To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. Barbie, the highly anticipated film from Greta Gerwig, opens tonight in theaters across the United States.
“Barbie is such a huge and globally recognized brand with so much nostalgic connection for people. Making a Barbie movie was an amazing opportunity, one we thought we could do something really special with if we could approach it in an unexpected, surprising and clever way. Like Greta has said, it was also terrifying! We knew it was a lot to take on, as audiences probably have a preconceived notion of how they think and feel about Barbie, whether good or bad. So, that presented a big challenge, but we were up for the challenge,” shares star and producer Margot Robbie.
The film began its production on March 21, 2022, at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England. Barbie’s development had an interesting backstory, with director Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach working on the screenplay in their New York apartment during the pandemic, nearly two years before filming commenced.
During the development phase, Greta Gerwig reached out to director Peter Weir to seek insights into achieving the authentically artificial feel she desired for Barbie Land, particularly in terms of lighting and ambiance.
The film’s narrative involves a unique approach to lighting, as audiences won’t see natural sunlight until Barbie and Ken arrive in Los Angeles. The entirety of the Barbie Land scenes were filmed on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, providing full control over the sets.
“First and foremost, I wanted Barbie Land to feel like a happy place—where Barbie lives in our childhood imaginations. One of the first days I met with [production designer] Sarah Greenwood and the art team, we looked at all the different shades of pink to determine how they would interact. As a little girl, I liked the brightest pinks, but Barbie Land would incorporate the full spectrum of the color, so it was important to figure out where those bright pinks would live alongside our palest, pastel pink, and of course every tone of pink in between,” says Gerwig.
The attention to detail in the film’s set designs is impressive. The Mattel boardroom features a hand-painted scenic panorama, stretching over 250 feet, which includes a nod to Warner Bros. and a painted Los Angeles skyline inspired by the General Motors building. Ken’s Hummer and Barbie’s convertible, modeled after a Chevy classic, add a touch of nostalgia to the film.
In a particularly amusing touch, Kate McKinnon’s Barbie’s House set was designed to allow her to hide one of her legs during filming, with a fake leg propped against the wall to give the illusion of her being in the splits.
“We were in a playwriting class together and Greta is a genius, and it was absolutely no surprise when she became an award-winning writer and director. Someone told me that she was making the Barbie movie and I thought, perfect. And my agent told me about the role of this Barbie, and I thought, ‘Okay, I’m home. If you asked me to pick a role for myself, it would be this Barbie. My sister had a bunch of Barbies whose hair she brushed and whose clothes she cared for, but there was one receptacle of her ire that got its head shaved. You keep a Barbie with her legs splayed as far as they will go—it’s just a Barbie that every little girl grew up with,” notes McKinnon.
REELated:
The Barbie Land set designs intentionally avoid using solid black or white colors, contributing to the film’s vibrant and visually captivating environment.
Despite the sunny beach scenes filmed on Stage N at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the cast and crew faced a blizzard that brought chilly conditions outside.
The Barbie dance party sequence incorporates dance elements from the classic film Gold Diggers by Busby Berkeley, a deliberate choice by choreographer Jennifer White to align with Greta Gerwig’s preferences.
The attention to detail continues with over 30 individual hobby horses made for the Kens, each handcrafted with unique characteristics. The Barbie ambulance, used in a rescue scene, was a full-sized replica of a toy ambulance that transformed into a doctor’s surgery.
The film’s technological elements were also carefully designed. Barbie’s car was operated remotely using VR drone technology, and both Barbie’s vehicle and Ken’s Hummer were electric, aligning with the growing trend of sustainable transportation.
For Barbie and Ken’s arrival in Los Angeles, Greta Gerwig referenced Midnight Cowboy to set the tone for their appearance, evoking a sense of being out of place in a new environment.
The production of Barbie involved a talented and experienced cast and crew, boasting an impressive 50 Academy Award nominations and eight Oscar wins among them.
Will Ferrell’s character is simply referred to as Mattel CEO, with no further name revealed, while other Mattel employees are named as Mattel Executive #1, #2, etc., and only Mattel intern Aaron Dinkins is given a specific name.
The crew embraced a Mean Girls-inspired tradition of wearing pink every Wednesday during filming, fostering a fun and involved atmosphere on set.
The film includes an interesting fashion detail, with Margot Robbie’s Barbie never wearing rings on her fingers as a nod to the classic toy doll’s connected fingers that don’t accommodate rings.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and Greta Gerwig coined the term “TechnoBarbie” to describe the film’s distinctive style of photography and lighting for Barbie Land.
Interestingly, despite their differences, the Kens in the film share one commonality—they don’t have body hair, as Greta Gerwig humorously explained, Kens are dolls, not mammals.
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Heyday Films Production, a LuckyChap Entertainment Production, an NB/GG Pictures Production, a Mattel Production, Barbie. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and released in theaters only nationwide on July 21, 2023 and beginning internationally on July 19, 2023.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
