Barbie:Life in the Dreamhouse was really funny and a lesson on how to do meta humor. These people have no idea about Barbie and Ken. I played the heck out of my Ken doll until he literally snapped in half and I had to fix him with tape. He was never the same again. RIP Ken😢.
@@whitetiana3022 it’s been so long I don’t remember but none of my Barbies broke. Somehow the joint connecting his top and bottom got lose and his torso separated from his legs.
The only reason that I didn't play with my Ken doll more was he didn't have as many clothes. But my Ken doll treated Barbie with love and respect. He wasn't threatened by her intelligence or her career. My Ken doll was based on my father so maybe that's why I have a positive view of Ken. But I never thought of Ken as some sexist, idiotic, creep.
The story I expect from the Barbie movie is an exploration of "being enough." Discussing how Barbie always feels like she needs to be perfect to be a role model for girls and Ken feels like he’s just an accessory and they both help encourage each other through their struggles
That's what a sane writer would do with the premise but it's just going to be 'Ken bad because male because in our world male bad so even though he's oppressed in his world he bad'
@@penguinmina7296, the live action remake of One Piece doesn’t even respect the original anime/manga of the original IP, so yes MJ isn’t reading into this wrongly like people like yourself she and her twin are.
@bluespirit5112 , Zoro my all time favorite character of all time is the most loyal and obedient soldier towards Luffy, and he’s been the most ride and die mother fucker out of all the Strawhat Pirates to the point he’d willingly kill any of the Strawhat Pirates if they’ve ever stepped out of line and if Luffy demanded him to, but for some reason the live action remake questions the loyalty of Zoro towards Luffy even though he’s never been shown to do so in the anime/manga, SBS segments, or even the light novels is one the most egregious changes in the live action remake to the point I’d much rather rewatch the Chinese films of Journey to the West over the live action remake of One Piece, and again Netflix even got Luffy’s political ideology wrong because him along with Black Beard and most of the pirates in One Piece are anarch-capitalists and not anarch-communists, and if Netflix wanted to do a live action series centered around anarch-communists in the One Piece universe than they should’ve centered around the Revolutionaries because even by Oda’s own words that Dragon himself is anime equivalent of Fidel Castro, and he didn’t base Dragon off of Raditz from DBZ, so yes as a passionate fan of One Piece and a person that knows the lore more than the Netflix staff if I were a person working on the live action One Piece series I’d make a film or tv series centered around the Revolutionaries since if they’re saying you can’t be represented or relate to a person that doesn’t have same beliefs unless they’re anarch-communist then clearly the best choice should’ve had the live action remake centered around the Revolutionaries themselves; now I don’t know about the lore of Barbie to say if this film as an accurate adaptation of a Barbie film or not, but I know for 100% certainty that the live action remake of One Piece isn’t a proper adaptation of the original anime/manga.
@bluespirit5112 , it’s not out yet, but going by the trailers and the leaks shown online I’m not excited for the live action remake of One Piece at all, and my youngest sister is more excited for the Barbie film than I am.
I don't understand Hollywood's obsession with "responding to the criticism of the original". Oh yeah, just cater to the Bitter McNasty people who hate the original. Ignore the kids and the grown up fans who would probably spend way more on the merch and on seeing this in theatres
There are 8 billion people on the planet. If 20 million people love something there's still 7.98 billion people who aren't buying your product. If you can fix it so those other people love your product, pure profit. Of course that's just the view of brain dead CEOs that don't understand people, products, or economics. I have no idea how so many stupid individuals reach such high positions. But there's also the political activist writers who think they can cut off potential criticism by fixing old (and often inaccurate) nitpicks. Obviously they're not thinking about the new criticisms that come from putting out half-baked propaganda instead of entertainment. And egotistical directors who believe they can make a name for themselves by "improving" on a beloved original work. Somehow it never occurs to them that the best way to make a name for themselves is by creating their own beloved original work.
Yeah I was one of those kids who was obsessed with Barbie and played with her constantly. I did become aware of the criticism by the time I was 12 and I was like, "So what? She's still a fun toy at the end of the day." While I would eventually have body image issues (still due), it's definitely not because of Barbie. I got it from REAL LIFE because after hitting puberty, I was quick to notice how I was more curvaceous than other girls my age, plus I wasn't as skinny either. Barbie and later drawing was my form of escapism during that time period.
The "criticism" is often just light-hearted jokes that no one took seriously, too. Like Friends being "so white". It was just a joke in the 90s. Now, it's a "cause"...
@@Zodia195 Yes, this was me. The body imagine issues I had were from real life humans people that I knew and the models who were popular in the magazines or on TV. I never thought of my Barbie's weight or lack of weight. I just loved she had a lot of pretty clothes. My Barbie was smart and funny because I was and so is my mother.
I like that in Barbie life in a dream house it really explained that ken’s job was being barbie’s boyfriend and he enjoyed it. There’s a whole episode where it shows him trying out new jobs but it never works out which makes him realize taking care of Barbie is his job. I like that he was okay with that and was happy about taking care of her.
Caring for another person gets demonised nowadays. You are not allowed to be a housewife nor houshusband and a caring mother or father or to like to work with kids, disabled or elderly and enjoy that. You must hate it and be miserable.
Ryan G’s Ken is just one of many Kens. There’s another Ken who has a happy relationship with his Barbie in the movie. Ryan G’s Ken on the other hand.. I think got matched up with that Barbie who dumped him about 15 yrs ago. They just aren’t right for each other. This movie tries to establish that there are healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with that.
