Barbie IP Podcast

The podcast Fairytale Hour discusses the movie Barbie and its themes. They talk about the plot and the execution of the film, and some guests express their opinions on it. The movie was a top grossing film in 2023 and had a big marketing campaign. There is a discussion about the feminist aspect of the movie and the profits made by the companies involved. Overall, opinions on the movie are mixed. Hey everyone, it's Laura. Welcome back to Fairytale Hour, the podcast where we delve into the magic of fairytales and our enjoyment or even dislike some stories we cover. Join us as we explore the making of a cinematic gem, Barbie. Let's chat with some special guests and dive into the themes and inspirations behind Barbie's latest adventure. Whether you're a long time fan of Fairytale Hour or new to this podcast, this episode discussing the movie Barbie is for you. And today I'm here with two special guests. Hi, I'm Hailey. And I'm Julia. And we're here today to celebrate Fairytale Hour's 100th episode. Give us a round of applause. And for this very special episode, we'll be giving away three free 11th generation Kindles. The 11th generation is the lightest, most compact Kindle yet and now comes with a 300 PPI high resolution display. Ooh. Ah. And if you aren't the three lucky winners, don't worry. You can use our special code FairytaleHour100 to get 50% off your very own Kindle. Only valid for the next 100 days though. I'm jealous. I've been reading a lot lately. I love a new e-reader. But what have you two been up to? Not a ton. I've just been super excited to get here and discuss with you guys this Barbie movie. But just a fair warning, it wasn't my favorite movie, so I'm not sure you're going to like what I have to say. Ooh. Can't wait to hear your opinion. Because many believe the Barbie movie brings to life the charm, elegance, and spirit of Barbie in a way we've never seen before. With a stellar cast, dazzling visuals, and a storyline that promises to captivate audiences of all ages, the Barbie movie is set to redefine what it means to dream big. Don't forget about the mean Barbenheimer that removed the interest in going to the movie theater and dressing up for movies. I saw so many people dress up in pink to see Barbie had a jump on the bandwagon. Oh yes, of course. But let's get into the plot. Barbie, which is directed by Greta Gerwig and released in 2023, presents an imaginative peek on the iconic doll. The film is set in a vibrant and colorful world known as Barbie-land, where everything appears to be perfect if everyone is joyful. The story centers around Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, who experiences an existential crisis. She starts to question her seemingly perfect life and seems like she doesn't fit in with the other Barbies. Barbie sets out to explore the real world with Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, who adds humor and charm to their quest to discover her true self and finances. So grab your popcorn to sit back and get ready to step into a world of wonder and excitement. This is Fairytale Hour and today we're all about Barbie. So everyone knows about this movie. I mean, it was a top grossing movie in 2023. What did you guys think of the movie overall? I overall really liked the movie because of Greta Gerwig's cinematic style. She loves to write about coming-of-age movies that promote feminine energy, such as, of course, Barbie and Lady Bird. Fun fact, I'm from Sacramento, so Lady Bird is very close to home. Really, my mom loves that movie. I haven't seen Lady Bird though. I never realized Gerwig has a specific style, but now that you mention it, it's very true. Is there anything you like about Barbie specifically? Two words. Margot Robbie. She was great and well-chosen. Not only does she fit perfectly into Barbie's look without any change, but she also seems to play in these upbeat female roles. Barbie fits right in her portfolio and my favorite aspect of the movie is that they didn't try and make the Barbies like real-life people. Ooh, me too, me too. Say more about that. In the beginning, Barbie is drinking milk and she puts the glass to her mouth, but nothing comes out. And then they just float from their houses. You know why? Because Barbies don't use the elevators. They just go where you want them. From Barbie movie itself. It's as if you're playing with a real Barbie. Oh yeah, that was hilarious. Really? I actually didn't like how it linked so heavily to the fake doll part of it. It felt a little tacky and forced to me. Yeah, that's what makes it funny. Natalie, does anything else stand out to you about this aspect of Barbieland? I found it very interesting that as far as awareness of the role world continues, these aspects of her life didn't go perfectly anymore. Like, after she had that, do you ever think of death moment in the middle of the Barbie dance? What the hell is that? Everything changed from that moment. Her perfectly arched feet went flat, the waffle she ate every morning was burnt, and when she tried to float from her car, she sadly fell on the ground. I mean, I'll give them credit for