One Of Barbie's Best Scenes Is About The Weirdest (And Most Dangerous) Toys Ever Made

This article contains spoilers for "Barbie."

Kate McKinnon's Weird Barbie has been getting a lot of love since the "Barbie" trailer first dropped, with the comedian portraying the personification of the dolls that were loved a little bit too hard ... or the victims of eldritch horror makeovers by children. Weird Barbie wears weird clothes, has weird hair, wears weird makeup, and lives in a weird house. She's also become the guardian of all of the Barbies the Mattel corporation has taken off the shelves for one reason or another. It's delightful because it not only assures anyone who watched "Toy Story" a little bit too young that these dolls are okay and haven't been abandoned, but also because these maligned dolls are a vital part of the "Barbie" climax. By positioning these "canceled" Barbies (and Kens) as an important part of restoring order to Barbieland, it sends the message that even the people pushed to the margins by society still have value.

"Barbie" is an uproarious, existential adventure and a celebration of Barbie's 60+ year history, warts and all. If you're unfamiliar with the odd faces seeking refuge at the Weird Barbie house, allow this article to be your guide to some of the weirdest and most dangerous Barbies ever made.

In the 1970s, Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler ended up in some hot water for not keeping her finances above board and falsifying financial documents, which meant dolls had to be designed without her input. And as such, Growing Up Skipper was born. Advertised as "the doll who grows from a cute little girl to a tall and curvy teenager," Barbie's kid sister Skipper had a doll that was intended to educate little girls about their changing bodies. With a simple rotation of her arm, Skipper would have a growth spurt and stretch an inch taller, but her rubbery chest would also "grow" boobs. While originally blonde like her big sister, Skipper was redesigned as a brunette and currently sports a purple money piece in the front because she's more of the artsy type than Barbie. Gerwig's film marries the two, presenting her as a brunette but wearing the original outfit from the 1970s.

Mattel

While she doesn't get nearly as much attention in the Weird Barbie house, Slumber Party Barbie is also hanging out. This is the doll that came under fire for coming with a scale locked at 110 pounds, not to be confused with Babysitter Barbie who came with a magazine with the tagline "How to Lose Weight" and the instructions "Don't Eat!" This Barbie is one of the most frequently cited whenever critics want to discuss Barbie's negative influence on society, forgetting that this style of encouraging disordered eating was extremely common at the time. Mattel absolutely missed the mark on this doll, but this problem is not exclusive to Barbie. Our society is fatphobic and terrible, and Barbie's reflection of that made her an easy scapegoat instead of us actually dismantling the oppressive systems that made it this way.

I intentionally didn't talk about the Barbie Video Girl controversy in my exhaustive guide to Barbie lore, because the absolute panic that surrounded her existence is related to an extremely sensitive subject and would have distracted from the overall tone of the piece. In an attempt to capitalize off of the booming advancements in technology, Mattel released a doll in 2010 that featured a video camera in Barbie's necklace and an LCD screen on her back for viewing. The idea was that kids could make their own mini-movies and shoot the scenes with the Barbie camera, and be able to watch the footage without having to involve any other bits of tech. However, the idea of a hidden camera in a children's toy caused a moral panic.

Not unlike the Furby, which was banned by the NSA out of fear the toy would record and then repeat government secrets, the FBI issued an alert regarding Barbie Video Girl out of concern that the doll could be used to record children without their consent. I'm trying to be delicate with my language here, but the FBI was legitimately concerned that people would sexually abuse children and use the Barbie to record it.

Mattel tried to clear the air and put out a statement that the FBI confirmed there were no incidents of the doll being used as anything other than as intended, but the damage was already done. The warning was enough for parents to lose their minds about the doll being a tool for pedophiles and acted as if nefarious actions had already occurred, so Mattel recalled the toy.