The Quirkiest Moments In Barbie Ranked
This post contains spoilers for "Barbie."
Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie is a cinematic marvel. The first film in the newly-minted Mattel cinematic universe, "Barbie" mines corporate history and IP while still managing to be original, subversive, and even laugh-out-loud funny. Frankly, it's shocking the film got made at all, especially considering the fact that Will Ferrell plays a highly satirical version of Mattel's very own CEO. In fact, when she first read the script, star Margot Robbie's first thought was "We'll never make this movie," because of how much it pokes fun at the company behind the (in)famous doll.
Working under both the constraints of a big Hollywood studio and a billion-dollar toy corporation, Gerwig and her co-writer Noah Baumbach came up with a script that is wholesome enough to appeal to the bosses but witty enough to tickle even the most cynical of viewers. Robbie is perfection in the lead role, and the rest of the cast –- in particular Ryan Gosling, who gives an Oscar-worthy performance -– round out the "Barbie" universe with charm and heart.
"Barbie" is many things at once. It's a feminist parable, a corporate satire, an adventure movie, a story of self-empowerment, and even a musical. But if there's one word that best describes "Barbie," it's quirky. Despite its glossy look, the film is downright strange, and this off-kilter tone is what makes it so enjoyable. The movie is filled with cheeky oddities, so let's narrow it down a bit. Here's our ranking of the quirkiest moments in "Barbie."
13. Ken's redundant eyewear
As she told Letterboxd, Greta Gerwig has a long list of films that inspired her during the making of "Barbie." One of these films is "The Red Shoes," Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell's spellbinding technicolor musical from 1948. In addition to the amazing soundstages featured in the film, Gerwig took inspiration from one of the movie's more unique fashion statements. The character played by Anton Walbrook rocks a pair of stylish cat eye sunglasses that Gerwig couldn't get enough of.
During the last act of "Barbie" when Ken (Gosling) is trying on his "cool guy" act, he puts on a pair of sunglasses similar to the ones worn in "The Red Shoes." But because he's Ken and everything he does is a little extra, he wears not one but two pairs of sunglasses. It's a great gag and a perfect example of just how redundant Ken is as a character (or a doll, as it were). It's a small moment in a movie filled with many more memorable fashion choices, but we wouldn't be surprised if the double sunglasses look becomes a trend this summer.
12. Is that John Cena?
The cast of "Barbie" is stacked with both big names and up-and-comers, and it can be hard to keep track of them considering their names are all either Barbie or Ken. But there's one face in "Barbie" that's pretty hard to miss. Dua Lipa -– who also performs "Dance the Night" for the Barbies' epic dance number -– pops up as a mermaid in the film, but it turns out she's not the only magical creature in the Barbieland "sea."
When Ken returns from the real world with all sorts of wild ideas about a newfangled concept known as "the patriarchy," things start to change in Barbieland. All the Kens take over and brainwash the Barbies into doing their bidding as they become mindless, man-serving drones. The patriarchal takeover applies to mermaids as well, and Dua Lipa is joined in the waves by none other than John Cena. Lipa has lost all semblance of girl power and now lives to serve her merman mate.
Cena appears in the film for no more than ten seconds, but his role is so unexpected that the brief cameo is well worth it. Cena totally rocks the blonde wig and seashell necklace, and we love that he's willing to not take himself too seriously. Sure, it doesn't add anything new to the plot, but something that can delight audiences this much is never a bad thing.
11. Barbie a la Kubrick
Barbie contains plenty of witty references to famous films in cinema history, and the movie's opening is one of the most clever. Helen Mirren as The Narrator tells us that there was a time long ago when the only dolls little girls had to play with were baby dolls. This all changed with the arrival of Barbie, who started a revolution among women and defeated the patriarchy (or so the Barbies think).
Barbie's creation story is illustrated just like the beginning of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," which depicts a time when monkeys ruled the earth and then transitions into the era of space travel, set to the tune of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss. "Barbie" also makes use of this famous piece, and Kubrick fans will certainly recognize the reference.
What makes the homage so great is how incompatible the two films seem, at least at first glance. "2001" is cerebral and asks more questions than it answers, while "Barbie" tells a classic story of feminist empowerment wrapped in a pretty pink bow. By opening with a Kubrick reference, Gerwig illustrates that the film is both in and the joke and not afraid to take some huge swings. Most importantly, supersized Barbie in a prehistoric landscape is a hilarious image to behold.
10. Barbieland meets the Matrix
Barbie's arrival in the style of Kubrick is followed by several other cutesy movie references. Another memorable moment is a quirkified version of one of the most famous questions in movie history: the choice between the red pill or the blue pill. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) asks Neo (Keanu Reeves) this question in the first "Matrix" film, and it's his way of giving Neo the choice between continuing to live in his constructed reality or seeing the truth behind the construction.
In "Barbie," this all-important question is asked by Weird Barbie, played with gleeful abandon by Kate McKinnon. Weird Barbie offers Margot Robbie's Barbie a choice: a high heel, which means living the life she's always lived, or a Birkenstock, which means venturing out into the "real world" to learn the truth. Barbie chooses the high heel, but Weird Barbie tells her it wasn't really a choice at all and she must accept her sandal-clad fate.