the idea, because it's a super clever way to progress the movie. If you think about it, everything's always perfect, and then suddenly they change. It's a classic call to action. And I get that they're trying to focus on the point, that in the beginning Barbie isn't her own person, or isn't even a person at all. But my problem with it isn't the idea that they're going for, it's just the way they executed it. What didn't you like about the execution? I don't know, it just kind of fell off and creeped me out. Like, I know it's kind of a hot take, but I feel like there was just too much of those weird doll scenes in the beginning. I get that they were trying to make it, like trying to get at the point that they're fake. But they just really drug it out, and just from my own experience and enjoyment of watching it, I wish they would have shortened that part and just gotten into the thick of the movie faster. Well, I understand your opinion. I feel like most people who watch this movie got nostalgia from it. I mean, I know that, wow, that's what happened to me when I was little. That's exactly how I played with my Barbie dolls. Even if you didn't play with Barbie dolls, you have people that have seen other people play with them like that. Like my little brother, he might play with dolls like that. And honestly, for me, it's more like Barbie was so ingrained in my life as a child. And even now, with me collecting holiday Barbies, there's a tradition my family made. It's just nostalgic, and it brings back a good childhood feeling. Yeah, well, maybe that's why I don't like it. Because I never had that nostalgia growing up. I didn't really play with Barbie so much. So that beginning part of the film just felt super scripted and weird to watch a Barbie floating around, and Ken was running into fake waves. It's a personally fake Julia. It's a movie about dolls. I personally haven't played with Barbies, but I thought it was a really interesting watch. And so millions of other people have too. Honestly, I don't know anyone that didn't know about the Barbie movie. There's countless Barbenheimer memes making it a social competition on which one you watch, or if you watched both, which was better. You can't forget about the collapse of actual merchandise being sold from the movie. The marketing wasn't only limited to little kids, but to everyone. There were new dolls, base suitcases in the iconic pink color. If you don't know, the base suitcases range between $200 to $470 for kids. So pool floats got to be used by the whole family. It was one of the biggest movie launches and marketing campaigns I've seen during my time from a movie. Oh, yeah, and for those who don't know, Oppenheimer was another movie coming out at the exact same time as the Barbie movie, and so much more popularity was drawn to both movies due to their high contrast. People were calling this sensation Barbenheimer. I can't lie, Oppenheimer was where it's at. But yeah, I haven't seen anything this big in such a long time. And honestly, to me, Barbie kind of felt like a money grab. I understand that when people make a movie, their goal is to make money off of it, but it feels wrong for someone to profit so much off something that's become a core part of the feminist movement nowadays, because it wasn't just movie tickets people are buying. It opened the door for Mattel to sell all types of things from weird Barbie dolls to endless collabs featuring things such as cases and makeup. Well, yeah, but there are many different franchises that do the same thing. Why is this different? What makes the Barbie movie different for me is the way it was advertised and the reasoning behind it. Both Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie explicitly said that the Barbie movie was supposed to be a feminist film, and it seemed like the goal of the movie was to help the feminist movement right from the get-go. The part that bothers me the most is the fact that the movie profited so much off the feminist movement, but all the money that was made went to the Warner Brothers and Mattel, which were two companies owned by men. I did a little bit of research on this, and after looking at the Mattel website, I saw that they only donate $250,000, I think it was, to feminist organizations annually, which is only 0.015% of the profits that they made off the Barbie movie in 2023. The difference between this and the Disney Princess movies is that the Disney Princess movies don't claim to be films created to help the feminist movement. And the fact that it's largely men who are profiting off of this so-called feminist film is just fucking ridiculous. That is a very interesting fact, but I think that the overall marketing of the film was because Barbie wanted to change its branding from over-sexualizing women to being a feminist company, which can be seen all throughout the film. The movie highlights gender roles between men and women, and how harshly society's expectations of women are. And overall, the struggle seen in womanhood. Growing up as a woman, I do believe that societal views and wants are extremely hard to keep up with. We needed a movie