Man, I actually did kind of hope that this movie was just going to be a fun, campy, potentially surreal but in a cult classic kind of way adventure, not a soap box disguised a movie :(
Me too, I've been so excited to watch this movie! But we don't need more men vs women crap. And the line "basically everything men do in your world, women do in ours" is troubling, and not even true. Women are CEOs, lawyers, astronauts, etc. You see that in the trailer, the doctor Ken was talking to is a woman. We've got nothing holding us back from becoming anything we want to be, which is so incredible: how many societies over the course of history have had that kind of freedom? Acting as if our society isn't like that simply isn't true, and I REALLY hope the movie doesn't lean too much into this direction and still is really fun
Totally agree with everyone here, with the added disappointment that I was actually going to see this in the theater. I was so looking forward to something refreshing and fun. I guess I'll wait and see.
I have an idea for a plot. Barbie and Ken go around the country just for fun, only to find people who are down in the dumps because of confidence issues, anxiety, etc. Then the movie could be about Barbie helping people achieve their dreams, since she’s a doll of all trades and such
@@rowantic6539 Good idea. Barbie's powers and world begins to disappear because children no longer play with toys. Barbie and Ken go to the real to remember people of all ages how great Barbie is.
God, I hope the movie is like your plot. I loved playing Barbies when I was a kid. My Ken doll was a really great guy who treated Barbie with love and respect.
I'm not the biggest Barbie fan either but I always hated how she was treated by so many supposed feminists. Barbie dolls being diverse isn't even new as they've always been so different little girls could get a "Barbie" that looked like them, likewise with so many other doll lines out there. Pretty sure I even remember a wheel chair Barbie some point in the 90s.
and how are these “supposed feminists” treating her? if you think they’re complaining about intersectionality then you don’t even know what feminism is
@tomoko7584 by "supposed feminists" I mean women saying Barbie's a shallow doll that makes little girls feel bad about their bodies, don't do any research into history, etc, what the video talked about. Let's be real, feminism has taken on so many forms and sadly, most of what we see these days is really misandry and slacktivisim.
Now I’m worried ,the flat feet scene made think that Barbie is a girlie girl and the more the movie progresses the more she is gonna be a “socially acceptable “ girl or “ real girl “ the high heels and flat shoes scene withe the crazy Barbie made think this too I could be over analyzing it and honestly I hope i am
@@dylansharp8471 Hollywood has put masculine traits on female characters for a while now so a girlie girl isn’t seen as strong and independent that’s what I meant
@@andresibarra3473 I’m just as upset as you are. It’s a good movie, but it seems to be like being a girlie girl but still doing whatever you want to be isn’t a thing anymore sadly. And you can see that in the movie, even though the whole purpose of the Barbie doll was to show that you can be a girlie girl but still do whatever you want.
@@newt3742 He wasn't an "accessory" , he was an equal character; the hero of the play as it were. An accessory is a purse or a hair clip. Romeo isn't an accessory to Juliet.
@@fionnaitsradag5152 he is not the romeo to barbie's juilet tho. that is the entire point. barbie is the main character and main brand. he is an accessory to her. play with him is in direct relation to play with her, but play with her does not even evoke the thought of him.
It’s true, it shows how committed Pixar writers and animators are to their movies, they even made some very cool jokes about how he is a metrosexual icon and how he annoyed he was when others called him a “girl toy”
Also the movie Toy Story 3 was basically responsible for saving Ken’s popularity as a doll, the thing is Mattel wanted to replace the character as Barbie’s boyfriend by this other guy named Blaine because they thought Ken was “too old-fashioned” (like Ken had some metrosexual vibes and Blaine had some top-straight vibes) but then when Pixar asked Mattel if they could have Barbie in their Toy Story franchise again like they did in the previous movie and have another character from her lore to pair her up there they allowed them to and Pixar could have chosen Blaine but they rather having Ken there because they said he was more iconic and this movie helped reestablishing him as Barbie’s canon boyfriend
Hum, Toy Story also ignores Barbie's larger cast of characters, but the thing is, Toy Story can AFFORD to. A Barbie movie without Chelsea, Summer, or Stacie is already messed up even without messed up gender showcases.
"They never played with Ken" He seriously thinks little girls didn't play with the boy dolls? cause they were boys?? who else am I going to let Barbie make-out with while making loud obnoxious kissing noises?! If Barbie is supposed to be what girls aspire to be, then Ken is supposed to be the boyfriend girls aspire to have-- Good looking, compassionate, loyal, motivated and successful. And yes, girls love romance and often think about who they're going to marry when they grow up. This commentary is so off the mark it's CRAZY.
But that’s all it was, just for romance, little girls didn’t play with ken in the way Barbie was played with. He was never getting a job or anything, having his own adventures and things, but barbie was always the one getting all of it and ken was only used for her boyfriend not actual play
@@roxannewolf6153 here is nothing wrong with being a supporting character instead of the main one, you need them to make a story possible. That is still "actual play". Just because a child chooses an avatar for themselves to project on, that doesn't mean they're not playing with or needing other characters too. And it's not "just" romance, that's a perfectly valid adventure to have.
@@Cationna in this particular situation though ken doesn’t want to be that anymore, he wants to be the center with a career and things like that, he doesn’t like that story anymore
I was very excited for this movie but did hear some concerns recently as well. I'm still hoping it will be not as bad as you said, but I am cautiously optimistic. Too bad since I was planning to go see it on day one blind, but I'll wait for the general reviews to come up first.
I'd understand if the jokes with Ken are that, because he's not a real person, he thinks that dressing up as a doctor with all the appropriate accessories makes him one, but then I'd think that those same jokes would apply to Barbie as well, entering the human world and thinking that she'll effortlessly slip into any job. I can also imagine a joke about Barbie just trying to live in the real world and, say, cook breakfast for herself, but she has no idea how real appliances work. She expects that after she closes the microwave or oven and opens it again, the breakfast should already be made. I want to know what men Hollywood has been interacting with, because if Ken is supposed to be a reflection of men in the real world, I don't see it. There is no epidemic of men walking into hospitals wanting to perform operations they aren't qualified to do. Using myself as an example here, I'm a software developer. I went to school for it. I practiced and learned on my own time as well. I had an internship. I applied for and interviewed for numerous jobs before I got the one I currently have, and I was not called back for many others. And I continue to fight hard to make myself a valuable employee to make sure I hold my job. No one said "you're a man so yeah, you get this job without any qualifications."
