“Be what you want to be,” Barbie tells us, but the Mattel brand—since long before thinking about making a movie live action— resisted letting his prized intellectual property be all it could be on film and television. In the 90s, the overprotective nature of the company prevented the doll from appearing in the first film toy storybecause presumably she did not like that she had a defined personality, when in reality it was sought that each girl who played with a Barbie imagined her way of being and behaving.
Eventually Mattel changed its mind and allowed Barbie to steal the camera in subsequent installments of the popular Disney-Pixar franchise, alongside Woody and friends. But not only that. After toy story 2the toy brand apparently recognized the sea of lucrative possibilities that existed for its mythical doll on the screen, and since 2001, more than 40 digitally animated films have emerged with Barbie as the protagonist.
On the other hand, in the first decade of the 21st century, the Mattel empire trembled before the entry of the Bratz dolls as competition, which proposed toys more in line with modernity and attentive to the issues of inclusion and diversity, while the Barbies – epitome of “perfection” unattainable since its creation in the 1950s – began to appear archaic. The decline in popularity led to a constant drop in sales between 2012 and 2015, to the point of grossing only half of the $1.8 billion reached in 1997.
At the moment of that resounding descent, a movie live action of Barbie was already in development, due to Mattel’s desire to make her relevant again. But why did the project take nearly fifteen years to hit theaters?
The imperfect Barbie
In 2009, talks began for a film live action of Barbie, first with the label of Universal Pictures. However, after five years without significant progress, the film rights to the doll passed to Sony Pictures, which entrusted a handful of screenwriters—including Oscar winner Diablo Cody—to pen different script proposals. Back then, the intention was to tell the story of an “imperfect” Barbie who is kicked out of paradise Barbie Land, only to discover that true perfection lies within.
By December 2016, Sony had apparently found the ideal actress for the title role. She was about the comedian Amy Schumer, who was also contemplated to serve as co-writer of the final version of the film with her sister Kim Caramele. However, Schumer resigned from the project four months later, citing scheduling problems.
It would not be until 2023 that the New Yorker would admit that the real reason for her departure was creative differences with the studio. In the eyes of Mattel’s top brass, Schumer’s proposal was not “as smart and provocative” as might have been expected and only made Barbie an object of ridicule.
In July 2017, it was reported that Anne Hathaway was in talks to be the new protagonist of the long-postponed feature film —now with a script by Olivia Milch— and that the Australian Alethea Jones was outlined for the director’s chair, at the suggestion of the same actress. But ultimately there was no film that flourished from that combination either. The rights held by Sony Pictures expired in the fall of the following year, and by then, Mattel already had other plans for the proper way to bring Barbie to the big screen.
“It was Margot, there was no other option”
In April 2018, the Israeli-American businessman Ynon Kreiz He obtained the title of CEO of Mattel Inc., presenting himself as a visionary leader who would manage to reverse the precipitous drop in sales that the company was suffering. His strategy was to license every intellectual property left and right, in the interest of expanding Mattel’s reach within the entertainment industry.
One of the first initiatives that he managed to materialize was the foundation of Mattel Filmsa division that would have the task of developing film projects inspired by its toys, starting with Barbiewhich being the brand’s most valuable property, promised to build “something ambitious and unique,” Kreiz told Variety.
Weeks after becoming head honcho, the newly appointed CEO met with margot robbie in Beverly Hills. Its purpose? Find out how interested she would be in playing a real Barbie. Curiously, the Oscar nominee for I, Tonya Not only was she willing to accept the role, but she raised her hand to also serve as a producer, through the company LuckyChap Entertainment. And for her part, Kreiz was absolutely convinced that Robbie would be the ideal partner and the perfect actress for the character: “She was Margot, there was no other option.”
In that first talk, the leader of Mattel also promised to prioritize that the upcoming tape would be impeccable in terms of history, cast, script, creative team, etc., without the final objective being merely to sell toys.
“The risk was that people outside of Mattel would think that we wanted to make movies to sell more toys. But I was very clear that it was not about selling toys,” Kreiz remarked. “It was about creating quality content, creating an experience with a social impact that people wanted to see.”
With Robbie on board, the film rights to Barbie previously owned by Sony fell into the lap of Warner Bros. Pictures, the distributor meant to house the film. live action definitive.
Writers with absolute freedom
Barbie had to be the definitive female empowerment film, she told Variety robbie brenner, who five years ago took the reins of Mattel Films. Many proposals passed through her desk, but none that seemed worthy of a movie, until the name of the acclaimed filmmaker Greta Gerwig was put on the table, on the recommendation of Margot Robbie. She and Brenner agreed to meet in New York with the mind responsible for Lady Bird and little women. And from that meeting, which was also attended by the director and screenwriter Noah Baumbacha positive response emerged.
In mid-2019, the duo of writers committed to developing the script for Barbie, and two years later, Gerwig also signed a contract with Warner to direct the film. From the beginning, he was motivated by the idea of working with Robbie and taking on the challenge of a $100 million production, based on the most popular doll in history.
On the other hand, it also influenced the fact that Mattel granted Gerwig and Baumbach absolute freedom in terms of the direction and treatment they wanted to give the story. “This is not about supervision or control,” Kreiz said. “It’s about trust and how we work with creators.”
The resulting script, although it had similarities with that of Sony Pictures of years ago, redirected the jokes that Barbie was the victim of in Schumer’s proposal. Now the ridicule and criticism were directed against the fictional Mattel executives, who would do everything possible to keep the titular character on a pedestal of unattainable perfection.
“When we all read the script here for the first time, I’m sure there were things that made us think, ‘Wow, this pushes things a bit.’ But we all decided that there were going to be moments where it would be a little scary, but that we were going to be rewarded for it,” Brenner said. “Being safe in this world doesn’t work. We want to [la película] be bold. Barbie is bold, has done amazing things and is a trailblazer. And that’s what we did”.
To which Kreiz added:
“There are many elements of humor and self-deprecation in the film. And we accept it. We take our brands very seriously and we take what we do very seriously. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
Barbieby director Greta Gerwig, is currently being shown in Mexican theaters.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.