Greta Gerwig's Barbie Cast Takes You Behind The Scenes Of The Pink Dreamworld
A recent behind-the-scenes video from Architectural Digest makes us even more excited for Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," releasing soon on July 21, 2023. In the video, Gerwig explained her thought processes behind the exquisitely detailed and overwhelmingly pink production design:
"I want everyone to feel like they can reach into the screen and touch everything. And emotionally, just remembering standing in Toys R Us looking at Barbies with the plastic sheet over it and you wanted to take it off, take everything apart, and touch everything."
Every frame of Barbie's bubblegum-colored wonderland has that same glossy look from childhood. Using this bright sheen and every shade of pink imaginable, Gerwig brings Barbie's pristine glamour to beautiful life.
Gerwig said that she was inspired by the 1950s soundstage musicals of Gene Kelly and Vincente Minnelli. "There's a surrealness of the gradation of color," she clarified. The "Barbie" filmmakers achieve this Technicolor-style brightness by using matte paintings — hand-painted landscapes of Palm Springs-esque trees or vast desert canyons. Their vibrant colors create "wonderfully fake but emotionally artificial spaces." In simpler terms, a Barbie world for this Barbie girl.
A perfect package
Not only are the backgrounds perfectly polished, but so is Barbie herself. Margot Robbie said that her character wakes up with flawless hair, no morning breath, and her pajamas "impossibly ironed and beautiful still." She's always energized for yet another perfect day in Barbieland. Barbie also magically floats down to her car because, as Gerwig cleverly observed, most children do not walk Barbie down to her car, they plop her there. (For what it's worth, many Barbie playhouses don't even have stairs!)
In classic Barbie tradition, she makes countless hair and outfit changes each day. Gerwig wanted Barbie's closet to top Cher's amazing computerized wardrobe from "Clueless." Barbie wakes up to a new outfit displayed vertically and flat in her dresser, set up just like the dolls' packaging. All Barbie needs to do is twirl to put it on, then her new ensemble for the next day automatically appears on the wall with a touch of sparkle. If only we were all so lucky.
Life in the Dreamhouse
The set designers made everything look like the toys have been blown up to a human scale. It's as if my childhood playroom was brought to life with all the giant pink Dreamhouses arranged in a cul-de-sac. They have no walls so that the Barbies can wave to each other. Many of the hand-made objects look plastic, like the toothbrushes with the squiggles of toothpaste resting on top. Inside, the Dreamhouse has modernist furniture from the 1950s and 1960s, referencing the time of Barbie's inception.
One of the best parts of the whimsical design is the fridge. Some of the plastic containers, like the containers of food and milk, are real but the back is just a decal — hand-painted images of delicious cookie dough or soda cans. Margot Robbie praised the film's playful visual style:
"It is intentionally 2D ... we want things to be obviously artificial but still very satisfying ... Even though it's fake, it's really beautiful, which is kind of like everything in Barbieland."
Barbie's pool is also fake, just like the sticker on your Dreamhouse toy that created the illusion of water. There are no water or fire elements in Barbieland, so she doesn't actually shower, either. As Barbie, Margot Robbie will slide down and gently step onto her pool. She said that the crew often walked around the shiny blue water because it seems so real.
Barbie also has a gorgeous mailbox shaped like a flamingo. Inside, the letters are gibberish, reflecting the writing of children. Such small details indicate how much thought and care Gerwig put into this film. Each shot is a confectionary visual delight, and there is so much to see.