I mean it's exactly what you said. In Barbie's world, all work just gets done as long as you have the right add-on accessories for it. So when Ken, a citizen of Barbieland who was never actually allowed to do those jobs, comes to a world where men hold a lot of positions of power, he automatically assumes that merely being a man, and having the right costume is enough to be a professional (since the same was true for Barbie, in his world) No, I don't think its a representation a real men. People are overreacting, the movie is going to have heady ideas, because its being written by thoughtful, highly acclaimed filmmakers, but it's still going to be camp and tounge-in-cheek
I wholehearted agree. It doesn't make sense how they did it. I mean, Ken should have known women can be doctors easily. He's from a matriarchy-run world where Barbie has so many jobs and qualifications, it's ridiculous. I would have loved this scene had he simply been "you're not dressed up as a doctor, so you're not a doctor" instead of "you're a woman, and I'm a man, and only men can be doctors". I love your idea about Barbie and Ken learning about the real world like that. Like, Ken could discover that just because he dresses like a doctor, it doesn't mean you know how to be one (without being sexist), and Barbie could discover how the objects we have in this world (cars, planes, appliances, doors, etc.) don't work the same as her world. Or both could learn both lessons as well. From what I'm seeing with Ken being the villain, these filmmakers absolutely did no research other than base-level knowledge from people who had Barbies as kids but never looked into anything more than the clothes and criticisms. The writing from the trailers looks fun and campy, but that was when I didn't know they would make what's supposed to be a sweet character a villain in this movie. I worry about the level of cynicism, too, especially since it's mostly written by women (I say this as a woman myself). Mostly or all one-gendered writing rooms can be great and produce amazing things, but it can also bring about an extreme gender bias. We've seen it many times with all-men writing rooms. And, unfortunately, women aren't much better.
@@BethanyHarbaugh The film was written by a man and a woman, and the whole idea behind the scene is that Barbieland doesn't allow the Kens to do anything, so Ken just applies the opposite logic to world where seemingly men are incharge
I'm Asian-American, but a lot of people think that I'm white. I once had a Native American AT WORK (he saw me working for a living) tell me, while telling me about himself, "When you grow up on the reservation, your only options are, 'Go to college, get a job, or join the military.' It's not like being white." I told him, "That's how it is for everyone, unless you're an heir or heiress. What fourth option do you think white people have?" He just kinda looked at me and said, "Well, I don't know." The people making these movies are like that Native customer. They don't have the life experiences of normal people, so they make ludicrous, impossible assumptions about them.
@@melvinjoseph952 Given the lore of Barbie, from the stuff I remember as a kid, it wasn't so much a "Barbie can be anything and Ken does nothing". There were some accessories or specific Ken dolls that had jobs that were just like Barbie. I mean, I remember seeing a doctor Ken doll, and he was dressed in the traditional white lab coat and came with a little kid as a patient. In today's culture, it's also pretty tone deaf to be making that sort of joke when the majority of viewers will most likely be women, most of whom have experienced that sort of garbage in their lives (myself included). We'd really like to not see a movie written with loveable character to be cynical and politically tone deaf for the sake of "humour". It would still make more sense if he had just discredited her because of the way she was dressed and not her gender. And, it would have been far more funny and related to Barbie/toy humour.
Okay, hear me out. This CAN work. What if instead of Barbie and Ken assuming the real world is a patriarchy, they discover it’s a world where both men and women can be anything? Maybe that’s the point of the female doctor’s role. And at the end of the movie, Barbieland becomes a place where Kens are more than just the Barbies’ boyfriends. Do I think that’s what the movie will ultimately be about? Absolutely not, because that would go against Hollywood’s narrative. But I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Yeah I wish it was going to be like that, cause that’s a great message about men and women being equal. But cause it’s a modern Hollywood film, it won’t do that.
(spoiler alert) you were right!! At the end, when the barbies take back barbieland barbie helps ken learn to be his own person. To be just ken, not Barbie AND ken.
Fake feminism? Read Andrea Dworkin, Valerie Solanas, Bell Hooks and their peers and tell me that man-hating is fake feminsm. Denigrating men along with advocating for and celebrating the deaths of men has been baked into the movement since its inception
I would honestly not be shocked if that’s the turn they’re taking with Ken and the Barbie movie in general. Media nowadays have been following a very specific formula, so “Ken now bad because patriarchy” is the most predictable route they could take.
I'm going to wait for an honest review before I spend my hard earned money on that movie. It's disappointing that something I should be thrilled that they're making a live version of might be fake moralistic trash.
Which seems like a really weird place to take the movie given the set up. You would think basic writing would have him learn something and develop confidence and independence, not just become the bad guy.
I thought this movie was going to be about Barbie learning that things change over time, that her main audience (being little girls) grow up and that she has to grow too and accept the changes that happen in life, explaining all the changes that are happening in her world, talking about real stuff like dying and going into the real world. I also hope that Ken doesn’t become the antagonist in the film. I honestly thought that the scene where he talks to the female doctor is just him being dumb. Ken can be dumb at times but he is useful and his own character. As a side note, I used to play with Ken dolls too. I had them and would play with them either at my house, when I went out or I would play with my friends’ Kens at their place. Ken is more than an accessory.
Here in Vietnam the movie is banned because of the nine-dash line, which basically marks the territory of the South Asia Sea that China illegally claims as theirs. Westerners may not care, but it's very controversial and also the reason why Dreamworks' Abominable was banned in Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The territory claim of China is also rejected by many Western countries like the US, UK, France, Germany, etc... How does a movie about a goddamn Barbie doll coming to the real world include the nine dash line??? Many Vietnamese people were exicted for the movie but changed their mind because of Warner Bros' greed and catering to the Chinese market.
