LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It turns out becoming a 'Barbie' girl requires more than just a Malibu dream house and a convertible to go around in. Even though it was merely a song, Aqua's 'I'm a barbie girl' was the first live rendition of 'Barbie' ever. The song from 1997 became widely known, and now, decades later, we have a 'Barbie' live-action movie all set to release in July.
Fans were certainly delighted when Margot Robbie was revealed to play the title role earlier this summer. A trailer for the project was released recently. At the same time, Robbie is speaking up against the sexualization of Barbie. The Greta Gerwig-directed movie's lead also says that 'Wonder Woman' star Gal Gadot was the director's initial 'Barbie' choice, as reported by Variety.
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'Barbie should never be sexy'
Along with several other 'Barbie' cast and crew members, the movie's actress and producer, Robbie, talked to Vogue about getting ready to portray the historic Mattel doll. Robbie had to consider issues of sexuality and attractiveness when portraying the lead Barbie character. After all, Barbie is a toy for children.
"I’m like, ok, she’s a doll. She’s a plastic doll. She doesn’t have organs. If she doesn’t have organs, she doesn’t have reproductive organs. If she doesn’t have reproductive organs, would she even feel sexual desire? No, I don’t think she could," remarked Robbie.
She added, "She is sexualized. But she should never be sexy. People can project sex onto her. Yes, she can wear a short skirt, but because it’s fun and pink. Not because she wanted you to see her butt."
Referring to Barbie energy, Robbie said, "Gal Gadot is Barbie energy. Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful, because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork."
The actress initially found it difficult to inhabit Barbie's mind for the movie, according to New York Post. She admitted to Vogue that she frequently chooses an animal to represent a persona to do "animal work," or come up with a character. She picked a flamingo this time, but her tried-and-true strategy wasn't working. As a result, Gerwig helped her with a 'This American Life' episode about a woman who doesn't have a mind of herself. "You know how you have a voice in your head all the time?" said Robbie. "This woman, she doesn’t have that voice in her head."
'Barbie 2023'
The trailer was also released online, but it was quickly withdrawn. However, the company later revealed the day fans may view the trailer online. The official Warner Bros Pictures account tweeted, "TEASER TRAILER TOMORROW" on December 16, 2022, to announce the date of the first trailer of the 'Barbie' live-action.
The script for 'Barbie' was written by the director, Greta Gerwig, and Noah Baumbach. Apart from Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the 'Barbie' cast includes Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Jamie Demetriou, and more. The movie 'Barbie' will debut on July 21, 2023, exclusively in theaters.