that shows everyone, and Barbie seems like the perfect woman for the job. Yeah, the perfect woman, owned by a man. Wow, that was a lot. Maybe we should talk about something more groovy, like music. So how is the music in the film? There are a lot of different artists with a lot of different styles. I also heard that some songs even won some Oscars. How did the music in the film resonate with you both? I felt like the music was very well placed in each section of the film. It starts with Pink by Lizzo, which is a super upbeat song that fits perfectly into Barbie Land. Pink fulfills everything the movie wants to represent in the beginning. Lizzo literally says, P, pretty, I, intelligent, N, never sad, K, cool. Oh damn, never sad is a crazy line. I do remember in the beginning of the film all the Barbies were dancing and cheerful during this song too. Yeah, I think the music did a really great job painting the pictures of having these super cheerful and happy Barbies. And I think the background music in general worked really well throughout the film, and it really helped to move the plot along. Wait, don't forget about Billie Eilish's song, What Was I Made For. It won Song of the Year and got five nominations at the Grammys. Do you have any opinion on this, Haley? She actually became one of the youngest people to win two Oscars with this song. I genuinely really liked how it was put in the later parts of the film. Due to it being a sadder song, the song actually was What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish, which symbolized the stereotypical Barbie transformation through the film. She went from an upbeat, like in Barbieland, to not really understanding her purpose and realizing that she kind of has to move on from Barbieland. During this moment where the song plays, Barbie sat on a bench in the park and looked around to see everyone's emotions, and they were people being happy, sad, and angry. I think that was just her reflecting on where she truly belonged because she had an understanding of these emotions now, and I genuinely just think that she kind of grew and gained too much knowledge to be able to go back to her life in Barbieland. Oh my god, bro. I was actually sobbing during that scene. It was so powerful. Barbie finally got to experience that life is beautifully filled with ups and downs, and that's part of being human and learning how to grow. Yeah, I love that song. It was super beautiful, and it felt very heartfelt and fit into the emotions that Barbie was feeling throughout the end. Finally, something we can all really agree on. Now we can't forget about I'm Just Ken, which won Best Song at Critics' Choice Awards and was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and Grammys. I personally like the catchy number. I think that it was good to bring up male feelings. Being masculine while still being vulnerable is an okay thing to do. Personally, I couldn't get it out of my head once I watched it, and I think a lot of other people felt the same. I disagree. I think it was okay, but I didn't really like the full-on dance number during the I'm Just Ken scene. The rest of the movie wasn't a musical, so it felt a bit like an interruption to the story as a whole. That's interesting, Julia. Can you expand on that? Of course. The scene where the Kens are fighting and singing to I'm Just Ken, it just took me out of the movie because it was really bizarre and unnecessary. The scene started off with fighting between two groups of Kens, and then we literally teleported into the movie grease out of nowhere. All the Kens perform similar dance moves and have the same outfit, such as the tight black shirts and pants. I felt like I was just watching the dance number grease lightning during the Barbie movie. I didn't need it to be this chaotic. It was a lot. Sorry to interrupt, but have you ever wanted to start your own podcast? With the help of Speechify, it's easy to sound like a pro. Speechify is a text-to-speech generator that allows you to easily create a podcast script. Fairytale Hour only uses Speechify to create the best productions. For the past five years, Speechify has provided Fairytale Hour with the tools to assist with the quality of our podcasts. YouTube can use it for only $7.99 with the code FTH799. Trust me, Speechify is a lifesaver. And we're back. Thanks for sticking with us. Now let's dive into something truly fascinating. If you've seen the new Barbie movie, you've probably noticed the explosion of colors that brings the film to life. I noticed there was a lot of symbolism associated with the colors in the movie. How did the colors grab your attention, Julia? Yeah, for sure. I mean, it was interesting how prominent the distinction was between the real world and Barbie Land. Like, there were a lot of muted grays and browns in the real world, and Barbie Land has a ton of bright colors. Yeah, I personally agree with that. I felt that it was a very clever way to go about it. As soon as we went into the real world, it was evident that there was a problem due to the lack of colors and almost, like, just a very huge change in the movie. Honestly, it