I'm not totally understanding what you mean. How is that involved in the Barbie movie? I'm not in favor of catering to one market over another though. I'm also not happy with how China is treating the Ugyhurs.
@@janejones7638 this movie is using a fake map to please China government, so their movie can make more profit. That fake map showed that Vietnam’s islands belong to China. Understood!!!
Honestly, I was NEVER excited about this movie. It feels like a parody of Barbie while also serving as a vehicle for social justice which makes me mad. Barbie should be celebrated not mocked. This is also why I hate modern feminist movies (I'm a woman myself saying this). If anything, making a movie about Barbie coming to our world should be about her and Ken making things better and reminding people of all the good things they brought to BOTH genders: fun, imagination, confidence, unconditional love, the joy of being romantic, etc.
True. I mean, this movie is going to attract young girls. So why not make it a movie with a positive message about Barbie and Ken showing the world the good things that each gender can contribute to society. Or at least make it a lighthearted comedy like Legally Blonde.
@@animezilla4486 Barbie and Ken were always intended to be a couple and have been in the mainline since Kens inception except for a brief period where they “broke up” for plot reasons.
Amen. I recently got into the animated Barbie Movies. The are Beautiful. They are doing exactly as you described and are wonderfull for that. I Like them.
@@alejandromolinac indeed. And he was also very capable. I remember they gave him a closet in Barbie's boutique, to turn into a waiting room for boyfriends, and he built the ultimate mancave, so awesome even the girls wanted to hang out.
i feel like this movie has gotten sm hype to the point where i wouldn’t be surprised if it gets hate on release day for not fitting the viewer’s expectations, but that’s just me 🤷🏽♀️
I really doubt it. Maybe after a week sure. But immediately, with all the hype, I hardly think so. I mean that explicitly to say that the love will most definitely be louder than the hate. So there might be hate maybe, but the hype will most probably win
I'm going to wait for honest reviews of the movie. Movies are so expensive and I don't want to spend money to support a movie that I find to be repulsive.
Amen 🙌 🙌🙌🙌🙌 And this was back before Disney and Pixar cared for quality entertainment, as opposed to being "woke" with the "all men are evil or useless" kind of mindset they have now.
The reason the Super Mario Brothers movie did well is because it was made by people who loved, and understood the franchise. Not people who wanted to deconstruct it, mock it, question it, or modernize it... This is s problem with most modern adaptations. (There's rumors Marvel won't allow anyone familiar with the franchise to work on MCU movies/shows anymore... Hence why they're being so innacurate lately.) And yeah, I tire of the "boys VS girls" cooties battles in media... I read hope they don't go that direction, as well. If Ken is the bad guy, it'd honestly be insultung to him, and Barbie. "Toy Story 3" already kinda toyed with that concept already, but it was more tongue-in-cheek and they thankfully reformed him.
About that Marvel part you don't necessarily have to be a fan you just need to understand the source material that's all and some of these writers do not understand the source material at all. Men and women can either be heroes or villains it all depends on the writers
"There's rumors Marvel won't allow anyone familiar with the franchise to work on MCU movies/shows anymore... Hence why they're being so innacurate lately.)" I know that's bullshit.
As a child who only wished for more clothes for my three Ken dolls, I hate what they're doing to my boy! Why is he a villain?! He's a sweetie who loves and respects Barbie, at least from all the lore I've seen. Why are they going for the out-dated 'girl vs boy' scenario? I was looking forward to this movie, but as someone who cares for both genders (I have a son and brothers who are sweet and amazing), I really wish they would move on from that sort of thing. The villain chasing Barbie down to force her back to Barbieland would make a decent enough villain. I don't want a surprise villain from Ken.
Also @5:10 Thank you! Seeing discussions among supposed Barbie “fans”, they always act like Ken has never been anything other than Barbies boyfriend when you can go on the Wikipedia right now and read that Ken has had over 40 occupations since his release, the latest being a marine biologist. He’s usually Barbie’s love interest IN THE MOVIES, but as a doll? Dude has his own thing going on along with being her love interest, and even wasn’t her live interest for a while during the period they broke up for no reason. They’re so adamant that he’s only ever been an accessory for her and like, yeah, he’s not nearly as iconic, but how are you a fan of Barbie abd don’t even know this basic stuff lol
EXACTLY! And Ken as a marine biologist has multiple times helped Barbie stop poachers! In DOlphin Magic, he is shocked when he finds out Marlo Buchanan is a poacher and doesn't he join Barbie in trying to stop Dr. Buchanan? An then with Mr. Pearlman and Vlad in Dremhouse Adventures, again, he and Barbie stop them.
There has been this very ugly trend of making strawmen of old IPs and media: trying to give them messages they never said, and deliberately making things up about them. And with social media and marketing departments, lies get halway around the world before the truth can even put on it's pants.
Not a Barbie guy either, but YEESH. If these rumors are true, this will be a massive bomb… ironically outgrossed by a film about the creation of the nuclear bomb. Here’s how I’d have done it. Keep the same basic setup of Barbieland being separate from the real world BUT change the conflict from Ken trying to enforce a patriarchy to Barbie growing bored with her “overly perfect” life, despite how good she has it with her family, friends, and Ken. She flees to the real world in the night… causing every blonde, pink-clad Barbie to vanish from shelves in the real world. Without “classic” Barbie on shelves in our world, Barbieland is sent into chaos and starts falling apart, reverting to just a bunch of doll and accessories. Ken, understandably worried about the disappearance of Barbie, follows her into the real world in hopes of finding her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Barbie starts to realize the real world has its ups and downs- some things are worth bringing back (like flat feet and more diversity), others are not. Throw in an exaggerated caricature of Mattel trying to take advantage of the “real” Barbie running around, and you’d have my take.
@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho Nhaaa, that script is boring and cliche. Barbie LIKES her life in Barbieland and there's nothing with that. Make the plot about Ken wanting as much attention as Barbie, then. Works better.