One might wonder if the Birkenstocks have a double meaning here -– especially considering the fact that the Indigo Girls play several times throughout the film -– but sadly, Barbie's choice of shoewear doesn't allow her to imagine a life outside of heterosexuality. Queer subtext or not, Weird-Barbie-as-Morpheus is an astute way to deliver one of the film's most significant plot points.
9. President Barbie drops an F-bomb
The wise and hilarious Issa Rae plays President Barbie, and she's just as fabulous as you would expect. Under President Barbie's leadership, things are going great in Barbieland until Ken returns from the real world and brings the patriarchy back with him. The Kens take over the Pink House and oust the Barbies from their high-ranking positions. Luckily, a passionate human named Gloria (America Ferrera) saves the day by reminding the Barbies of their power, and all is right in Barbieland once more.
The Barbies take back their dream houses from the Kens, and Issa Rae has the honor of dropping the film's only F-bomb ... kind of. When the Kens return from their epic beach-off to find the Barbies have reclaimed their homes, they observe that the homes look all pink and frilly again. Standing tall at the top of the stairs, President Barbie responds, "That's because they're our dream houses, mother******."
The actual F-bomb is bleeped out (accompanied by a lip-blocking Mattel logo), but it doesn't lessen the impact of the line (and Rae's impeccable delivery). It's the only such line in the film -– Helen Mirren's F-bomb had to be cut from the script -– and the timing is perfect. Like so many of the coolest moments in "Barbie," what makes it so delightful is how unexpected it is. Who knew Barbies possessed such foul language?
8. Weird Barbie makes a dramatic entrance
It's no surprise that the most peculiar Barbie in Barbieland is played by Kate McKinnon, a comedian known for her outlandish characters. McKinnon's Weird Barbie is a Barbie that's been played with "too hard" and is now ostracized from the broader Barbie community. Her hair is cut at an odd angle, there's marker on her face, she can't walk right, and her clothes don't match. But Weird Barbie also holds the answers to Barbie's questions, so her importance shouldn't be overlooked.
Weird Barbie's entrance is even stranger than Barbie's, which makes sense, considering her name. She's hanging in the rafters like a bat when Barbie first arrives, and she swings down to greet her as if she's performing some sort of unhinged gymnastics routine. She lands on the floor in the splits, which we come to learn is Weird Barbie's signature move.
"Barbie" is filled with brilliant sequences of physical comedy, and McKinnon delivers some of the best ones. Even the way she walks -– in a stilted way like the hinges of her legs no longer work properly -– is funny. If we were giving out awards for the most quirky Barbie in Barbieland, Weird Barbie would win in a landslide.
7. Barbie topples over
One of the most ingenious aspects of the "Barbie" universe is how doll-like the Barbies appear. The fact that the sets are all 23% smaller than they should be helps, but so do the masterful performances from all the actors. Robbie in particular fully sells her doll persona, and the way she moves her body is key.
After Barbie has brought Gloria and Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) to Barbieland, she becomes despondent about how the Kens have taken over and destroyed everything that made it so special. She gives up on life, falling into a depression that inspires a new style of Barbie to hit the shelves.
The way Robbie embodies Barbie's despair is superb. She plops on the ground and then slowly topples over, keeping her whole body clenched in the process. She then rolls onto her stomach as if she's lost control of her limbs. Even if you've never played with dolls before you'll be able to recognize the movements Robbie is emulating here -– she looks just like a toy that's been knocked over. It must have taken a ton of effort to get these doll movements so spot-on, and Robbie deserves all the praise in the world for making the moment as adorable as it is mournful.
6. Barbie vs. a glass of water
Aqua put it best in their famous song "Barbie Girl": "Life in plastic, it's fantastic!" So go the daily lives of the Barbies in Barbieland, who live in an artificial world where nothing is real but everything is perfect. The first scene in Barbieland shows us the morning routines of all the Barbies, which include basic activities like showering, eating breakfast, and getting dressed. The biggest difference between Barbieland and the real world is that in Barbieland, there's no coffee in Barbie's mug and no water in her shower.
When Barbie enters the real world, these differences are a bit of a shock to her. She's captured by Mattel executives and taken to HQ, where meets the CEO (played by Will Ferrell). He offers her a glass of water and she accepts it, but has a bit of trouble drinking it. She brings the glass up to her face as she would do in Barbieland, only this time it has actual water in it, which promptly splashes all over her face.
One of the hallmarks of a quirky moment is being equal parts odd and endearing, and that's exactly what Margot Robbie achieves in this scene –- and indeed, throughout the whole film. Barbie's lack of embarrassment is utterly charming, and this quick gag is a faultless display of delightful quirk.
5. Ken and Barbie are girlfriend-boyfriend
Though Margot Robbie is the star of "Barbie," Ryan Gosling gives it his all in the role of Ken, Barbie's forgettable boyfriend. He can do everything -– musical numbers, fight scenes, rollerblading, and the ever-important job of "beach." One of Gosling's finest line readings in the film captured audiences when it first appeared in the trailer, and it's no less arresting in the final product.