was pretty perfect the way they played the colors, in my opinion. Yeah, well, you can't forget about the use of the iconic Barbie pink that showed up throughout the film. What did you guys think about that? I think it was essential to include pink. I mean, after all, that is Barbie's color. Because I think Barbie had partnered with Pantone just to make that color, and they even tried to trademark it. I think that trademark didn't end up going through, because it's kind of ridiculous to try and trademark a color. But unfortunately, I think Greta missed the mark a little bit when she was using pink in the Barbie movie. Really? What didn't you like about it? I think they tried too hard to rebrand Barbie pink. In the beginning of the movie, Barbie Land was obviously full of pink, and Barbie loves the color pink. She claims pink is the happiest color. There's even a whole song about it, that one that Lizzo had talked about earlier. And I think it's fine if Barbie loves pink, but the problem arises in the end of the movie, when she decides to go to the real world, and she abandons her love of pink and all pink clothing. To me, this enforces the idea that in order for women to be taken seriously, they now have to not dress in pink. It's still a box that we're putting women in. It's still telling women how they have to dress and act. If it brings Barbie joy to wear pink every day, then she should be able to wear pink every day and still be taken seriously. Well, I think that pink is just appearing in Barbie Land so much because it's symbolism. And I mean, yes, Barbie's favorite color seems to be pink, but I think they're trying to make that point that pink is Barbie. And everything that is associated with Barbie is pink. I don't necessarily think the end is representing how she needs to be taken seriously to abandon her color pink, but I think it's more to show the character development throughout everything, like how she doesn't necessarily associate with being a Barbie anymore. But I think she still has a love for pink, even though she has to change in the end. It's not necessarily her whole character changing. To me, it still felt like she had to suppress that part of her. Because for me, I know when I was little, my favorite color was purple, and I loved having everything purple and stuff. But to be taken seriously in the real world, you don't see me over here having everything that same color. So I think this is still harmful for kids to watch, and I get that there are numerous ways of interpreting this. But the way I thought Barbie loved to dress in pink, and she loved the color pink. And then the kids all liked brown and those more traditionally masculine colors. But in order for Barbie to be taken seriously in the real world, she had to abandon that love for pink, and she had to suppress it and conform by wearing a brown blazer and a white shirt at the end. So she still likes to come to that patriarchy by wearing brown. I understand what you're saying, especially with the color thing. My favorite color is blue, but that doesn't mean I identify as masculine if I wear blue. I feel like things can be interchangeable. And honestly, I feel like the whole point of a movie and gender is in colors. It's supposed to make you roll your eyes at it. The kids getting rid of all the pink items and replacing them with the stereotypical masculine colors, such as brown saloon doors and black punching bags, and that stupid gray Hummer, it's all satire. It's just making a mockery out of the idea of femininity and masculinity. I don't necessarily think that it's meant to be the whole purpose, especially with the brown blazer at the end. Yeah, that's really interesting. That really changes my idea of the colors in the film. Yeah, but I think if they had wanted to make a mockery of gender-assigned colors, they should have had all the Barbies dressed in pink, too, or just made that point more explicit, because all of the other Barbies are women. And if they're trying to make that point that all women are supposed to like pink, and that is the point they're trying to make a mockery of, they should have had all the women in pink and all of the Kens in those masculine colors. That makes sense. But I also think Haley has a point, too. What about the numerous times that the movie talks about social expectations on women? I do think America Ferreira's monologue on being a woman in the real world today has a good message, and many women can relate to what she's saying. And I mean, come on, we at least have to talk about the scene between Barbie and her creator, Ruth Handler, where Barbie says, usually I look perfect, and Ruth says, I don't know, I think you look just right. This scene breaks down expectations of women's appearances, and one of many instances where the movie critiques these standards for women, therefore uplifting women's images of themselves. Because honestly, if you think you look bad, I'm sure someone, or even like your parents, think you look just right. Well, it's true that not all girls like pink. Some like green. Some are green. 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