Your version is exactly how I was hoping it was going to go and what it seemed like it might have done from the initial promos. Ken looked kind of dumb and comic relief, and that would have been way preferable to him being a bad guy. It could have been really funny with a mix between goofy humor and then some earnest moments sprinkled in
So if I’ve got this straight, this movie appears to be about a group of second-class citizens rising up against their oppressors and the movie wants to demonize them for stepping out of line? That’s... certainly a message to be teaching your impressionable audience of young girls.
Writers in Hollywood are just beyond mentally ill today. They don't know how to just have fun anymore, everything has to be about gender, or race, or sexual identity, etc. Really sucks.
I mean, based on what I’ve seen and what’s mainstream, yea, a good amount of it does, but look at stuff like Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots, Creed, etc, not everything’s about it. I get it’s a generalization, and it can be annoying. I’m not disagreeing tho, it can get boring. It sucks thar we have to either actively search for good things, OR the stuff that talks about this stuff gets pushed further into the mainstream by us hate watching/ hate talking about them.
I am an avid Barbie fan. I may not collect the dolls atm due to a lack of space and limited funds, but Barbie was my childhood, more than ANY thing else. She was there when I was at my lowest trying to escape what was overall a rough childhood (not as ashamed to admit I suffered childhood depression and was suicidal, I am totally fine now though). I was PRAYING that this would turn out all right, but my first concern was who the director was because I saw what she did with her rendition of Little Women, turning it to a lovely story about family and focusing on the 'activism'. So seeing that Hollywood is going to make a mockery out of something very important to me is just heartbreaking. And how could they do this to Ken?! I love Ken! I am just disappointed that Mattel isn't more involved in these adaptations of their properties. They really should have taken a page from Nintendo because I honestly don't think the Mario Movie would have been as nearly as good (or respectable) if Nintendo wasn't on top of things with Illumination since I don't trust any Hollywood studio now.
It's bad enough that Barbie get shit by other toy companies (mainly MGA even in Rainbow High, Barbie can't escape the potshots in a new doll line), it's messed up that the brand gets so much disrespect from behind and on screen of its own live action movie.
@@dylansharp8471 It's bad enough that Barbie gets shit on by other companies like MGA, and it's fucked up the movie based on the brand is shitting on it. It's not hard to understand.
I'm with you if I'm being honest. What's sad about all this, is that they're catering to an audience that will NEVER be satisfied, no matter WHAT they do. The same people will always, ALWAYS, find something to complain about cuz nothing will EVER be good enough for them. I'll just wait for the reviews of this film when it comes out and see how it goes.
@@NerdilyDone BTW I'm talking about trolls who never shut up, You're talking about audiences in general. Although modern-day Hollywood can't write cuz yes that is the sad reality of today.
Pretty much my own concerns with the movie right there. I had a lot of Barbies growing up and I loved dressing them up and putting them on display in various scenes (I had a little Barbie Gym) and it was fun. I will admit the Ken doll I had didn't get as much play as the others but he was important to making things complete. I once tried emulating Barbie's smile and my mom told me how unnatural it looked and to knock it off XD I did... and that's also where I fell out of love with Barbie. She told me she never had one as a kid so one of them in my collection was actually hers that we gifted her. I like the idea of flat footed Barbie (not everything has to be high heels now, does it?) though I do think that some variants of Barbie are probably too niche if they are over produced, but I'm not against them being there. The movie though? I.... I really don't trust them.
I was super excited when I saw the trailer at first. I didn't read too much into it cause I thought it would be a fun movie about Barbie and Ken discovering the real world. But now I'm scared it'll play into the whole girls vs boys shit and make me not wanna watch it. Loved the commentary tho, thanks for giving us a heads up 😭
Oh dear. I had thought this movie would be a fun romp with a little bit of poking fun at themselves ala Lego Movie. Or maybe how how life is bright and colourful when we are children but the real world seems droll when we become adults and Barbie would help bring some colour back into adult lives while balancing responsibility etc.
Not liking that-if ken is the ‘villain’-hes also a second class citizen like that’s not a good thing we shouldn’t want that. If Barbie world is a matriarchy and our world a patriarchy the best outcome is Barbie realizing BOTH are bad and trying to fix it. Ken’s her boyfriend she shouldn’t want him to be mistreated
@@animezilla4486RU-vid channels that breakdown trailers pointed these things out. You can see in some shots that Barbieland gets renamed Kendom. The Kens basically revolt and take over.
I really hope this is nothing more than a rumor. Ive been verry excited about this movie as a guy who loved playing with barbies and kens growing up and i really dont want to see ken be portrayed so badly
.... Did... Did they just watch. "Toy Story 3." and thought they would be super clever is they stole their storyline and nobody would notice? We all know that Ken in Toy Story 3 is super loveable, and his arch going from friend to villain, to friend again works because of how earnest and kind of stupid he seems. And of course he really loves Barbie.
I’ve had a bad feeling about this movie since I saw the first trailer and I felt like I was missing something cause I couldn’t get into the hype surrounding it. It’s good to know I’m at least somewhat valid in my concerns and not the only person who feels this way.
If that's true it would be awful... I grew up with Barbies. Barbies got me into writing. Imagining stories/story telling. There wasn's one second I thought of it as shallow or materialistic (well she does have a lot of stuff) but I think when it comes to barbies (or dolls in general) there is no limit to how you can use them. It's about the kids who play with them. Using their individual/unique minds and personalities. This movie should rather be about this. It sounds like what's important is the doll itself and her role instead of how she was helping in shaping people into who they are. (For example I love talking about how my writing all started with playing Barbie). This includes Ken too. There might not be the same variety of Kens but he is just as important as Barbie (at least for me). If they use this movie for a gender fight I think that's really a problem. Can't people just acknowledge everybody has their strength and weakness? I'm still curious but after hearing about this theory I'm worried too... Thank you for this video
Ken doesn’t deserve this kind of disrespect. Do they think little girls don’t play with Ken or something? I played with my one Ken doll so much that his head popped off. We couldn’t get it back on and even then I still played with him but just made him the villain of every story and I kept the head for a long time cause I didn’t want to get rid of it. We literally called him Headless Ken and my mom and I still joke about him to this day. He’s honestly one of the toys I remember most from my childhood right next to my Princess and the Pauper singing Barbies which were my favorite. He was a very well-loved doll and I probably still have him in a box somewhere. It’s also weird they’d treat Ken like this because he’s always been portrayed as an good man and a good partner for Barbie, especially in the 2000s films. Also, I don’t know where this idea has come from that Barbie wasn’t multicultural cause I definitely had Barbies of multiple races and ethnicities when I was a kid over 20 years ago including one I got in Mexico who was sold wearing quinceanera dress and ironically, for the doll that looked the most like me, I don’t remember playing with her very much.
