iconic toy p, Barbie has successfully portrayed a vast and colorful Barbieland, filled to the brim with different Barbie and Ken from various backgrounds and with different body types.
The movie also successfully tackles more insightful issues such as feminism, beauty standards, and gender equality. Both the Barbies and Kens have their own fair share of the spotlight, and in the end, they both learn some valuable lessons and rediscover their true self.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate Barbie the movie? Let us know in the comment.