Barbie and Ken are standing outside of Barbie's dream house, where they have an almost-kiss goodnight. Ken asks to stay the night, and Barbie doesn't understand why. "Because we're girlfriend-boyfriend," Ken explains. It's a great line in and of itself, but the way Gosling delivers it is sheer genius. In Ken's beachy accent, "girlfriend-boyfriend" becomes more like "girlfren-boyfren," spoken with a faux-casual shrug of the shoulders. Though Ken has plenty of goofy, faux-dramatic scenes in the film, these four words represent him at his quirkiest. There may be hundreds of others like him in Barbieland, but no one does it like Ken.
4. Barbie starts having existential thoughts
When we first meet Barbie, she's having yet another excellent day. But by the time evening falls, things start to go a little haywire. All of the Barbies are performing their celebratory dance number set to Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night" when Barbie has an upsetting thought. "Do you guys ever think about dying?" she asks her fellow dolls. It's a literal record-scratch moment as the music stops and all the Barbies stare at her in horror. "I don't know why I just said that," Barbie says, shaking off the dark thoughts and getting back into the dance number. What Barbie doesn't know yet is that these are Gloria's dark thoughts seeping into her empty little head, and once you take the red pill, you can never go back.
Robbie delivers the line with a huge smile on her face, which makes the words coming out of her mouth even more jarring. Because she's Stereotypical Barbie, everything she says sounds dainty. Barbie giving voice to her newly-acquired existential thoughts in the middle of a dance party is a wonderfully peculiar way to introduce the central conflict of the film. The tonal shift is spot-on, and it's no wonder the line went viral before the movie even came out.
3. Helen Mirren breaks the fourth wall
In a sea of ingenious casting choices, Helen Mirren as the film's narrator is one of the best. Hers is the first voice we hear in the film as she describes the history of dolls and how Barbie came to be, and she pops back in every once in a while to explain the finer points of the "Barbie" universe. Her greatest line in the film is a brief interjection during Barbie's mental breakdown. Barbie complains to Gloria that she's no longer Barbie-beautiful, to which The Narrator responds, "Note to filmmakers: Margot Robbie is not the right person to cast to make this point."
It's a great example of the film being aware of its inherent artifice, and it also acts as a self-critique that prevents others from pointing out its flaws in a more denigrating manner. But most notably, it's a downright hilarious line, and Gerwig was right to give Mirren her own show-stopping moment of whimsy. It's true that Barbieland being populated with exclusively stunning women in some ways undermines the point the film is trying to make, but Mirren's (and thus Gerwig's) acknowledgment of this fact is a savvy way to address the issue. It's the equivalent of a cheeky wink to the camera. Now that's quirky!
2. Barbie's feet steal the show
One physical change that leads Barbie to believe she's malfunctioning has to do with her feet. Whether they're wearing her high heels or not, all Barbies have perpetually arched feet. When Barbie wakes up one morning with flat feet, it's body horror to her fellow dolls — the other Barbies literally start retching at the sight.
The first time we get a glimpse of Barbie's perfect feet, it's quite the sight. In a close-up shot, we see Barbie step out of her heels and onto her tippy-toes, her feet remaining in the exact shape of her heels as she walks along. When the shot was initially revealed in the trailer, it immediately went viral and even spawned a Tik Tok trend. The moment is just as fun to watch in the movie itself, and it's a clever way to illustrate one of Barbie's winning quirks.
Many viewers have wondered if those are actually Robbie's feet in the shot, and she has confirmed that it's all her. Robbie says they did about eight takes of the scene, and all it involved was her stepping out of the heels and then grabbing onto a bar so she could keep her balance -– no fancy tricks or CGI involved. It may be the greatest foot scene in cinema history, which is why it almost tops the list.
1. Depression Barbie hits the shelves
Depression hits Barbie like a freight train. Having never experienced any emotions apart from joy and contentment, Barbie is unprepared for the kind of melancholy most humans know all too well. After toppling over the like the doll that she is, Barbie spends an extended period of time laying face-down on the floor in despair. Her gloomy era spawns a whole new doll called "Depression Barbie," which we can only guess would be a huge hit if it went on sale today.
The commercial for Depression Barbie is hilarious. Barbie wears sweatpants all day, gorges herself on sweets and junk food, becomes one with the couch, and scrolls through Instagram for hours on end. Her depression hits a low point when she starts re-watching the BBC adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice." The commercial ends with a disclaimer: "Anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD sold separately."
The scene was a hit with viewers, who found Barbie's experience with depression laughably relatable and perhaps even a little too on-point. Mental health is being discussed more openly -– and more humorously -– today than it ever has been before, and Depression Barbie feels almost engineered to become a viral sensation. Of course, depression is a real mental health condition that involves more than just laying on the couch all day, but the idea that Mattel would capitalize on Barbie's lowest point like this is spot-on. Depression Barbie is the reigning queen of quirky: she's kooky, a little eccentric, but ultimately easy to love. She's the people's Barbie.