Here’s what I hoped that the movie would be about: remember in the trailer when Barbie asked her friends if they ever thought about dying, and they were so taken aback that they were nearly mortified? What if the film centered around the legacy that Barbie leaves behind, especially on little girls who played with her? Imagine this: there is tons of conflict going on at Mattel over what Barbie means to people, and it’s affecting sales and throwing her world off, hence the flat foot thing. Barbie and Ken then travel to the real world to resolve the conflict, and she learns that she’s immortal in a way. She’s an icon who was created to be an inspiration and role model to little girls, which leads to her putting a lot of pressure on herself. What morals should she put forward to be the inspiration she was made to be? Should she keep doing what she loves? Or cave to the corporate pandering and social pressure that little girls don’t think about when they’re playing with Barbies? She later realizes that if she was made to be a good role model, she’s going to do it by being a good caring person and doing what she loves to do. If Barbie can be anything she wants to be, then she’s going to do just that. Also, Ken goes through a crisis of his own: if he was given no choice but to love Barbie because he was made for that, then he questions his feelings and his own free will. He later realizes that he does love her and they reconcile. Also, I imagine Barbieland as a world without much of a governing system, as it would actually be a world of fun where everything comes naturally to everybody. Basically, it’d be a celebration of her character and legacy, and it explores themes of free will, immortality , corporate pandering, people who virtue signal to make themselves feel important, choosing your own path, and making a positive impact on the world.
The marketing "She's everything. He's just Ken" doesn't sit well with me. Why would you have to put down Ken in order to elevate Barbie? Elle Woods exists. You could genuinely follow the same formula with Barbie and it would work. Elle was bubbly and loved fashion, but she was also smart as a whip AND kind to everyone.
Idk. I mean, Ken being an accessory/"just boyfriend" it's essencially true, so depending on how it's portayed it would be just the same as always was. In fashion farytale while Barbie spends the movie creating style with her friends and aunt, Ken is trying to reach her and get back together, that's all. Prince Nicolas in charming school only shows up to the dance scene, so Blair could have a dance partner, and only appear again in the last scene to congratulate her. In the dreamhouse series, Ken tries to get multiple jobs and fails to the end realise that his "job" was to be Barbie's boyfriend and that he was happy that was his "job". In fairy secret he is kidnapped and Barbie has to save him, but he doesn't really do much plotwise other then being the boyfriend in need of rescue. Other male interests in the movies had more to themselves than just being a boyfriend, but not Ken. That's all he always is. (I haven't watched the new dreamhouse series to know what he does there, so I'm only including things that came before), so it's not completly wrong to see him as "just Ken". I actually only played with my Kens when Barbies would get married or go to an event and needed company, but he never was the center of the "storyline". He was there so she wouldn't be alone. I still have all of my Barbies today, and my two Kens. Honestly this whole "Barbie is damaging" ideia comes from adults not from kids. I was never blonde nor blue eyed, but Barbie didn't make me wanna be so, I was me and she was Barbie, we didn't need to look alike to be fun to play with her, although we had the same favorite color. Personally, I like the idea of making Barbie lines more diverse, because she can have as many friends as she wants. So Barbie is Barbie and she will always be Barbie because you can't change that by now, it's been stablished for decades, but her friends can come in all shapes and colors and hairs, she is a kind doll, she loves everyone.
I have my... reservations towards the Barbie movie. Im gonna go see it. Im a Barbie fan and i hope they capture the essence of it. At the beginning i heard somewhere the words "its different" and my heart sank... Nowadays ive seen those words thrown around a lot for things that usually dont turn out well. But we'll see... Im hopeful that im wrong and this is all a big misunderstanding on my part.
"What can possibly be worse than Velma?" Don't Tempt Fate Something tells me Mattel is going to experience a bit of the Rose Tico/Captain Marvel effect. It won't go well. Edit: oh dang, I forgot about MOTU Revelations. You'd think once bitten, twice shy.
Does anyone else think that Ryan gosling sounds like Fred from the old live action Scooby Doo movies? Every time, I hear Ken "Hey Barbie!", it still confuses me sometimes.
I'm a male, i don't have much knowledge about Barbie. What does annoys me is the story. It feels very weak and fans will strongly dislike this for sure. I hope this isn't the actual script. Would be painful to watch.
I’m super curious how the plot will go! From the trailers, I thought it looked like Barbie starts to lose her doll traits and thinks she is broken so she goes to Mattel in the real world to get repaired, and Ken tags along, hijinks ensue. If it is the plot you mentioned instead, I’m gonna be really sad 😞
Okay, I'm not a Barbie guy either. But even I know that Barbie and especially Ken were never any of these stereotypes that they're trying to push in this movie. I've had to watch the new animated series with my nieces, and honestly, it was a good show. This movie is what happens when you allow ideologues power over your brand. They only care about their ideals and not about what the brand is really about. Aside from the Masters of the Universe Revelations debacle, did Mattel learn nothing from Nintendo about brand protection? That movie made a billion dollars thanks to Nintendo saying no to narratives in the movie about Peach. Basically another brand is about to take incredible damage because ideologues are about to Pander do individuals who are salty because a doll made them feel bad about themselves
More like misguided although it's incredibly fun to see Ryan Gosling chewing scenes and just having fun everytime he appears onscreen. It's just PURE GOLD.
People are too quick to judge you don't even know is there any woke message in the movie and no offense but a lot of people don't even understand what the world woke means people always using it and think it's bad but that's not always the case
Sorry for long post. If Ken was an accessory then why did people get mad when Barbie got a new boyfriend in the 2000s: Blaine. Loyalty mattered. No offense to Blaine. Ken matters. He is a fun counterpart to Barbie and several movies made alternate versions of him fun and interesting. I love what they did in Nutcracker and Prince and the Pauper. Thank you for this take even if you are not a Barbie fan. I miss MyScene. This movie hurts. I would say Life Size with Tyra Banks and Lindsey Lohan did this better. I will wait to judge but this sucks.
Margot Robbie’s deleted LetterBoxd account (under the name “Maggie Ackerley”, as Ackerley is her husband’s surname) listed “The Truman Show” as one of the movies she watched in preparation for “Barbie”. Also, according to her deleted LetterBoxd account, Margot watched “Splash”, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, “Puberty Blues”, and “The Young Girls of Rochefort”. Judging by those movies above, it sounds like “Barbie” will be a colorful musical comedy where Barbie discovers Barbieland is a lie, so she decides to go the real world where comedy ensues because she’s a doll trying to fit among humans.
I've been waiting for this movie since the early rumours of them making this movie back in 2015, and if they truly go the route with evil Ken I will be so disappointed. To me, yes Barbie is obviously the main focus, especially considering the history impact. However, what made Barbie and Ken work was the fact that they were equal and both had as much control over their separate success and their relationship. I deeply dislike the pop culture idea that Ken is *only* Barbie's boy toy... Ugh. Why couldn't it be in this movie both realise they are just as equal to each other, as much as their own persona? Ken learns and leans into the sexism, but eventually realises what that actually means and how damaging it is, and thus, finds his own sense of self while also respecting Barbie. Promoting healthy, successful relationships to young girls? Now I am more disappointed after writing this. Hugely agree with Barbie being like a friend over a superficial 'bimbo". As the youngest and only girl of my family, I always looked up to her as a sister/aunt that I didn't have.
Odds are you are absolutely correct about the movie, the problem with the people making the movie and with He-Man was that they probably knew about it from when they were kids or younger and dropped off them as they grew up, but now they have the chance to "Fix Them" and all the "Problems" they had but they never really understood them in the first place, or didn't realize how they changed and now we have to suffer for their benefit.
You can never be too careful, I don't think we've reached peak cringe yet. After what they've done to things like She-Ra, Scooby-Doo, and He-Man I was expecting this one to be completely insane. The only thing they haven't necessarily mangled was Gi-Joe (outside of those horrid comics they've been writing) because at least there's G.I. Joe Resolute, and they haven't gone out of their way to destroy things like Gem and the Holograms in earnest either I guess so there are some things they haven't had time to touch.
the jem movie was crap not because of radfem propganda luckily but it still was a butchered, adult version of a good show. You want a good adult reboo? The comics. Yes, they did race and sexuality-bend several characters but it didn't feel forced or like propaganda.
Bro they had the best opportunity to make this story about how the toys are being abused, used and being damaged by children. While having enough from the children using them. So the toys fight back against the abusers. And this movie could have been about ken and Barbie fighting along side against abusers. The message could have been about how humans should fight against abuse and hurting people or animals Instead we got a movie about nonsense.
I enjoyed your commentary. As a lifelong Barbie collector of all of her eras, I’m very excited for this movie. Unfortunately all the negative talk about Ken really bothers me. Ken is a doctor so yes he could perform an appendectomy! He’s not “just beach” and he’s not “not important” to the Barbie cannon. He is very much a part of it. We had five years of Kenvention (Ken collectors convention) where Ken got his due! These conventions were focused on Ken collecting and were a blast. My Barbie play as a child would have been very boring without my Ken dolls! In additional there are historical facts that are inaccurate in both the footage we’ve seen and in the way the press has covered this movie. Thank you for bringing up the issues that are concerning.
My granddaughter is just hitting the age where she wants to play with Barbie dolls. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in ANY of the marketing for this movie that makes me want to take my Barbie loving granddaughter to this movie. It looks like it's going to be a 90 minute feminist sermon; a PARODY of everything feminists have always complained about Barbies, and it's intended audience is twenty-somthing college students majoring in feminist studies. Not 6-year-old girls who want to play dress-up with their fashion dolls. We've got a lot of those Barbie movies on DVD (from when her mom was growing up) and most of them are watchable right here on RU-vid. I'll stick with watching 12 Dancing Princesses and Swan Lake and Fairytopia with her. Even when the animation doesn't hold up, the stories do. I actually liked the way those movies avoided "you can't do it, you're just a girl" sexism (most of the time the "bad guy" was, in fact, a girl, too) and this movie just seems to dive right into sexism (especially the "boys are dumb and always want to run everything and always, always hold girls back" sort of misandry). Or even watching Dollightful here on RU-vid and teaching my granddaughter how to sew her own doll clothes.
@@hayleynew3605 Unfortunately it is very hard to believe that IPs that were born 30, 40 or 50 years ago will be represented in the right way, the way that actually made these IPs memorable. It's not going to happen in the times we live in.
Absolutely. I'd bet you're right. And btw Ryan Gosling is WRONG. While some girls didn't care much about Ken, some girls (and boys) did. Ken has/had his own convention. I had about 5 kens (and loved them) Ken feels unimportant because men's fashion just isn't as outlandish. And when designers did get really creative with his look, adults joked that ken was gay.
1. The real world isnt a patriarchy unless Barbie's "real world" is in the middle east. 2. Patriarchy/Matriarchy only applies to the ruling/elite class. Even in a patriarchy, women would still be doctors, just not politicians like mayor/governors. Sounds like in Barbie's World is a dystopia where men are just slaves/pets
I kind of agree with number 2. But we do live in a patriarchal society, as the man is still expected to be the head of the household and primary bread winner. Not that this is a bad thing. Men just tend to naturally gravitate to leader roles.
@@nerychristian, it’s easier to be a follower than a leader, and I personally I don’t really care if the leader is a male or a female, but I respect leaders that have the best leadership skills.
@@nerychristian It is weirdly still highly expected while women are expected to work, too. no one is allowed to stay at home and focus on chores and raise children.
To be honest I am worried about how they portray Ken. I was worried when I heard about it coming out that it was going to be a whole boys vs girls thing but had some hope when they showed some clips of Ken being a supportive boyfriend by saying he will come with her to the real world which is what I always saw Ken as when I was playing with Barbie. I was hoping they would concentrate more on that and like what healthy relationships should be. But now hearing this I am worried again 😣
I hear the initial scene of the movie is young girls playing with baby dolls, but then Barbie shows up, and they start beating the babies, and saying they no longer have to be mothers. This is supposed to be a nod at the fact that Barbie came along and became a doll girls could aspire to rather than just a baby doll to mother- which is great- but not when you start beating the baby dolls and saying we don’t have to be mothers anymore that’s weird and awful.
5:21 joke's on him, because least for me, i didnt play with the ken dolls because i didnt know they existed. He probably would hvae been my second favorite after Kelly, the ball jointed Barbie. Unfortunately, marketing for Ken was so rare that i only found out he existed years after my doll collecting phase. Sorry, Ken
TBF boy dolls don't get much attention anyways. I don't think most people know the Bratz male dolls or barely any of the Monster/Ever After High male dolls either
@@Saltedroastedcaramel actually didn't even know about male Bratz dolls until you just mentioned it lol. And that's exactly the problem with what he said. Can't play with something you don't know exists 🤷
@@KitsuneFyora I don't think most people even know their names. But honestly people need to understand how kids work. Not a lot of girls don't care about the boy dolls that much which I why they're rare in the first place. Same with action figures for boys although to a less extent I think.
I feel like the doctor joke is more coming from the fact that he's from a fantasy land that originally was created in the 50s when those gender stereotypes WERE the norm. Now that he's in the real world 21st century, he's learning to understand those stereotypes don't fly anymore. I feel like we'll definitely need more context in the full movie, but that's how the joke reads to me. That he's just out of touch, because he's a doll where those gender stereotypes HAVE been the history of the Barbie brand until recently.
I am a guy, and I've never been into Barbie, but I do understand how others would feel about how it's being treated with this movie. I am a huge fan of Thomas & Friends, which is another brand Mattel currently owns and has been screwing up in recent years. A lot of people say crap about it in the same way they talk about 80s He-Man and She-Ra: that they are just stupid kid shows with no purpose beyond selling toys. I use to believe that too, but it was this channel, with the help of M and J, that helped show me that was not true, and I now understand and empathize with why they're upset with how MOTU has been treated, similar to me with Thomas. I have Asperger’s Syndrome, and I sometimes do have trouble seeing things from other's point of view, but I've gotten better at it. There are many franchises and properties I'll probably never care about, but that doesn't mean that the opinions and critiques of those fans aren't valid, especially with how big corporations keeping screwing them over. While I may not be as big on Barbie and MOTU, I know why fans are upset and hope their franchises get treated better in the future. Thank you, M and J, for helping me expand my point of view. And I look forward to seeing the subscriber count keep rising.
Exactly but I feel like they will F it up somehow because it’s Hollywood in 2023 making it not the 90’s or early 2000 good Hollywood making this movie.😔
Margot Robbie is the producer and actress and she is one of the most rabid feminists in Hollyweird. The producer also wanted this to become a feminist empowerment movie. Mattel also greenlit this long before the Bud Light fiasco. I say let it burn. These fools need to reap the consequences
The movie makes the mistake of giving Ryan Goslings Ken the most understandable motive, which is ultimately to have A purpose at all. It came off to me as drastic to suddenly just make him the villain of the movie. It’s also not helped that the status quo is controlled and maintained by the Barbies and arguably not resolved. I mean, the Kens ask nicely if they can have ONE Ken on the Barbielands Supreme Court but they said “no”. The problem is that we’re clearly supposed to root for the Barbies because of their inclusivity except they don’t allow the Kens to have any kid of crucial occupation(?) Whatever… The point is I really didn’t like this drastic choice to make him the villain like so because it came off like a choice no original creative mind behind the franchise would ever make. It’s akin to JJ Abrams wanting to add a Jar Jar Binks Skeleton in The Force Awakens: it’s just childish and seems to be the work of disgruntled fans before anything else
Honestly, I wasn't going to watch this in the first place so the creators can have their fun. I just hope they pay the workers on the movie a living wage.
As a kid playing with He-man, Turtles and G.I. Joe action figures I have no opinion on Barbie as a brand. But I do remember Barbie being the second tier of dolls behind He-man. At the end of the day there are hits and misses when it comes to business. Unfortunately, I don't think this is going to hit with the adults who grew up plying with the dolls. But might be a hit with younger kids now, so there is a slight ray of hope for this movie.
Personally, I think that Ken is an accessory to Barbie in the sense that as a toy, Barbie was the ‘main attraction’ and Ken is an accessory to the play Barbie was encouraging. His character is often an accessory to Barbie because Barbie’s brand as a toy is empowering young girls, and companies like isolating their markets. As for the more diverse dolls, I think that’s ultimately a good thing, even if it’s a product of corporate marketing and greed. It’s nice to think someone out there gets to see themselves in their toys for once.
Don’t know what Alternate Dimension I grew up in…. But I’ve been collecting non blonde Barbie doll Friends for 30 years….. why they act as if this is remotely a new concept…..
